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Minutes of the
Province 2 Council Meeting
Episcopal House in Newark, NJ.
October 20, 2006
Present: Kim Byham, Rt. Rev. George Councell, Louie Crew, Martha
Gardner, Michael Garrison, Peter Hausman, Chuck Perfater, Dorothy
Jane Porpeglia (by phone), Michael Rehill, Petero Sabune, Debra
Wagner
Absent: None. (David Robinson has resigned, to accept a job in
Maine)
Guest: Charles Fulton
President Michael Rehill called the meeting to order at 9:30a.
We approved the minutes of April 28th meeting.
Bishop Garrison will consult with colleagues in upstate New York
and advise us of a person to appoint as a clergy member, especially
someone from Central New York, to replace David Robinson, who
has resigned to accept a job in Maine. Michael Rehill will circulate
to us the name of the proposed appointee for our approval.
Treasurer’s Report
Peter Hausman presented “Budget Results as of September
30, 2006” (Attachment 1, PII Budget Report 9-30-06.xls).
Newark has not yet paid its 2006 amount, nor has Rochester and
Western New York. Martha Gardner will investigate the Newark delay,
as will Bishop Garrison for the other two.
We anticipated costs to us of $5,000 for the Synod and rejoice
that the expenses came in at only $3982.
Michael Rehill noted that we will not likely need our one-ninth
share from Executive Council and will recommend that we not take
the full amount as other provinces may need additional amounts
for their programs.
Chuck Perfater noted that we will host the Provincial Leadership
Conference in 2008, hopefully in the Virgin Islands, and cautioned
that we may need some of the funds from the provincial budget
for that event. Most costs are born by the participants. We also
are looking at visiting Haiti within the next year, which will
have an impact on provincial funds.
Michael Rehill said that we should not be surprised if we end
2007 narrowly within our budget.
Michael Rehill will contact Chase Bank regarding our savings
account. We will be transferring it to New Jersey rather than
have to go into New York City for each transaction.
Synod
Chuck Perfater noted that many have shared with him positive
responses to Synod this year.
We will change the venue for next year’s Convocation, to
Crowne Plaza in downtown Albany, and will have an opportunity
to compare.
Michael Rehill said Synod was well attended, informative, and
done in the least costly manner. Our two earlier meetings on the
Windsor Report helped us focus on a broad range of issues
Louie Crew and Bishop Councell suggested that we be quite clear
in advance publicity so that more people plan to stay for the
full meeting. Some stayed for the dinner, and others did not.
Early departures of many in the past prompted us to make the final
dinner optional this year.
Kim Byham suggested that we try to structure a mix of the people
from many dioceses so that all meet new people. We should discourage
the current practice of sitting together by diocese. It was suggested
that there be assigned seating to mix up the groups at each table.
We discussed ways that we might irenically involve more of the
persons from the Diocese of Albany. Many in that diocese are not
clear about whether their diocese will stay in the Episcopal Church.
General Convention
Michael Rehill reported that we decided not to organize an event
but sponsor a brief social at General Convention. The social happened
on the night that General Convention did not adjourn until 7:30
p. As a result we had a small turnout except from the Diocese
of Haiti. It was disappointing that more were not present to enjoy
interacting with them. Unless there is a formal night for provincial
dinners, it is likely not wise to organize a gathering.
Martha Gardner suggested doing a luncheon, where there is usually
more flexibility, especially early on.
Debra Wagner suggested that we have our own booth in the Exhibit
Hall. Kim Byham noted that a booth is enormously expensive. Debra
noted that we would have a lower rate because provinces are “in
house.” The possibilities are worth exploring. At the meeting
of the provincial leadership, Chuck Perfater will explore the
possibility that provinces collaborate to share one booth.
Michael Rehill noted that we brought most people out for the
election of our nominees for the Nominating Committee for the
Presiding Bishop.
Chuck Perfater thought it was unfortunate that he did not go
to General Convention. He was the only provincial coordinator
who was not there. It is an important opportunity to network to
the advantage of the province. He feels that our Executive Coordinator
should attend in 2009.
House of Bishops
Bishop Councell and Bishop Garrison noted the House has not met
since General Convention and will not meet until next spring.
Province 2 bishops will meet in New Jersey at Stella Maris, NJ
in January.
Executive Council
Executive Council last met before General Convention, March 6-9,
in Philadelphia, the most expensive site for Council meetings
during the triennium. For example, lunch with only cold cuts cost
$45 per person. Such are the constraints of meeting in the Northeast.
The next meeting will be in Chicago. November 11-15, immediately
before the meeting of the interim bodies at the same location.
Executive Council will take up any resolutions that passed one
house at General Convention to address the problems of legislation
lost or delayed in Columbus. Resolutions which never reached the
floor of either House but were approved by legislative committees
will be sent to interim bodies with recommendation that they act
quickly and send their recommendations back to Executive Council.
Charles Fulton noted the huge problem with resolutions that pass
but are not funded.
Louie Crew urged that Executive Council stress the need for an
engine to search the text of resolutions at General Convention
on the General Convention website http://gc2006.org/legislation/.
Provincial Leadership Council (PLC) Meeting in the Dominican
Republic
Chuck Perfater and Michael Rehill attended the PLC meeting at
Boca Chica in the Dominican Republic. Only the bishops from the
ninth province attended. They were truly insulted. They could
not imagine the absence of bishops had the meeting been held in
any other province. They had gone to great trouble to prepare
for bishops. They had excellent tours. They had reports on amazing
mission activities all over Province 9. They give a high priority
to mission and to the physical needs of people. The presidents
and the vice-presidents of all provinces were expected to attend,
including eight bishops. One of the compounding problems was that
the House of Bishops met in Kanuga the week before.
Province 2 will host the PLC meeting May 29-June 1, 2008 and
expect to do so in the Virgin Islands. Chuck Perfater surveyed
airfare from most cities of the leadership, and in most cases
round-trip tickets were under $500. Chuck Perfater represented
the province at the consecration of Bishop Gumbs. He reported
that local leadership in the Virgin Islands feel they can work
out a very economical package for accommodations for the PLC gathering.
Approximately 35 people attend (3 leaders from each province,
plus 815 staff and guests).
The PLC meets twice a year. One meeting is always held near the
Church Center (typically in Weehawken) and hosted at that site
by a different province each time. The summer meeting is the one
that rotates physically through the provinces.
The 2007 Provincial Convocation
Petero Sabune and Martha Gardner reported that the proposed theme
of our 2007 convocation will be “Come and Grow: Greater
Mission in Province 2 and Beyond,” to be held April 19-21
in Albany. Bonnie Anderson, President of the House of Deputies,
will be there. Margaret Larom has accepted. We expect 150 people
to attend. The costs are already approved in the budget. Net costs
to us after registration fees will be between $5,000 and $6,000.
Charles Fulton suggests that we reconsider “Come and Grow,”
which sounds like an old agenda. Research shows that those who
talk about “growth” are the ones that are not growing.
When many hear the word growth, they think we are emphasizing
pledges. The term does not encourage people to come.
Grapevine
Jan Paxton has asked to be replaced as editor of the Grapevine.
Chuck Perfater has been negotiating with Laurie Wozniak, Diocese
of WNY, as her possible replacement.
Coordinator’s Report
At our request, Chuck Perfater is trying to be more involved
in various diocesan venues. He was available at the consecrations
in Albany and in the Virgin Islands. He anticipates attending
the consecration in Newark. He is also attending several diocesan
conventions.
Bishops Herzog and Bena were gracious to him as a representative
of the province.
Newark Election
Mark Beckwith will be consecrated as the 10th Bishop of Newark
on January 27th at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark.
Haiti Visit: “Celebrate Haiti”
Chuck Perfater noted that at Synod Bishop Duracin was somewhat
critical of the work of Province 2. He was also grateful. He noted
that other provinces and dioceses are more involved with Haiti
than is his own province, Province 2. Chuck Perfater has recommended
that the Province schedule a visit by a small delegation. He has
identified two persons to work with our design team for the visit:
Doris Crocker and Petero Sabune. Bishop Councell has frequently
stressed that Province 2 needs to collaborate more with Haiti.
Chuck Perfater will establish a planning committee of 4-5 people
to visit next spring (or to attend their Convention in January)
to decide how we might become more mutually involved. Louie noted
that Helena Mbele-Mbong’s daughter Lisa works as a volunteer
in Haiti. Helena mbelembong@wanadoo.fr is a deputy from the Convocation
of American Churches in Europe.
Renewal of appointment of Chuck Perfater
We expressed great appreciation for Chuck Perfater and appointed
him as Executive Coordinator for Province 2 for another year.
Other
Debra Wagner urged that we insist that province-wide events provide
funds to assure scholarships funds are available and that organizers
see it as their responsibility to take the initiative to bring
representatives from our off-shore dioceses.
Lunch break
Next meeting: February 9-10 Friday afternoon with the networks
and Saturday for our own meeting.
Council Meeting with Network Chairs
Our guests introduced themselves:
Patricia Warren, Diocese of NJ, Christ Church,
New Brunswick. Serves as the representative of the Church Periodical
Club.
Connie White, Diocese of NJ, Trinity, Princeton.
Chair of the Ministry Development Network, and has served for
five years on the Commission on Ministry in NJ.
Don Carlson, Diocese of Central New York, Christ
Cathedral in Syracuse, Diocesan Youth Coordinator.
Susan Legnani, Diocese of New Jersey. Christian
Education Network.. St. Stephen’s in Beverly. Co-Chair of
Christian Formation in the diocese.
Doris Crocker, Diocese of New Jersey. Represents
Haiti Ministry.
Bob Dennis, Province 2 representative of Brotherhood
of St. Andrew’s, St. Philips in Dyker Heights, Brookyn and
a member of will install a new chapter in St. James in Eatontown.
Nancy Frank, Provincial Representative for ERD.
Cy Deavours, Diocese of New Jersey, deacon at
St. John’s in Elizabeth, and represents justice ministry.
Convocation 2007
The Convocation will take place April 19-21, 2007, with the proposed
theme “Come and Grow with Province 2: Great Mission and
Beyond,” at the Crowne Plaza in Albany. Please invite others
to come. We will emphasize mission, not ideological battles. We
need to hear about ministry that excites people. We hope that
Bob Edgar, head of the National Council of Churches, will be one
of our speakers. We want to be sure that doing mission involves
doing mission in our own communities. Bonnie Anderson, President
of the House of Deputies, and Margaret Larom, head of the Office
of Anglican and Global Relations, have accepted invitations to
speak.
Each diocese will have persons on the planning committee, to
assure that we get 10-15 people to attend from each diocese. We
very much want to engage our off-shore dioceses in the Province.
Please send to Martha Gardner mgardner25@att.net, Petero Sabune
psabune@yahoo.com, or Chuck Perfater chperfater@comcast.net the
names of people who might be willing to speak at this convocation.
It is important that your own organizations promote this gathering.
Based on the success of the 2005 convocation, where our bishops
related their passions about ministry, this year we will ask the
bishops to talk about their passion for mission.
The Episcopal Church Center Report by Charles Fulton
The renovation is nearly completed. Contractors hope to remove
the asbestos from the penthouse during November and December.
The Griswolds will leave on October 31st and the Jefferts-Schoris
will arrive on January 1st.
A coffeehouse is anticipated in the space formerly used by the
bookstore on the first floor.
It is a time of mass transition in the departure of many senior
staff.
Episcopal News Service and Episcopal Life are being merged, and
the new configuration is not yet discernible. Charles Fulton says
the question is largely a technical issue, more of an enhancement,
not a shift in editorial policy. Much of the change is budget
driven.
Network Feedback
Youth Networks. Don Carlson
The youth coordinators of the dioceses in the province meet three
times a year. We will have our first province-wide youth event
in the summer of 2007, on August 2-6, 2007 (See Attachment 2:
Tribe.pdf)
Participants will arrive on Thursday afternoon, get together
in the evening, and then have three full days of program together.
One day will be for fun and games, one day for worship. Participants
will leave at 9 a.m. on Monday. Planners have hired a professional
musician. We want this to be as great as the national Episcopal
Youth Event (EYE) at our provincial level.
Debra Wagner urged Don Carlson to be proactive in getting participation
from offshore dioceses. The Provincial Council will make scholarship
moneys available.
See the proposed budget for the Youth Event (Attachment 3: tribebudget.xls)
Church Periodical Club (CPC). Patricia Warren
CPC has not switched over to the internet. “We go back
to the history of Wells Fargo, when we shipped printed materials
to those in the west when materials were in short supply.”
CPC’s national book fund gives small grants abroad to help
clergy and students build up their libraries. (See http://www.jladefoged.com/cpctest/index.htm
for a copy of the CPC mission statement.)
Networks of Ministry Development. Connie White
Connie White has been trying to connect leadership of Commissions
on Ministry in dioceses in the province, and will host a meeting
at the Church Center on Tuesday, December 5th.
Chuck Perfater stressed that Ministry Development should be one
of our most important networks, and our work in this area in the
past has been one of our weak points.
Charles Fulton noted resources on the website of his office that
are available online, especially to identify church planters,
but we also now can determine with statistical reliability the
gifts an individual has for church revitalization. The cost is
$85 to process the results of an individual’s response to
an electronic survey.
Chuck Perfater noted that we need to get a young adult network
up and running. We already have youth, higher education, and Christian
Education.
Christian Education. Susan Legnani
We focus on the formation for youth and young adults
We will meet at St. Marguerite’s Convent in Mendham from
November 1-3. We want to put together resources for dioceses and
congregations.
See Susan Legnani’s written report (Attachment 4: ChristianFormationNetwork.doc)
Charles Fulton pointed out that we can order free copies of a
dynamic DVD Voices of Young Adults by calling his office in New
York City, 800-334-7626, x6125. In this DVD young people tell
what they want from the Church.
Haiti Network. Doris Crocker
Doris Crocker reported on the very successful concert by. Les
Petit Chanteurs and the String Quintet of the Haiti Philharmonic
Orchestra, at Brookdale Community College on September 16. The
concert was a sell-out and overflowed the facility.
Michael Rehill reported on our decisions in the morning to send
a team to investigate how to enlarge shared ministry with Haitians
within the province (see above)
Brotherhood of St. Andrew. Robert Dennis
Robert Dennis noted:
“I have been trying to encourage the growth of the Brotherhood
in the province. Five of our dioceses have chapters. The Brotherhood
is aging. They are contemplating creating youth chapters. We need
ways to attract people. Women are associates, and the Daughters
of the King (with 25,800 members) is five times as large as we
are (with only 5,200 members). We expect to have 50 chapters by
the end of the year. Only three members are required to form a
chapter. The Diocese of Long Island has 28 chapters. The Diocese
of New Jersey an the Diocese of Albany have the best growth.”
Robert Dennis noted that the brotherhood has no political agenda
and very carefully neutral on issues. Louie Crew and Kim Byham
pointed out that many do not have that perception of the Brotherhood.
Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD). Nancy
Frank
Robert Radtke has been president for about a year and a quarter.
Joyce Hogg, long-term coordinator in the province, died this last
year. ERD has had some major staff turnovers
Provincial representatives have had frequent conference calls.
Robert Radtke recently returned from India and was impressed with
the relationship that the Church of Northern of India and the
Church of Southern India now have increased interest in working
together with ERD.
The national ERD meeting will take place in New Orleans next
year, with good feedback being planned for the dioceses.
On Monday week Nancy Frank will leave for her fifth trip to the
Sudan. She suggested that we all see the DVD Invisible Children
-- based on Conflict in Northern Uganda, sponsored by Physicians
for Human Rights
Anti-Racism. Cy Deavours
On March 1-4, 2007, Jayne Oasin will provide the training in
Syracuse. The training will be attached to that diocese’s
“Year of Race and Reconciliation.” A page on the Province
2 website will give the details soon.
See Lyn Headley-Deavours’ written report, “The Anti-Racism
Network” (Attachment 5: antiracismnetwork.doc)
Social Justice Ministries Network. Cy Deavours
See the handout for a model 2-hour awareness session which the
Network now makes available throughout the province. (Attachment
6: ministriesnetwork.doc)
Immigration Network & Prison Ministry Network.
Petero Sabune
Petero Sabune reported on a rally in Washington, DC, to promote
reform of U. S. immigration laws.
The Network has held workshops to train people on immigration
issues.
October 8th a network of prison ministries held a vigil at the
Elizabeth Detention Center. The prison is run by the CCA (Correctional
Corporation of America) and extends no human rights to those detained
there, although most have been charged with no crimes.
The Network has designated Pentecost Sunday as Immigration Sunday,
so that we all might begin to understand one another across our
many differences of language and culture.
The Network is trying to develop a spiritual discipline, called
“Society of St. Simon Cyrene Friend” (SSCF). See the
handout in the Appendices.
Respectfully submitted,
Louie Crew, Secretary
A list of the attachments
1. PII Budget Report 9-30-06.xls (Hausman’s document)
2. Tribe.pdf (Carlson’s flier)
3. tribebudget.xls (Carlson’s budget)
4. ChristianFormationNetwork.doc (Susan Legnani’s report)
5. antiracismnetwork.doc (Lyn Headley-Deavours’ report)
6. ministriesnetwork.doc (Cy Deavours’ model for the awareness
session)
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Episcopal Dioceses of Albany, Central
New York, Haiti, Long
Island, Newark,
New Jersey, New
York,
Rochester, Virgin Islands, Western
New York, and the Convocation
of American Churches in Europe
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