Provincial Caucus at General Convention
5/23/2018 Urgent Request!
We need candidates to volunteer for election at the Provincial Caucus on July 9 to run for the Joint Nominating Committee for the Election of the Presiding Bishop. So far only Ernestine Patterson of Central New York has stepped up, and we will need another Lay candidate and two Clergy candidates, all of whom must be Deputies, and the Bishops will need two candidates as well.
We need candidates to volunteer for election at the Provincial Caucus on July 9 to run for the Joint Nominating Committee for the Election of the Presiding Bishop. So far only Ernestine Patterson of Central New York has stepped up, and we will need another Lay candidate and two Clergy candidates, all of whom must be Deputies, and the Bishops will need two candidates as well.
Episcopal Church Canon I.2.1 provides for the election at every General Convention of a Joint Nominating Committee for the Election of the Presiding Bishop. This Committee is tasked with managing a procedure for choosing nominees every nine years for the election of a Presiding Bishop. It also performs this task in the event of a vacancy in the office of Presiding Bishop between General Conventions.
Members of this Committee are made up of one bishop, one lay person, and one priest or deacon from each of the nine Provinces of the Church, plus two youth representatives chosen by the President of the House of Deputies. During each General Convention, each Province holds caucuses of its Bishops and Deputies, voting separately. The Bishops nominate from among their members and choose two nominees for the Committee, and the Deputies nominate from among their members and choose two lay and two clerical nominees for the Committee. Thereafter, the House of Bishops as a whole elects one bishop from each Province to the Committee, and the House of Deputies as a whole elects one lay and one clerical member from each Province.
This year, the General Convention Office has designated the evening of July 9 for Provincial Caucuses. Persons nominated at the Caucuses will be required to submit a photo and short bio to the GC Office the next day in electronic form, typically on a thumb drive, for publication in an election booklet. There are no nominees permitted for election to the Committee other than the persons selected by the Caucuses. Elections to the Committee are scheduled for two or three days after the Caucuses in each House. Persons elected to the Committee are eligible for reelection. Any person elected continues to serve through the adjournment of the following General Convention whether or not they cease to be a Deputy, change Provinces, or change orders.
Since Presiding Bishop Michael Curry was elected at the 2015 General Convention, a regular election is not expected until 2024, so the Committee elected this year will not be called upon to act unless there is an unexpected vacancy in the office. Nevertheless, the polity of the Church requires the election of the Committee at each General Convention, so as to have a procedure available.
The leadership of Province II asks that those who will be representing the Province at General Convention give consideration to serving on this Committee and that they be prepared to stand for nomination at the Provincial Caucus on July 9.
Members of this Committee are made up of one bishop, one lay person, and one priest or deacon from each of the nine Provinces of the Church, plus two youth representatives chosen by the President of the House of Deputies. During each General Convention, each Province holds caucuses of its Bishops and Deputies, voting separately. The Bishops nominate from among their members and choose two nominees for the Committee, and the Deputies nominate from among their members and choose two lay and two clerical nominees for the Committee. Thereafter, the House of Bishops as a whole elects one bishop from each Province to the Committee, and the House of Deputies as a whole elects one lay and one clerical member from each Province.
This year, the General Convention Office has designated the evening of July 9 for Provincial Caucuses. Persons nominated at the Caucuses will be required to submit a photo and short bio to the GC Office the next day in electronic form, typically on a thumb drive, for publication in an election booklet. There are no nominees permitted for election to the Committee other than the persons selected by the Caucuses. Elections to the Committee are scheduled for two or three days after the Caucuses in each House. Persons elected to the Committee are eligible for reelection. Any person elected continues to serve through the adjournment of the following General Convention whether or not they cease to be a Deputy, change Provinces, or change orders.
Since Presiding Bishop Michael Curry was elected at the 2015 General Convention, a regular election is not expected until 2024, so the Committee elected this year will not be called upon to act unless there is an unexpected vacancy in the office. Nevertheless, the polity of the Church requires the election of the Committee at each General Convention, so as to have a procedure available.
The leadership of Province II asks that those who will be representing the Province at General Convention give consideration to serving on this Committee and that they be prepared to stand for nomination at the Provincial Caucus on July 9.
