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Tricia, Maggie, Bruce Lafitte and I just returned from the
105th Annual council of the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta which took
place in Rome, GA Friday and Saturday.
This was Bishop Alexander’s last council as bishop as he
leaves to become a teacher at Emory. So, instead of adjourning on Sat. as e
normally would, we went into recess until we reconvene on June 2, 2012 to elect
the next bishop of our diocese.
We heard from the Nominating Committee that they have now
received a number of excellent applications for the new bishop. We also heard
from Tricia as to the many activities her Transition Committee will be involved
with in helping the diocese in working towards the election of the new bishop
next year.
Bishop Alexander gave his annual address with some goo d
news items and not so good news. As the Episcopal Church in the US lost 55,000
members from 2009 to 2010, the size of our diocese stayed about the same. And
although the commitments of the parishes of the diocese were up very slightly
this year, the overall income of the diocese had decreased. Because of this,
the diocese budget that was approved by council included an outreach budget
with no increases; no increases in salaries for the diocesan staff for the 4th
year in a row; and an actual cut in a few social justice programs of the
diocese.
On the way home from Council, Bruce and I discussed what we
would most like to report about Council. First, there was the story of one of
those social justice programs that had just been cut – the Church of the Common
Ground. The Church of the Common Ground, which was started around 2006, is a
spiritual community for the homeless people of Atlanta, which holds church
services for the homeless in Woodruff Park downtown every Sunday, in addition
to providing other services to the homeless throughout the week. Obviously, the
“congregants” of Church of the Common Ground do not create any income, so the
church is completely supported by the diocese. Shortly after Bishop Neil
stopped talking, a representative from the Cathedral went to the microphone and
announced that representatives from the 4 or 5 largest churches in the diocese
had gathered and had committed the resources to help develop a strategic plan
for the Church of the Common Good so that it could become a sustainable
organization. In addition, until that plan could be completed, they had each
committed to donate enough to raise $50,000 for the Church of the Common Ground’s
2012 budget – and they challenged the other congregations to donate to complete
the total. Immediately representatives of churches all over the diocese rose to
the microphones – creating long lines throughout the hall – with most churches
committing at least $1000 – or more if they could go back and get their
Vestry’s approval. The “best” of the diocese shone through. Missions like
Emmaus House and Holy Comforter came forward with commitments to find ways to
raise some funds. The young people from the campus ministries challenged each
other and came up with pledges of several thousand dollars. It was an incredibly moving experience – I’m
not sure there was a dry eye in the hall as we actually raised even more than was
needed. St. Dunstan’s committed $1500, and I hope we will find a Sunday when we
can all join the Church of the Common Ground at one of their 1 pm services in
Woodruff Park, and feed lunch to the congregants.
The other message Bruce and I took from the work of this Council
was perhaps best characterized by some of the resolutions we adopted. One
resolution supported the work that is being headed by our own Maggie Harney –
and she is now the head of a brand new Commission created at this council – the
Commission on Human Trafficking. In support of this resolution, Maggie
presented a very moving and powerful slideshow on the “slavery” of human
trafficking, and how prevalent this horror is within the area of the Diocese of
Atlanta. This Commission allows Maggie and others to have additional support
from the diocese in finding ways to prevent human trafficking in our state and
beyond.
We adopted a three part resolution on the death penalty in
Georgia. This resolution called for the diocese to seek a moratorium on the use
of the death penalty in Georgia; called on parishes to study, consider and pray
about this issue; and further requires the diocese to ask our Governor and
legislators to introduce legislation that would abolish the death penalty in
Georgia.
Another resolution addressed the impact the diocese is
seeing and feeling from HB87 – the Georgia immigration reform act. This
resolution also asked congregations to study and pray about this issue, and
requires the diocese to issue letters letting the Georgia Governor and
legislators know the ways in which this Act is adversely affecting many members
of the Diocese of Atlanta, and also many of the groups helped by the work of
the diocese.
The message from this
Council to me was as follows: Even in the face of financial and other
limitations and barriers – because of and through our faith, the Diocese of
Atlanta will continue to care for those who need our help – especially those
who we identify as “the least of them”; the Diocese will stand up and fight for
those who cannot stand up for themselves; and the Diocese will offer its
support to those causes which reflect our beliefs as Christians.
Renee' Kastanakis
Nov. 6, 2011
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