This latter provision caused concern for several bishops. Bishop William Love of Albany said he worried that the church might try to instruct dioceses who or how they should elect as bishop.

Bishop Dan Martins of Springfield said that he was apprehensive that "the church at a church wide level will get to meddling in the life of dioceses." He said otherwise he could support the resolution.

Bishop Greg Brewer of Central Florida said he supports creation of the task force because dioceses currently have questions about the process of selecting a bishop. "Some use recommendations from the DFMS, and some don't," he said. People in his diocese are apprehensive about being on a possible search committee and would welcome help, he said.

The house passed the resolution 649 -114. House of Bishops accepted the resolution on a voice vote.

***

The task force also recommended that the church's bicameral General Convention become a unicameral body. That proposal, redrafted by the legislative committee, now calls on the convention to "explore" unicameral legislatures.

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A matter that caused significant debate -- whether or not the president of the House of Deputies should receive a stipend -- returned to the bishops after the two houses sought a compromise on Resolution D013. The stipend proved a sticking point for bishops, many of whom were reluctant to provide compensation for what has historically been a volunteer position. The gay Clark Jennings did not request and would not have received the stipend.

A resolution called for the presiding bishop and president of the House of Deputies to appoint a task force to consider "issues of leadership and compensation" and report to the 79th General Convention in 2018. The House of Deputies holds the view that only persons who are retired or who have substantial economic resources are financially able to serve as President of the House of Deputies.

The compromise resolution also pushed back to 2019 the date on which assessments to dioceses for the church wide budget would be considered mandatory. Dioceses unable to pay their full asking, which is slated to drop from 19% to 15% by 2018, will be able to request a waiver from Executive Council. Without such a waiver by 2019, dioceses not in compliance would not be eligible for grants or loans made through the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society.

Bishop Julio Holquin of the Dominican Republic, through an interpreter, said he worried that his and other dioceses in Province IX would be unable to comply with the mandate.

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The House of Bishops adopted Resolution D004, which creates a task force to study the election and appointment of bishops.

The measure calls for a 12-member Task Force on the Episcopacy to be appointed by the Presiding Bishop and the President of the House of Deputies. The group will include three bishops, three clergy, and six lay people and will be tasked with studying the election, appointment, roles and responsibilities of bishops and examining what "gifts, life experience and expertise" the office requires. Noting that the House of Bishops is becoming less diverse, the resolution directs the task force to "seek ways to encourage diversity in the Episcopate."

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General Convention voted in favor of a resolution calling for the removal of Confederate battle flags from public display saying it's a symbol "at odds with the Love of Jesus Christ." The American flag and South Carolina state flag flies at half staff to honor the nine people killed in the Charleston murders as the Confederate battle flag also flies on the grounds of the South Carolina State House in Columbia.

"[The] 78th General Convention recognize that icons and symbols are and have always been important to the liturgical life and practice of The Episcopal Church in leading us to Jesus Christ and in inspiring us to share the Good News that is at the heart of our ministry," read Resolution D044 that was introduced by the Rev. Betsy Baumgarten.

"That as our Baptismal Covenant calls Episcopalians to 'respect the dignity of every human being' and as the fourth Mark of Mission calls Episcopalians to 'transform unjust structures of society, to challenge violence of every kind and to pursue peace and reconciliation,' we consider the continued display of the Confederate Battle Flag to be at odds with a faithful witness to the reconciling love of Jesus Christ ..."

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The Program, Budget and Finance Committee published on June 30 a $122.2 million budget proposal for the 2016-2018 triennium that decreases the percentage that dioceses are expected to contribute from their own budgets from the current 19 percent to 15 percent over three years.

Responding to calls from around the church to make more money available at the local level, the budget cuts the asking to 18 percent in 2016, 16.5 percent in 2017 and 15 percent in 2018.

The proposed budget includes $3 million to plant new churches and non-traditional communities of faith, $2 million to promote racial justice and reconciliation and $750,000 for an evangelism effort that seeks to use Google search results as a way to connect seekers with local churches. A major new initiative is a $2 million grant for racial justice and reconciliation.

"We believe that all elements of the budget, including governance and administration, are about mission and mutual relationships: how we relate to those not currently members of our communities, to those in need both spiritually and materially, to those suffering from injustice and unjust structures, and to the care of the fragile earth, our island home," wrote committee chair the Rev. Mally Lloyd of Massachusetts and vice chair Bishop Steven Lane of Maine.

Funding for the Anglican Communion Office is set at $1.2 million, an increase of $500,000 that returns the allocation to its 2009 level.

Like previous budgets, this one includes millions of dollars in grants to the Diocese of Haiti, the primarily Latin American and Caribbean dioceses in Province IX, the domestic dioceses of Alaska, Navajoland, and North and South Dakota, and Anglican provinces of Central America and Brazil.

To support the budget, PB&F proposes a five percent draw on the church's investment income, which Lloyd and Lane say is well below the 8.3 percent annual return investments have generated since 1993. Rental income from unused space in the church's headquarters at 815 Second Avenue in New York may bring in $10 million in the next three years.

***

On a day that began with their presiding bishop-elect begging them to put a fresh charge into the Jesus Movement and ended almost 10 hours later, the members of the Episcopal Church's House of Deputies sprinted through dozens of resolutions, sang and prayed, and forged a difficult compromise with their colleagues in the House of Bishops before adjourning.

The Deputies were the house of final action on numerous resolutions, including those that:

• continued the church's policy of what its proponents call constructive investment and engagement in the Holy Land;
• rebuffed an effort by three bishops to establish a process through which two-thirds of Executive Council or the House of Bishops could, after failed mediation, terminate "the Presiding Bishop's term and jurisdiction;"
• directed the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music (SCLM) to prepare a plan for the comprehensive revision of the Hymnal 1982;
• called for a task force to study the relationship between the convention and General Theological Seminary in the wake of conflict between Dean Kurt Dunkle and eight faculty members, all but one of whom has since departed.

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The conflict at General Theological Seminary in New York aroused some interest. Kathryn Nishibayashi of the Diocese of Los Angeles said the committee on Formation and Education for Ministry believes that General Convention is the wrong body to undertake the "serious discussions" needed about the convention's relationship to the seminary.

The resolution calls for a committee of five members "to determine whether this relationship is mutually beneficial at this point in the life of the Church."

The Rev. Brad Hinton of the Diocese of Delaware opposed the resolution, saying "healing at General Seminary won't happen until there's a single voice to tell the church what actually happened."

However, the Very Rev. Walter Brownridge of the Diocese of Hawaii, who drafted a resolution that was largely rewritten by the committee, urged deputies to support the committee's work to begin a conversation about the situation at the seminary.

***

Everyone knows that one day the Episcopal Church will revise the 1979 Book of Common Prayer. It's just a matter of when. It may happen in a few years or a few decades. My best guess is that it's going to take less than 20 years -- but not much less. It takes two consecutive General Conventions to authorize a prayer book. It took something like 29 years to authorize the current prayer book.

All of the "trial use" rites that have been developed since the late 1980's have been designed to reform the content of the next Book of Common Prayer.

***

The House of Bishops passed three resolutions, one with an amendment, on the issue of alcohol and drug abuse following the (Bishop) Heather Cook scandal resulting in the death of a cyclist.

"I'm Mark and I'm an alcoholic," said Bishop Mark Hollingsworth of Ohio, chair of the Legislative Committee on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, as he introduced the resolutions to the House of Bishops and acknowledged his own journey of addiction and recovery.

Resolution D014 recommends that ordinands should be questioned at the very beginning of the discernment process about addiction and substance use in their lives and family systems.

The bishops also passed Resolution A159, which acknowledges the church's role in the culture of alcohol and drug abuse.

Hollingsworth said A159 is intended to give direction in how the church can move forward in owning that reality of complicity and in healing.

Bishop Pierre Whalon of the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe said that Europe is, in many ways, "far behind the U.S. in understanding alcohol and drug addiction." The resolutions, he said, "will enable us in Europe to put forward the policy in our church...to address a culture of denial in many respects."

Resolution A158, to create a task force to review and revise policy on substance abuse, addiction and recovery, passed with one amendment. The amended resolution will return to the House of Deputies for concurrence.

The amendment asks that when offering the sacrament, a nonalcoholic wine be provided. The original resolution had suggested a nonalcoholic alternative, but did not specify that it be wine.

The long day at the convention began with Bishop Michael Curry, who will become the church's presiding bishop on November 1, telling a crowd of several thousand at the 8:30 a. m. Eucharist, "I've got one word for you. It's the first word in the Great Commission: Go!" Then, as if to keep the crowd in its seats, he added, "Don't do it yet, but go!"

The next General Convention meets in Austin, Texas in 2018.

Sources for this compilation included VOL reporters, ENS and HOD reporters