Diocesan Convention 2006

On behalf of the Bishop, we are publishing this packet with information that you will need for the upcoming Pre-Convention Deanery meetings and the 24th Annual Convention. The Convention will be held at St. Peter & St. Paul’s Church, 3900 Morris Lane, Arlington, TX. The church phone is (817) 496-6747.

This year’s Convention will begin with the Holy Eucharist at St. Peter & St. Paul’s Church on Friday, Nov. 17, at 5:30 p.m. Our guest preacher will be The Rev. Canon Daryl Fenton, Canon for Operations with the Anglican Communion Network. All Clergy are to vest and process in cassock, surplice and white stole. Since this is the opening session of Convention, all clergy and delegates should be in attendance.

The evening will continue in the church's Great Hall with hospitality, dinner, and entertainment. Dinner reservations are required and are included in this packet with the Meal Reservation Form; please pay strict attention to the deadlines. Also, there is information included for those needing overnight accommodations.

Registration for the Convention will take place on Saturday morning, Nov. 18, from 7:30 a.m. until 8:45 a.m. in the Great Hall. A continental breakfast will be served during registration. Morning Prayer will be at 8:30 a.m. in the Church. The Convention will then convene at 9 a.m. The Bishop will deliver his Convention Address on Saturday morning. We will break for lunch around noon; the cost will be $10 per person. We are very pleased to have a Mexican lunch prepared by the people of San Miguel Church, Fort Worth. After lunch, the Convention will continue until all business has been transacted.

On the Web pages and documents linked above you will find information that is important as you prepare for the Convention. Please read through each item thoroughly and plan on attending your Deanery meeting, where the various nominees, budget, and other items to be presented at the Convention will be discussed. Everything you receive in this packet will not be reproduced at Convention. Please print and bring this material with you to the Deanery meeting and the Convention.

We are also providing the proposed 2007 Diocesan Budget that has been recently formulated by the Executive Council. With the budget is a brief narrative that is designed to anticipate any questions you may have and is provided for your assistance.
The Nominees page gives you information on all of the persons nominated for the offices that are open, with their photographs.

The Bishop, along with representatives from the Diocesan Deputation to General Convention and Standing Committee, will be assisting the Dean and Deanery Representatives to Executive Council at all deanery meetings this year. In addition to presenting nominations and budget, we will be discussing several Resolutions which are contained in this packet as well as proposed Canon changes that come to us from the Constitution and Canons Committee. Also, nominations and elections for Executive Council Representation will be transacted at each Pre-Convention Deanery meeting. The Sub-Deans should also be chosen from your deanery.

Once again, please note that registration for Convention will take place on Saturday morning only.

This year’s theme for Convention is “Continue in the Apostles’ Teaching and Fellowship.” The Bishop is looking forward to seeing each of you at the Eucharist on Friday afternoon as we begin this year’s Convention.

Finally, your attention to the material in this packet is vital as you represent the various parishes and missions of this Diocese.

The Rev. Canon Charles A. Hough, III
on behalf of the Bishop and
the Convention Arrangements Committee

The material posted on thw Web site will not be re-duplicated for you at the Convention so that we might save some trees. Please print copies for your reference and bring them with you to the plenary session on Saturday, Nov. 18. If you are unable to print copies yourself, please ask your church office for assistance.

Memorandum

to Convention Delegates and Clergy
from the Rev. Canon Charles A. Hough III

The 24th Annual Convention of the Diocese of Fort Worth will be hosted by the Eastern Deanery and St. Peter & St. Paul’s Church, 3900 Morris Lane, Arlington. The Convention theme this year is “Continue in the Apostles’ Teaching and Fellowship”. The opening Eucharist will take place on Friday, Nov. 17, 2006, at St. Peter & St. Paul’s Church, beginning at 5:30 p.m. Following the Eucharist, there will be a reception and dinner in The Great Hall next to the church. The supper will be provided by the Brotherhood of St. Andrew’s group at St. Peter & St. Paul’s. There will be entertainment during and following supper. This should be a festive evening for all of our delegates. Information concerning reservations for the Friday night dinner, hotels (if needed), and a Mexican lunch on Saturday (to be provided by San Miguel Church) will be given in the next Convention packet, which will be posted here on Sept. 22, 2006. Every delegate is encouraged to download the Convention packets from the Web site or from your Parish Church. If neither of these options is available, please contact Gala Pryor at (817) 244-2885, and she will be happy to mail the packets to you.

Registration will take place in The Great Hall at St. Peter & St. Paul’s Church, Arlington, on Saturday, Nov. 18, from 7:30 a.m. until 8:45 a.m. A continental breakfast will be served during registration. Morning Prayer will be in the Church at 8:30 a.m. The Convention will convene at 9 a.m. in The Great Hall. After lunch, the Convention will continue until all business has been transacted. The Bishop will give his Annual Address at the beginning of the business session on Saturday morning. Don’t worry about making your reception/supper and lunch reservations or hotel reservations at this time. You will be given forms for these reservations in Packet #2.

This packet includes the “Standing Rules of Procedure” for the Convention, a form for offering a Resolution to the Convention, the Nomination form and a form for the Necrology report. We have five (5) elected positions to fill at this year’s Convention.

Diocesan Standing Committee	1 Clerical Member	1 Lay Member
Board of Trustees, University of the South (Sewanee)	–	1 Lay Member
Diocesan Ecclesiastical Court	1 Clerical Member	1 Lay Member

Pre-Convention Deanery Meetings will be held in October for the purpose of allowing the Bishop and the Deputation which attended General Convention to make a presentation. We are combining Pre-Convention Deanery meetings in the following manner. The Fort Worth East and the Fort Worth West Deaneries will meet together and the Southern and Western Deaneries will also meet together. The Northern and Eastern Deaneries will meet on their own as usual. The Bishop and Members of the Deputation will attend each of these four meetings which are scheduled during the month of October (see schedule included in the packet). In keeping with Canon 35, the Deanery Council is made up of the members of the clergy who reside in the Deanery, who are entitled to a vote in the Convention, and all elected Convention Delegates for the Parishes and Missions of the Deanery, and the Lay Deanery Representatives to the Executive Council. These Council Members will have seat voice and vote in the upcoming Pre-Convention Deanery meetings. Visitors who attend do not have voice or vote. All visitors who attend will be seated in an observer’s area.

For your convenience, we are including the names of the lay and clerical representatives to the Executive Council from each Deanery. We are also including a form, which you may use to nominate someone to fill any vacancy on the Executive Council from your Deanery. We ask that if you choose to nominate someone, you forward the Nomination Form to your Dean at least one week prior to the Pre-Convention Deanery Meeting. Election for your Deanery positions will take place at the Pre-Convention Deanery Meeting.

Deadlines

RESOLUTIONS:
All resolutions shall be delivered to the Diocesan Office (to be forwarded to the Secretary of the Convention) by Friday, Sept. 15, 2006. The resolutions must be processed by the Resolutions Committee in adequate time to place written copies of the Resolutions in the hands of the convention delegates and clergy no later than 20 days before the opening day of the Convention. Any resolution, which shows on its face that it deals with matters arising after the deadline date, shall be exempt from this requirement. All other resolutions delivered to the Secretary after the deadline shall be governed by Rule 27.

PROPOSED CANON CHANGES:
A copy of Article 18 of The Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth is included in this packet for your convenience.

PROPOSED CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGES:
A copy of Article 19 of the Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth is included in this packet for your convenience.

In addition to the above, The Constitution and Canons Committee will provide each delegate and member of clergy with any proposed changes to the Constitution and Canons in written form. These changes, if any, will appear in the next Convention packet published here in September.

Pictures and biographies of the nominees for each open position will be featured in the September packet. The proposed Diocesan Budget for 2007 will be included in the next Convention packet to each delegate and clergy. In other words, everything each delegate and clergy will need will be in hand in enough time for digestion before the Pre-Convention Deanery Meetings.