Report from the Convention

In a conference room overlooking the calm waters of Lake Granbury, clergy and lay representatives from each of the parishes, missions, and congregations-in-formation around the diocese met for the 29th Annual Convention in a spirit of fellowship, encouragement, and hope.

The yearly gathering began on Friday afternoon with Holy Eucharist at the Church of the Good Shepherd. The Rt. Rev. Alberto Morales, Bishop of Quincy, was the guest homilist, preaching on the pruning that produces the fruit of the Spirit, as well as the call of the Gospel to abide in Christ. The service was followed by a reception and dinner.

The next morning at the Granbury Resort and Conference Center, members of the church of Christ the Redeemer in Fort Worth were welcomed as the church became the newest parish of the diocese. Bishop Iker then addressed the convention’s business meeting, beginning his talk with a remembrance of Bishop Donald Davies and Canon Billie Boyd, who both died in 2011. Bishop Davies’ gold miter and one of his crosiers were displayed throughout the meeting, and the gavel in use at the convention was one he had made. Turning his attention to the future of the diocese, Bishop Iker noted the long list of young clergy leading congregations, and he challenged the people of St. Barnabas in north Fort Worth to follow Christ the Redeemer to parish status within the next two years. He called on all the people of the diocese to go “forward in mission” in the coming year.

Elections were the focus of much of the morning, with results as follows:

*Three delegates in each order (clerical, lay, youth) will attend the ACNA Provincial Assembly. Additional delegates and alternates will be sent if funds permit. The delegation will be finalized in March 2012. If elected delegates cannot attend, alternates will move up in the order of their election.

Among the other highlights of the convention were a video presented by the World Mission Committee and a talk by guest speaker Jim Blauvelt on the Brotherhood of St. Andrew.

The business of the convention included adoption of a $1.87 million budget and a parish assessment formula that has reached the long-sought goal of asking just 10 percent of the first $50,000 of income.

The convention adopted a change to Canon 35 that reduced the number of required deanery meetings during the year, and it passed an amendment to Article 8 of the diocesan Constitution correcting a reference to a related Article. That amendment will require ratification at next year’s convention before it is adopted; the change to Canon 35 takes effect immediately.

The business meeting was adjorned shortly before 2 p.m.