Welcome once again! This update includes all the information you will need until you arrive ready for the Convention on Friday, Nov. 18.

Bishop Iker is very pleased to announce that Canon David Roseberry, the just-retired rector of Christ Church in Plano, will be our preacher at Friday’s Convention Eucharist. Canon Roseberry is the founding rector of Christ Church, where in 2009 Archbishop Robert Duncan was installed as head of the Anglican Church in North America. Today, Christ Church is a member of ACNA’s Diocese of Churches for the Canon David RoseberrySake of Others. Canon Roseberry is dean of the diocese as well as the Canon for Mission of the ACNA. He is Director of LeaderWorks, a ministry seeking to empower and energize the Church and its leaders to meet the challenges of contemporary ministry. Canon Roseberry and his wife, Fran, will stay with us for the banquet after our Eucharist.

October is the month for Deanery Meetings, so be sure not to miss yours. (Scroll down this page for a reminder of the date and place where you will meet.) Alternate delegates should try to attend the meeting, since they may be asked to attend the Convention if an elected delegate is not able to do so.

The opening Eucharist of our 34rd Annual Diocesan Convention will take place at 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 18, 2016, at the Church of Good Shepherd, 3600 Fall Creek Highway in Granbury. Following the service, there will be a reception and dinner at the Granbury Resort Conference Center, 621 E. Pearl Street (Highway 377 Business). This will be a festive evening for all of our clergy, delegates, and visitors. You are encouraged to attend.

The schedule of events on Saturday, Nov. 19, is as follows:

• Registration begins at 7:30 a.m. in the foyer of the Granbury Convention Center and includes continental breakfast
• Morning Prayer begins at 8:30 a.m. on the convention floor.
• The business meeting convenes at 9 a.m.
• A break for lunch will be taken

At this time you are encouraged to nominate candidates for elective office (see below) and to submit any proposed resolutions you would like the Convention to consider. You may also wish to make a hotel reservation for Nov. 18. Please take note of the deadlines and Deanery Meeting dates on the calendar below this memo.

The following positions will be filled by election at this year’s Convention:

• Standing Committee  ~  1 Clerical member  ~ 1 Lay member
• Ecclesiastical Court  ~  1 Clerical member

Forms are linked above. All nomination forms and proposed resolutions for consideration by the Convention are due by Tuesday, Sept. 20. Please consult Articles 18 and 19 regarding changes to the diocesan Constitution or Canons. Submit completed forms and supporting material to Gala Pryor (e-mail to gpryor[at]fwepiscopal.org or fax to 817-244-3363) at the Diocesan Center by the deadline on the form.

Any resolutions will be reviewed by the Resolutions Committee and published no later than twenty (20) days before the opening 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 submitted after Sept. 20 are governed by Rule 27 of the Standing Rules of Procedure.

As a representative of your parish, it is important that you attend your Deanery Meeting in October. This will be your opportunity to review the proposed 2017 budget and assessments and any resolutions or proposed changes to the Constitution and Canons that may be presented. A calendar of Deanery Meeting dates is below. It may be helpful, too, to review Canon 35.

You are encouraged to participate in the process of nominating qualified persons to represent your Deanery on the Executive Council. A list of openings may be found by clicking the Elections button above. Please forward the Executive Council Nomination Form to your Dean at least one week prior to the meeting.

Elected delegates will have seat, voice, and vote in the deanery meetings. Alternates should make every effort to attend the Deanery Meetings as well, since they may be called upon to serve in place of an elected Delegate at either the Deanery meeting or the Convention itself. Visitors do not have voice or vote.

Clergy, you are asked to submit your Necrology Report not later than Friday, Nov. 4.

The Diocesan Staff and Arrangements Committee at Good Shepherd look forward to seeing you at Convention!