Letter to The Episcopal Church from Presiding Bishop and President of the House of Deputies: Recommendation for June 6 resolution deadline for GC80
June 1, 2022
Dear Friends in Christ:
Earlier this week, the Presiding Officers’ General Convention Design Group met for a third time to continue planning a shorter, smaller, safer General Convention in Baltimore from July 8 to 11. This week, the group’s primary recommendation is that June 6 be established as the deadline for submitting resolutions to the 80th General Convention. This deadline will make it possible for legislative committees to complete their work online by the end of June so that our time together in Baltimore can be devoted to legislative sessions and worship.
If bishops, deputies, dioceses, or provinces have resolutions to submit, we urge you to do so online as soon as possible, and no later than June 6. We are grateful to the legislative committee officers who met last week to provide input on the draft legislative plan and the deputies and bishops who have agreed to continue legislative committee work during June. As a result, all remaining legislative committee hearings will be held online during June, and we encourage you to monitor the hearing schedule and sign up to testify about resolutions that affect your ministry and witness.
The design group is also working on ways our time in Baltimore can best support the hotel and convention center workers whose livelihoods depend on visitors to the city, and we look forward to being able to say more about that important issue in the near future. We will also have more news soon for bishops and deputies about worship at General Convention and how we will care for those who test positive for COVID-19 during our meeting. The design group will be meeting again on June 8, after the Joint Standing Committee on Planning and Arrangements and Executive Council meetings on June 7, to finalize these and other plans.
We are grateful to everyone who is working to make this General Convention as safe as possible. Please continue praying for the bishops and deputies who will convene for General Convention this summer, those who will host us in Baltimore, and those who cannot be with us because of COVID-19.
Faithfully,
The Most Rev. Michael Curry The Rev. Gay Clark Jennings
Presiding Bishop and Primate President, House of Deputies
