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Actions of the 142nd Annual Diocesan Convention

Members of St. Luke and St. Mary, Hope and Belvidere

A summary of all actions taken by deputies at the 142nd Annual Diocesan Convention.

Constitution & Canons

There were no amendments to the Constitution or Canons recommended or adopted at this convention.

Elections

Deputies elected the following individuals to serve diocesan offices:

ACTS/VIM Board

The Rev. Laurie Wurm, Grace Church Van Vorst, Jersey City – Clergy Class of 2019
Mark Trautman, St. Paul’s, Englewood – Lay class of 2019
Martha Anderson, St.  John’s, Ramsey – Lay class of 2019
Armantina Pelaez, St. Paul’s, Paterson – Lay class of 2018

Constitution and Canons (one-year term)

Jennifer Arlin, Holy Trinity, Hillsdale
Thomas A. Bisdale, Grace, Westwood
Richard Bollon, St. John’s, Passaic
T. Donald Cairns, St. Clement's, Hawthorne
The Rev. Kevin PJ Coffey, Atonement, Fair Lawn
John C. Garde, Esq., Grace, Madison
The Rev. Joseph A. Harmon, Epiphany, Orange
Brenda C. Sherman, Grace, Nutley
The Rev. Dean Weber, All Saints’, Leonia
The Rev. Canon Dr. Sandye Wilson, St. Andrew & Holy Communion, South Orange

Disciplinary Board

The Rev. Thomas Mathews, St. Luke’s, Phillipsburg – Clergy Class of 2022
Thomas A. Bisdale, Esq., Grace Church, Westwood – Lay Class of 2021

Standing Committee

Brenda C. Sherman, Grace, Nutley – Lay Class of 2020
The Rev. Mary Davis, St. Paul’s, Chatham – Clergy class of 2020
The Rev. Chris McCloud, Holy Innocents, West Orange – Clergy class of 2019
The Rev. Joseph Harmon, Epiphany/Christ Church, Orange – Clergy class of 2018

Trinity & St. Philip’s Cathedral Chapter

The Rev. Dr. J. Brent Bates, Grace Church, Newark – Clergy class of 2019
Sidney King, Incarnation, Jersey City – Lay class of 2019

Trustees of the Episcopal Fund & Diocesan Properties

Danforth Austin, St. George’s, Maplewood – Class of 2021
David Farrand, Calvary Church, Summit – Class of 2021
Howard Mackey, St. Mark’s, Teaneck – Class of 2021

Secretary of Convention (one-year term)

John King, St. Andrew’s, Harrington Park

Treasurer of Convention (one-year term)

Paul Shackford, St. Andrew’s, Harrington Park

Assistant Treasurer of Convention (one-year term)

Scott Sargent, St. Dunstan’s, Succasunna

Human Resources Advisory Committee

Deputies voted to ratify the recommendations of the Human Resources Advisory Committee regarding clergy compensation, as follows:

  • Mandated minimum cash salaries for priests (rector, vicar or priest-in-charge), assistants and transitional deacons (1.54%, 1.52% and 1.49% for 2017, respectively).
  • Raised the supply clergy stipend, effective January 2017:
    Sundays - $225 plus $100 for each additional service
    Weekdays - $100 per service

Resolutions

Deputies voted to adopt the follolwing resolutions:

Resolution approving consolidation of St. Luke's Church, Hope and St. Mary's Episcopal Church, Belvidere into Episcopal Church of St. Luke and St. Mary, Hope and Belvidere.

2016_AC142_01: Faith seeking Understanding in the matter of Closing Congregations

  • invites the appropriate diocesan leadership to explore the causes leading up to the closure, combination, or merging of a congregation, and to publicly share the results.

2016_AC142_02: Responding to the Legacy of Slavery:  What We Can Do

  • recognizes that the consequences of the centuries of slavery that continue in our own time
  • acknowledges that continued lack of action falls short of our core response
  • recognizes that the issues are complex and that we have not achieved a broad-based consensus on collective actions
  • commends to the members of congregations that they individually consider offering financial support to organizations and institutions of their own choosing whose work seeks to repair the continuing damage, and redress the continuing costs, of the legacy of slavery in this nation

2016_AC142_03: Declaration of the Episcopal Diocese of Newark As A Mental Illness Stigma-Free Organization

  • Diocese strives to be a Mental Illness Stigma-Free Organization and encourages all congregations and organizations to join the Stigma Free Campaign
  • Congregations to report plans and progress to the Engaging Action Team by the 143rd Convention.

2016_AC142_04: Recommend Book Study: “The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness” by Michelle Alexander

  • encourages all congregations to commit to studying the issue of “mass incarceration”
  • commends to congregations and other faith communities  “The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Color Blindness” to engage this topic and report their findings to Namaste before the 143rd Convention.