Resolutions Adopted by the 138th Annual Convention
The following resolutions were adopted by the 138th Annual Convention of the Diocese of Newark, held January 27-28, 2012 at the Hilton Hotel in Parsippany, NJ.
2012-01: Holy Habits and Renewal of Baptismal Vows
2012-02: Focusing on the Needs of Children
2012-03: Strengthening Our Companion Diocese Relationship
2012-04: Suspend Deadlines and Reconsider Mandates Imposed by General Convention Resolution A-177
Resolution 2012-01
HOLY HABITS AND RENEWAL OF BAPTISMAL VOWS
RESOLVED, That this 138th Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Newark encourage the people of our diocese to make a commitment to practice, especially during the great fifty days of Easter, the holy habits of weekly worship, prayer, scripture study, tithing, and honoring the Sabbath as part of the renewal of baptismal vows; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That the Commission on Music and Liturgy is requested to develop a liturgical resource that invites us to embrace the practice of holy habits to nourish and strengthen our vows in living out the baptismal covenant.
Submitted by the Fund Development Committee: The Rt. Rev. Mark Beckwith; Mr. Paul Shackford; Ms. Melinda Davis; Mr. David Farrand; Mr. Andrew Lark; The Rev. Maylin Biggadike; Ms. Cynthia McChesney; Ms. Sarah Rosen; Ms. Pat Yankus; and Ms. Jackie Ross.
Supporting Information
The early Christian community understood baptism to be about human transformation. The person receiving the sacrament of baptism was to emerge from the baptismal waters a new person in Christ with a new set of values, priorities and commitments.
Each time we renew our baptismal vows in community, we profess that we share in the death and resurrection of Christ. Dying to self is the process of conversion that allows us to mature into the full stature of Christ. St. Paul, the first great theologian of baptism, expressed its meaning in terms of a break with the old and beginning of new life in Christ. He understood well the reality of being sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked as Christ own as a summons to a life long covenantal relationship with God in Christ. Baptism is the radical sign of the new framework for human life. It is the sacrament that underlies the meaning of Christian practice.
The renewal of baptism vows calls us back to our true identities--son and daughters in God’s household. God’s household is marked by the vision of Shalom, the biblical understanding of peace, justice, health, wholeness, harmony, the condition that allows all living things to reach their potential of wholeness. The word steward comes from the Greek word oikonomia, which means manager or caretaker of the household. As members of God’s household, we are called to steward God’s vision of shalom. Our baptismal promises show us a way forward in building up God’s household.
We are called to celebrate our life with Christ and to recommit ourselves to the beliefs and practices of our Baptism. In the renewal of our baptismal vows, we invite members throughout the Diocese of Newark to commit to the holy habits of tithing, daily personal prayer, scripture study, Sabbath and regular corporate worship—practices that strengthen nourish, and reflect baptismal living. (See further explanation of Holy Habits below).
The Fund Development Committee asks that the Commission on Liturgy and Music create a liturgical supplement to the Renewal of Vows that includes a commitment to practice the Holy Habits
Baptismal living is a communal and worshipful endeavor. The creation of an intentional prayerful pledge commitment to practice holy habits during the season in which we re-commit to the promises made in our baptism will replenish and saturate God’s adopted sons and daughters with a vibrant and vital faith to continue in building up God’s household.
Addendum
2003 Report to the 74th General Convention
Explanation Holy Habits
We understand God's invitation to be faithful stewards as a call to a lifelong journey of repentance, conversion, and renewed life. God calls us to grow into the imago Dei that we are created to be. Often, faithful response will require us to make choices which challenge our culture's obsessions with scarcity, self-sufficiency, and acquisitiveness.
We are called to be stewards of our faith, of Creation, of civil society, and of our lives. None of this comes naturally - it requires both faith and commitment and so, the church has developed a number of practices and disciplines or holy habits to help us on our journey. All of these find expression in our baptismal vows.
At the center of our individual and corporate lives is the call to be stewards of the Gospel. We are called not just to live our faith in Jesus Christ, but also to proclaim that faith by word and example. This finds expression in the way we work, pray, and give.
We are entrusted with the stewardship of creation. This means we must reflect on our use of resources and on what it means to have been given the care of the whole world and charged to rule and serve all God's creatures. The Baptismal promise to strive for justice and peace impels us to be actively involved as citizens of our communities, nation, and world.
To live as Christian stewards is to be intentional in our use of all that God has given us. Certainly that includes the first fruits tithing of our material wealth as a reminder and symbol of our thankful acknowledgement of God as the gracious source of all and as a way to begin dealing with our addiction to money. It also includes the discernment, cultivation and use of our skills and abilities to further God's work in the world, the mission Dei. Because our gifts differ, and because we sometimes find it difficult to recognize and develop our own God-given giftedness, our baptism grafts us into the body of Christ. We are to recognize the imago Dei within ourselves and within every human being.
One of the great stewardship challenges of our age is our stewardship of time. We live in a culture that offers nearly infinite diversions and demands that we fill every moment with activity. There is no greater need, and nothing more counter-cultural, than for us to reclaim Sabbath time. Not only is the commandment for Sabbath time the second-longest of the ten; Sabbath is part of the order of Creation. It is the very culmination of Creation. As the Church and as dioceses, parishes, and individuals it is imperative that we find ways to teach the absolute necessity of Sabbath as part of individual spiritual life, and that we encourage and enable our bishops, clergy and laity to model the balance of activity and Sabbath.
Resolution 2012-02
FOCUSING ON THE NEEDS OF CHILDREN
RESOLVED, That this 138th Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Newark invite congregations to include children and their needs as a focus of their mission; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That congregations are encouraged to report their findings and mission initiatives to the Justice Board by April 30, 2012; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That the Justice Board shall compile all information received and disseminate the information to the Diocese by May 30, 2012.
Submitted by the Justice Board: Ms. Caroline Christie, Ms. Marge Christie, The Rev. Karen Eberhardt, Ms. Martha Gardner, The Rev. Canon Greg Jacobs, Mr. Gibson Oakley, The Rev. Diane Riley, Ms. Laura Russell, The Rev. Erik Soldwedel, and The Rev. Canon Sandye Wilson.
Supporting Information
The Bishop, in consultation with the Justice Board, has identified the support and protection of children as the primary focus for justice work in the Diocese of Newark. Regardless of the diversity of our Diocese, children still have basic needs – for healthy, nutritious food, shelter, quality education and the ability to live safely and securely. The 137th Convention passed a Resolution urging all congregations to discern the justice needs of children in their community by the 138th Convention. As part of our common mission to engage the world, the Justice Board invites all congregations to continue this discernment by including children and their needs as a focus of their congregational mission.
Many congregations are already engaging in a wide variety of ministries for children. Examples of these include, but are not limited to: Christ Church in Budd Lake, St Andrew’s Church in Harrington Park and The Church of the Atonement in Fair Lawn who are working with the All God’s Children program, a program for children affected with autism; All Saints’ Church in Glen Rock, the Jubilee Center, a ministry of All Saints’ Church in Hoboken, and Holy Communion Church in Norwood, who have active pre-school, primary school, and after school centers; St. James’, Hackettstown’s program of weekly deliveries of supplemental food to elementary school children; and Care on the Corner, a ministry of St John the Divine Church in Hasbrouck Heights which has an after school and community education center.
Resolution 2012-03
STRENGTHENING OUR COMPANION DIOCESE RELATIONSHIP
RESOLVED, That this 138th Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Newark designate the month of May beginning in 2012, as an annual observance of the Newark/Panamá Companion Diocese Relationship and encourage the congregations, ministry teams, parochial schools and similar organizations in the Diocese to choose a day in May to celebrate our companion diocese relationship and to explore ways in which the congregation, ministry team, parochial school or a similar diocesan organization can strengthen our companion relationship to the benefit of the people of both dioceses.
Submitted by the Companion Diocese Committee: Ms. Kaileen Alston, The Rev. Pam Bakal, The Rev. John Perris, The Rev. Joseph Harmon; Ms. Martha Gardner, St. The Rev. Robert Griner, The Rev. Peter Jackson, The Rev. Canon Greg Jacobs, Mr. Bert Jones; Ms. Sylvia Montero, The Rev. Liz Ostuni, Ms. Martha Reiner
Supporting Information
It is our hope that by engaging in a conversation about our relationship with the diocese of Panamá we can explore the various possibilities of strengthening our relationship. Members of the Companion Diocese Committee stand willing and able to visit any congregation in the diocese to facilitate this conversation.
Resolution 2012-04
SUSPEND DEADLINES AND RECONSIDER MANDATES IMPOSED BY GENERAL CONVENTION RESOLUTION A177
RESOLVED, That this 138th Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Newark call upon the 77th General Convention to delay the January 1, 2013 deadline for the implementation of Resolution A177.
Submitted by: The Rev. Michael Allen, The Rev. Whitney Altopp, The Rev. David Cabush, The Rev. Kevin Coffey, The Rev. Cathy Deats, The Rev. Ed Hasse, The Rev. Beverly Huck, The Rev. Elizabeth Kaeton, The Rev. Nick Lannon, The Rev. Tom Mathews, The Rev. Allison Moore, The Rev. John Negrotto, The Newark Episcopal Clergy Association (NECA), The Rev. Archie Palmer, The Rev. Jon Richardson, The Rev. William Thiele, The Rev. Stephanie Wethered, The Rev. Canon Dr. Sandye Wilson
Supporting Information
The Diocese of Olympia which passed a resolution on October 22, 2011 with near exact wording. As they stated clearly in their supporting information:
“One unintended consequence of Resolution A177 would be that vestries would tend to see the minimum level established by the Diocese as an “accepted standard” and reduce existing paid coverage to this level. Then clergy and lay employees presently receiving more than this minimum would see their benefits package reduced. In the case of clergy whose congregations presently pay premiums for dependents this reduction could be devastating.
Another unintended consequence of Resolution A177 would be that financially hard-pressed congregations would tend to reduce the hours of lay employees and clergy so that they fall under the threshold of eligibility.
Ensuring just healthcare benefits for all church employees is a goal that the Diocese of Newark shares with the drafters of Resolution A177. However, this Resolution threatens to undermine the morale and financial viability of the very ministry vocations on which “Growing Congregations” and “Strengthening Governance and Foundations of Ministry” must depend.”
The sponsors of this resolution wholeheartedly support the justice issue behind extending health benefits to near full time (at least 1,500 hours per year) lay employees. However, after research showed that only 1 in 8 churches in the Diocese of Newark (14-16 congregations out of 107) have employees who will benefit, we see this as a congregational issue and believe that diocesan-wide mandates including minimum cost sharing would only serve to adversely affect clergy in the remaining 91-93 churches without full time lay employees. It also may reduce greater benefits than lay employees currently receive voluntarily by churches. The implementation of a cost sharing policy, which is not required from A177, would be devastating to clergy who depend upon this benefit. Thus, replacing one injustice with another is not acceptable in the body of Christ, we ask General Convention to suspend the mandates and implementation date of A177.
Further research has also shown that many of the parishes that have employees that would benefit already provide partial or full coverage for their lay employees’ healthcare. Work can begin now, without a mandate, to get parishes up to full coverage in those specific, few instances when that’s not already the case, and this should be aided by the Bishop’s Advisory Committee on HR, Diocesan Council, the Newark Episcopal Clergy Association and other diocesan committees, in concert with the Bishop.