Greetings on the second day of The Episcopal Church’s 80th General Convention in Baltimore. These daily updates from the Office of Public Affairs are morning and evening roundups of news, events, and resources related to GC80, which runs through July 11.
Join us live: All worship services and legislative sessions of the House of Deputies and House of Bishops, as well as media briefings and postings of #GC80 Daily Shows, are livestreamed on The Episcopal Church GC80 Media Hub.
What’s happening today?
Today’s legislative session in the House of Deputies will include the election of the next president of the house. View candidate profiles and forums.
- 8:30-9:30 a.m.: Morning Prayer; sermon by the Rev. Gay Clark Jennings, president, House of Deputies (worship bulletin)
- 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.: Legislative Session (House of Bishops and House of Deputies)
- Election of House of Deputies president
- 2:30-5:30 p.m.: Legislative Session (House of Bishops and House of Deputies)
- 7:30-9:30 p.m.: Legislative Session (as needed)
Note: Worship services are held in each house, with a prerecorded sermon streamed in both. Legislative sessions take place in both houses concurrently (in English and Spanish).
Which resolutions are on today’s legislative calendar?
- Check the General Convention Office’s virtual binder to find calendars for the House of Deputies and House of Bishops.
- The House of Deputies has nine resolutions on its consent calendar today, 21 on its legislative calendar, and six on its auxiliary calendar.
- The House of Bishops has 38 resolutions on its consent calendar today, 68 on its auxiliary calendar, and 25 on its legislative calendar, including four of the resolutions proposed by the Presiding Officers’ Working Group on Truth-Telling, Reckoning, and Healing that were adopted by the House of Deputies on Friday.
- Total number of resolutions: 415. Resolutions completed after Day 1: 78.
- Looking for a specific resolution? View all resolutions or search by number or keyword.
- Wonder how a resolution moves through General Convention? View this helpful infographic from the Episcopal Church in Connecticut.
News
- Hundreds of Episcopalians march, calling for an end to gun violence
Episcopal News Service
A murder on July 7 near the site of General Convention and the urging of two bishops, including one who happened upon the scene as it unfolded, prompted a march of hundreds of people from the Baltimore Convention Center to an open area a few blocks from the scene of the shooting, coordinated by Bishops United Against Gun Violence.
- ‘They are our neighbors’: Religious leaders hold prayer circle for Inner Harbor shooting
WMAR (MD)
“They are our neighbors,” said The Right Reverend Eugene Taylor Sutton. “We’re praying for Timothy, we love him, he’s our neighbor. He should not have died the way he did but also the violence of the gun and the easy access of guns for people who have little other access in way to settle the dis-ease that’s in their lives.” Sutton called for justice as did those who gathered with Bishops United Against Gun Violence.
- Dozens gather for prayer, peace after shooting of driver in downtown Baltimore
WBAL (MD)
“This death and darkness we witness here yesterday on this corner is not the last word. That the last word is light and hope and resurrection, and that’s what we stand for,” said Susan Haynes, bishop of the Diocese of Southern Virginia, one of dozens of people who gathered at the corner of Light and Conway streets to pray for the people involved in Thursday’s shooting at that location.
- Episcopal Bishops Gather At Site Of Deadly Confrontation To Pray For Gunshot Victim, Squeegee Worker
WJZ (MD)
Over 100 Episcopalians walked from the Convention Center to the intersection of Conway and Light Streets and held a prayer vigil for peace on Friday. The prayer vigil was made up of Episcopal Bishops, pastors, and lay people, all belonging to an anti-violence group called Bishops United Against Gun Violence. “We’re trying to help make a difference in the way violence is impacting not just those who died but those who lived,” said Bishop Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows, from the Episcopal Diocese of Indianapolis.
- ‘A watershed moment’ as the death of a driver on a downtown street brings Baltimore’s long-running squeegee worker debate to a head
Capital Gazette, Baltimore Sun (MD)
A delegation of more than 100 bishops took to the streets Friday to respond to what had happened. They stopped at the Visit Baltimore center, across Light Street from where Reynolds was shot, “to remember all the many victims of gun violence,” said the Rev. Bonnie Perry, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Michigan.
- General Convention honors victims, recognizes survivors of the Alabama church shooting
Episcopal News Service
At the end of its morning session on July 8, members of the House of Deputies rose in unanimous, silent affirmation of Resolution A226, to recognize, honor and lament the three members of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Vestavia Hills, Alabama, who were murdered June 16 by a man who was attending a potluck supper at the church. The resolution also recognized the surviving 18 church members and friends who were there that night.
- Deputies engage in ‘holy listening,’ begin process toward healing by passing racial equity resolutions
Episcopal News Service
On the first day of the 80th General Convention following heart-wrenching testimony, the House of Deputies on July 8 initiated a new beginning in the life of the church, overwhelmingly approving resolutions to establish a voluntary coalition for racial equity and justice, and to reckon with The Episcopal Church’s involvement in Indigenous boarding schools.
#GC80 Daily Show
The #GC80 Daily Show, produced by the Office of Communication, showcases the good work of Episcopal leaders and initiatives from around the church. Episodes are released each day on the Media Hub and included in these updates. This morning’s episode features the Rev. Gay Clark Jennings, who is wrapping up her tenure as president of the House of Deputies.
Livestream schedule
- Sunday, July 10
- 8:30-10 a.m.: Sunday Eucharist; sermon by the Rt. Rev. Eugene Taylor Sutton, bishop, Episcopal Diocese of Maryland
- 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m.: Legislative Session
- 2:30-5:30 p.m.: Legislative Session (includes Joint Standing Committee on Program, Budget and Finance budget presentation to a joint session of the House of Bishops and House of Deputies)
- 7:30-9:30 p.m.: Legislative Session (as needed)
- Monday, July 11
- 8:30-9:30 a.m.: Morning Prayer, sermon by newly elected House of Deputies president
- 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.: Legislative Session
- 2:30-5 p.m.: Legislative Session
Informational resources
- Office of Public Affairs’ GC80 page
- General Convention Office GC80 resource page
- House of Deputies website
- Episcopal News Service
- Be sure to visit—and share the link to—gceighty.org, a special site created by GC80’s host diocese, the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland. The site offers virtual (and in-person) walking tours of Baltimore, a virtual exhibit booth highlighting the diocese’s work in truth and reconciliation and reparations, and much more.