(3) In sharp contrast, the HOD, with over eight hundred and forty members, meets once every three years for ten days. Half of each diocese’s HOD deputation is lay; priests or deacons comprise the other half. The HOD has a more fluid membership than does the HOB, as dioceses elect deputies for a single three-year term, although many deputies do serve multiple terms. Alternates may also substitute for a deputy during part or all of a Convention. Deputies have no staff to prepare briefings on the vast array of subject matter and a sizable number, based on my observations, seem largely ignorant of HOD parliamentary procedures. These problems were glaringly apparent when eight hundred plus deputies allotted themselves only ten minutes to consider most resolutions, then spent much of that time on parliamentary questions. To their great credit, most Deputies work long hours, strive to do their best for Christ’s Church, and seek to understand an incredibly broad gamut of issues that encompass liturgical, pastoral, theological, and ethical subjects far beyond the competence of any one person. The problem is not with the Deputies as individuals but with the Church’s structure, which imposes this impossible task on these good people. It is no wonder that well before Convention’s end most deputies (and many bishops!) look overwhelmed and fatigued.
(4) General Convention’s structure inherently entails some self-selection on the part of lay deputies. Ten days of sessions with travel can easily mean twelve days away from home. Even with their Diocese paying expenses, few working poor or lower middle class people, who generally receive little if any vacation time, can attend. Single parents may have difficulty arranging twenty-four hour childcare during their absence. I suspect that few high-powered professionals, corporate executives, or small business owners attend, reluctant to be away from their work that long. In other words, those present must have sufficiently flexible schedules to give the Church an uninterrupted block of ten or twelve days, valuing the Church above their other commitments. Anecdotally, rather than based on formal research, lay deputies appear to be mostly upper middle-class and closer in age to retirement than to high school. The deputies were laudably diverse in terms of gender, race, ethnicity, etc. Except for their degree of commitment to the Church, I wonder how well the socio-economic status of HOD lay deputies mirrors that of the Episcopal Church.
In sum, General Convention structure is dysfunctional. In particular, the HOD because of its size, lack of resources, and infrequent meetings cannot give the majority of legislation adequate time or informed consideration. Arguably, the Episcopal Church should revise its governance process.
It is refreshing to see Dr. Clifford’s honest look at the HoD makeup. (Perhaps his years at USNA taught him something.) The problems he cites have also prevailed to lesser degrees at diocesan conventions and parishes. In all cases the people able and willing to serve are unlikely to be representative of the body they serve. In larger dioceses the leadership wil come disproportionately from those closest to the see city. All of these factors combine to limit the leadership pool to a fairly narrow segment of the whole membership. This helps why there seems to be such a disconnect between the leadership and the membership.
“In particular, the HOD because of its size, lack of resources, and infrequent meetings cannot give the majority of legislation adequate time or informed consideration.”
Perhaps that fits the desiress of Bonnie and the PB?
During the debate on a resolution about labor policies (I know), I looked around the HoD and thought to myself, “I wonder how many of these deputies have actually ever worked in corporate America?” Some, I’m sure, but I think very few. Two weeks is too long for most coporate people to leave their job. I had to use ALL of my vacation, and then some, and put in work during convention, just to be able to attend.
There is a lot of wasted time at GC and few lay folks would want to go back.
This is the first time I’ve seen anything like this in writing, but have been thinking along the same lines for some time now.
GC is really the “Tyranny of Those Who Can Show Up”. None of my blue collar families could ever go to GC, nor would they want to give up their vacation to do so.
One of the most positive things we passed at GC was a resolution recommending that [i]next[/i] Convention, to be held in Indianapolis, be limited to 8 days instead of 10. With eight days spanning two weekends deputies could conceivably serve while only giving up a week of their lives instead of two.