Amendment #2007C01 – Amendment of Preamble
\n(Sponsors: Committee on Constitution and Canons)<\/p>\n
SECOND READING
\nPREAMBLE<\/p>\n
We, the Clergy and Laity resident in that portion of the State of Texas constituting what is known as the Episcopal Diocese of Dallas, a diocese within the province of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, which is a constituent member of the Anglican Communion — a Fellowship within the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church, of those duly constituted Dioceses, Provinces, and regional Churches in communion with the See of Canterbury, upholding and propagating the historic Faith and Order as set forth in the Book of Common Prayer<\/i> — do hereby ordain and establish the following Constitution:<\/p>\n
(Italicized text represents additions to the present text.)<\/p>\n
Amendment #2007C02 – Amendment of Article I
\n(Sponsors: Committee on Constitution and Canons)<\/p>\n
SECOND READING<\/p>\n
Resolved, The Diocese of Dallas in Convention assembled amends its Constitution in Article I to read as follows:<\/p>\n
ARTICLE I
\nAUTHORITY OF GENERAL CONVENTION
\nThe Church in this Diocese accedes to the Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America and recognizes the authority of the General Convention of said Church.
\nThe foregoing accession and recognition are expressly premised on the Episcopal Church in the United States of America being and at all times remaining a full, constituent member of the Anglican Communion as set forth in the Preamble of the Constitution of the said Church, \u201ca Fellowship within the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church, of those duly constituted Dioceses, Provinces, and regional Churches in the communion with the See of Canterbury, upholding and propagating the historic Faith and Order as set forth in the Book of Common Prayer.\u201d\u009d In the event that such premise shall no longer be applicable in whole or in part to the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, such accession and recognition may be revoked, limited, or otherwise amended by this Diocese immediately, notwithstanding Article 17, by a concurrent two-thirds vote of both orders at any Annual or Special Convention.
\nMoreover, the foregoing accession and recognition shall in no way be deemed to prevent or limit this Diocese from disassociating (as the word is used in Title IV, 3.21 b) itself from any actions of the General Convention by concurrent majority vote of both orders at any Annual or Special Convention.<\/p>\n
2007 R05
\nResolution regarding the response of the House of Bishops to the Primates\u2019 Dar es Salaam Communiqu\u00c3\u00a9, and the assessment of that response by the Joint Standing Committee of the Primates and the Anglican Consultative Council.<\/p>\n
RESOLVED, that this 112th Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Dallas believes the House of Bishop\u2019s \u201cResponse to Questions and Concerns Raised by our Anglican Communion Partners,\u201d\u009d issued on September 25, 2007, to be an insufficient response to the Dar es Salaam Communiqu\u00c3\u00a9 because it does not forthrightly answer the Primates\u2019 requests for clarity.<\/p>\n
AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that while the Joint Standing Committee of the Primates and the Anglican Consultative Council [JSC] has asserted that the HOB\u2019s statement meets the Primates\u2019 requests, this Convention maintains that the bishops\u2019 response is another indication that The Episcopal Church continues to \u201ctear the fabric of our Communion at its deepest level\u201d\u009d (The Windsor Report [TWR \u00c2\u00a727]) and has not properly committed itself to the necessary conditions of communion at this time: \u201cthe repentance, forgiveness and reconciliation enjoined on us by Christ\u201d\u009d (TWR \u00c2\u00a7134).<\/p>\n
Submitted by:
\nThe Rev\u2019d David S. Houk \u201d\u201c St. John\u2019s, Dallas
\nThe Rev\u2019d Matthew S.C. Olver \u201d\u201c Incarnation, Dallas<\/p>\n
Rationale
\nThe Communiqu\u00c3\u00a9 that was issued by the Primates at their February 2007 meeting in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, called for clarity from The Episcopal Church\u2019s (TEC) House of Bishops (HOB) on a number of matters, two of which were to
\n1. confirm that the passing of Resolution B033 of the 75th General Convention means that a candidate for episcopal orders living in a same-sex union shall not receive the necessary consent (cf The Windsor Report [TWR] \u00c2\u00a7134); unless some new consensus on these matters emerges across the Communion (cf TWR \u00c2\u00a7134); and to
\n2. make an unequivocal common covenant that the bishops will not authorize any Rite of Blessing for same-sex unions in their dioceses or through General Convention (cf TWR \u00c2\u00a7143, 144).
\nRegarding the first request, while the bishops helped clarify the intention of Resolution B033, they did not offer the assurance requested, namely, that a candidate for the episcopacy living in a non-celibate, same-sex union would not receive consent. Rather, the bishops reiterated the language of B033 that they would only \u201cexercise restraint\u201d\u009d in the consenting process.
\nRegarding the second request, the bishops\u2019 pledge not to authorize public rites of blessing for same-sex unions fails to address the reality that many bishops allow such rites in their dioceses. The statement also falls short in that it states that this pledge may be overturned by subsequent actions of General Convention, irrespective of a new consensus in the Communion.
\nWhile the Joint Standing Committee of Primates and the Anglican Consultative Council gave the HOB\u2019s response a preliminary approval, many in the U.S. and throughout the Communion do not see TEC\u2019s response as a clear commitment to the Windsor Report and subsequent requests of the Primates.
\nKatharine Jefferts Schori has written to all diocesan bishops, asking them and their dioceses to reflect on whether or not the JSC\u2019s Report is an acceptable assessment of the HOB\u2019s response. Bishop Stanton has already given the diocese a very detailed evaluation and this resolution gives voice to clergy and lay delegates as to our view.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Amendment #2007C01 – Amendment of Preamble (Sponsors: Committee on Constitution and Canons) SECOND READING PREAMBLE We, the Clergy and Laity resident in that portion of the State of Texas constituting what is known as the Episcopal Diocese of Dallas, a…<\/span><\/p>\n