Showing 308 results

Authority record

Retiring Fund for Deaconesses

  • Corporate body
  • 1927-1972

When the Church Pension Fund was established by the General Convention in 1913, no provision was made to include deaconesses. To rectify this, deaconesses formed their own not-for-profit corporation and began to raise funds.

On September 30, 1927, the Retiring Fund for Deaconesses (RFD) of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America was formally incorporated to provide financial assistance to retired and disabled deaconesses who were unable to provide for themselves.

Forty-five years later, on September 27, 1972, the RFD voted to change its name to The Retiring Fund for Women in the Diaconate in the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America to reflect the ordination of women to the diaconate after the General Convention of 1970. It began operating under this name in 1973.

The RFD has since changed names twice more, both times to acknowledge an expanded membership. In 1998 it changed its name to The Fund for the Diaconate of The Episcopal Church in the United States of America, following a 1990 vote to admit male deacons. In 2018 it changed its name to The Fund for the Diaconate of the Episcopal Church, emphasizing its availability to all deacons of The Episcopal Church and continues to operate under that name.

President of the House of Deputies

  • Corporate body
  • 1785-

Beginning with the Rev. William White in 1785, the President of the House of Deputies was elected at the start of each General Convention and held that office from the beginning of one convention to the beginning of the next. No canon made any provisions for this election until 1904 when Title III, Canon 1 was amended and changed to Canon 46 (in 2023, this is Title I, Canon 1). In 1946, the canon was amended again to specifically state that "The President, so elected, shall continue in office until the next meeting of the General Convention" (Title III, Canon 1.1(a)).

It appears that throughout the period of 1785-1961 there were no Vice Presidents of the House of Deputies. The 1904 canon only speaks to the election of the Secretary and President, and no mention of a Vice President is made in the journals. This changed in 1964 when the canons were amended to provide for the election of the President and Vice President, with terms running from the adjournment of one Convention to the adjournment of the next. In 1967, it was added that no person elected as President or Vice President could serve for more than three consecutive terms.

The primary role of the President of the House of Deputies was originally to preside over meetings of the House and ensure that necessary work was accomplished during the interim. Today, the role of the President includes presiding over the House of Deputies, serving as the Vice-Chair of the Executive Council, and as one of two Vice-Presidents of the DFMS. The president makes the majority of appointments to interim bodies and has been increasingly involved in their deliberations since 1990.

Pacific Basin Conference

  • Corporate body
  • June 19-25, 1983

The Pacific Basin Conference was held June 19-25, 1983 at Hawaii Loa College, Kaneohe, Hawaii. Conceived by Bishop Wesley Frensdorff of the Diocese of Nevada, and hosted by Bishop Edmond Browning from the Diocese of Hawaii, the conference was attended by over 150 participants and delegates from 51 dioceses of the Anglican Communion around the Pacific Basin. Its purpose was to discuss Roland Allen’s teachings on missionary work and examine how they could be implemented in the Pacific region. These teachings included giving indigenous people the responsibility for leadership in mission churches and enabling lay persons to have an important, effective role as evangelists, relying on local leaders to carry out the work of the Church rather than absentee bishops.

Okolona Industrial School

  • Corporate body
  • 1902-1965

Founded in 1902 by Wallace A. Battle, Okolona Industrial School (Okolona, Mississippi) did not become affiliated with The Episcopal Church until 1920 when the Diocese of Mississippi and the American Church Institute (ACI) assumed oversight. When Battle became Field Secretary for ACI in 1927, his wife Effie T. Battle took over as administrative head of the school and remained until the arrival of A.M. Strange in 1933.

The school had been renamed Okolona College in 1932. Strange is credited with most of the modernization of Okolona’s physical plant and equipment. In 1965 the Diocese of Mississippi decided to transfer its funding from Okolona College to areas of the state it considered having greater need. The school closed that same year. The campus remained unused until 1990 when the National Council of Negro Women purchased the site with plans of reinstating educational and other support programs for the African American community. The Okolona College site was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.

Office of the Presiding Bishop

  • Corporate body
  • 1789-

From 1789 until 1919 (except for the brief period from 1792-1804), the senior bishop by date of consecration was automatically the Presiding Bishop (PB). In 1919 the PB was made president of the National Council which serves as the Board of Directors of the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Service. Duties established at that time included presiding over meetings of the House of Bishops, acting as the executive head of all programs and mission departments, having authority to appoint interim officials and officers, and maintaining oversight of bishops. In 1964 the office was granted authority to appoint the President and Chair of the Executive Council.

In 1967, the duties of PB were brought together under one canon (Canon 2) and stipulated that the term of office be 12 years or until the PB reaches 65 years of age. It also named the PB as chief pastor and gave the office the responsibility for representing the church in its corporate capacity as well as responsibilities involving initiating and developing policy.

The Standing Commission on Structure studied the office further and reported in 1976 concerning the method of electing a PB. They concluded that the PB should continue to be elected by the House of Bishops and approved by the House of Deputies, rather than a joint session of the two houses. The General Convention gave the PB joint authority with the President of the House of deputies to appoint the General Convention Executive Secretary (this position was changed to Executive Officer in 1982).

The Presiding Bishop is the Chief Pastor and Primate of The Episcopal Church, which includes the United States and dioceses or congregations in Europe, Asia and Latin America that maintain continuing ties to the American province of the Anglican Communion. The Presiding Bishop is responsible for initiating new work, developing Church policy and strategy, leading the staff of the DFMS, and representing the Episcopal Church in major public engagements, the Anglican Communion, and ecumenical relationships. In addition, the PB acts as chairperson of Executive Council, President of the DFMS, and is presiding officer of the House of Bishops.

National Conference of Deaconesses

  • Corporate body
  • 1916-c. 1977

In the fall of 1911, deaconesses gathered for a week long retreat at St. Faith’s House for Deaconesses in St. Louis, Missouri and began to create a more formal organization. The National Conference of Deaconesses originated with the Central Committee of Deaconesses that first met in St. Louis, Missouri on October 21, 1916. The deaconesses used this Central Committee as an annual gathering prior to the triennial National Conference. The first National Conference was held in October 1919, in Detroit, Michigan and met every three years at the same time and city as the Church’s General Convention.

From the beginning, the deaconesses lobbied the General Convention for revisions to the Canons of the Church to establish clear requirements and responsibilities for their Order, just as any other clerical office requires. This line of reasoning evolved to the point that the deaconesses desired the same rights and privileges as their male counterparts. The Conference remained active throughout the 1950s. By the 1960s and 1970s, the Conference was advocating a canonical means to allow women deacons to become priests. Following a change to the Canons in 1970 that allowed women to be ordained as deacons the Conference became less active, but remained listed in the Episcopal Church Annual until the 1978 edition.

Living Church Foundation, The

  • Corporate body
  • 1928-

The Living Church Foundation, Inc. began in 1928 as the Church Literature Foundation. This non-profit religious corporation was established with two purposes: to publish Episcopal literature and, more specifically, to support The Living Church in the years the publication operated at a loss.

In the Spring of 1952, after over two decades of this financial relationship, Morehouse-Gorham Co. transferred ownership of the publication to the Church Literature Foundation. Clifford Morehouse resigned as editor on April 30, ending fifty-two years of his family’s editorial oversight, and on May Day of that year, The Living Church became the Foundation’s flagship publication.

Eleven years later, in 1963, the Church Literature Foundation changed its name to The Living Church Foundation, Inc. to reflect its continuing stewardship of The Living Church. It still operates today as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that publishes twenty issues of the magazine a year.

Lay Ministries Office

  • Corporate body
  • 1971-1980

Organized lay ministries work developed during the late 1960s, beginning with The Episcopal Church’s effort to integrate women more fully into the institutional Church. In 1968, the Executive Council created the Ad Hoc Committee on Lay Ministries, and in 1969 the Committee was reappointed as the Special Committee on Lay Ministries. The 1970 General Convention adopted the recommendations of the Committee and created a Program Group of the Executive Council with members from the Special Committee on Lay Ministries, the Committee for Women, and the Executive Council. The first staff officer for Lay Ministries, Francis Young, began work in 1971.

The purpose of the Lay Ministries Office was to further the ministry of the laity in the secular structure of society, spurring the Church towards greater support of this ministry, and promoting participation of all kinds of laity in the work and decision-making of the Church. Lay Ministries pursued these goals through various activities including the publication of the “The 99%” magazine for lay ministers, the organization of conferences and consultations on topics relevant to lay ministry, and the facilitation of networks and programs to connect various stakeholders in the field of lay ministry. Although the Lay Ministries Office disappeared as a distinct entity in 1980, its work was carried out under different titles.

Joint Commission on the Revision of the Hymnal

  • Corporate body
  • 1937-1952

At the 1937 General Convention, the Joint Commission on Revision of the Hymnal (JCRH) was formed and authorized to undertake a revision of The Hymnal 1916 with the goal of presenting its proposed changes to the General Convention in 1940 for approval. It was renewed in 1943, 1946, and 1949 to continue work on a companion handbook to The Hymnal 1940 that would contain authoritative information about the words, music, and authors of the hymns. After the publication of the companion book, the Joint Commission was discharged by the 1952 General Convention.

Joint Commission on Renewal

  • Corporate body
  • 1967-1970

The Joint Commission on Renewal was formed as the result of a call for Church renewal from the House of Bishops during its 1966 meeting. The group of 18 members was appointed by Presiding Bishop Hines in January 1967 and initially called the Committee to Develop a Council. Its task was to prepare a report for the House of Bishops meeting in September of that year.

The group presented a document that was frank in describing the immense difficulty of navigating the deep tensions in the Church, but that argued for the absolute necessity of continuing the work of renewal. The committee felt that the process of renewal would have to be developed ecumenically and requested the creation of a successor committee, which was approved by the 1967 General Convention. As a result, the Joint Commission on Renewal was formed, answerable not only to the House of Bishops but to the entire General Convention.

The Commission’s main task was to report to the Special General Convention in 1969. At that session, the Commission’s resolution declaring the Church’s readiness to participate ecumenically in a process of renewal was passed by both Houses. The Commission also set up a “gathering space” for attendees to participate in discussion after sessions in a casual setting, fostering openness and dialogue. At the 1970 General Convention in Houston, the Commission reported that its main task had been accomplished and, by its own recommendation, was dissolved.

House of Deputies

  • Corporate body
  • 1789-

The House of Deputies met in General Convention in 1789 when the lay and clerical deputies established the order, governance, and first public statements of The Episcopal Church. The lay and clerical deputies elected Bishop William White its president, and among other early acts, provided for the keeping and publication of the journals and other papers of the Convention. The House of Deputies has been called the "senior house" for its early organization and its swift undertaking of the task of Church unity and oversight of the corporal affairs of the new body. It established what is today the oldest continuing body of The Episcopal Church, the State of the Church Committee, which annually implements the parochial and diocesan reports that render a reliable statistical profile of the population and health of The Episcopal Church. The House of Deputies operates between General Convention sessions through its special appointed bodies and the joint committees, commissions, boards and agencies. The ministry of the President and presiding officer of the House embodies the mutual ministry leadership of lay and clerical members of the Church in matters of governance, polity, and mission.

House of Bishops

  • Corporate body
  • 1789-

The House of Bishops (HoB) was established in 1789, four years after the election of The Episcopal Church’s first Bishop, Samuel Seabury. All bishops of The Episcopal Church, active or retired, make up the House of Bishops, with the Presiding Bishop as president. With nearly 300 active members, the HoB comprises half of the Church’s governing body. Eligible members include all diocesan and assisting bishops elected or canonically appointed from the dioceses, area missions, and special jurisdictions of the United States and nineteen other countries, including a number of churches in Europe, Latin America, Taiwan, and Haiti.

Along with the House of Deputies (the other governing body of The Episcopal Church), the HoB meets every three years to adopt legislation. Between conventions, they meet twice a year in a non-legislative capacity and, acting in their pastoral and teaching mode, may explore issues of theological, social or mission concern.

Guild of Scholars of the Episcopal Church, The

  • Corporate body
  • 1939-

The Guild of Scholars of the Episcopal Church (the Guild) emerged in 1939 when Robert Root, Norman Pittenger, Thomas S.K. Scott-Craig, and William Eddy agreed to call together like-minded Churchmen into an association of college and university contacts with the common goal of promoting the Christian faith and scholarship in institutions of higher learning. At the first conference, held in 1940 at Hobart College and attended by fifteen scholars representing eleven institutions, the decision was made to establish a formal association within The Episcopal Church.

After a second conference, also held in 1940, the group met in 1941 under the name of the Easter Conference of the Guild of Scholars. The current name was adopted in 1949, just a year before the Guild began to hold its annual meetings exclusively at the General Theological Seminary. While there were initially hopes that regional chapters would be formed as a nucleus of a national association of Episcopal teachers and scholars, by 1950 the Guild had relinquished the idea of an expanded association of local chapters in favor of a single national conference.

In 1966 Virginia Harrington of Barnard College was the first woman invited as a guest; she became a member in 1968. In the succeeding years other women were invited first as guests and eventually to membership. The membership was also extended later to those in the scientific, medical, and technical fields. Membership is limited to the laity, unless a member is ordained after being admitted, with the one exception being the honorary membership granted to one of the original founders, the Rev. Norman Pittenger. The Guild continues with members from a wide range of academic and creative disciplines meeting annually to share their work, although meeting locations now vary.

General Field Services

  • Corporate body
  • 1965-1968

The General Field Services unit was established in 1965 as one of the five divisions of the Department of Christian Education. It acted as a consultation service to Episcopal dioceses, missionary districts, and other Church organizations, offering guidance regarding educational programs, training opportunities, and instructional materials. It also participated in educational research and development projects. The unit was discontinued in 1968 at the time of the total reorganization of the Executive Council and subsequent operational changes. In its four years of existence, its administrators were the Rev. Edward T. Atkins (1965-1966) and the Rev. Stanley Plattenburg (1967-1968).

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