First Session – Guaranteed To Be Non-Controversial

The Bishop’s convention address will be given tomorrow. So, this will be a two hour session, then dinner, and then we’ll have the candidates forum tonight for those running for deputy to General Convention.

The election of deputies will be Saturday morning. Resolutions will be considered in the afternoon.

We will have the final list of candidates for various offices during this session, and I’ll live blog that the best I can.

Credentials – Wayne Carter – we have a quorum.

Dispatch – Boo Kay – agenda accepted.

Nominations – Dee Drell – for election of convention secretary – Whit Stodghill – elected.

Parliamentarian – Chancellor John McLure.

Disptach: adopt rules of procedure.

Greetings from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Alexandria. Cathedral is open for our use during this convention.

Bishop Hughes, interim dean of St. Mark’s Cathedral, Shreveport.

Bishop of the Domincan Republic here. Long relationship between Dioceses.

Fr. Dan Krutz for the Louisiana inter-church conference.

Acknowledgment of Dawnell Stodghill – to be ordained December 4 to the priesthood.

Standing Committee and Commission on Ministry busy this morning. Morgan MacIntire and Mike Millard approved for candidacy to be ordained to the Diaconate. Ordinations to be in June.

Postulants – 3 – Betty Jo Coffman, Mary Richard, and Kay Hunter. GOE’s for everyone in January of 2008.

Visitor section gets fuller each year (I wonder why???)

Acknowledge Executive and Standing Committee. Non-canonical clergy.

Order of business.

Minutes of last convention. Adopted.

Report of the nominating committee:

GC Deputies:

Clergy:

Wayne Carter
Peter Cook
Gregg Riley
Catharine Thompson
Guido Verbeck

Lay:
Bradley L. Drell
Reese Middleton
Don Polombo
John Robert
Cheryl White
Penn Thompkins
Daniel Cutler – dad didn’t mention.

Standing Committee:
Mary Louise Skelton
Mitzi George

Trustee- Sewanee
Andrea Petrosh
Those unopposed are elected.

Resolutions Committee Report:

Gregg Riley – distributing two resolutions that have been submitted. One is from St. Michael’s & All Angels that I had seen and had some input on. The other is on the previous post.

Resolution from St. Mike’s is as follows:

Whereas the Diocese of Western Louisiana is committed to following the principles and recommendations of the Windsor Report, and committed to remaining in full communion with the Archbishop of Canterbury and the wider Anglican Communion;

BE IT RESOLVED that Diocesan Convention 2007 instruct its bishop, Standing Committee, and legal counsel of the diocese to initiate plans (either following recommendations of the Dar-Es-Salaam Communique, though not restricted to such), which enable General Convention 2008 to take whatever steps best ensure that the Diocese of Western Louisiana remain “Windsor compliant”, and remain fully in communion with the wider Anglican Communion.

Announcement of appointments:

Cursillo: Paul Martin

Deans: Acadiana – John Clark, Lake Charles – Jack Myer, Alexandria – Catherine Thompson, Monroe – Gregg Riley, Shreveport – Bill Bryant.

Reports from Seminaries and such; I’m running a bored Sarah Drell home.

I missed the seminary reports – with the usual song and dance that we just don’t know why enrollments are dropping.

Report from the Bishop of the Dominican Republic.

Report on Camp Hardtner.

All first day business has been handled.  Motion to recess.  Resolutions and nominating committees to meet.  Turn in your forum questions.

I will blog about the forum tonight or tomorrow morning.

First Post From Diocesan Convention – Western Louisiana

We had a good Standing Committee Meeting this morning. We approved the consent for the consecration of Lawrence for South Carolina (again.) We also approved the ordination to the priesthood of Deacon Dawnell Stodghill, and approved the candidacy of two others, including Michael Millard, a sometime visitor to this blog.

I had to miss the service today because of a work crisis, but the sermon has been reported to have been pure Gospel.

We have another candidate in the running for lay deputy: Daniel Cutler of St. Timothy’s, Alexandria. He is 18 years old, an Eagle Scout, and who is described as “a dedicated Christian and a student of the Bible.” I hope he makes it.

Everyone is starting to come into the hall now, so hopefully I can make this fast.

One of the resolutions proposed (turned in today before 1 p.m.) reads as follows:

In accordance with the Lord’s High Priestly prayer that we be one and in obedience to his great commission to go into all the world and make disciples and in gratitude for the gift of the wider Anglican Communion as a sign of the Holy Spirit’s ongoing work of reconciliation throughout the world, we offer the following resolution with the hope of providing for those groups within our diocese alienated by the recent developments in the Episcopla Church in a way acceptable to them and that enables the Primates to end all interventions:

Whereas, we support Bishop MacPherson’s resolution to the House of Bishops meeting in New Orleans expressly calling for the establishment of the Pastoral Scheme as outlined in the Dar-es-Salaam Communique;

Be it resolved that the Diocese of Western Louisiana calls upon our Bishop, Diocesan leadership, and General Convention delegates (sic, should be deputies) to take all possible action toward the creation and implementation of the Pastoral Scheme proposed in the Dar-es-Salaam Communique.

Submitted:

Grace Episcopal Church, Monroe
Christ Church, Bastrop
St. Thomas, Monroe
Hon. Dee D. Drell, St. James, Alexandria

with more signatures coming.

Living Church Website Hijacked

Check it out. Islam way?