Diocesan Convention
Resolutions
2022
For Review
It is a requirement of Canon I.1.1.e of the Constitution and Canons of The Episcopal Church that dioceses receive notice whenever any alteration of the Book of Common Prayer or of the Constitution is proposed. The 80th General Convention proposed three resolutions with changes to the Constitution.
2022
Passed EDSD Resolutions
RESOLUTION 22-01
Title: Amend Canons to exempt Named Institutions from consent Requirement (Title III.5.05)
Proposed By: Committee on Constitution and Canons
Name, Address, Phone Number of Delegate: Pauline Getz, Vice Chancellor and Committee Chair, 2083 Sunset Cliffs Blvd. San Diego 92017
Date: August 10, 2022
RESOLVED, that Title III.5.05 of the Canons of the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego be amended to read in full as follows:
5.05 Property May Not be Alienated Without Consent. With the exception of The Bishops School and Episcopal Community Services, no Institution shall not alienate or encumber real property belonging to it or acquire, except by gift, devise or bequest any real property subject to an existing encumbrance or assume an existing encumbrance in connection with any acquisition without first obtaining the written consents of the Bishop and the Standing Committee.
EXPLANATION: The purpose of this amendment is to exempt The Bishop’s School and Episcopal Community Services from the requirement of obtaining the prior consent of Bishop and Standing Committee. Each of those Institutions is a large corporate entity with an independent Board of Directors (other than the Bishop as Chair), capable of making these decisions for themselves and in light of their respective missions and visions.
RESOLUTION 22-02 Title II.3.13
Title: Amend APP Canon
Proposed By: Committee on Constitution and Canons
Name, Address, Phone Number of Delegate: Pauline Getz, Vice Chancellor and Committee Chair, 2083 Sunset Cliffs Blvd. San Diego, CA 92017
Date: July 29, 2022
RESOLVED, that Title II.3.13 of the Canons of the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego be amended to read in full as follows:
3.13 Action Plan Parish. This Canon is intended to address the exceptional case of a Parish whose continued viability as a self-sustaining entity appears to be in jeopardy, such that some degree of diocesan partnership, oversight or intervention is needed as a means of restoring the health of the congregation. Except under unusual circumstances (see Canon 3.13.03), such action is not intended to derogate from the traditional right and responsibility of Parishes in the Episcopal Church to govern themselves. Rather, in those cases herein, whether on the initiatives of the Parish, and in such cases, it shall be the duty and obligation of all parties, working together, to strive to accomplish the speedy end, or substantial amelioration, of the conditions that led to the declaration of Action Plan Parish, and to restore the congregation to spiritual and temporal health and viability as a self-sustaining entity. The designation of a congregation as an Action Plan Parish shall continue for a period of four years. A Parish (hereinafter a “congregation” or “Parish”) may be declared to be an Action Plan Parish as set forth herein when any one or more of the following conditions exists:
(a) The congregation refuses or neglects to assemble to elect a Vestry, as provided in these Canons, or fails to send representation and to participate in the Conventions of this Diocese; or
(b) The congregation fails to call and elect a Rector after a reasonable period of time, as determined by the Bishop; or
(c) The congregation willfully fails to comply with the provisions of Canon 1.7 of The Episcopal Church “Of Business Methods in Church Affairs” or has engaged in improper or unethical business practices; or
(d) The congregation qualifies for forfeiture of parochial privileges pursuant to Article XIV of the Constitution of the Diocese; or
(e) The congregation fails or refuses to make and pay its Mission Share Pledge for a period of two years or more; or
(f) The congregation fails or is unable to support a level of clergy staff and lay engagement to ensure that the congregation’s needs for Worship, Education, Pastoral Care and Outreach Ministries are adequately met. For the purposes of this section, it is considered that the inability to provide for the services of a clergy person for at least 1/2 time (to include any mandated pension and/or insurance benefits), equates to a failure of such support; or
(g) The congregation fails to pay in full the insurance premiums for general liability coverage, including coverage for sexual misconduct, in an amount set by the Corporation Executive Council of the Diocese, and with an insurance company approved by the Corporation Executive Council; or
(h) If financial reports reveal an invasion of the endowment funds or other practices that are evidence of existing or probable future financial instability sufficient, in the judgment of the Bishop and Standing Committee, to warrant action under this Canon. ; or
(i) [NEW] Failure to complete and file parochial reports per diocesan and Episcopal Church policy; or
(j) [NEW] Failure to complete and file audit reports per diocesan policy; or
(k) [NEW] Failure to cooperate with any inquiry, made in connection with this Canon, by the Ecclesiastical Authority or its designee, including the failure or refusal to provide full and accurate information on the state of the Parish and its affairs; or
(l) [NEW] The congregation takes action (whether by the Vestry or the Rector, or both) which is designed to affect a separation of the Parish from The Episcopal Church or the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego, or otherwise acts in violation of the Canons of The Episcopal Church or these Canons; or
(M) [NEW] When the congregation is found to be in a state of continued conflict by the Bishop in consultation with the Standing Committee.
The specific condition(s) found to exist shall be delineated in writing by letter from the Bishop to the Clergy person in Charge, the Vestry and the congregation promptly after the designation declaration as an Action Plan Parish.
3.13.01 Action under this Canon may be initiated by any of the following:
(a) The Rector or upon the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members of the Vestry/Bishop’s Committee of any such congregation; or
(b) The Bishop; or
(c) The Standing Committee upon the affirmative vote of two thirds of its members.
3.13.02 When action has been initiated hereunder, the Bishop shall appoint a committee of three (3) lay leaders, two of whom are not members of the congregation, and one chosen from the Vestry, to investigate, and work with the Vestry and Clergy person in Charge, to seek to ameliorate the conditions which led to the action, and to report quarterly to the Bishop. This Action Plan Parish Committee shall, working together with the Clergy person in Charge, and the Vestry, as soon as possible, identify immediate corrective steps that should be implemented, and no later than one year after the committee’s formation, submit to the Bishop a detailed written plan for restoration of Parish status, to include specific goals and objectives that the plan is designed to meet. The APP Committee shall serve for up to four (4) years period to aid in the restoration of the congregation to Parish status or, failing adequate progress in this regard, to confer with the Bishop about possible other actions as described below, including conversion to Mission status. The congregational shall, with assistance from the APP Committee, submit monthly operational reports to the Bishop. The Bishop shall have the further right to have the books and records of the congregation audited.
3.13.03 If the conditions specified in the Bishop’s letter, referred to above, persist beyond two years from the date of designation declaration, and the APP Committee, after consulting with the PIC and Vestry, reports that adequate progress is not being made to ameliorate these conditions, the Bishop, with the consent of the Standing Committee may impose additional requirements upon the congregation. Any one or more of the following may be required:
(a) That the Vestry be disbanded, and that the Bishop shall appoint six or more adult communicants, plus one member of the APP Committee, to serve as a Bishop’s Committee in place of the Vestry;
(b) Designation of the Rector as Priest in Charge, or in the absence of a Rector, to appoint a Priest in Charge;
(c) Conveyance of title to real property to the Diocese;
(d) In the event that the congregation is incorporated, direct that the corporation be dissolved; or
(e) Such other actions as may be deemed necessary to restore health to the congregation.
In the event that the Bishop (with Standing Committee consent) does elect to take any or all of the actions described herein, the effective ecclesiastical status of the church may be deemed that of a Mission, in accordance with the Canons.
3.13.04 At any time after the first 24 months and prior to the expiration of the four-year period since being declared an Action Plan Parish, the congregation may be restored to full and regular Parish status. Such action may be taken by the Bishop, with the consent of the Standing Committee, either upon the Bishop’s own initiative, or on petition of the Vestry of Bishop’s Committee of the Action Plan Parish. The decision to restore to Parish status shall be based upon a finding that the congregation has successfully addressed or substantially ameliorated the conditions that led to the declaration of Action Plan Status. Alternatively, after two years, but within the four-year period, the Bishop may take action to either: a) designate that the congregation shall thenceforth be a Mission of the Diocese; or b) extend the congregations status as an Action Plan Parish for an additional period not to exceed three years. An action under a) above, shall be based on a finding by the Bishop in consultation with the Standing Committee and the Action Plan Parish Committee that the congregation has not made adequate progress toward ameliorating the conditions that led to its Action Plan Parish status; and, an action under b) above, shall be based upon a finding that some progress has been made, but additional steps are required to be accomplished before Parish status can be renewed. In this case, these ‘additional steps’ shall be set out in writing. In the case of action under either a) or b), consultation with the Clergy-person in charge and Vestry, and consent of the Standing Committee is required, and any congregation so affected, can, by majority vote of its members attending a properly noticed membership meeting, challenge said action by petitioning the next Diocesan Convention, such petition to be filed with the Secretary of Convention at least 30 days before the date of the Convention. If a congregation remains in APP status for more than 7 years, action shall may be taken by the Bishop (with consent of the Standing Committee), within 60 days, to either restore that congregation to Parish status, or have it converted to Mission status. In such events:
(i) If the congregation is restored to Parish status, and if the Bishop has previously appointed or designated a Priest in Charge, that Priest shall forthwith resign, and the Vestry shall call a Rector in accordance with the Parishes By-Laws and these Canons. The Priest in Charge is not barred from being called as Rector; and
(ii) If the congregation is converted to Mission status, and such action is not revoked by vote at Convention, the congregation and the Diocese should take the necessary steps to immediately organize itself as a Mission in accordance with these Canons.
3.13.05 It shall be the responsibility of all parties, including the lay and clergy leadership of the Action Plan Parish, the Office of the Bishop and the Action Plan Parish committee, to labor to restore the congregation to a greater degree of health, presenting all challenges and opportunities to be addressed in an open, honest manner, in a climate of respect and charity, and for the greater good of the Church’s witness to its Lord.
EXPLANATION: These changes correct some inconsistencies in names of leadership bodies, correct typographical errors, and expand the circumstances that may lead to a parish being declared an Action Plan Parish.
RESOLUTION 22-03 Title IV.2.04
Title: Raise Limit on Approval for Unbudgeted Items
Proposed By: Committee on Constitution and Canons
Name, Address, Phone Number of Delegate: Pauline Getz, Vice Chancellor and Committee Chair, 2083 Sunset Cliffs Blvd., San Diego, CA 92107
Date: July 29, 2022
RESOLVED, that Title IV.2.04 of the Canons of the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego be amended to read in full as follows:
2.04 Payments to be Authorized by Diocesan Executive Council. No payments in excess of Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) which have not been specifically provided for by the Convention in the Annual Budget, shall be made without authorization of the Diocesan Executive Council.
EXPLANATION: This Canon has not been reviewed in a number of years. The increase is to make the number more practical.