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This month, the 185th Annual Convention of the Diocese of North Carolina will assemble in Winston-Salem (February 1-3), and we at the Chapel of the Cross will hold our Annual Meeting (February 25).
Diocesan Convention
Our diocese stretches from Northampton County in the northeast to Charlotte in the southwestern Piedmont. The Convention comprises all of the 264 members of the clergy of the Diocese and 315 lay delegates chosen by the vestries of our 117 parishes and missions. Each congregation is allotted from one to six lay delegates, depending on its communicant strength. The Chapel of the Cross sends six. About two-thirds of the clergy attend (many are retired or nonparochial), giving the Convention close to 500 voting delegates. When nonvoting youth delegates, visitors, exhibitors, and spouses are included, one might encounter close to 1,000 ardent Episcopalians in and around the Convention hotel a somewhat startling atmosphere for the unawares.The Diocesan Convention typically convenes on Thursday evening and adjourns around noon on the following Saturday. In about 14 hours of formal sessions, this year's Convention will adopt the annual budget of the Diocese; elect members of the Diocesan Council, the Standing Committee, and the governing boards of certain diocesan institutions; hear the annual addresses of the bishops; receive reports from many diocesan institutions and organizations; adopt resolutions on a wide range of topics; and consider amendments to the Canons of the Diocese. When the need arises, the Convention elects a bishop; and every three years it chooses our diocese's deputies to the General Convention. Most votes are taken with the clergy and lay orders voting together, but the orders must vote separately when electing a bishop and on other issues when a vote by orders is demanded.
Many delegates look forward to the Convention as a "homecoming" event for renewing old friendships and making new ones. Others enjoy the reports and presentations. Some find excitement in debating controversial resolutions or doing the Diocese's legislative business.
Our clergy and lay delegates will give a summary report of highlights of the Convention at the Adult Forum following the 9:00 a.m. service on February 4. Delegates from the Chapel of the Cross to Diocesan Convention include Clergy Stephen Elkins-Williams, Martha Hart, Tammy Lee, Vicky Jamieson-Drake, Bill Joyner, and Stephen Stanley. Lay Delegates are Syd Alexander, Bob Chase, Peter DeSaix, Joe Ferrell, Kim Sullivan, and Robert Wright. Alternate delegates are Stacey Tompkins, Bunnie Collura, Paul Carew, Vivian Varner, Hugh Tilson, and Laura Alexander.
Annual Meeting -- February 25, 10 a.m.
The Annual Meeting of the Chapel of the Cross is the local counterpart of the Diocesan Convention. It is the one occasion when all voting members of the parish gather to elect the Vestry, to hear reports from our clergy and parish officers, and to transact any legislative business that might arise. All enrolled, confirmed adult (i.e., 16 or older) communicants in good standing have voting privileges. In many smaller parishes, vestry elections are conducted on the spot at the annual meeting. The By-laws of the Chapel of the Cross, adopted by the Annual Meeting, provide for a different system. First, a preferential ballot narrows the field of nominees to eight if more than that number have been nominated. The nominees are introduced to the congregation at the Annual Meeting. Four Vestry members are then elected by a majority of the written ballots cast by those present at an adjourned session of the Annual Meeting held after each service on a Sunday designated at the first session. Diocesan Canons prohibit absentee ballots.© 2000: Copyrighted by the Chapel of the Cross
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