Those who have been to multiple General Conventions know that, among the sprawling and varied resolutions debated over the course of several days, themes tend to emerge. For instance, in recent years, full inclusion, restructuring, and evangelism, have been prominent. Sometimes a theme turns into a Task Force (or, maybe a few!). The movement toward restructuring resulted in the hard-working Task Force to Reimagine the Episcopal Church (TREC). However, with three years between conventions and significant turnover in deputies, these themes can change, sometimes abruptly. After three years of hard work, the TREC folks saw their recommendations largely dismissed by the next convention. Interests and priorities changed.
In light of this, it is abundantly appropriate that the 80th General Convention of the Episcopal Church is focused on racial justice and equity and seeking ways to extend and expand that work for generations to come. The Episcopal Church is long overdue for a reckoning with its history of enslavement, oppression, and injustices committed against people of color. Indeed, the work of repentance, self-sacrificial anti-racist practice, and structural justice-seeking needs to be embraced as a central aspect of Christian formation in a church that has long seen these things as optional.
A125 has now passed both Houses with resounding affirmation. Thanks be to God! Having a Coalition to bring together the disparate efforts to dismantle white supremacy will allow the Church to further the good work that has been happening at the parish, diocese, and church-wide levels. The time is indeed now.
However, Resolution A125 will require us to hope and trust that future conventions will stay attentive to the commitments the Convention is making today. In the House of Deputies, Deputy The Rev. Canon John E. Kitagawa of Arizona, in making the report from Legislative Committee 9, Justice and Racial Reconciliation, stated very poignantly, “The Episcopal Church flattens racism to a Black-white paradigm and as only occurring in the US; but this does not speak to that experienced by Indigenous, Asian, Latinx, and others. Reckoning with the church’s participation in colonialism and white supremacy is arduous, and building Beloved Community calls the church to a seismic shift that will feel different for persons of color.” Kitagawa recognized that all parts of the Episcopal Church will have to participate in this work in order to make real and lasting change and encouraged the House to consider Resolution A125 as a good faith continuing step in toward this effort.
The Presiding Officers have been urged to make haste in appointing a Constituting Group “for the development, implementation, and creation of the Episcopal Coalition for Racial Equity and Justice, whose work includes determining and proposing all necessary organizational, canonical, legal, and other actions necessary to constitute formally and oversee said Coalition.” In the urgency to set our feet upon new pathways toward a more just future, may this Constituting Group do the slow careful work of involving many partners from across the Church in this work and building transparent and accountable systems. May the Constituting Group do its work in such a way that the whole Church feels a passionate ownership over its work and vulnerable to its call to act. May this group’s work be a transformative blessing that renews the Church!
The Episcopal Herald 