The Episcopal Church’s triennial General Convention is starting in Austin, Texas this week, and for the fourth General Convention in a row a small team from TransEpiscopal will be there, supported from afar by our Steering Committee. General Convention has much in common with the U.S. Congress. It considers and votes on legislation in two houses—the House of Bishops (elected by their dioceses) and the House of Deputies (with elected lay and ordained people from each diocese of the Church). Although our team mainly consists of non-deputies, anyone is able to attend and testify at a resolution hearing, and we look forward to doing that for legislation we are particularly following. That includes:
• a commitment to safeguard the access of trans and non-binary people to physical spaces and activities within the church (C022)
• a call for the Convention to oppose legislation in the wider world that would limit our access to restrooms and other gender-marked facilities (C022)
• a new Book of Occasional Services that includes a (trans and non-binary inclusive) renaming rite (A064)
• making certain that church records accurately and respectfully reflect our names and genders and protect our privacy (A088)
• the creation of gender expansive language in our worship (C031 – originally from the Diocese Connecticut) and the revision of the Book of Common Prayer (A068)
• a call for the collection and publication of employment and compensation statistics on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation (resolution number TBD) as is already collected on the basis of gender for non-transgender people, and building upon resolution D005 which calls for the collection of such data on the basis of race and ethnicity
* a call for equity in clergy hiring and appointment (A091) which would add new canonical nondiscrimination language (including gender identity and expression) that would extend beyond access to ordination and lay participation in church governance (which are already addressed) to cover the hiring and appointment of clergy.
• support for trans and non-binary youth in the Episcopal Church, particularly in our schools and camps (C006)
Our team on the ground includes the Reverend Iain Stanford of the Diocese of Oregon, the Reverend Gwen Fry of the Diocese of Arkansas (and newly elected President of IntegrityUSA—congratulations!), and the Reverend Cameron Partridge of the Diocese of California. We are so glad to have as our floor leader Deputy Sarah Lawton, co-chair of the Diocese of California Deputation, strong trans ally, and longtime TransEpiscopal member. The Reverend Deacon Vicki Gray of the Diocese of California will be joining us later in the week, and as in years past we look forward to making new friends on the ground at Convention. Trans and nonbinary people are much more present in the Episcopal Church than many people realize, and General Convention provides a key opportunity to both lift up that reality and build it up within the wider church. The Episcopal Church has much work still to do to fully embrace trans and nonbinary people at all levels of its life, and we are at General Convention to help the church move forward in that process.
• a commitment to safeguard the access of trans and non-binary people to physical spaces and activities within the church (C022)
• a call for the Convention to oppose legislation in the wider world that would limit our access to restrooms and other gender-marked facilities (C022)
• a new Book of Occasional Services that includes a (trans and non-binary inclusive) renaming rite (A064)
• making certain that church records accurately and respectfully reflect our names and genders and protect our privacy (A088)
• the creation of gender expansive language in our worship (C031 – originally from the Diocese Connecticut) and the revision of the Book of Common Prayer (A068)
• a call for the collection and publication of employment and compensation statistics on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation (resolution number TBD) as is already collected on the basis of gender for non-transgender people, and building upon resolution D005 which calls for the collection of such data on the basis of race and ethnicity
* a call for equity in clergy hiring and appointment (A091) which would add new canonical nondiscrimination language (including gender identity and expression) that would extend beyond access to ordination and lay participation in church governance (which are already addressed) to cover the hiring and appointment of clergy.
• support for trans and non-binary youth in the Episcopal Church, particularly in our schools and camps (C006)
Our team on the ground includes the Reverend Iain Stanford of the Diocese of Oregon, the Reverend Gwen Fry of the Diocese of Arkansas (and newly elected President of IntegrityUSA—congratulations!), and the Reverend Cameron Partridge of the Diocese of California. We are so glad to have as our floor leader Deputy Sarah Lawton, co-chair of the Diocese of California Deputation, strong trans ally, and longtime TransEpiscopal member. The Reverend Deacon Vicki Gray of the Diocese of California will be joining us later in the week, and as in years past we look forward to making new friends on the ground at Convention. Trans and nonbinary people are much more present in the Episcopal Church than many people realize, and General Convention provides a key opportunity to both lift up that reality and build it up within the wider church. The Episcopal Church has much work still to do to fully embrace trans and nonbinary people at all levels of its life, and we are at General Convention to help the church move forward in that process.
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