C005 Appoint Task Force to Study Implementation of Canon III.1
Canon III.1 has been underutilized. For example, few dioceses have a Commission on Lay Ministry or its equivalent that focuses on empowering all the Baptized in their daily life. This resolution seeks to provide a remedy. The Canon calls on The Episcopal Church to “equip the saints for ministry” (Ephesians 4). Adopted in 2003, it provides the skeleton that now needs to be enfleshed. In the Catechism under The Ministry (BCP 855) the first order of ministry is lay persons. They represent the 99 % of The Episcopal Church. The Baptismal Covenant (BCP 304-5) is the “job description” for all the baptized in their respective orders. This task force’s work is to recommend processes so that the church can affirm the calling of all the baptized, especially its lay persons, and empower them in all the areas of their ministry in work, home, community, and wider world as well as in the Church.
Explanation
Canon III.1 has been underutilized. For example, few dioceses have a Commission on Lay Ministry or its equivalent that focuses on empowering all the Baptized in their daily life. This resolution seeks to provide a remedy. The Canon calls on The Episcopal Church to “equip the saints for ministry” (Ephesians 4). Adopted in 2003, it provides the skeleton that now needs to be enfleshed. In the Catechism under The Ministry (BCP 855) the first order of ministry is lay persons. They represent the 99 % of The Episcopal Church. The Baptismal Covenant (BCP 304-5) is the “job description” for all the baptized in their respective orders. This task force’s work is to recommend processes so that the church can affirm the calling of all the baptized, especially its lay persons, and empower them in all the areas of their ministry in work, home, community, and wider world as well as in the Church.