A080 A Season of Provincial Discernment
Resolved, the House of Deputies concurring,
That during the 2018-2021 triennium, The Episcopal Church commit to a season of discernment focused on identifying and strengthening the work of the provinces in the whole system of The Episcopal Church; including but not limited to: visioning for the kinds of collective aspirations for dioceses within a province as well as between provinces and articulating how these aspirations and efforts support the mission of The Episcopal Church and the wider Church; building the capacity for resource sharing between dioceses within a province as well as across the provinces; articulating the funding issues associated with the collaborative communications and networking and finding ways to support these funding issues (including the use of compensated staff); and be it further;
Resolved, That this work be initiated by the provinces, but expanded to include the dioceses and the larger Episcopal Church offices in the work and deliberations; and be it further;
Resolved, That the information articulated and developed be collected by the Provincial Leadership Conference and presented with recommendations for any system changes to the 80th General Convention.
Explanation
From the research of the Task Force on Provinces, it has become clearer that possibilities for collaboration and communication through the provincial system are being missed. There is a need to make sure all parts of a large, complex system are functioning to their potential in order for the entire system to function optimally. The provincial system is only one part of the larger system of The Episcopal Church and finding the ways to strengthen one part of the system will impact the rest of the system. It is difficult to determine the effects prior to actual changes. It will be necessary to collate all the changes and then to identify how the larger system is affected. The Provincial Leadership Conference is constituted to be able to do this work. Hopefully by committing to an intentional effort of strengthening the provinces for the triennium, opportunities for the entire system will emerge.