80th General Convention begins July 8

General Convention takes place July 8-11 in Baltimore, Maryland. General Convention is the governing body of The Episcopal Church. It typically meets every three years as a bicameral legislature that includes the House of Deputies and the House of Bishops, composed of deputies and bishops from each diocese.

This year’s convention was delayed one year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, instead of the typical eight-day meeting attended by thousands of deputies, bishops, staff members, vendors and visitors, this year’s General Convention will be a four-day, more focused meeting, to hold elections, approve a budget and address other critical issues and essential legislation that cannot wait until 2024. Only bishops, deputies, essential staff and volunteers and a limited media presence are allowed to attend. To accommodate the shortened in-person schedule, deputies have been attending virtual committee hearings for weeks.

In addition to Bishop Bascom, the following deputies will attend from the Diocese of Kansas:

• Ms. Michael Funston (deputation chair)
• Ms. Kirsten Lee
• Mr. Mike Morrow
• Ms. Sarah Shipman
• Mr. Larry Hannan (Lay Alternate)
• The Very Rev. Laurie Lewis
• The Very Rev. Torey Lightcap
• The Rev. Andrew O’Connor
• The Rev. Casey Rohleder
• The Rev. Monte Giddings (Clergy Alternate)

Several them will be contributing to this blog about their experiences while in Baltimore.

Keeping track of what’s happening: https://www.generalconvention.org/

• Draft schedule for the 80th General Convention
• The Virtual Binder contains all of the legislative information for the meeting of General Convention. The website is vbinder.net and accessible to the public.
• “Reports to the 80th General Convention of The Episcopal Church” (The Blue Book)
• Episcopal News Service reporters will post frequent news updates throughout the Convention. https://www.episcopalnewsservice.org/
• Are you on social media? If so, you can read what people are saying about General Convention using the hashtag #gc80. You’ll find most action on Twitter.