General Convention Deputy Blog

Deputy Blog for July 8, 2022, by Casey Rohleder+

If you’ve seen pictures on Facebook/Insta from Kansas deputies, you know that your deputation is having a whole lot of FUN in Baltimore.  For example, after the House of Deputies adjourned at 9:30 after a very long first day, a few of us got to watch the last couple of innings of the Oriels game and the ensuing fireworks from our Diocese’s suite, which faces the stadium. For a baseball lover like me, it was pure joy!  

You’ll see the picture of our Deputation as we met there over the lunch break to discuss what had happened and what was coming up next in both the House of Deputies and the House of Bishops.

Someone told me today that the Episcopal Church is the largest bicameral body in the world – think about that for a moment!! This year, about 800 or so of us are credentialed to be “on the floor” in the House of Deputies at any given time. Additionally, there are a whole bunch of alternates (ours are Larry Hannan and Archdeacon Monte Giddings), who listen to the reports and legislative action, but do not get to vote unless they substitute in for one of us with deputy credentials. There is a long process for that, I won’t bore you with the details. It is absolutely fascinating to begin to understand the rules that govern our legislative processes.   

As a first-time deputy to General Convention and undisputed extrovert and church geek, I’m loving the interesting conversations with total strangers…in the elevators, in the line for coffee, walking to and from the convention center. Our convention badges (and a whole lot of clergy collars) signal to one another the important bond we share as Episcopalians – our love for Jesus and our love for the church. Yes, its buildings and structures and processes, but even more importantly, the love and care we have for this Beloved Community. I stand in awe of the diversity of this body.  

Kansas’ deputation is seated in the very back row this year. With this perspective for hours on end, I’ve marveled at the sheer number of people, even in this smaller year on account of Covid precautions. So many people here, committed to the work of the church. 

As you can see in the picture, we’ve decorated our sign with sunflowers…a long tradition, it seems. Our youngest deputy, the amazing Kirsten Lee, built a wind turbine to affix on top, solely from materials we had in our bags and purses. It represents us well, don’t you think? As does she!

After an early afternoon of orientation, we started debating and voting on resolutions. My greatest a-ha today was to see legislative action come alive. What three years ago I might have experienced from afar as a good idea, now feels like necessary, sacred, and compelling work. 

You can read the live blogging here for specifics, if you’re curious, Jim Naughton was live blogging all day: https://deputynews.org/july-8-afternoon-legislative-session-hod/ and https://deputynews.org/july-8-evening-legislative-session-hod-2/

One debatable resolution particularly caught my heart and my imagination, A127: Resolution for Telling the Truth about the Episcopal Church’s History with Indigenous Boarding Schools. Reading this resolution in advance, I thought, intellectually, “yes, this is a good idea to examine our church’s history and role.” However, we listened to six deputies share their stories about their own tragic and traumatic experiences, and those of their elders, in such boarding schools, sometimes with the direct culpability of the Episcopal Church. Suddenly, I could see why this work matters so very much. 

We passed an interesting resolution as part of the Consent Calendar that will impact our Diocese. The resolution requires faith communities to begin paying vocational deacons a minimum of $25 a month, plus the contribution to the Church Pension Fund, beginning January 1, 2023. This resolution still needs to pass the House of Bishops, but if it does, we will see the impact on our Kansas congregations.  

Come back for Saturday morning’s review by Sarah Shipman!

The Rev. Casey Rohleder
Rector, St. Luke’s Episcopal Church