All Souls Weekly                 
Volume 2, Number 30, June 21, 2009

GENERAL CONVENTION

The 76th General Convention of the Episcopal Church meets in Anaheim, CA, July 8 -17, 2009.  The following is taken from an overview of General Convention written by the Rev. Dr. Gregory Straub, Executive Officer and Secretary of General Convention. 

The 76th General Convention of the Episcopal Church meets in Anaheim, CA, july 8 – 17, 2009.  The following is taken from an overview of General Convention written by the Rev. Dr. Gregory Straub, Executive Officer and Secretary of General Convention. 

With few precedents for a republican form of church governance the first General Convention met in 1785 in Philadelphia. That convention began work on a constitution and a revision of the Book of Common Prayer, the church’s book of worship. Within ten years the General Convention had agreed on its form of governance and its pattern of worship, both of which endure to the present day.

 
 Uniquely for its time, the first General Conventions determined on a bicameral house in which elected (rather than royally appointed) bishops would make up one house, and lay and ordained deputies (equally represented) would make up the other house.

Deputies vote their conscience for the good of the church. They cannot be instructed to vote one way or another, for to do so would preclude godly debate and preempt the work of the Holy Spirit. The House of Bishops and House of Deputies meet, deliberate and vote separately.

 
In 2009, the 76th General Convention of the Episcopal Church will meet in Anaheim, California from Wednesday, 8 July through Friday, 17 July.

  
General Convention meets prayerfully. Each day bishops, deputies, registered alternates and delegates to the Episcopal Church Women Triennial gather for Bible study and Holy Eucharist. At this year’s General Convention the themes for these gatherings will reflect the theme of General Convention: Ubuntu [the theological idea made popular by Desmond Tutu having to do with openness toward others and the affirmation that we are all part of a whole.]

The entire article may be read at http://www.episcopalchurch.org/gc2009.

Your prayers are asked for . . . Brenda C. Richardson, Thais Blanchard, Robert Konefal, Steve Collins, I. Kathryn McKewen, Lexi Ball, Helen Horne, Bruce MacDonald, Polly Mitchell, Bob Colburn, Elizabeth McKee, Freddie Cameron, Robert Long, Frank Karel, Mark, Jane Titterson, Barb Chaffee, Harriet Martin, Chris Cobb, Landis Vance, Vickie Drell, Stephanie Russell, Ruth & Fred Huber, Jim St. George, Martha Holdgate, Chip Meyers, Mary Backus, Anne Marie Morotte, Ron Biggs, Steve Coon, Dorothy, Cindy Harvey, Jerome & Mary Ann Gariff, Walter Jason, Arthur Andrew Warren, Robert Osborne, Mary Beth McCutcheon, Bryan Powell, Regina Dading, Julia Gutierrez, and Ted Field . . . Pray for members of the parish in the foreign service or others who are working overseas, especially Daniel . . . Pray also for the members of our Armed Forces on active duty, especially Jack Severson, and Timothy Zlatich . . . Our ongoing Internet Prayer Circle is coordinated by Vicki Lowe at lowevg1@verizon.net.

Around the Parish . . . Father Beddingfield is attending the Credo Conference in California.  He returns to Washington on June 22 . . . Please also keep Father Worthley in your prayers as he travels over the next several weeks to Columbia, South America for his work with the Allianz Foundations . . . Attendance on Sunday, June 14 at the 8:30 a.m. Mass, 29; attendance at 11:00 a.m. Mass, 89 . . .  Total pledge offerings for the week were $4,349.00. The plate offering was $255.00.

Liturgical Notes . . . We welcome the Rev. Ronald Conner as our celebrant and preacher today . . . A reminder:  All Souls continues to offer both the 8:30 a.m. Low Mass and the 11 a.m. High Mass throughout the summer months . . . Flowers at the High Altar are given to the glory of God and in loving memory of Phil Mason on the 100^th anniversary of his birth (June 20), given by his step-son Bob Publicover.

Childcare backup needed . . . Because of summer vacations, illness and unexpected schedule changes, our Sunday morning nursery attendants sometimes need to be away.  If you know of someone home from college this summer who is good with children and might appreciate some extra cash, please let the parish office know.
 

A Parishioner in Need  . . . An older parishioner of All Souls who lives in Woodley Park needs occasional help with shopping and running errands.  If you have a car and an hour or two, please contact the parish office for details.  This is a great opportunity to make a new friend (or deepen an existing friendship) and to be of tremendous help.

All Souls Are Green . . . We need your help to improve our parish's environmental stewardship and save money:  Saturday, June 20, starting at 9 a.m. in the undercroft we will be "re-lamping" parts of the church with compact fluorescent bulbs; installing weather stripping; and checking our overall building "envelope" and insulation levels.  

If you are somewhat handy, bring some tools and help us install weather stripping/insulation.  If you are less handy but still eager to help, you can change light bulbs and wash lighting fixtures.  We expect to finish by noon or 1 p.m.  For more information, contact Jeff Wells at jeff.wells@starpower.net or 202-746-0120.

Volunteers needed for the Bishop Walker School . . . The Bishop John T. Walker School for Boys is seeking volunteers to assist with administrative projects. The school is looking for people who are proficient with MS Word and MS Excel; can enter data into a mailing list database and/or assist in preparing marketing packets and with filing. The school office is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday, and is currently located at Episcopal Church House. In September, it will move to the new school building in SE Washington. Call Randy O’Donoghue at 202-299-6521 if you are interested in volunteering.

Summer Leadership Speaker Series at VTS . . . Virginia Theological Seminary’s Institute for Christian Formation and Leadership is offering a free summer leadership series. Register at http://www.vts.edu/icfl/lifetime/continuinged.asp  Speakers, topics and dates are as follows:  June 24: 7:30 to 9:30 p.m., “Facing into the Wind:  Lessons on Leadership from Conflicts in The Episcopal Church,” by the Rev. C. K. Robertson, Canon to the Presiding Bishop . . . July 1: 7:30 to 9:30 p.m., “Moral Life of Schools: Why Good Schools Are Counter-Cultural,” by Patrick F. Bassett, president, National Association for Independent Schools . . . July 8: 7:30 to 9:30 p.m., “When Conflicts Don’t Seem to Resolve:  Lessons from South Africa,” by Theresa Edlmann, founder and director, the SPIRALS Trust, Grahamstown, South Africa.

Readings for the Daily Office

All Souls Memorial Episcopal Church

The Reverend John Beddingfield, rector; The Reverend Christopher Worthley, adjunct clergy;

Mr. Isaac Borocz, parish administrator; Dr. Philip Cave, director of music and organist;
Mr. Oscar Prado, sexton

2300 Cathedral Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20008-1505

Voice: 202-232-4244, Fax: 202-232-8593

Email: allsouls1@aol.com

www.allsoulsdc.org

To receive this by email, sign up at http://lists.allsoulsdc.org/mailman/listinfo/asc_update