By Sharon Rasmussen
Editor, East Tennessee Episcopalian

When nearly 400 delegates and visitors to the 21st Annual Convention of the Diocese of East Tennessee gathered at Music Road Hotel and Convention Center in Pigeon Forge Feb. 4-5, a sense of camaraderie and purpose seemed to have replaced the uncertainty of last year's meeting, held in the wake of General Convention controversy.

Youth and young adults particularly benefited from a clarity of focus: The Youth Action Council proposed two resolutions that convention approved - one a change in canon reducing delegate age to 16 and the other a carryover of budgeted youth ministry funds to support event scholarships - and delegates elected as a first-time deputy to the next General Convention Robert Leopold, a young adult and postulant for Holy Orders serving as a delegate from Tyson House campus ministry.

As with the 2004 convention, elements of worship again were woven throughout the business sessions, grounding the work of the diocese within the context of the Eucharist.

Traditional music infused the atmosphere, adding color and richness to the Appalachian Ministry theme: "Seeing Needs, Sowing Seeds." A storyteller, several workshops, craft demonstrations and vignette presentations on ministries in Appalachia carried the theme into every corner of the meeting.

When Bishop Charles vonRosenberg addressed the convention Saturday morning, he suggested that the community of Episcopalians in East Tennessee might be seen as a "remnant community of faith" as described by the prophet Isaiah, and that counter to the tendency to turn inward when feeling threatened, the community "must be committed to mission beyond itself … we cannot be faithful to Jesus without concentrating on mission beyond ourselves." He went on to say that in the face of current issues, "it becomes easy, for instance, to focus on scarcity rather than abundance, on shortcomings rather than occasions for thanksgiving, on problems rather than mission opportunities, and on a sense of being persecuted rather than the awareness of being blessed." However, a remnant community "lives with a conscious sense of gratitude," and focuses on building its relationships.

The convention marked the retirement of diocesan chancellor J. Douglas Overbey upon his completion of 10 years of service, and delegates elected Sarah Sheppeard to that post. Convention delegates and visitors welcomed a guest from South Dakota, East Tennessee's companion diocese: the Rev. Judith Peterson, a deacon at St. Paul in Brookings, S.D., and they met diocesan-supported seminarians and deacons-in-training.

Reports from officers, commissions, committees and boards included these highlights: that Grace Point, the diocesan camp and retreat center, had served more than 1,800 people over the past year and is preparing for visioning work with consultants; that a fall diocesan meeting on Human Sexuality and the Church was well attended and materials derived from that meeting would be made available in booklet form to parishes; that notebooks to guide parish development of shared ministry and licensed ministries now are available, and that the next diocesan ministry conference would be hosted by the Sacred Order of Deacons; that the Hate Crimes Task Force had generated a brochure on preventing violence; that a number of people had expressed interest in serving on a new Commission on Bio-Ethics; and that updates on clergy discernment manuals necessitated by changes in national canons are nearly complete.

In budget hearings, a few questions were asked about support of the national church: How is the formula derived that sets the diocesan amount? (General Convention.) Is the amount that is sent to the national church restricted in any way? (No.) Who decided to increase the diocesan response from 85 percent in 2004 to 100 percent for 2005? (The diocesan Budget and Finance Committee proposed the change.) The convention approved the diocesan budget for 2005 as proposed at $1,650,070, which is based on an 82 percent level of response from parishes to the diocesan asking. The reduction from a proposed budget based on a 90 percent rate required that a program staff position left unfilled following a retirement last year would be funded to a part-time rather than full-time level for 2005.

"Seeds of Hope" were gathered in special envelopes to benefit Appalachian ministry in the amount of $1,099. Bishop vonRosenberg designated the offering during Saturday worship to be divided between Appalachian ministries and tsunami relief efforts. The offering total was $1,068.

The diocese will convene next year in the South East Area, hosted by the Episcopal Commission of South East Tennessee.

With reporting by Emily McDonald, South East Area Correspondent

Resolutions