The Way of Love
To the Delegates, Clergy, and People of
The Episcopal Diocese of Western Michigan:
In accordance with the Canons of the Diocese of Western Michigan (Title I, Canon 3, Section 3) you are hereby notified of the 145th Annual Convention of the Diocese of Western Michigan.
This year’s convention will be held in Grand Rapids, November 1-2nd, 2019, the Rt. Rev. Whayne M. Hougland, Jr. presiding.
Peace,
The Rev. Canon William Spaid
Secretary of Convention
Canon Missioner, The Episcopal Diocese of Western Michigan
Keynote Speaker
Lisa Kimball, Ph.D. serves Virginia Theological Seminary as the Associate Dean of Livelong Learning and the James Maxwell Professor of Lifelong Christian Formation, where she focuses on human development, experiential learning, faith formation, church history, popular culture, adult formation, lay ministry development, adolescent spiritual development, and program evaluation.
She is a passionate advocate for lay ministry, the full inclusion of all generations, digital literacy, and leaders who are confident teachers of the faith.
In her church-wide ministry, Lisa serves as Chair of the Standing Committee on Formation and Ministry of the Baptized for the Episcopal Church, co-founded the Episcopal Confirmation Collaborative, is currently directing a 5-year grant project – Baptized for Life: An Episcopal Discipleship Initiative, and serves on the Way of Love resource development team.
Recommended Reading
With seven core spiritual practices, the Way of Love offers an intentional, Spirit-led path to following Jesus. And what better guidebook for the journey than the Bible? The Way of Love Bible Challenge pairs each practice with a passage of scripture as well as reflections written by a variety of faith leaders.
Informed by scripture and inspired through prayer, these practices offer the opportunity to transform our relationship with ourselves, with our communities, and with our Savior. Featuring fifty days of reflections, The Way of Love Bible Challenge is an extension of The Bible Challenge, a global initiative to encourage daily engagement with scripture and an exploration of the Word of God.
Purchase the book from Forward Movement, Amazon, or try to request via your local bookstore or library.
Location & Accomodations
Crowne Plaza Grand Rapids
5700 28th Street SE
Grand Rapids, MI 49546
It is the responsibility of each parish / delegate / clergy to make arrangements for their accommodations. Our discounted price is $103 per room. The deadline to reserve your hotel rooms at the group rate is October 10th.
To reserve, call the front desk at 616-957-1770 or the booking line at 800-2-CROWNE and let them know you’re part of our block. Do not register online.
Pre-Convention Meetings
Delegates to convention and any others interested are invited to gather to review the proposed diocesan budget, upcoming resolutions, canon changes, and elections.
There will be three meetings – one in each region. Each meeting will take place from 10:00am-Noon.
- Northern – August 24th at Grace, Traverse City
- Central – September 14th at St. Andrew’s, Grand Rapids
- Southern – September 28th at St. Barnabas, Portage
Convention Business
Constitution and Canons
Download our Constitutions and Canons, updated November 2018.
Resolutions
The canonical deadline to submit a resolution is September 17th.
The submitted resolutions will be available here before the convention.
Click here to submit a resolution to the diocesan convention.
Nominations
At the Convention
The 144th Diocesan Convention will vote to elect new leaders to the Standing Committee and Deputies and Alternate Deputies to the General Convention. They will also confirm the elections for the Diocesan Council, to be held at the regional pre-convention meetings.
Standing Committee: One lay person, one clergy person
Deputies to the General Convention:
- 4 clergy deputies, 4 lay deputies
- 4 clergy alternates, 4 lay alternates
The deadline to submit nominations to be on the ballot for the convention is October 10th.
At the Pre-Convention Meetings
The following positions will be elected at the regional meetings, scheduled to take place before the convention in November.
Diocesan Council:
- Northern: 2 people, any order
- Central: 3 people, at least one elect must be a lay person
- Southern: 1 person, any order
You may submit nominations for the Diocesan Council up until the date of your pre-convention meeting.
Make a Nomination
Proposed Budget
The 2020 Proposed Budget will be available here following approval by the Diocesan Council.
Youth Delegates
High school aged young people are invited to participate at the diocesan convention by applying to become a Youth Delegate.
There are ten youth delegates and ten alternates, some elected by the regions and some appointed at-large by the Bishop. There is no cost to be a youth delegate to the convention.
Change of Delegates
To change a member of your delegation, the clergy person/senior warden and the secretary of the vestry must submit a Change of Delegates form. All forms must be submitted by October 25th.
Ministry Reports
If you would like to submit a report on your diocesan ministry for the 145th Convention Booklet, email Katie Forsyth at kforsyth@edwm.org for submission guidelines.
All reports must be received by October 10th.
Previous Conventions
To be approved: Minutes of the 144th Diocesan Convention, November 2018.
Journal from the 143rd Diocesan Convention, October 2017
Journal from the 142nd Diocesan Convention, November 2016
Journal from the 141st Diocesan Convention, November 2015
Registration
There are three types of convention registration – delegations, unassigned clergy, and visitors.
Delegations – One person from the congregation (usually a parish secretary, senior warden, or clergy person) must register the entire delegation, including any clergy and all elected delegates. There is one form per delegation and one registration payment.
Unassigned Clergy and Visitors may register individually, regardless of congregation affiliation.
Registration and payments must be submitted by October 25th. Payments are accepted online by credit card or by mailed check. Payments will not be accepted at the convention.
Other Details
Communications & Notices
COMMUNICATIONS & NOTICES
To be faithful stewards of creation by conserving resources – both natural and financial – all communications about convention will be delivered two ways: by email and on our website.
Previous communications include:
- August 3 – The Call to Convention
SHARING OUR STORY
Posting on Facebook? Tweeting? Checking-in? Use #edwm19.
Convention Eucharist & Confirmation
The Convention Eucharist will take place at 10:00AM on Saturday, November 2nd. Location is TBD.
The deadline to register candidates is October 10th.
Please use this form to register candidates for Confirmation, Reception, and Reaffirmation.
In Memoriam
Each year at convention, we like to pray for and remember those who are no longer with us. Many of those whom we remember have made a big impact on our congregations and on our diocese.
Please submit the names of any deaths in your parish that occurred from October 1, 2018 to September 30, 2019. Do not complete the form until after October 1, 2019 to make sure all memorials are included.
All names received by the deadline of October 10th will be included in the Convention Booklet.
Childcare
If requested, childcare will be provided for children of all ages. There is space on the registration form to indicate if childcare is needed. Someone will follow up with the requesting delegate or clergy person to share specific details.
Digital Convention Booklet
One way that we will commit to our call to be stewards of creation and cut back on our paper use this convention is to make the Convention Booklet a primarily digital document. This includes the convention reports, nominations, resolutions, and worship materials.
We will upload it here ahead of the convention for delegates and clergy to access on their electronic devices or print out at home. We will only provide a small amount of printed booklets onsite.
