Feb. 20
Eastern Michigan Pre-Convention Meeting
To the Delegates, Clergy, and People of
The Episcopal Dioceses of Eastern and Western Michigan:
In accordance with the Canons of Eastern Michigan (Title 1, Canon 3, Sec. 2b) and the Canons of Western Michigan (Title 1, Canon 3, Sec. 3), you are hereby notified of a Special Joint Convention of the Episcopal Dioceses of Eastern and Western Michigan to take place March 16, 2024 in Grand Blanc, Michigan.
The worship and business meeting of our convention is expected to be available by livestream on the Eastern and Western Michigan Facebook Pages.
This notice was sent on February 1, 2024 to all clergy, senior wardens, and general subscribers as well as to delegates and alternates identified for 2023. We are currently in the window of updating our contact lists for delegates following parish annual meetings, and have an early deadline for the submission of Parish Annual Reports in order to better communicate directly with delegates who will serve this special convention and annual convention in 2024. It will be especially important that parish leadership communicate internally to ensure that all delegates have the information for our meeting.
Peace,
The Rev. Joel Turmo
Secretary of Convention
Rector, St. Timothy’s, Richland
The Episcopal Diocese of Western Michigan
*This basic schedule is subject to change. Breaks will be taken as needed.
BUSINESS
The Agreement of Union is the packet of materials that would be submitted to the 81st General Convention of The Episcopal Church for ratification, should our conventions vote “yes” on the resolutions at our Special Joint Convention. It contains the proposed name of the new diocese, the draft constitution and canons, financial information, steps toward the election of a bishop diocesan and more.
At this convention, the action taken will be to vote on the resolutions for juncture, not to “pass” or “adopt” the individual contents of the Agreement of Union. The Agreement essentially demonstrates to the dioceses and the wider church that we’ve done our homework to prepare for this moment. Should we vote to juncture, the draft canons and budgets would remain amendable prior to adoption at the First Convention of the Diocese of the Great Lakes.
>> Click here to access the Agreement of Union document, plus additional materials: the text of the resolutions before convention and the rules of order for the convention.
The convention will not have printed copies of the 63-page Agreement available. It is available digitally and for printing at home or at church before you travel.The text of the resolutions will be printed and available as a standalone, one-page document.
A note on what would come after our vote:
Should each diocese vote to approve juncture, our dioceses would submit the Agreement of Union to the General Convention of The Episcopal Church for formal affirmation this summer. We would remain separate dioceses until the adoption of the new constitution and canons at the first convention of the new diocese in October. The transition period of formally aligning processes, structures, and policies would begin in the summer, expand following the convention in the fall, and continue over time as we would live into being one body.
Should one or both dioceses vote to decline juncture, our dioceses would remain separate bodies and our diocesan leadership would be charged with further discernment and conversation about how to appropriately disinvest from our multi-year diocesan partnership, including review and decision-making around our shared programming, shared staff, and other collaborations, as well as determine how best to plan for and search for bishops diocesan. Some continued collaboration may be possible, though likely unsustainable at the high level we have now without formal alignment on the horizon.
PRE-CONVENTION MEETINGS
All in the dioceses, especially voting delegates and clergy, are invited to join via Zoom for a pre-convention meeting to prepare for the business session of our convention.
Both pre-convention meetings have been recorded for later viewing for those who were unable to join in-person.
Eastern Michigan – Tuesday, February 20th at 7pm – Click here to watch the recording
Western Michigan – Thursday, February 22nd at 7pm – Click here to watch the recording
PRAYER & WORSHIP
Prayer and worship will be built into our time together during our convention, consistent with our call as followers of Christ and in accordance with our canons for convening a diocesan convention.
Holy Eucharist – 11:00 am
We will begin our gathering with Holy Eucharist. The Rt. Rev. Gladstone Adams, III, our bi-diocesan assisting bishop, will celebrate and preach.
Due to space and timing constraints for this special convention, this service will not include the procession of church banners and clergy are not expected to vest for the procession unless holding a role in the service.
Post-Business Prayer
Before departing from our special convention, our liturgy team will lead us in a short (10-15 minute) service of prayer.
Our planning team recognizes that, no matter the results of our vote on juncture, this is a significant moment in the life of our dioceses and a range of emotions and reactions will be present in the room. Grounding ourselves in prayer at the beginning and end of our day sets the tone for our work in this moment and in the months ahead, and reminds us of our call as disciples in this church and in the communities we serve.
YOUTH DELEGATES
High school-aged young people are invited to participate at the special convention by expressing interest in serving as a Youth Delegate.
Youth Delegates are leaders in their congregation and in the diocese and have voice and vote at convention. For this special convention, youth delegates will be appointmented by the ecclesiastical authority. There is no out-of-pocket cost for the youth delegates to participate. Food, and registration fees are included; no overnight accommodations will be provided for this one-day convention.
Youth with interest should contact Director of Children and Youth Formation McKenzie Knill at mknill@eastmich.org or mknill@edwm.org by March 1.
BOOK EXCHANGE
At the request of some in the dioceses, we will offer an area for a book exchange.
Books related to the church and ministry are welcome to be offered at no-cost to other convention attendees. Any books left over at the conclusion of our convention may be reclaimed or will be donated.
CONVENTION LOCATION & HOST
The joint special convention, including worship and business meeting, will be held at St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church, located at G-9020 South Saginaw St., Grand Blanc, MI 48439.
The church building and parking lot are totally handicap accessible.
OPTIONAL HOTELS
We have several hotel blocks to provide options for those requiring overnight stays, available Friday night. Please read below for information including rate and booking instructions.
All reservations under our hotel blocks must be made by March 1st. A limited number of rooms are available at each site and blocks may fill before the deadline.
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Rate: $109/night
Features: Free breakfast, free parking, pool
Address: 5481 Hill-23 Drive, Flint, MI 48507
Distance from St. Christopher’s: 9.2 miles or a little over 15 minutes
Click here to reserve our rate.
Rate: $109/night
Features: Free breakfast, free parking, pool
Address: 6060 Rashelle Drive, Flint, MI 48507
Distance from St. Christopher’s: 9.4 miles or a little over 15 minutes
Click here to reserve our rate.
Rate: $119-124/night
Features: Free breakfast, free parking, pool
Address: 3405 Regency Park Dr Grand Blanc, MI 48439
Distance from St. Christopher’s: 2 miles or a little over 5 minutes
Click here to reserve our rate.
Rate: $139-149/night
Features: Free breakfast, free parking, pool
Address: 9044 Holly Rd, Grand Blanc, MI 48439
Distance from St. Christopher’s: 1.8 miles or a little over 5 minutes
Click here to reserve our rate.
Rate: $139-149/night
Features: Free breakfast, free parking, pool
Address: 9020 Holly Rd Grand Blanc, MI 48439
Distance from St. Christopher’s: 1.7 miles or a little over 5 minutes
CONVENTION CENTER
The Horizons Center, Saginaw
The joint convention, including worship and all business meetings, will be held at The Horizons Center, located at 6200 State Street in Saginaw Township.
A former K-Mart, exquisitely renovated for large-scale events with state-of-the-art technology, this facility offers ample free parking and total handicap accessibility throughout the building.
OPTIONAL HOTELS
There are several options for nearby hotels to accommodate those requiring overnight stays, available Thursday and Friday nights. Please read below for information including rates, deadlines, and booking instructions. Should one room block fill; the convention pages of the diocesan websites will have up-to-date information about remaining availability. All four options are in a similar general area and are all about seven miles, or 15 minutes, from the Convention Center.
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Booking Deadline: October 4
Rate: $114/night
Features: Free breakfast
Address: 5368 Cardinal Square Blvd, Saginaw
Phone: 989-792-2200
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Booking Deadline: October 4
Rate: $114/night
Features: Free breakfast
Address: 5270 Cardinal Square Blvd, Saginaw
Phone: 989-792-2800
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Booking Deadline: October 4
Rate: $119/night
Features: Free breakfast
Address: 5230 Cardinal Square Blvd, Saginaw
Phone: 989-799-9000
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Booking Deadline: October 23
Rate: $104-124/night
Features: 10% off breakfast, Pool
Address: 4960 Towne Centre Rd, Saginaw
Phone: 989-790-5050
FOR DELEGATIONS – One person from the congregation (usually a parish secretary, senior warden, or clergy person) must complete the registration form for their group, including all lay delegates and clergy. Additional visitors and attending children may be added to the group order form if desired. Please be prepared to provide accurate email addresses and dietary restrictions for each person. ($25/person.)
UNASSIGNED CLERGY ($25/person) and VISITORS ($25/person) may register individually, regardless of congregational affiliation.
CHILDREN UNDER 12 ($10/person) may be registered individually or with a delegation to have meals provided. High chairs and booster seats are not available. A soft space with quiet toys for the youngest attendees will be set up for use during our worship and business meetings. Please note that there is no childcare or programming for children provided; kids must be supervised by their responsible adults at all times. Children in this age group who will not eat the lunch provided do not need to register.
The deadline to register and submit all payments is March 1.
Minutes from the 148th Diocesan Convention, October 2022
Minutes from the 147th Diocesan Convention, October 2021
Journal from the 146th Diocesan Convention, October 2020
Journal from the 145th Diocesan Convention, November 2019
Journal from 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