C008 Freedom to Call, Freedom to Elect
Resolved, the House of Deputies concurring,
That the 80th General Convention, amend Article II, Sec. 9 of the Constitution as follows:
<Amended text as it would appear if adopted and concurred. Scroll below the line of asterisks (******) to see the version showing all deleted and added text.>
Article II.9
Sec. 9. Upon attaining the age of seventy-two years a Bishop shall resign from all jurisdiction. Anything in this Article to the contrary notwithstanding, any Episcopal entity or institution, with the appropriate consenting authorities, may elect or call a Bishop to serve in a position for a set period of time, regardless of their age when they accept the call and their anticipated age when the terms of agreement end.
And be it further
Resolved, that Canon III.12.9 have a new subsection p added as follows:
p. Anything in this Canon to the contrary notwithstanding, any Episcopal entity or institution, with the appropriate consenting authorities, may elect or call a Bishop to serve in a position for a set period of time, regardless of their age when they accept the call and their anticipated age when the terms of agreement end.
And be it further
Resolved, that Canon III.9.8 have a new subsection d added as follows:
d. Anything in this Canon to the contrary notwithstanding, any Episcopal entity or institution, with the appropriate consenting authorities, may elect or call a Priest to serve in a position for a set period of time, regardless of their age when they accept the call and their anticipated age when the terms of agreement end.
And be it further
Resolved, that Canon III.7.7, be amended to read in its entirety:
Sec. 7. On reaching the age of seventy-two years, a Deacon shall resign from all positions of active service in this Church, and the resignation shall be accepted. The Bishop may, with the consent of the Deacon, assign a resigned Deacon to any congregation, other community of faith or ministry in another setting, for a term not to exceed twelve months, and this term may be renewed. Anything in this Canon to the contrary notwithstanding, any Episcopal entity or institution, with the appropriate consenting authorities, may elect or call a Deacon to serve in a position for a set period of time, regardless of their age when they accept the call and their anticipated age when the terms of agreement end.
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Article II.9
Sec. 9. Upon attaining the age of seventy-two years a Bishop shall resign from all jurisdiction. Anything in this Article to the contrary notwithstanding, any Episcopal entity or institution, with the appropriate consenting authorities, may elect or call a Bishop to serve in a position for a set period of time, regardless of their age when they accept the call and their anticipated age when the terms of agreement end.
And be it further
Resolved, that Canon III.12.9 have a new subsection p added as follows:
p. Anything in this Canon to the contrary notwithstanding, any Episcopal entity or institution, with the appropriate consenting authorities, may elect or call a Bishop to serve in a position for a set period of time, regardless of their age when they accept the call and their anticipated age when the terms of agreement end.
And be it further
Resolved, that Canon III.9.8 have a new subsection d added as follows:
d. Anything in this Canon to the contrary notwithstanding, any Episcopal entity or institution, with the appropriate consenting authorities, may elect or call a Priest to serve in a position for a set period of time, regardless of their age when they accept the call and their anticipated age when the terms of agreement end.
And be it further
Resolved, that Canon III.7.7, be amended to read in its entirety:
Sec. 7. On reaching the age of seventy-two years, a Deacon shall resign from all positions of active service in this Church, and the resignation shall be accepted. The Bishop may, with the consent of the Deacon, assign a resigned Deacon to any congregation, other community of faith or ministry in another setting, for a term not to exceed twelve months, and this term may be renewed. Anything in this Canon to the contrary notwithstanding, any Episcopal entity or institution, with the appropriate consenting authorities, may elect or call a Deacon to serve in a position for a set period of time, regardless of their age when they accept the call and their anticipated age when the terms of agreement end.
Explanation
Whereas Episcopal entities may want the opportunity from time to time to call or elect a clergy person to fill a position for a set period of time;
Whereas precedents exist for calling clergy for set periods of times; i.e. nine-year term for Presiding Bishop and time limited “priest in charge” calls.
Whereas there are precedents in the ongoing revision of how, when and for how long a clergy person or bishop or presiding bishop can serve, including the passing of the above-mentioned canons and Article in the Constitution: i.e. originally bishops served for life, but now must resign at age 72;
Whereas there are clergy persons, especially those ordained in middle age, who are willing and able to serve beyond the age of 72, without the constriction of only serving one year at a time with the bishop’s permission;
Whereas there may be situations where Dioceses may want the option to elect a bishop to serve for a set period of time, regardless of their age;
Whereas it can be cost prohibitive for a Diocese that wants to terminate its relationship with their bishop, if they are required to pay a bishop the equivalent of their package until they reach the age of 72;
Whereas electing younger clergy as bishops as a “mid-career” position without having to commit to them for decades, can be a new energizing dynamic in the life of the Diocese; and
Whereas age 72 is an arbitrary age set decades ago, while most professions have removed the mandatory retirement age requirement;
This resolution addresses several situations.
- It puts the choice into the Episcopal institutions or entities rather than with some predetermined administrative or actuarial number.
- This resolution allows for exceptions to the “mandatory retirement” canon, while keeping age 72 as the normal time for resigning one’s cure.