Widespread engagement
The Standing Commission on Structure, Governance, Constitution and Canons meets in October 2023 in suburban Baltimore, Maryland. Photo: Frank Logue
[Episcopal News Service] More than 1,500 people have applied to serve on the Episcopal Church’s interim bodies—the commissions, task forces, boards and other committees that conduct the work of the church between meetings of General Convention—according to a recent update from House of Deputies President, Julia Ayala Harris.
“I find the enthusiasm shown by so many to serve our church truly inspiring,” Ayala Harris said last week in a House of Deputies newsletter. “To me, it reflects not only the vibrant spirit and diverse talents within our Episcopal community, but also the deep desire of our members to be part of our governance and actively participate in the mission of the church.”
Ayala Harris will appoint priests, deacons and lay members to the dozens of interim bodies, while Presiding Bishop-Elect Sean Rowe will appoint bishops. Those that require joint appointments will be handled collaboratively, Ayala Harris said, and the first batch of announcements is due in late September, after her scheduled recovery from an August 15 surgery.
Episcopalians interested in serving on one of the interim bodies were asked to apply online by the August 5 deadline. The strong response appears to have surpassed expectations, compared with the number of applications in past cycles. For example, church leaders in 2018 were impressed by the more than 1,200 people who volunteered that year to serve on interim bodies, and those applications were a 60% increase over the previous triennium.
In the House of Deputies’ August 8 newsletter, Ayala Harris thanked the more than 1,500 priests, deacons and lay leaders who applied to serve during this cycle of appointments. (Bishops are seeking appointments through a separate, parallel process.)
“I believe this outpouring of willingness to serve demonstrates the strength of our shared commitment to shaping the future of the Episcopal Church,” Ayala Harris said.
Interim bodies are mandated by acts of General Convention, which is the church’s primary governing body that typically meets every three years. The 81st General Convention convened in late June in Louisville, Kentucky.
The types and numbers of interim bodies have fluctuated since 2015, when General Convention sought to dramatically reduce the number of long-term policymaking bodies, known as standing commissions. Much of the work that had been done by the eliminated commissions was assigned to newly created task forces.
Appointments to standing commissions typically last two triennia, or six years. There are five standing commissions, focused on the following topic areas: Ecumenical and Interreligious Relations; Formation and Ministry Development; Liturgy and Music; Structure, Governance, Constitution and Canons; and World Mission.
Other appointments, including those to task forces, often last one triennium, or three years. Examples of those that were authorized by the 81st General Convention include a Committee on Disability and Deaf Inclusion, a Task Force for Reviewing Intellectual Property of the Church and a Task Force on Countering the Colonial Mindset.
Each General Convention resolution authorizing the creation of the interim body specifies its make-up, such as the number of bishops, other clergy and lay people to be appointed as members. The presiding bishop typically appoints bishop members, while the House of Deputies president often is responsible for naming other clergy and lay members from the pool of candidates who apply.
Because Rowe was elected presiding bishop in June and will take office November 1, the Episcopal Church Canons specify that he is responsible for making standing commission appointments for 2025-27, and outgoing Presiding Bishop Michael Curry has asked him to select members for the other interim bodies, alongside Ayala Harris.
The $143 million churchwide budget plan for 2025-27 includes $1.5 million for interim bodies’ meetings, based on estimated costs for a certain number of such bodies to meet during the triennium, both online and in person. Specific meeting schedules can vary from body to body.
The total number of interim bodies for the upcoming triennium wasn’t immediately available. They typically number in the dozens, though the church’s Office of Public Affairs said a final number likely won’t be known until the fall.
—David Paulsen is a senior reporter and editor for Episcopal News Service based in Wisconsin. He can be reached at dpaulsen@episcopalchurch.org.