There is a great deal of misinformation circulating about what the Episcopal Church did at its just completed General Convention. Maybe the editors and the community here at Episcopal Cafe can help set a few records straight for our readers. Or maybe we can point you at someone who can. If you’ve got questions about what the convention did or didn’t do, pose them in the comments, and we will do our best to answer them.
You will find numerous answers at the General Convention website, although the convention office is still in the process of creating a list of which resolutions passed, and in what form. (Update per Christopher Barajas.)
A few preemptive points:
The convention did not pass legislation calling for the sale of the Church Center at 815 Second Avenue. The House of Deputies passed such legislation, but the House of Bishops did not. The bishops instead called for the church to move into new headquarters, and the deputies concurred. Note that there is no deadline for this move.
The convention did not pass legislation banning guns from Episcopal churches. The convention may have passed legislation that “requests” that Episcopal facilities “declare” themselves either Gun Free Zones, or violence free zones, but our collective memory isn’t clear on whether both the Houses of Deputies and Bishops passed the same language.
The convention did not pass legislation advancing the cause of those who favor permitting people to receive Communion before they are baptized. The House of Deputies passed a resolution containing one resolve recognizing the need for “pastoral sensitivity” in this matter. The House of Bishops struck that clause. The Deputies then approved the bishops’ version of the legislation, which, in effect, reaffirms the ecclesial status quo.
Who wants to ask questions, offer information, or rewrite the paragraph just above this one which is correct on the big question of whether we moved toward Communion without Baptism, but may be lacking in nuance.