“…Teach us in all things to seek first your honor and glory. Grant us patience as we continue to test this system, grant us the courage to pursue the failures, and give IT the wisdom and grace to accomplish the fixes..” –Louisa McKellaston
Seventy-five Episcopalians from across the church gathered at The Episcopal Church Center in New York and on Zoom Oct. 20-21 for a “Mini-GC,” a two-day test of the new Governance and Legislative System (GLS) built for the upcoming 82nd General Convention in Phoenix, Arizona.
Each participant was assigned a role in the legislative process, from resolution submission through legislative committees to the floor of both the House of Deputies and the House of Bishops. Participants were invited based on their experience with various aspects of General Convention and its legislative committees, as well as their expected roles in Phoenix.
“We’re going to test workflows, submit resolutions, consider amendments, and see what happens when we try to use this system the way we actually work at General Convention,” said House of Deputies President Julia Ayala Harris in her opening remarks. “We’re not here to prove that we’ve built a perfect system. We’re here to make sure we’re building a system that empowers our people to serve the church faithfully.”
The GLS replaces the vBinder and the Extranet, the software previously used for legislation and business in The Episcopal Church. While the software is new, it operates exclusively under the General Convention’s current rules.
Chancellor Michael Glass, who gave participants an overview of the legislative process, put it this way: “You may discover a rule new to you, but it’s not a new rule to our convention.”
President Ayala Harris thanked the team behind the project: Glass, Secretary Pro Tempore Steve Pankey, and The Episcopal Church IT team, including Rick Lamb and Ethan McDonald. “After everything the IT team has learned about our Joint rules of order, the rules of each house, and the intricacies of parliamentary procedure, I think Bryan Krislock may have some competition for his job as parliamentarian!” she joked.
Working with sample resolutions, such as “Amend HOD Rules: Stretch Breaks” and “Trial Use: Blessing of Seeds,” participants jumped in with little to no instruction. They were asked to provide feedback to the IT team and to note where the system worked well and felt supportive of the legislative process.
Some intricacies of the process have been updated intended to simplify procedures, reduce barriers to understanding, and keep convention accessible to new deputies and observers. In previewing the public-facing GLS Tracker, Secretary Pro Tempore Pankey highlighted the ability to subscribe to a resolution and follow it via email, SMS, or WhatsApp notification, through committee hearings, calendaring, and floor actions.
“For too long, General Convention has been a closed circle; the GLS is the next iteration in making the governance of the church more accessible to all Episcopalians,” he said.
The new GLS system is expected to launch sometime in the spring, with functions specific to the work of legislative committees. Deputies and bishops will be trained in the new software during upcoming orientations. Technical assistance will also be available onsite at General Convention.
“The decisions we make at General Convention belong to the whole church,” said President Ayala Harris. “When people can follow that work, understand how decisions are made, and see where their voices can make a difference, they can bring more of themselves to our common discernment. That’s what I want for General Convention: a church drawing on the wisdom of its people as we discern where God is calling us.”
Katie Forsyth serves as canon for communications and governance for the Diocese of Southern Ohio and provides strategic communications support for the President of the House of Deputies.
