Charleston Named Ethnic and Multicultural Missioner and Assistant Bishop

On May 10, 2008, the Diocese of California met at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco in special convention to consider the results of the Beloved Community Visioning Process and to discuss and vote on proposed changes to the canons. The special convention voted on three resolutions and three amendments to the proposed canon changes. At the end of the meeting, the Rt. Rev. Marc Handley Andrus introduced the Rt. Rev. Steven Charleston, current president and dean of Episcopal Divinity School, as the new ethnic and multicultural missioner and assistant bishop for the diocese.

After opening the meeting with prayer and a hymn, Andrus delivered an address reporting on the outcomes of the Beloved Community visioning process. The process began with a diocesan-wide meeting at Grace Cathedral on May 5, 2007, and continued with four regional meetings. These five events enabled the diocese to come together as a community and envision what the future of the diocese might look like. More than 800 people participated in the process, both in person and online.

Andrus began his address by describing a number of actions taken by the diocese in the past year toward becoming the Beloved Community, including a comprehensive governance review and entering into a companion diocese relationship with the Diocese of Curitiba in the Province of Brazil. The bishop then identified five areas for the diocese to focus on over the next five years: embodied justice, church vitality, rooted spirituality, organizational development, and inclusive community.

“This is a beautiful vibrant vision,” said the bishop. “It paints a picture of a Beloved Community, one that we recognize as being both ourselves as we currently are, loved by God, and also a community yet to be, our home in the fullness of our call to be the Body of Christ.”

Andrus continued by calling for this vision to be implemented broadly through Area Ministry, the model of shared ministry being pioneered in the Diocese of California. Area Ministry teams will be developed in emergent regions of the diocese with support of diocesan staff and using formation resources developed in collaboration with Church Divinity School of the Pacific. Additional support will be used to create intentional communities to provide low-cost housing for young adults who will commit to service within area ministries.

“A life-giving shift in the flow of energy into mission rather than maintenance is the heart of Area Ministry,” said Andrus.

Following his address, the bishop asked participants to discuss the report with their neighbors and to respond in writing to two questions, What excites or interests you most about the results of the visioning process? and How might you collaborate with neighboring congregations and your community to embody the diocesan vision?

A resolution adopting the recommendations contained in the report of the Beloved Community visioning process and committing the diocese to work in the five identified areas was then discussed and voted on. Discussion centered on language in the resolution calling for “intentionally working against racism, sexism, and heterosexism.” Two amendments were passed by voice vote, changing the resolution to call for “working against discrimination based on race, gender, sexual orientation, disability or age.” The amended resolution passed by voice vote.

The next order of business was the discussion and voting on proposed changes to the canons developed in joint meetings with the standing committee, the committee on canons, the governance steering committee and working group, the diocesan council, and the deaneries.

The central change proposed was to create a new Executive Council that would be the board of directors and council of the Diocesan Corporation. Other proposed changes to the canons seek to make governance of the diocese transparent and accountable, in keeping with the vision of the beloved community. This includes simplifying the legal structure of the diocese by merging the Corporation Sole, the legal entity by which the bishop holds property, with the Diocesan Corporation, the legal entity by which the diocese transacts non-ecclesiastical business.

Three amendments to the proposed changes were considered by special convention before voting on the proposed changes to the canon. Votes for all three amendments were too close to call by voice vote, and were taken by card vote.

The first amendment, which would have granted the executive council broad authority to act between convention meetings, was defeated. The second amendment, which removes the interim authority of the Executive Council to act with the powers of convention, passed. The third amendment, which enables deaneries to appoint two laypeople to executive council rather than one clergy member and one layperson, also passed.

A vote was then taken on the proposed changes to the canons, as amended. The voice vote was unanimous, approving the changes.

Two resolutions were then considered. A resolution outlining procedures for transitioning to the new governance structure passed by unanimous voice vote. Another resolution, establishing a task force to examine the mission, scope, purpose, and structure of the deaneries and make recommendations for any appropriate changes to the canons at the 160th Annual Convention of the diocese in 2009, also passed by unanimous voice vote.

At the end of the meeting, Andrus took a moment to introduce the new ethnic and multicultural missioner called to the diocese in fulfillment of a resolution passed by Diocesan Convention in 2007. The Rt. Rev. Steven Charleston was selected to fill this position after a nationwide search during which the interview committee considered a number of highly qualified women and men from a wide variety of backgrounds. Charleston will also serve the diocese as assistant bishop.

Charleston is the president and dean of Episcopal Divinity School, a post he will be leaving this summer before joining the Diocese of California. A citizen of the Choctaw Nation in his home state of Oklahoma, Charleston has been national staff officer for Native American ministries in The Episcopal Church, director of the Dakota Leadership Program, diocesan bishop of Alaska, and assistant bishop of Connecticut. He is widely recognized as a leading advocate for justice issues and spiritual renewal in the church.

In what he called “a refreshing spirit-filled moment,” Charleston spoke briefly to the special convention, saying “I’m coming here full of enthusiasm and with an open heart to work with all of you because I believe this is a great diocese and you’re on the verge of doing some really exciting things that will be excellent for the whole church.” Charleston will begin his work with the Diocese of California this summer.