[The Episcopal News] Nominations are now open for officers to be elected at Diocesan Convention Nov. 30 – Dec. 1. Some elections are for members of diocesan governance or finance boards, such as Diocesan Council, Standing Committee, Commission on Ministry, Corporation of the Diocese and Diocesan Investment Trust. Others are for campus ministries and diocesan institutions. More information about the offices and their responsibilities is here.
Candidates must be nominated by a member of the clergy or an elected lay delegate, and must send in a nomination form (here) and a photo, brief biography and a statement of reasons for running for office, or vision for the office. Instructions for submitting this information are here. To be included on the official tally sheet, nominees must submit their nomination forms and information by Oct. 20; to be included in the online nominations, the deadline is Nov. 20. Nominations also may be submitted (with a completed nomination form) at the convention.
Offices open for nomination are:
Canterbury college chaplaincy programs
Members of the board of directors for Canterbury Irvine, Canterbury USC, and Canterbury Westwood guide the work of Episcopal chaplaincy programs at, respectively, the University of Irvine, the University of Southern California, and the University of California, Los Angeles. One new director will be elected for a one-year term. Candidates may be either clergy or lay. Responsibilities are similar to those of a vestry member in a parish: fund raising, financial oversight and participation in setting direction and budget. The boards meet two to six times per year, usually on a weekday evening.
Corporation of the Diocese
The corporation oversees a variety of matters pertaining to finances, audits, insurance, taxes, legal documents, purchase and sale of properties, renovations, bequests, etc. It meets from 2 to 4 p.m. on the third Tuesday of each month at the Cathedral Center. One clergy and two lay members of the board of the directors will be elected, each for a three-year term.
Commission on Ministry
The commission advises and assists the bishop in the design and oversight of the ongoing process for recruitment, discernment, and formation for ministry. It meets on four weekends a year and on other days as required. One clergy and one lay member will be elected, each for a three-year term.
Diocesan Investment Trust
This group oversees the administration of the trust. Its objective is to achieve reasonable income while seeking to preserve capital. Meetings are held on the fourth Tuesday of the month at 11 a.m. (February, May, September, and December). One trustee, clergy or lay, will be elected for a four-year term.
Diocesan Council
The council is a body of elected lay and clergy representatives from each deanery and at-large (elected by convention) who serve between meetings of Diocesan Convention to oversee the programs of the Diocese. The council meets the second Thursday of the month, 4 – 6 p.m., at the Cathedral Center. One clergy member will be elected for a three-year term; one clergy member to fill a two-year unexpired term; and one lay member for a three-year term.
HFS (Holy Family Services) Adoption and Foster Care
This institution of the diocese works with birth mothers and foster and adoptive families to provide homes for children. One clergy or lay diocesan representative to the board of directors will be elected at convention for a three-year term.
Secretary of Convention
One clergy or lay person will be elected as secretary for 2019 to manage all aspects of Diocesan Convention, as well as clergy and church records throughout the year.
Standing Committee
The Standing Committee acts as the ecclesiastical authority when the bishop and the bishop suffragan are absent or incapacitated. It provides advice and consent to the Bishop on property issues, presentment issues for clergy, recommendations from the Corporation of the Diocese, and other legal aspects of the diocese; participates in the consents to the elections of and consecrations of bishops for other dioceses, and votes to approve or disapprove the admission of persons to the process to ordination to the priesthood and diaconate in the diocese. Meetings are held at the Cathedral Center on the fourth Wednesday of the month, 1 – 3 p.m. One clergy and one lay member will be elected, each for a four-year term.
For information about Diocesan Convention, visit its new website at www.diocesanconvention.com
