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June 1, 2006
Send comments and questions to the Standing Committee at standingcom[atecr]edecr.org.
The Standing Committee is one of three bodies
canonically mandated by the national Constitution
and Canons (Commission on Ministry and Finance
Committee are the other two). When a Bishop is in
charge of a diocese, the Standing Committee serves
as the Bishop’s Council of Advice. However, if
there is no Bishop, the Standing Committee becomes
the Ecclesiastical Authority for all purposes
declared by the General Convention. That is now
the case in El Camino Real.
Bishop Romero is an Assisting Bishop. Although he
and the Standing Committee work very closely
together in all matters, he is not responsible for
the governance of the diocese. He is the spiritual
adviser and confidante for the clergy; in fact, he
has been an excellent spiritual adviser to
everyone in the diocese. He is teaching us what it
means to practice shared ministry.
The governance of the diocese is in the hands of
the Ecclesiastical Authority, and much of that
work involves the receiving of reports from all
committees and other bodies, as well as the
Bishop, Canon, and Administrator. It means
overseeing the workings of the diocese, appointing
task forces when necessary, appointing persons to
serve on committees, and meeting with the Staff,
Bishop, Canon, and Administrator on a weekly
basis. It means being responsible for all that
goes on in a diocese even though much of that work
is delegated.
Beginning now and over the next few months, each
member of the Standing Committee with a liaison
responsibility will report on what his or her
liaison role means, and how liaisons are helping
to build trust and accountability among all
diocesan bodies.
I have been the liaison to the Conference Planning
Team (CPT) which did the planning of the
conferences in 2005 with the Rev. Rob Voyle. The
CPT’s focus for 2006 is to look at adult education
within the diocese. Since Canon Jan Wood left,
there has been no one person responsible for this.
In this interim time, the CPT has agreed to
coordinate the diocese’s various training programs
and provide a calendar of events for the next 2-3
years.
In May the CPT hosted a meeting for all people
involved in some sort of training for the diocese.
At that meeting, an attempt was made to identify
all of the various types of training that are
either being offered now or could be offered in
the future. Some 25-30 programs have been
identified to date. Also discussed was the option
to share training with the dioceses of California
and Northern California by offering some programs
together. More information on this will be
forthcoming with the publication of a list of
programs and schedule of dates. |
The Standing Committee welcomes responses,
comments and suggestions at all times. Contact the
Standing Committee at
standingcom[atecr]edecr.org. | | |
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