(from The Episcopal Church, Office of Public Affairs)
The House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church is meeting at the Kanuga Conference Center in North Carolina from March 25 to March 30. The following is an account of the activities for Friday, March 25.
The first session was opened by Emcee for the Day, Bishop Nedi Rivera.
Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori introduced:
New bishops: Martin Field of West Missouri; Scott Hayashi of Utah; Dan Martins from Springfield.; Michael Milliken of Western Kansas; Michael Vono of Rio Grande; Terry White of Kentucky.
Bishops-Elect: William Franklin of Western New York; Rayford Ray of Northern Michigan.
The Presiding Bishop also introduced the international guests: Archbishop Fred Hiltz of the Anglican Church of Canada (to arrive later); Archbishop Henri Isingoma, Primate of Congo; and Archbishop Bishop Paul Kim, Primate of South Korea.
The members of the House took time to check-in, reconnect and share.
Bishop Rivera provided an overview of the HOB schedule and topics. She noted that the theme is “Proclaiming the Gospel in the World.”
The Presiding Bishop addressed the assembly, talking about the connections between the HOB meeting schedule and the announced topics: Proclamation of the Gospel to Young Adults, Islam and Christianity, The Proposed Anglican Covenant, Recruiting and Preparing Young People for Church Leadership. She focused on leadership in a changing world, urging the Church to raise up leaders to be agents of change for the sake of God’s mission.
HOB Vice President Bishop Dean Wolfe of Kansas talked about the seven core values of HOB. Following that, there were discussions about the use of Facebook, texting and tweeting during the HOB meetings, and a consensus was reached among the members.
During a Town Hall meeting, the bishops discussed various topics of interest.
The session concluded with Eucharist; the Presiding Bishop celebrated and preached. The Town Hall session will continue after dinner.