Virginia Episcopalian Magazine Winter 2014 Issue | Page 23

Structure, Vision
and Imagination
Megan-Drew Tiller
Over the past year and a half, the Task Force for Reimagining the Episcopal Church,
created by Resolution C095 at General Convention 2012, worked to develop “a plan for
reforming the Church’s structures, governance and administration.” Consisting of 24
clergy and lay leaders from across the Episcopal Church, as well as two representatives
of the greater Anglican Communion, the Task Force was appointed by the Most Rev.
Katharine Jefferts Schori, presiding bishop, and the Rev. Gay Clark Jennings, president
of the House of Deputies, following a round of nominations across the Church that
took place in the fall of 2012 and garnered more than 600 nominations.

The movement to restructure the
current system is quite widespread,
stemming from a 2011 proposal from
the Rt. Rev. Stacy Sauls, the Episcopal
Church’s Chief Operating Officer, which
called for substantial changes to the
Church’s constitution. As it currently
stands, approximately 47 percent of
the Episcopal Church budget goes
to fund administration, governance
and General Convention, leaving 53
percent for the mission of the Church.
At General Convention 2012, 90 of
the 400 resolutions presented were
related to restructuring the Episcopal
Church, and Resolution C095 was
passed unanimously in both the House
of Deputies and the House of Bishops,
leading to the creation of the Task Force

for Reimagining the Episcopal Church.

Through prayerful discernment,
the Task Force has identified a number
of questions whose answers will guide
their work.
• Who are we as Episcopalians? What is

our particular identity?
• How is Episcopal identity being

expressed and renewed in the
context of the 21st century?
• How has our Church-wide

organization evolved, and does
the current paradigm best support
our identity and calling in today’s
context?
• What do we need from a Church
wide organization today and going
forward?

To answer these questions, and others
that have arisen, the Task Force for
Reimagining the Episcopal Church has
taken to social media, reaching out
through Facebook and Twitter. On its
website, the Task Force has provided
an engagement kit designed for groups
of all sizes, as well as a timeline of its
work, beginning with the first meeting
in February of 2013 and ending in
November of 2014, when the Task Force
will present their findings and make
recommendations for the future. 

The Task Force will next consider
how best to capitalize on the energy
surrounding this issue, and how to
invigorate the Church for the possible
changes ahead. Members will take
into account all that they have learned
through their data gathering and
then design a plan in the form of
one or more resolutions for General
Convention 2015. t

Learn more at reimaginetec.org

Winter 2014 / Virginia Episcopalian

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