The Episcopal Church must “expose and oppose gender violence and all forms of inequality in our midst,” according to the Committee on the Status of Women. The committee, whose mission is “to support and advise the Presiding Bishop on matters affecting the participation of women in the Church,” has proposed seven resolutions in its Blue Book report to General Convention.

In their Blue Book report, committee members said they conducted focus groups in the 13 dioceses represented by committee members to determine the views of young adults regarding women’s leadership in the church, expansive language for God and inclusive language for people.

Resolution A136 strongly encourages regular use of the liturgical resources in Enriching Our Worship on Sundays. “Enriching Our Worship uses expansive language and images of God that broaden our experience of the holy,” an explanation to the proposed resolution states. “More expansive language and images of God’s people allow more people to feel welcome and included in the worship life of the Church.”

Another resolution (A137) titled “Baptismal Equality Task Force” directs the Executive Council “to appoint a task force for interpreting our biblical and theological language and heritage about God and people in ways that include all those created in God’s image” and “offer guidelines to assure linguistic visibility in the everyday worship, music, education, preaching, written materials, and clip art used at the congregational, diocesan and national levels of the Episcopal Church.” The accompanying explanation states that “Inclusivity and equality are the common denominators in all of Jesus’ parables about the household (kingdom) of God. Today the Church is challenged to look at what it means to receive someone through baptism into the household of God and to include them fully into its life and ministry.”

Dioceses that do not ordain women to the priesthood will again be “encouraged to provide for the ordination and exercise of priestly ministry by women in their dioceses,” according to Resolution A139.

General Convention will be asked to address the retirement needs of female clergy in Resolution A140, which asks the Church Pension Group to consult with women clergy as they approach retirement. Typically women are paid less then men and in the Episcopal Church this affects the pension benefit available to women upon retirement, according to the Rev. Elizabeth Morris Downie, a clergy deputy to General Convention from the Diocese of Eastern Michigan and president of the Episcopal Women’s Caucus, one of 11 advocacy groups affiliated with the Episcopal Church that have formed a coalition called "The Consultation."

“There is considerable disparity and it arises out of the continuing sexism of this Church,” Ms. Downie said.

In an introduction to its platform, the Consultation states, "We come to the 2006 General Convention in Columbus understanding clearly that the Episcopal Church is once again at a watershed moment in history. Now more than ever, it is critical to articulate what we believe and what we are called to do.”

Other resolutions supported by The Consultation call on General Convention to approve the Millennium Development Goals, moral deliberation of difficult theological and social issues and development of a standardized domestic abuse training curriculum, and a requirement that all clergy and lay professionals complete a minimum of six hours of this training by 2012.

Members of the Consultation include:

• Associated Parishes for Liturgy and Mission

• Episcopal Asiamerica Ministry Advocates

• Episcopal Church Publishing Company

• Episcopal Ecological Network

• Episcopal Network for Economic Justice

• Episcopal Peace Fellowship

• Episcopal Urban Caucus

• Episcopal Women’s Caucus

• Integrity

• Province 8 Native American Ministries Network

• Union of Black Episcopalians

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