Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori challenged Executive Council to undertake a critical self-review and offered a possible role in a review of her own performance Oct. 28 during closing remarks of the council in Dearborn, Mich.

“I have structured my ordained life around ministry review,” she said. “I don’t know if that has ever been done before for the Presiding Bishop.”

Bishop Jefferts Schori encouraged the group to “strengthen itself as a board,” mentioning continuing education of members and more effective ways of communicating with a wider audience.

“I would also challenge this board how it might do better structurally,” she said, inviting members to review whether the current committee system best accomplishes council priorities.

The closing remarks followed nearly an hour of plenary debate before council endorsed Bishop Jefferts Schori’s proposed reorganization of the Episcopal Church Center, including "reallocation of up to $550,000 for 2008, not currently identified in the 2007-09 triennial budget approved by the 75th General Convention.” The reorganization also was discussed for more than four hours during the two previous days by council members appointed to the Administration and Finance Committee.

A detailed account of those discussions, which included the opportunity to ask detailed questions of Kurt Barnes, the treasurer, and Linda Watt, the chief operating officer, was not available to all council members.

Some of the concerns expressed by council members during the closing plenary had to do with the fact that they were not briefed more extensively ahead of the Sept. 5 announcement and that the additional funds needed for the reorganization constituted a new spending item not previously authorized by General Convention.

The discussion also included a cordial exchange of views in which Bonnie Anderson, president of the House of Deputies, questioned whether council’s role as overseer of the General Convention was being honored sufficiently.

“My understanding is that it is the Presiding Bishop’s responsibility to staff the Church Center in line with priorities approved by General Convention,” Bishop Jefferts Schori said. “We do expect you to ask hard questions, but in order to fulfill that responsibility I need to be able to retain that authority.”

As agents of General Convention when it is not in session, Executive Council exercised its prerogative to be briefed in private session on the latest parochial report data before it is released to the public later this week. Members were reportedly informed that the decline was not significantly worse than it has been in recent years, but that the trend of continued decline should be a cause for concern.

Council also used private time to draft responses to the Archbishop of Canterbury’s proposed Anglican Covenant and the House of Bishop’s statement to the Anglican Communion following the bishops’ meeting in New Orleans Sept. 20-25. Those two resolutions were approved without debate during the closing plenary on Sunday afternoon.

Steve Waring

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