The Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh held its reorganizing convention Dec. 13–14 at St. Paul’s Church in suburban Mt. Lebanon. The special convention, “Coming Together in Faith,” adopted a budget and elected more than 50 people to positions vacated by those who followed Bishop Robert Duncan out of The Episcopal Church after the annual convention vote Oct. 4 to realign with the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone.
 
Twenty-seven congregations sent voting deputations to the meeting, including Trinity Cathedral, which previously announced plans to serve as the cathedral for both dioceses and had sent deputies to the convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh (Anglican) as well. Deputies approved a $789,198 budget for 2009. The amount includes a grant of $270,000 from The Episcopal Church.
 
Special guests included four Episcopal bishops: Nathan Baxter of Central Pennsylvania, Paul Marshall of Bethlehem, Sean Rowe of Northwestern Pennsylvania, and David Jones, Bishop Suffragan of Virginia, who has been retained by the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh as a special consultant. Other guests present included the Ven. Richard Cluett, recently named by Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori as pastoral assistant to reorganizing dioceses. Bishop Jefferts Schori herself briefly greeted participants in a video recording shown during the convention.
 
The Rev. James Simons, president of the standing committee, set the tone for the convention in his state of the diocese address. Referring to Ecclesiastes 3:5, Fr. Simons declared, “I would like to suggest that we end the season of stone throwing and enter into a new season—one in which stones are gathered, gathered so that we might rebuild what has been torn down.” He acknowledged that the diocese needed to recover from a “culture of fear and control” and admitted that many present, himself included, had contributed to creating such a culture. The foundation stone for a renewed diocese, Fr. Simons suggested, is Jesus Christ, and the diversity that has been characteristic of The Episcopal Church is the byproduct of building a healthy community through Christ-like behavior.
 
Fr. Simons announced that the standing committee had signed a letter of agreement with the Rt. Rev. Robert Hodges Johnson, former Bishop of Western North Carolina, to serve as assisting bishop through July 2009. Bishop Johnson, who did not attend the convention, had played a similar role in the recent renewal of the Diocese of Southern Virginia.
 
The convention adopted resolutions to ratify previous actions taken by the standing committee, to waive the required deadlines for nominations and resolutions, to consolidate regional parish groupings from eight to six, and to reestablish accession of the diocese to the constitution and canons of The Episcopal Church. No debate was needed for approval of the four resolutions, which attracted no negative votes and only a single abstention.
 
A new spirit of teamwork and diversity was apparent in ancillary activities. Individual parishes took responsibility for the food provided to deputies at the various breaks. Music was provided by a combined choir of half a dozen churches, and, for the first time in many years, groups could set up display tables without having an official relationship with the diocese. First-time exhibitors included a Ugandan orphanage, Integrity Pittsburgh, and Progressive Episcopalians of Pittsburgh.
 
The convention concluded with the reorganized diocese’s first ordination, followed by a reception. St. Paul’s curate, the Rev. Kristian Opat, was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Jones, who completed his work as consultant to the standing committee.
 
Lionel Deimel
 
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