TO:
Clergy, Convention Delegates and Diocesan Leadership
FROM:
Leon A. Brathwaite II, Secretary of Convention
DATE:
November 20, 2009
RE:
Summary of Actions by the 224th Diocesan Convention
I am writing to inform you of actions taken by the 224th Annual Convention of the Diocese of Massachusetts, which took place on November 6-7, 2009, at Trinity Church, Boston, Massachusetts. Bishop Shaw gave a series of three meditations focused on the Gospel of John. He emphasized love and sacrifice for the sake of community as the values of the household of God, and said his prayer for the diocese as it enters its next 225 years is for an ever-deeper commitment to joining God’s ongoing creative work in the world.
During Friday’s business session, delegates and clergy heard a canonically required review of the
diocese’s 10-year “Inviting, Forming, Sending, Serving” mission strategy, now six years underway. The
Rev. Canon Mally Lloyd, Canon to the Ordinary, presented a plan to subsume the strategy’s eight goals
into three interdependent focus areas: vital and viable congregations; children, youth and young adults;
and urban, ethnic and multicultural ministries.
Following are some highlights of the event. All Convention actions can be found in the Diocesan
Convention section of our Web site, www.diomass.org.
Convention Election Results:
Members of Standing Committee:
Mr. David G. Bergquist, Christ Church, South Hamilton
The Rev. George H. Welles Jr., Church of Our Saviour, Milton
Members of the Barbara C. Harris Camp and Conference Center Board of Directors:
The Rev. Jonathan T. Eden, Christ Church, Cambridge
Ms. Angela C. McConney, St. Cyprian’s Church, Roxbury
Member of Trustees of Donations:
The Rev. Hall Kirkham II, St. Peter’s Church, Weston
Uncontested Elections:
Clerical Member of the Cathedral Chapter:
The Rev. Robert G. Windsor, Christ Church, Needham
Lay Members of the Cathedral Chapter:
Dr. David Colfax Garre, St. Christopher’s Church, Chatham
Ms. H. Betsy Munzer, St. Paul’s Church, Brookline (filling unexpired term through 2011)
Clerical Member of the Ecclesiastical Trial Court:
The Rev. Gale Davis Morris, Church of the Good Shepherd, Acton
Lay Member of the Ecclesiastical Trial Court:
Ms. Rebecca Alden, St. David’s Church, South Yarmouth
Treasurer of the Diocese:
Mr. James F. Gammill, Church of the Good Shepherd, Watertown
Secretary of the Diocese:
Mr. Leon A. Brathwaite II, Church of the Good Shepherd, Waban
2010 Diocesan Budget: The convention approved a balanced budget of $6.4 million for 2010, which is
$531,000 less than the 2009 budget. Income for 2010 is projected to be down $281,000 from trusts and
endowments and $276,000 from assessments; still, there were no significant program cuts, with spending
generally reduced at the margins. Along with overall belt tightening, the budget eliminates surplus and an
unfilled staff position from 2009. To view the 2010 Summary Budget, visit www.diomass.org.
Compensation and Benefits Committee Resolutions: Resolutions concerning guidelines for minimum
clergy compensation were established, following recommendations of the Compensation and Benefits
Committee. The text of these resolutions is at the end of this memorandum For a copy of the complete
Clergy Compensation and Benefits Committee report contact Ms. Lynn Clark, Director of Human
Resources 617-482-4826, extension 578; email: lclark@diomass.org.
RESOLUTIONS:
Final versions as voted by the 224th Diocesan Convention, Nov. 6-7, 2009,
Trinity Church, Boston
1. Resolution expressing hope for bishop’s interpretation of “pastoral generosity” in the context of
General Convention C056
Resolved, that the 224th Convention of the Diocese of Massachusetts express its hope
that its Bishop will interpret publicly “generous pastoral response” as expressed in
Resolution C056, passed by the 76th General Convention to mean that clergy throughout
the Diocese are permitted to sign marriage licenses and pronounce marriages for any
couple that is legally eligible for marriage in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
2. Resolution affirming actions of the 76th General Convention on slavery and
reconciliation
Resolved, that the 224th Convention of the Diocese of Massachusetts affirms the action
of the 76th General Convention of the Episcopal Church to extend Resolution A123,
which was passed at the 75th General Convention;
and be it further
Resolved, that this 224th Convention joins with the 76th General Convention to encourage
this diocese and its parishes to continue a process to gather information on (1) the
complicity of the Episcopal Church in Massachusetts in the institution of slavery and in
the subsequent history of segregation and discrimination, and (2) examples of resistance
to slavery and discrimination and (3) the economic benefits The Episcopal Church and its
parishes in the Diocese of Massachusetts derived from the transatlantic slave trade and
the institution of slavery, and we continue to call on individual parishes to engage in a
process of inquiry; and be it further Resolved, that Convention urge the Bishops and the Diocesan Council appoint a Task
Force to assist parishes in the history-gathering process, design a process for parishes to
follow, consult with parishes in recording their history, assist the parishes in engaging in
dialogue and truth-telling about that history; and be it further
Resolved, that said parishes be urged to report their histories to the Task Force; and be it
further
Resolved, that a duly appointed Task Force be urged to report its findings to the Bishops
and Diocesan Council, and that the Task Force report on the progress of this work at each
Diocesan Convention through the 227th Convention of the Diocese of Massachusetts; and
be it further Resolved, that we call on the Bishops to report the results of this inquiry, as requested, to
the Executive Council of The Episcopal Church to the 77th General Conventions; and be
it further Resolved, that the information gathering be used as the foundation for truth-telling,
confession, apology, forgiveness, repentance and reconciliation in the Diocese of
Massachusetts and its parishes; and be it further Resolved, that the Diocese of Massachusetts name a Day of Repentance and on that day
hold a service of Repentance after a sufficient number of parishes have completed the
work called for above; and be it further Resolved, that the Diocese of Massachusetts and its member parishes commit to
becoming a transformed, anti-racist church and work toward healing, reconciliation and a
restoration of wholeness to the family of God.
Resolutions on Clergy Compensation and Benefits:
Resolved That the diocesan Total Clergy Compensation (TCC) be defined as the total of cash stipend,
utilities allowance, housing, SECA (Self Employment Contribution Act) allowance, if any, and all other
cash compensation paid to an individual clergyperson. TCC does not include benefits (e.g. pension, health
or dental insurance, etc.) or reimbursements for job-related expenses as described in the 2010 Guidelines.
Resolved That the TCC Standard be defined as the minimum TCC for active full-time parochial clergy
and, for the calendar year 2010, is determined by the following formula:
TCC Standard = $57,186 + (117.55 x Points) + $500 x [years of service within the congregation]
Provided that the minimum TCC Standard for full-time parochial clergy is $60,713.
Points are determined as the sum of three factors, calculated from data taken from the most recent
Parochial Report:
Total Current Operating Revenues (000s) x .30
+ Number of Current Adult Pledging Units x .40
+ Average Current Sunday-Attendance x .30
= Total Points
The TCC applicable to a full-time rector, vicar, priest-in-charge or interim shall not be less than 100% of
the TCC Standard for the congregation.
The TCC applicable to a full-time curate shall not be less than:
TCC Standard (curate) = [$57,186 + (117.55 x Points)] x 0.65
The TCC applicable to a full-time assistant rector shall not be less than:
TCC Standard (assistant) = [$57,186 + (117.55 x Points)] x 0.70
+ $350 x [years of service within the congregation]
The TCC applicable to a full-time associate rector shall not be less than:
TCC Standard (associate) = [$57,186 + (117.55 x Points)] x 0.75
+ $375 x [years of service within the congregation]
Provided that in each case no more than ten years of service will be considered in this calculation
Resolution in Response to Bishop’s Meditations:
In response to the messages of our bishop, Jason Long, Mally Lloyd and Waetie Kumahia to this
convention, we resolve to make our diocese, churches and faith communities new homes which are open
to God’s purposes and which invite and embrace the holy discomfort of serving God first. Through the
three primary goals of the continuing mission strategy of the diocese–providing support for children,
youth and young adults; vital and viable congregations; and urban, ethnic and multicultural
congregations–we commit ourselves to the humble servanthood commended to us by Jesus as he washed
the disciples’ feet; and shown by Mary when she said “Yes”; and by Jesus in the garden, when he said,
“Thy will be done.”
