A spirited, engaged crowd of more than 500 clergy and lay members of our diocese gathered in Burlington on November 14 and 15 to participate in the Diocese’s Annual Convention!
Convention Highlights:
Keynote by The Most Rev. Melissa Skelton, most recently Bishop Provisional in the Episcopal Diocese of Olympia, on congregational development and the importance of churches understanding their purpose. “No one had ever introduced the concept of ‘purpose’ to me and my impression of church was ‘spinning plates’—the rush of energy that requires you to be busy all of the time,” says Bishop Skelton. In her keynote, she presented a Gather, Transform, Send model that helps congregations develop and articulate their core identity, as a way to deepen who they are and appeal to newcomers most suited to their church. Listen to the keynote.
Bishop’s Address Bishop Whitworth emphasized the critical work that was done over the past few years, with input from more than 800 people, on diocesan core values, mission, and priorities (English slides, Spanish slides). She highlighted a range of commitments that came out of the visioning work, including hiring Hispanic and Justice missioners; hiring a Canon for Communications, Witness, and Engagement; supporting congregations in best utilizing real estate and with operational structures; and committing resources to formation throughout the diocese, including youth formation “the church of today.” Bishop Whitworth closed by introducing an Immigrant Legal Emergency Fund she has seeded with the Bishop’s Discretionary Fund, challenging those at the Convention to raise $10,000—which was accomplished—on Saturday to bring the fund to more than $100,000 to help immigrants with urgent needs. Listen to Bishop Whitworth’s address.
Courage and Joy Awards Bishop Whitworth bestowed the diocese’s first Courage and Joy Awards to members of our diocese who have demonstrated extraordinary courage and joy in their life and ministry. Recipients were: Rev. Ema Rosero-Nordalm, Community of Oscar Romero at The Allston Abbey; Rev. Brett Johnson, Emmanuel Episcopal Church, Wakefield; Samuel Mayanja from St. Peter’s Waltham; and Anne Shumway, St. James’s Episcopal Church, Cambridge.
Workshops on topics related to the diocese’s strategic agenda, including Invite, Welcome, Connect; stewardship; building collaborative churches; standing with the vulnerable; faith formation; and supporting LGBTQIA+ youth and adults. The workshop Managing Church Property for Mission, led by representatives from Stewardship Realty, addressed how churches can create financial sustainability through the redevelopment or reuse of church assets. Stewardship Realty emphasized that their approach is to generate creative ways to leverage church assets, like selling a portion of property for mission-focused projects such as low-income housing, to produce ongoing income. Rarely do they recommend selling churches outright because they are focused on long-term sustainability. Stewardship Realty’s process starts with an analysis of the missional and real estate potential of a church property. Reach out at admin@stewardshipr.com to start a conversation.
Resolutions As part of the diocese’s public witness, resolutions passed at Convention included:
- Three resolutions responding to the current political moment in the United States, asked Episcopalians in the diocese to live into and act out of the promises made in their Baptismal Covenant to seek and serve Christ in all persons, and to strive for justice and peace respecting the dignity of every human being:
- A Resolution Affirming Human Rights for All People in U.S. Prisons and Detention Centers.
- A Resolution in Support of Massachusetts’ Immigrant Community with Special Emphasis on Those at Risk of Losing Temporary Protected Status.
- A Resolution for Due Process for All.
- A Resolution in Allyship with Those Working on the MA Indigenous Legislative Agenda, which built upon the episcopal letter co-authored in June by the Rt. Rev. Julia E. Whitworth, Bishop of Massachusetts, and the Rt. Rev. Douglas J. Fisher, Bishop of Western Massachusetts, and asked Episcopalians in the diocese to affirm support for the Massachusetts Indigenous Legislative Agenda.
- A Courtesy Resolution in Honor of Jerome Woods Berryman (1937-2024) asked Episcopalians in the diocese to honor the life and legacy of Rev. Dr. Berryman who was the founder of Godly Play, a program that has had deep and far-reaching formative impacts on Episcopalians in the diocese and around the world.
- A Resolution in Response to the Convention Address, affirming our diocese’s new strategic vision and the establishment of the Immigrant Legal Emergency Fund, and authorizing the position of Assisting Bishop in this diocese.
The Convention also revised two diocesan canons: updating language around the Diocese's mission and strategic visioning to align with the discernment work we've undertaken this year, as well as establishing the authority of the Convention's Rules of Order within the canons. Convention also took a first vote on changing our Constitution to allow deacons to be elected to the Standing Committee, which will require passage at next year's Convention before it becomes effective.