2021-10-28 CONVENTION 53

CONVENTION 53

The 53rd Annual Meeting of Convention of The Episcopal Diocese of Hawai'i
Friday & Saturday, October 22-23, 2021
Online LIVE from Tenney Theater at The Cathedral of St. Andrew, Honolulu, HI

[October 28, 2021, Special Edition E-Chronicle] The 53rd Annual Meeting of Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Hawai'i wrapped up on Saturday afternoon, October 23, 2021. This was the second all virtual annual meeting held on Zoom due to safety considerations related to the pandemic. Convention 53 also included a Friday Education Day led by the Diocese's Reconciliation Task Force, that featured impressive guest speakers to address the sensitive topic of race and history in the Islands. The recorded session and more information on Education Day can be found further below after the Annual Meeting coverage.

Like last year, the Annual Meeting was livestreamed and available for viewing by the public on the homepage of the Diocese's website and YouTube channel, and an edited version (with breaks removed) is now available for viewing on this page.

About a dozen people gathered in Tenney Theater and the Diocesan Support Center to bring the virtual meeting into the homes of delegates and spectators. On-site were the officers of the meeting, the Diocesan Support Center team, those running credentials, voting, communications, tech help, and others acting as runners. All were required to take a COVID Rapid Test when they arrived and test negative before assuming their roles.

Tenney Theater, normally bustling with activity on a day like this, was eerily empty except for the tables, cables, and electronic devices for the handful of people at their "stations." The theater, which serves as the "home" for the Hawai'i Theater for Youth, had some props strewn about including muppet-like characters seated in the chairs, providing a comical (and quite expressive) audience of sorts.

On stage were two 6' tables, one for Bishop Robert Fitzpatrick, President of the Convention, and the other for Dispatch of Business Chair, Mary Carpenter. Just below the stage, individual work stations were set up for the crew that would be handling the technical aspects of the meeting: Denise Esposito, the Bishop's Executive Assistant, was in charge of the slides; the Rev. Canon Sandy Graham served as the announcer and monitored the Chat box and Reactions in order to keep the Bishop informed via a giant (no joke) TV screen; Erin Richardson Severin served as the Elections Chair and controlled the voting polls; Sybil Nishioka served as the host and controlled the video presentations and meeting controls. Behind them, seated in the first row with their own tables, were the Rev. Annalise Pasalo, Secretary of the Convention, and Wayne Yoshigai, Chancellor. Located at the top of the theater with a birds-eye view, were the Credentials team of the Rev. Mark Haworth and his wife Jill.

Overseeing the entire operation was Rae Costa, the Diocese's Business Manager and event organizer. Seated just below center stage, Rae had her pulse on every aspect of the operation, ready to provide support and extinguish any possible "fires." She monitored everyone's roles and fielded texts and emails throughout the meeting.

"Remembering those who have gone before"

Bishop Fitzpatrick calls upon us to take time to remember "those who have gone before" especially during these troubled times. These include those who died in our congregations during the isolation of the pandemic and also our spiritual ancestors as we face a new normal and changed reality. Appearing in this year's convention logo is the cross at St. Stephen's in Wahiawa.

O God, the Maker and Redeemer of all believers: Grant to the faithful departed the unsearchable benefits of the passion of your Son; that on the day of his appearing they may be manifested as your children; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Lessons: Wisdom 3:1-6, Psalm 130, 1 Corinthians 15:50-58, John 5:19-30

Preparing & Training

Months before the meeting, event organizers faced a number of challenges that kept them on their toes. Up until July, there were still plans in place for the meeting to be held in-person at 'Iolani School, even when the school requested a change to move the original dates of October 29-30, to a week earier. Then a suge of COVID cases hit the islands during the summer, forcing a return to tighter restrictions. With the looming uncertainty of the pandemic, it was decided to switch to an all-virtual event.

Last minute changes, new delegates, changes in Zoom, and the possibility of a new election platform, were all considerations for another series of training sessions to be scheduled. Although more folks had become familiar with the Zoom platform over the past year, voting through polls and the use of certain new "reaction" features needed to be addressed. Training sessions on different devices were held in early October, and the recorded sessions posted on the Convention webpage for folks to view at their convenience.

For months, weekly Zoom meetings were held with the planning team, including dress rehearsals as the date neared. This year's "perk" for registering early were earbuds for electronic devices, complete with a zippered pouch printed with the Episcopal shield on it.

Just wanted to thank you sooo much for Annual Meeting's training session, at least the recorded one for my laptop (Mac Book Pro), which I took advantage of, a few times. T’was simple to follow, clear, with meaningful instructions. But with my makule brain, I had to watch, over and over and over again. Well done on your parts! - The Rev. Cn. Frank Chun

The Convention Sermon

In the years prior to the pandemic, the Convention Eucharist served as the official start to the Annual Meeting that usually took place on Friday afternoon, the day before the Annual Meeting. With the meeting going virtual for a second time, the Bishop once again prepared a pre-recorded Convention Sermon for churches to share during services the Sunday before the meeting, on October 17. His sermon can be viewed here. To download the text version of his sermon, click on the link below.

2021_convention_sermon_final_wlogo.docx
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Download File

The Meeting

Staggered check-in began at 7:30 AM, a full hour before closing at 8:30 AM, to give the Credentials team of the Rev. Mark Haworth and his wife Jill, enough time to get everyone checked in properly and numbers tabulated. As with all Annual Meetings, late check-ins would not be admitted, losing their ability to vote. A total of 195 officially checked into the meeting, not including those who were watching the livestream.

The meeting convened promptly at 8:45 AM by Bishop Robert Fitzpatrick. The customary announcements, introductions, and housekeeping rules followed, and then it was on to the order of business. Throughout the meeting there were no major glitches and "voting" through Zoom polls and floor votes also went smoothly. Due to the nature of a virtual gathering, 15 video presentations were prepared ahead of time that included the Bishop's Address, Response to his Address, committee reports and four Special Orders of Business.

Watch the entire livestream of the meeting above.

Meeting screenshots & your selfies! Mahalo!

The Bishop's Address to Convention & Response

One of the highlights of the Annual Meeting is the Bishop's Address and this year's Address was pre-recorded once again. You can view the video below or go directly to the Diocese's YouTube channel HERE. This year's Response was also pre-recorded and featured the Rev. Chris Bridges from Epiphany, Roth Puahala from The Cathedral, the Rev. Libby Berman of Holy Nativity, and John Decker from Good Shepherd. To view the text of the Bishop's Convention Address, click HERE.

The Resolutions

Going into the meeting there were four resolutions being considered. Dialogue was light and cordial, with the only extended discussion taking place on Resolution #2 (Revisions to the Canons) concerning the utilization of gender nouns/pronouns. The status of the resolutions considered during the meeting are as follows:

ADOPTED - Resolution #1: 2022 Minimum Clergy Compensation and Benefits Policy of the Episcopal Diocese of Hawaiʻi
ADOPTED AS AMENDED: Resolution #2: Revisions to the Canons of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Hawai‘i (Red line version - Final amended version to be posted soon)
REPLACED BY SUBSTITUTE RESOLUTION #3 - Resolution #3: Making Climate Change and Global Warming More Central to the Parishes of Hawai‘i
REPLACED BY SUSBTITUTE RESOLUTION #3 - Resolution #4: Calling for Collaborative Creation Care
ADOPTED - Substitute Resolution #3

The Proposed Budget for 2022 passed easily. Delegates were asked to watch a video presentation beforehand that explained the major changes and highlights. The final approved budget documents will be available for viewing soon and posted on this page under the Convention Downloads section further below, and on the Forms and Documents page of the Diocesan website.

During the meeting, Special Orders of Business in the form of video presentations were shown. The video presentations for Camp Mokule'ia, the Prison Ministry, and Halau Wa'a Episcopal, can be viewed in the Video Presentations section further below.

Courtesy Resolutions were adopted, and greetings, final announcements, and future meeting dates were made by the Secretary of Convention, Annalise Pasalo.

Congratulations for an excellently run Convention. Everybody must have worked hard and long to pull it all together. Great communication, wonderful videos and slides, overall an excellent event. The tribute to Peter was stunning! Many mahalos, Peace and Aloha - Louisa Le Roux

Dear Diocese Hard Working Group: You folks did an outstanding job with the convention yesterday and with the Education day on Friday. I was very impressed. You anticipated problems and issues and solved them immediately. You told people what to expect and set things up so all could participate. What great work! Thank you for such an outstanding effort. Excellent Convention!
ALOHA - Paul Nachtigall

Aloha & Mahalo Peter!

A fourth very Special Order of Business was saying "Aloha and Mahalo" to Peter Pereira, who will be retiring after serving as the Diocesan Treasurer for 30 years. A beautiful koa box was presented "virtually" along with a special mahalo video with well wishes from near and far (shown below). A separate message from Peter to the Diocese can be found in the Video Presentations section further below.

The meeting ended about 45 minutes earlier than anticipated, and closed with the singing of "Aloha 'Oe" that contained a slideshow and video clips of the past year's activities at churches around the Diocese.

The official Meeting Journal is now available in the Convention Downloads section below and on the Past Meetings of Convention webpage. The approved 2022 Budget will also be posted soon below and on the Forms and Documents page of the Diocesan website HERE.

Convention Downloads:

CONVENTION 53 MEETING JOURNAL

APPROVED BUDGET NARRATIVE 2022

APPROVED BUDGET NUMBERS 2021

bishop's report to convention

BISHOP'S CONVENTION SERMON

EDUCATION DAY: RECONCILIATION

Convention 53 included an Education Day offering on Friday, October 22, 2021. The event was hosted by the Reconciliation Task Force led by the Revs. Jazzy Bostock and Andrew Arakawa. About 150 people took part in the online event that featured guest speakers, Dr. Jonathan Okamura, Professor Emeritus at University of Hawai‘i, and Dr. Akiemi Glenn, Founder and Executive Director of The Pōpolo Project. During lunch, Dr. Jonathan Osorio and his daughter Jamaica "Heoli" Osorio, gave moving testimony and historical information interspersed with beautiful Hawaiian songs.

The subject of Reconciliation has been an important topic in the Diocese, especially as it relates to the history of race in the Islands. All speakers shared valuable historical information including documents and pictures that shed new light on life during a time when foreigners had begun taking control. Participants were able to meet in smaller breakout "rooms" to discuss and share thoughts and feelings in a more intimate setting. The second half of the day was spent on "a deeper dive into reconciliation."

Below is the recorded Zoom session, and some photos/screenshots of the day's event. If you would like to get involved with the work the Reconciliation Task Force is doing, contact the Rev. Jazzy Bostock by email HERE or the Rev. Andrew Arakawa HERE.

(Zoom recording of Education Day)

(Pictures and screenshots at Education Day)

Mahalo to the participants and all those involved for another successful Convention!

I am so grateful to work with such a wonderful team that makes all of this possible! Mahalo to everyone who helped – the Diocesan Support Center staff, the planning committee, Cathedral staff, and the Hawai'i Theater for Youth. - Rae Costa, Business Manager and Event Organizer

Sybil Nishioka, Editor & Communications Contractor, Episcopal Diocese of Hawai'i
Photos: S. Nishioka, Contributed photos from participants (selfies)
Budget Presentation: Trip Lynch, Nancy Rowe, Diocesan Council, Denise Esposito (slides), S. Nishioka (video editing)
Clergy Compensation Video: The Rev. David Jackson, Clergy Compensation Review Committee
Camp Mokule'ia Video: Camp Mokule'ia (photos), 3G Innovations Digital Marketing (video editing)
Prison Ministry Video: The Rev. Kaleo Patterson, The Rev. Haaheo Guanson, Keith Fletcher-Hawaii Media Graphics (video editing)
Halau Wa'a Church Plant Video: The Rev. Mark Haworth
Bishop's Sermon, Bishop's Address, Response to Bishop's Address, Necrology, Mahalo Peter, Peter's Message, Aloha 'Oe, Welcome & Intro: S. Nishioka (video editing and production)
Mahalo Peter video clips contributed; photos from Diocesan archive and contributed photos
"Aloha 'Oe" performed by Sienna Achong (soloist) and John Alexander (pianist)
Aloha 'Oe photos and video clips from church Facebook pages and websites