Annual Convention
Saturday, November 20, 2021
Online Only
In this edition: October 7, 2021

  • Online convention info
  • Registration
  • Elections
  • Resolutions
  • Orientation
  • Finance and budget
  • Convention calendar
Online Convention
November 20, 2021
Yes, for the second year in a row, the Annual Convention of the Episcopal Church in Delaware, to be held Saturday, November 20, 2021, will be online only due to COVID-19. The continuing spread of the highly contagious Delta variant and the rise in breakthrough cases necessitate the move from a hybrid convention (where over a hundred people would be attending an all-day, indoor, in-person event) to a fully online event.
Registration
not required
Since convention will be live-streamed and open to all, there is no need to register or authenticate those without voice or vote.
 
Convention staff will take care of the authentication process for those with voice and vote, based on the information gathered during the certification process. Those with voice and vote are certified lay delegates, certified canonical clergy, and potential voters such as certified lay alternates.
 
In addition, convention staff will handle documenting those who will attend with voice but no vote. These include members of the Diocesan Council, the Standing Committee, the Trustees of the Diocese, Constitution and Canons Committee, the Commission on Ministry, the chancellor and vice chancellors of the diocese, and the registrar of convention.
 
Parish Administrators: This year you have no one to register!
Elections
Training
Training on the election’s platform will be offered by Data on the Spot (DOS), the elections vendor, Thursday, November 11, 2021 and Saturday, November 13, 2021. Voters or potential voters need to attend one of these sessions and plan on 15-30 minutes for training.
 
The windows for training are from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on November 11th, and from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on November 13. 
 
Even if you were trained last year, please plan to attend a training session on one of the scheduled days as a refresher. You may attend for as long as you need. You may sign off when you are comfortable with the process.
 
All delegates and alternates, as well as certified canonical clergy will receive an e-mail from Data on the Spot with training information. Please be on the lookout for this communication.
 
Please note there will be no training available the day of convention, so it is essential that voters and potential voters participate in one of the above trainings.
 
The following are the offices to be elected at the Convention:
CONSTITUTION & CANONS
  • One clergy for a 5-year term. Nominee: the Rev. Ted Olson
DISCIPLINARY BOARD
  • One clergy for a 4-year term. Nominee: the Rev. Margaret Pumphrey

  • One lay for a 4-year term. Nominee: Consuelo Miller
___DIOCESAN COUNCIL
  • Two clergy for a 3-year term. Nominees: the Rev. Deacon Laurence Norfleet, the Rev. Michael Kurth, the Rev. Deacon Sheila Sharpe

  • Three lay-at-large for a 3-year term. Nominees: Jennifer O'Connor, Nancy Talmo, Cindi Cozza

  • One lay in Area 1 for a 3-year term. Nominee: Suzanne Crager
___STANDING COMMITTEE
  • One clergy for a 4-year term. Nominee: the Rev. Russell Bohner

  • One clergy for a two-year term. Nominee: the Rev. David T. Andrews, Jr.

  • One lay for a 4-year term. Nominee: Michael Wood
___TRUSTEES
  • One clergy OR one lay for a 6-year term. Nominees: Richard W. Harra, Mark Parsells
Resolutions
Hearings scheduled in advance
In advance of the convention, a hearing on resolution(s) will be held via Zoom on the afternoon of Sunday, October 24, 2021, from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. This will reduce the work on resolutions that needs to be done on the day of the convention since submitted resolutions will have already been thoroughly discussed.

Our rules of order permit late resolutions to be submitted up to convention day, these are only considered when a super-majority (two-thirds) of voters approves hearing them. Late resolutions (often referred to as floor resolutions) are any debatable resolutions received after the 60-day deadline.

Late resolutions are strongly discouraged. Therefore, the convention will be urged by the bishop to reject consideration of any late resolution that could have been submitted on time, and instead resolution writers are urged to submit them for the next convention.
The resolutions to be considered can be found on the convention webpage at the “Resolutions” button or by clicking here.

Check the convention webpage for all Zoom links.
Orientation
for first time delegates and alternates
Orientation for all delegates and alternates attending convention for the first time will be held, Friday, November 19, 2020, 4:30 p.m. via Zoom. The session should last approximately 30 minutes.

Check the convention webpage for all Zoom links.
Finance and Budget
Presentation Sessions
Two finance and budget presentation sessions will be held via Zoom in the weeks leading up to the convention. Those sessions are scheduled for Wednesday, November 10, 2021, 4:30 p.m. and November 13, 2021, 9:00 a.m. Each session is scheduled for approximately 90 minutes. Since convention will be asked to approve the 2022 preliminary budget, it will be helpful for voters to attend one of these sessions. No sessions will be held the day of the convention.

Check the convention webpage for all Zoom links.
Convention Calendar
  • Sunday, October 24, 1:30 p.m. -- Resolutions Hearing

  • Wednesday, November 10, 4:30 p.m. — Finance and Budget presentation beginning

  • Saturday, November 13, 9:00 a.m. — Finance and Budget presentation (repeat of 11/10)

  • Thursday, November 11, 5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. — Electronic voter training

  • Saturday, November 13, 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. — Electronic voter training

  • Friday, November 19, 4:30 p.m. — New delegate orientation

  • Saturday, November 20, 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. — 237th Annual Convention
Please remember that the convention webpage, is a centralized repository of information and instructions for the 237th Annual Convention.
Issue date: October 7, 2021