Do you have questions or comments about proposed changes and additions to the canons of the diocese? Come to an open forum at 6:30 pm on Thursday, July 16 in the parish hall of Trinity Episcopal Church.
The forum, moderated by the Rev. Courtland Moore, is anticipated to last no longer than two hours. Members of the Constitution and Canons committee will be present to hear your thoughts and answer questions on the canon revision process.
People from across the diocese have been sending comments and feedback to the committee through an online survey and by email during the month of June and part of July. This forum will provide an in-person opportunity for people to discuss the proposed changes before the first round of comments closes on July 17.
The committee has already been going over suggestions that people have submitted so far, and they will add the input they receive at the forum and any other online submissions before they meet. At their next meeting on Saturday, July 18. the committee will make further revisions to a second draft of their proposed changes. The second draft will then be posted online, and there will be a comment period on that document as well.
The second draft of the proposed canon changes will be open for comments and review through August 27. During that time period, members of the committee will also attend each of the five deanery meetings to hear feedback in person.
Open the timeline below to see more detail.
Timeline: May - November, 2015
The committee undertakes its overhaul of the Canons, inviting comments and feedback in two major rounds of revisions.
May through June – First round of feedback
- May 16 – A draft of proposed canon changes is presented to the Executive Council in May, inviting comments.
- late May-early June – Members of the committee work with diocesan staff to create an online survey form to invite reviewers’ comments.
- June 8 – The new survey form is published online, sent out in diocesan e-news, and distributed also by email to lay delegates, clergy, and diocesan leaders.
- June 27 – The committee reviews and evaluates early feedback at its monthly meeting.
July through August – Revision and second round of feedback
- July 16 – Diocese-wide forum on proposed canon changes, held at Trinity Episcopal Church in the parish hall
- July 17 – Deadline for submitting comments in the first round of feedback
- July – Committee makes changes based on the first round of feedback, notifies diocese of progress and distributes a second draft for review. The committee’s second draft and summary are to be posted on the website, inviting a second round of comments.
- July 25 – During its regular monthly meeting, the committee reviews feedback from the second round of comments and works on the draft further.
- July 27 – Fort Worth East Deanery Meeting, Monday at 7:00 pm
- August 9 – Northern Deanery Meeting, Sunday at 11:30 am (including a potluck)
- August 11 – Fort Worth South Deanery Meeting, Tuesday at 5:30 pm
- August 23 – Southwestern Deanery Meeting, Sunday at 2:30 pm
- August 27 – Fort Worth West Deanery Meeting, Thursday at 5:30 pm
- August 27 – Deadline for submitting comments in the second round of feedback
- August 29 – The committee pushes its regular meeting date back a week to receive more feedback from the second round, including all the deaneries, and to work on finalizing their proposed Canon changes.
September through November – Revision and finalizing of proposed Canons
- Sept 11 – The committee submits a resolution to the Convention Secretary on the final proposed Canon changes.
- Sept 19 – The committee presents the final proposed Canons to the Executive Council for discussion.
- October – At each of the five Pre-Convention Deanery Meetings, members of the committee will present the proposed Canons and answer questions and hear discussion.
- September through November 13 – the proposed Canon changes are available on the website. During this time, members of the diocese are encouraged to review them in their final form and, if they have concerns, to work with their delegate(s) to prepare any amendment(s) they would like proposed at Convention during the discussion period. Amendments should be prepared in writing so they can be easily distributed for the Convention to consider.
- November 13-14 – At Diocesan Convention, delegates and clergy will take a second vote on the rewritten Constitution (first voted on in 2014), and they will also vote on the rewritten Canons.
A more complete timeline is also available, encompassing the process from 2012 through Diocesan Convention in 2015.
Attached is a personal note of invitation from Elinor Normand, who has been convening the rewrite subcommittee.
If you are unable to attend the forum July 16 at Trinity but would like to give your feedback, please fill out the online survey or send an email to the committee at this address: constitution-canons.committee@edotn.org. Either of these methods will send your comments to all the members of the committee at once.
