Sarah and Kay Riggle of St. Barnabas, Valdosta, are pictured volunteering at the General Convention.
The General Convention approved resolution A029 to amend the Canons of The Episcopal Church to add to a non-discrimination clause naming those who shall be offered equal place in the life, worship and governance of the church the words “gender identity and expression” to a list including “race and color” in order to say explicitly that our congregations will not discriminate against transgender persons. This was approved by a voice vote with the support of the Deputies of the Diocese of Georgia. We see this as putting in language what we already see lived into in practice in our Diocese. There are some transgender persons who are actively involved members in congregations in our Diocese. We appreciate that it may not always be easy for a congregation to welcome transgendered persons, but we have not understood our Diocese to discriminate against church participation for any categorical reason and found this resolution not controversial, though it has been written as such in some reports on the convention. Similarly, resolution D002 added this same clause with regard to access to the discernment process for ministry. As that same resolution states “No right to licensing, ordination, or election is hereby established” we likewise considered a vote of support in keeping with the practice of the Diocese of Georgia. The clergy were unanimous in support of this resolution with a majority of the lay deputies in favor.
