Annual Council, while often perceived as only a legislative endeavor of a diocese, is much more than that.  It is the time when the family that is The Diocese of Virginia gathers for worship, fellowship, storytelling and the business of the Diocese.

The theme of the 212th Annual Council is ONE Church : ONE Mission, which calls to mind not only the unity of The Episcopal Church, but also the Church’s ONE Episcopalian mission. ONE Episcopalian is a partnership campaign between The Episcopal Church and The One Campaign that strives to rally Episcopalians to support the Millennium Development Goals to halve world poverty by 2015.

Council highlights include:

1.  On Thursday evening we will gather in the Ballroom of the Richmond Convention Center for a reception and a fun evening of storytelling and history of our 400 years as Episcopalians in Virginia.

2.  On Friday morning we will hear from our Bishop in his annual pastoral address which will set forth the vision and goals for the Diocese.

3.  Beginning Friday morning, we will vote to elect a Bishop Coadjutor for our Diocese.  Voting for this office is done by order, meaning clergy and lay votes are counted separately.  Only certified delegates can vote, and only certified delegates will be allowed on the main section of Council floor.  (Visitors and press will be seated around the sides.)  Your name tag will indicate whether or not you are a certified voting delegate.

Voting will be done on pre-printed ballots. Delegates will fill in a bubble next to the name of their chosen nominee.  Ballots will then be collected and tallied electronically.  The results will be announced after each ballot, and balloting will continue until we have an election. To be elected Bishop Coadjutor, a nominee must receive a majority of votes in each order on the same ballot.

4.  We will also elect new members to our Standing Committee, again using the pre-printed ballots and electronic tallying as outlined above.  Voting for Standing Committee does not have to be done by orders.

5.  On Friday evening, we will worship together in our festive Holy Eucharist in the Convention Center.  Diocesan parishes are reminded to bring their banners and stands for the Eucharist. Our prayers and worship throughout Annual Council are led by our Bishops, and our guest chaplain, the Rt. Rev. John Paterson, Bishop of Auckland, New Zealand and Chair of the Anglican Consultative Council.

6.  We will gather together to study through open hearings and workshops.  And we’ll play and eat together again Friday night!

7.  Throughout Council we will celebrate our accomplishments during the past year, and also discuss our challenges for the year ahead.

Full information on Annual Council, including the agenda, is posted on the Web site at www.thediocese.net.

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