The Agreement of Union is the packet of materials that will be submitted to the 81st General Convention of The Episcopal Church for ratification. It contains the proposed name of the new diocese, the draft constitution and canons, financial information, steps toward the election of a bishop diocesan and more. 

The Agreement essentially demonstrates to the dioceses and the wider church that we’ve done our homework to prepare for this moment. The draft canons and budgets remain amendable prior to adoption at the Primary Convention of the Diocese of the Great Lakes. 

>>  Click here to access the Agreement of Union document, plus additional materials: the text of the resolutions passed by convention and the rules of order.

The votes were conducted following Episcopal Church canons and the canons of each respective diocese, resulting in an overall approval rate of 83%. The results of the decision were as follows:

• Eastern Michigan combined: 126 votes yes, 22 votes no – 85% to approve
• Western Michigan combined: 137 votes yes, 31 votes no – 82% to approve

  During the convention, there was a motion to vote by orders in Western Michigan, requiring the vote to pass in each group, lay and clergy. The results of that specific segmentation were — 

  • Western Michigan laity: 93 votes yes, 19 votes no – 83%
  • Western Michigan clergy: 44 votes yes, 12 votes no – 79%

A technical glitch in the slide calculation from our voting secretary’s software prevented the results to be represented accurately on the screen for the Western Michigan clergy vote (it was not refreshing from the WM lay data). After double checking the collected data from the voting devices, the results for each group were communicated verbally to the convention after they had been vetted by the Chancellor, understanding that we would not be able to project all three results together in a timely manner. 

Please give us your feedback to improve future conventions!

Delegates, clergy, and visitors who attended the in-person Special Joint Convention on Saturday, March 16th at St. Christopher’s, Grand Blanc are invited to complete the convention survey to help improve future conventions, special or otherwise! The survey will close in one month, on April 18th.

>> TAKE THE SURVEY <<

• Click here to access a photo album from the special convention, with more photos to come!
• Click here to access the recorded livestream of our convention Eucharist, including Bishop Skip’s sermon
• Click here to access the recorded livestream of our business meeting and post-vote prayer service
• Click here to access the text of Bishop Skip’s sermon for the special convention
• Article on our convention from the Episcopal News Service