Resolution A:
Article XII: Changing Clergy Quorum
for the Election of a Bishop

Status

The 175th Convention passed this amendment in its first reading on Saturday, October 26, 2024.

Resolved, That Article XII of the Constitution be amended as follows:

(remove strikethrough text, add italic bold text)

Article XII. The Election of Bishops.

Sec. 12.3. A majority of all Clerics entitled to vote, and not less than two-thirds of all the parishes and missions (including the Cathedral congregation) represented by at least one delegate, shall constitute a quorum. If such representation of the clerical order and of the foregoing congregations is not present at any ballot, and if a quorum is called for, then it shall be announced that no quorum exists, and the Convention shall be recessed until such a quorum is present. A quorum consists of clerics affiliated with at least two-thirds of all congregations entitled to representation and lay delegates representing at least two-thirds of all congregations entitled to representation.

Sec. 12.4. Voting shall be by ballot. The clerical and lay orders shall vote separately, and the concurrent majority vote of each order present shall constitute the election. The votes of the clergy and lay orders shall be counted separately, and concurrent majorities in both orders shall be required for election.

Explanation:

This proposed amendment to the Constitution:

1. 1. Responds to the challenge of attaining clergy quorum at the special convention to elect a bishop on December 2, 2023, and, per the request of the Standing Committee with the agreement of Bishop Rios, eases the clergy quorum for the election of a bishop from a majority of all clerics entitled to vote to clerics representing at least 2/3 of the congregations entitled to representation, paralleling the quorum for lay delegates. See further background below.
   2. Removes “present” from Sec. 12.4, which complicates voting procedures, has made no difference to the outcomes of any ballot in either of the last two elections, and is not in keeping with standard parliamentary practice. A concurrent majority would still be required, but the basis would be on those voting at each ballot, not on a total of those present, as with all other elections undertaken by the Convention and standard voting procedures under Robert’s Rules of Order. 
   3. Clarifies the language requiring a vote by orders.
   4. Removes potentially limiting language regarding quorums, allowing Convention the discretion to follow parliamentary procedures as found in Robert’s Rules. The current constitutional language about recessing could be narrowly interpreted to constrain an electing convention from other procedural options to respond to a lack of quorum, which include adjournment to a fixed time, adjourn fully, recess, other measures to attain quorum, and subsidiary motions (RONR (12 ed.) 40:7).

If this amendment is passed by the 175th Diocesan Convention by a concurrent majority in both orders, it will be presented again to the 176th Convention in 2025 for a second reading and vote to become effective.

Further background on changing the clergy quorum in a convention to elect a bishop, adapted from a report to the Standing Committee by the Secretary of the Convention on January 27th, 2024:

Clergy Quorums at the 2006 and 2023 Special Convention to Elect a Bishop

It was strikingly more difficult in 2023 than 2006 to achieve quorum (a simple majority of clergy eligible to vote present) prior to the election:

 Year    Clergy Eligible to Vote     Quorum Required     # / % of Eligible Clergy Present

2006             390                                       196                                     258 / 66%
2023             306                                       154                                     160 / 52%

Additional details of the clergy present in the 2023 Election:
The number of congregations with clergy representation was 57 out of 72, or 79%.
Only 27 clergy (17% of the total present) had no congregational affiliation.

 A Parliamentary Principle

Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised (12th Edition) notes that quorum may vary widely from organization to organization, especially in “voluntary societies” (e.g. a church body) and provides this helpful general principle: “The quorum should be as large a number of members as can reasonably be depended on to be present at any meeting, except in very bad weather or other exceptionally unfavorable conditions.” (40:5) 

Quorum Requirements for Episcopal Elections in the Wider Church

It is indeed the case that quorum for an episcopal election varies widely across the Episcopal Church, and even within Province VIII. With help from the Rev. Dr. Pamela Stevens and Mr. Don Miller, the Secretary compiled a table of quorums (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1NNCR_iaLgDnrymNxJfKwF9aG8jrxfpOs/edit?usp=drive_link&ouid=106024530749141188718&rtpof=true&sd=true) for both annual conventions and special conventions to elect a bishop from 15 dioceses in Province VIII. The range of convention quorum requirements is striking, from as low as 1/4 up to 2/3. 

In six (6) instances, the quorum requirements for annual and special conventions are the same. In a majority of Dioceses in the Province, including the Diocese of California, the threshold quorum requirements for the special convention to elect a bishop are higher than that for an annual convention. This threshold for episcopal elections normally requires a majority or a 2/3 supermajority in both orders — the only notable exception to this being the Diocese of Hawai’i, which sustains a quorum of 1/3 of clergy eligible to vote from its annual convention requirements. 

Also of distinct note are additional quorum requirements that go beyond basic numeric standards and include representative minimums from congregations in union with the Convention. This most often appears as a simple majority vote with 2/3 of the congregations in the diocese represented. 

We also found two (2) instances of dioceses requiring clergy to not only be canonically resident, but physically resident in the diocese to be eligible to vote. There are also a handful of unusual requirements for clergy to be eligible to vote.

A Proposal for Clergy Quorum Going Forward

With this wide range of potential quorum standards to consider, we are left with the question of how best to choose an appropriately proleptic standard for quorum for the next special convention to elect a bishop in the Diocese of California. In conversation with Mr. Dave Frangquist, Secretary Emeritus of the Convention, and Canon Christopher Hayes, Chancellor, as well as the Committee of Dispatch of Business as we debriefed from the December 2nd electing convention, the following consensus appears to be the best recommendation for moving forward: 

• The high cost of living in the Diocese of California shows no signs of abating, and is making it ever more cost-prohibitive for retired clergy to remain domiciled within the Diocese. This limits their participation in a future electing convention.

• Current demographics of decline in church membership, the number of congregations in the Diocese, and positions for active clergy in congregational ministry put further downward pressure on clergy available to participate in convention.

• There is a current shortage of clergy in general in The Episcopal Church, which follows the complex economics of declines in church membership.

• The question of whether retired clergy may vote in an electing convention, and, if so, which retired clergy may vote, is contentious and probably unhelpful to reaching a viable solution.

• Also potentially contentious is entertaining confining eligibility of clergy eligibility to those who remain domiciled in the physical boundaries of the Diocese, given the financial difficulty of doing so and given the reality that clergy remain canonically resident in the diocese where they retire, in perpetuity.

With these principles and concerns in mind, and given our slender quorum (52%) at the December 2nd, 2023 Electing Convention, the consensus recommendation is to propose an amendment to Article XII Section 12.3 of the Constitution to set the clergy quorum to consist of one cleric affiliated with each of at least 2/3 of the diocesan congregations, parallel to the required quorum for lay delegates for an electing convention. This has the virtue of flexibility over time (as the number of congregations changes) without disallowing the full participation of retired and non-parochial clergy under Article VI.

It is worth noting that this recommendation closely or exactly parallels the quorum in seven of our neighboring dioceses in Province VIII, and it offers relative elegance, simplicity, and ease of understanding by the Convention during its deliberations.

The Secretary expresses his deep thanks for Mr. Don Miller and the Rev. Dr. Pamela Stevens for their gracious assistance in researching the quorum requirements in other dioceses to help inform this report. The Secretary is also grateful to Mr. Dave Frangquist, Secretary Emeritus, and Canon Christopher Hayes, Chancellor, for their help in refining this amendment.