How does Convention work?

I have heard that the General Convention of the Episcopal Church is the largest democratically elected legislative body in the world. I believe it after seeing the enormity of what is happening here. So, you may wonder, as I do, how such important work gets done during only 10 days of convention every three years.

A brief primer:

Convention has numerous standing and specially appointed commissions and committees on various subjects of importance to the church. An example of a standing committee is the Committee on Canons, which is co-chaired by our own Steve Hutchinson. An example of a special committee is the Special Legislative Committee appointed to review the Windsor Report and make recommendations to the Convention.

The commissions and committees meet during the three years between each General Convention to consider the subject and issues assigned to them. They may simply report to Convention on their work, or they may propose resolutions for Convention to consider.

Resolutions actually come from four sources: the committees and commissions, the Bishops, the Dioceses and Provinces, and individual Deputies. All resolutions first undergo some vetting (for history, budget, canonical concerns), and then are sent by the PB and the President of the HOD to either the House of Deputies or the House of Bishops for initial action. The resolutions are also assigned to a legislative committee. During Convention, the legislative committees hold public hearings and take testimony on resolutions, and report out to the Committee on Dispatch of Business either adoption, rejection, referral to another legislative committee, or discharge from further consideration. Dispatch then places the resolutions on the daily calendar for debate or the consent calendar if not debate is allowed. The House then votes, with all the normal parliamentary procedure we are familiar with. If adopted, the resolutions go to the other house for action, where they undergo the same process. The second house can concur with the first house's action or adopt amended or substitute language. In the latter cases, a conference committee may be appointed to seek compromise. If the second house concurs with the action of the first house, the act becomes an Act of Convention.

Simple, huh?

So far, I have attended hearings in the Legislative Committee on National and International Concerns, although none of those resolutions have yet made it to the floor. I have seen the work of the House of Deputies acting on resolutions placed on the daily agenda by Dispatch. Nothing has been controversial yet, although the deputies cut their teeth on some parliamentary procedure by trying to amend a couple of resolutions from the floor.

I am most impressed with the grace and humor exhibited by the chairs of the legislative committees, by the President and Secretary of the HOD, and by those in charge of the voting, as we learn again how to do legislation. I am interested to see if that humor becomes strained as we move to more contentious issues.