Executive Council

Mandate

Canon 4: Of the Executive Council
Sec. 1

a. There shall be an Executive Council of the General Convention (which Council shall generally be called simply the Executive Council, or the Council) whose duty it shall be to oversee the execution of the program and policies adopted by the General Convention. The Executive Council shall have oversight of the work done by the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society in its capacity as its Board of Directors. The Council shall have oversight responsibility for the disposition of the funds and other property of the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society in accordance with the provisions of this Canon and the resolutions, orders, and budgets adopted or approved by the General Convention. The Executive Council shall also have oversight responsibility for the work of the Office of General Convention and the Executive Officer of General Convention who shall report directly to the Executive Council. It shall also have oversight responsibility for the disposition of the moneys of the Office of General Convention. The Council shall adopt procedures it deems appropriate for approval of expenditures by the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society and the Office of General Convention.

b. The Executive Council shall be accountable to the General Convention and shall render a full, published report concerning the work of the bodies for which it has oversight responsibility to each meeting of the General Convention. The report shall include information on the implementation of all resolutions adopted in the previous General Convention calling for action by the Executive Council, the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society, and the Office of General Convention.

c. The Council shall exercise the powers conferred upon it by Canon, and such further powers as may be designated by the General Convention, and between sessions of the General Convention may initiate and develop such new work as it may deem necessary. Subject to the provisions of these Canons, it may enact By-laws for its own government and enact procedures for its own committees.

d. The Executive Council shall be composed (a) of 20 members elected by the General Convention, of whom four shall be Bishops, four shall be Presbyters or Deacons, and 12 shall be Lay Persons who are confirmed adult communicants in good standing (two Bishops, two Presbyters or Deacons, and six Lay Persons to be elected by each subsequent regular meeting of the General Convention); (b) of 18 members elected by the Provincial Synods; (c) of the following ex officiis members: the Presiding Bishop and the President of the House of Deputies; and (d) the Chief Operating Officer, the Secretary of the General Convention, the Treasurer of the General Convention, the Chief Financial Officer of the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society, and the Chief Legal Officer of the Executive Council, all of whom shall have seat and voice but no vote. Each Province shall be entitled to be represented by one Bishop or Presbyter or Deacon canonically resident in a Diocese which is a constituent member of the Province and one Lay Person who is a confirmed adult communicant in good standing of a Diocese which is a constituent member of the Province, and the terms of the representatives of each Province shall be so rotated that two persons shall not be simultaneously elected for equal terms.

e. The Executive Council shall appoint a committee from among its members to assist the Council to (i) advise the Joint Standing Committee on Nominations and the Provincial Councils on what skills, gifts and experience are needed on the Executive Council to enable it to function with maximum effectiveness, and whether those skills are at that time represented on the Executive Council, and (ii) create a description of the skills, gifts and experience requisite for service on the Executive Council, including the value of cultural and geographic diversity on the Council and the value of including historically underrepresented voices in the governance of the Church.

f. Of the Executive Council members elected by the General Convention, the Bishops shall be elected by the House of Bishops subject to confirmation by the House of Deputies, and the Presbyters or Deacons and Lay Persons shall be elected by the House of Deputies subject to confirmation by the House of Bishops.

g. Except in the case of members initially elected for shorter terms in order to achieve rotation of terms, the terms of office of the members of the Council (other than ex officiis members) shall be equal to twice the interval between regular meetings of the General Convention. The terms of office of all members shall commence immediately upon the adjournment of the General Convention at which they were elected or, in the case of election by a Synod, upon the adjournment of the first regular meeting of General Convention following such election. The term of a member shall become vacant in the event of two absences from meetings of the Council in the interval between successive regular meetings of the General Convention unless excused by the Chair or Vice Chair for good cause. Members shall remain in office until their successors are elected and qualified. No person who has served at least three consecutive years on the Executive Council shall be eligible for immediate re-election for a term of more than three years. After any person shall have served six consecutive years on the Executive Council, a period of three years shall elapse before such person shall be eligible for re-election to the Council.

h. Should any vacancy occur in the Council through death, resignation, disability, or other reason, with respect to a member elected by the General Convention, the Council shall fill such vacancy by the election of a suitable person to serve until a successor is elected by the General Convention.

i. Should any vacancy occur in the Council through the failure of any Provincial Synod to elect a member, or through the death, resignation, or removal from the Province of any such member, the Provincial Council of the Province shall appoint a suitable person to serve until the Provincial Synod shall by election fill the vacancy.