The Journals of the One Hundred Seventy-Fifth Annual Council All Saints Episcopal School Mission of St. Mary Parish of Christ Parish of Holy Trinity Parish of St. Alban Vicksburg, Mississippi February 1-3, 2002 and the One Hundred Seventy-Sixth Annual Council Churches of the Coast Convocation Biloxi, Mississippi February 7-9, 2003 with the Constitution and Canons The Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Mississippi The Diocesan Seal The chieftain’s tent slanted a golden beam from the afternoon sun as the great man sat hunched deep on his heaped-up rugs of crimson. A circle of his followers watched him as he spread the small roll of sheepskin before him, then tied the parchment with a purple thread, sealed it with his gem- studded seal and handed it to a waiting messenger, who mounted his camel and was away, across the desert, into the deepening dark. The scene shifts; the centuries pass. The Saxon abbot is alone in his meager library, and he scans once more the sheepskin on which the brilliant colors shine. They spell out in gold, ruby, sapphire blue, a secret message of great importance, that the student monks have written and illuminated with all care and laid before him. He forms it all into a booklet and ties it with a purple figment of silk that matches his robe. Then he reaches for his lead seal and presses the beeswax into the knot, so that the image of the mitre and the cross is plain to see. The document is ready for the fleet-footed messenger. Today the Bishop’s seal is printed on modern stationery. His letters go out in the daily mail with the insignia of his authority. Like the most ancient and most beautiful of seals, the diocesan seal is oval-shaped, with pointed ends. It is bordered with the legend Salus Cruce-salvation through the cross-and opposite Mississippi 1826, the year of the foundation of the Diocese. At the peak of the points are crosses; another cross, much larger, centers the design. The Bishop’s mitre, symbol of his office, and a magnolia tree, symbolic of Mississippi, with an eagle from the United States, fill the space. Hanging in the Bishop’s office, the seal is picked out in the glowing colors of tradition: the legend is purple on silver with red and blue on a gold background; the magnolia tree is green, decked with white blossoms. The diocesan seal, designed in the 1920’s by Charles Stietenroth of Natchez, is in the magnificent pattern of artists of centuries ago, betokening the Christian Church by its cross, according to the catholic tradition by its mitre, in the Diocese of Mississippi in the United States. 2002-03Combined Journals of Official the OneDirectory Hundred Seventy-Fifth1 and One Hundred Seventy-Sixth Annual Councils Contents The Seal of the Diocese of Mississippi .................................................... Inside front cover 2003 Official Directory of the Diocese of Mississippi ......................................................... 2 JOURNAL OF THE 175TH ANNUAL COUNCIL .................................................... 15-116 Notice of the 176th Annual Council .............................................................................. 15 Memorial to Deceased Members of Council .............................................................. 16 List of Clergy Canonical Residence Order .................................................................... 17 Delegates and Alternates to the 175th Annual Council .............................................. 21 Licensed Lay Readers ........................................................................................................ 24 Proceedings of the 175th Annual Council .................................................................... 27 “Celebrating the Present,” The Bishop’s Address, by the Rt. Rev. A.C. Marble, Jr. ....................................... 39 “A Look to the Future,” The Bishop Coadjutor’s Address by the Rt. Rev. Duncan M.Gray, III ............ 43 “Honoring the Past,” An Address by the Rt. Rev. Duncan M.Gray, Jr. ....................................................... 45 Reports Presented to Council ......................................................................................... 49 Reports to Council ............................................................................................................ 54 Bishop Marble’s 2001 Journal ......................................................................................... 73 Bishop Gray’s 2001 Journal ............................................................................................. 81 2001 Financial Reports ..................................................................................................... 96 2001 Parochial Reports ...................................................................................................111 Parish and Mission Directory ............................................................................................ 117-132 JOURNAL OF THE 176TH ANNUAL COUNCIL .................................................. 133-230 Notice of the 177th Annual Council .......................................................................... 133 Memorial to Deceased Members of Council .......................................................... 134 List of Clergy Canonical Residence Order .......................................................................... 135 Delegates and Alternates to the 176th Annual Council .......................................... 139 Licensed Lay Readers .................................................................................................... 142 Proceedings of the 176th Annual Council ................................................................ 145 “Empowering Servants fot the Kingdom,” The Bishop’s Address, by the Rt. Rev. A.C. Marble, Jr. ..................................... 154 A Sermon on the occasion of his investiture, by the Rt. Rev. Duncan M.Gray, III .................... 157 Reports Presented to Council ..................................................................................... 159 Reports to Council ........................................................................................................ 163 Bishop Marble’s 2002 Journal ..................................................................................... 183 Bishop Gray’s 2002 Journal ......................................................................................... 195 2002 Financial Reports ................................................................................................. 212 2002 Parochial Reports ................................................................................................. 226 Organizational Structure of the Diocese of Mississippi .................................................232 Diocesan Policies .................................................................................................................. 233-237 The Constitution and Canons ...................................................................................................238 Appendices ....................................................................................................................................... 264 I. Rules of Order...................................................................................................... 264 II. Charter of The Trustees of the Diocese......................................................... 266 III. By-Laws of the Trustees of the Diocese ........................................................ 268 Index ................................................................................................................................................. 271 Brief History of the Diocese ........................................................................ Inside back cover 2 The Journals of the 175th & 176th Annual Councils 2002-03 THE EPISCOPAL DIOCESE OF MISSISSIPPI PHYSICAL ADDRESS John Maury Allin Episcopal Diocesan House 118 North Congress Street, Jackson, Mississippi 39201 MAILING ADDRESS Diocese of Mississippi Post Office Box 23107, Jackson, Mississippi 39225-3107 TELEPHONE AND FACSIMILE Telephone: 601- 948-5954, Toll free: 866-550-0872, Facsimile: 601-354-3401 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.dioms.org THE RT. REV. A. C. MARBLE, JR., D.D. Coadjutor: June 15, 1991 Diocesan: October 1, 1993 Retired: March 1, 2003 THE RT. REV. DUNCAN M. GRAY, III, D.D. Coadjutor: June 17, 2000 Diocesan: March 1, 2003 Bishop’s Residence 4735 Northampton, Jackson, Mississippi 39211 The Diocesan Staff Mrs. Lauren Auttonberry ......................................... Coordinator of Communications [email protected] ...................................................................................... Ext. 107 The Rev. Canon Yamily Bass-Choate ............................Canon for Hispanic Ministry [email protected] .................................................................. 601-969-9461 The Rev. Canon Charles Culpepper .......... Canon for Youth and College Ministries [email protected] ............................................................................................. Ext.116 Mrs. Liley P. Gilbert ..................................................................................... Bookkeeper [email protected] ........................................................................................ Ext. 108 The Rt. Rev. Duncan M. Gray, III ....................................................................... Ext. 110 [email protected] Mr. Edgar Glover