DRAFT Transitional Canons and DRAFT Constitution & Canons of the Diocese of the Susquehanna
The Transition Working Group on Constitution and Canons completed DRAFTS of Transitional Canons and The Constitution and Canons of the Diocese of the Susquehanna for review! We look forward to hearing your questions and receiving your feedback, all of which will be considered in the process of revising these documents prior to submission to our Joint Convention. As a brief introduction…
The Transition Canons serve as “a bridge” as we cross over into operating as one reunified diocese. They focus primarily on how we will populate the leadership bodies of the Diocese of The Susquehanna. Transitional Canons (in the form adopted by our dioceses at the 2025 Joint Convention) will go into effect immediately upon adoption and remain in effect until the first Convention of the Diocese of the Susquehanna.
The Constitution and Canons of the Diocese of the Susquehanna are in many ways similar to the Constitution and Canons of each of our dioceses. This Working Group and the previous Constitution and Canons Team of the Reunification Discernment Committee, along with our Bishops, have addressed areas of difference by seeking a “middle way,” or borrowing a best practice from another Episcopal diocese, or constructing something that will be slightly new to all of us but likely the best fit for the reunified diocese. The Constitution and Canons of the Diocese of the Susquehanna (in the form adopted by our dioceses at the 2025 Joint Convention) will go into effect when we become one reunified diocese on January 1, 2026.
The Committee has prepared a short Summary Document that highlights a few areas of the canons where additional information would be helpful.
Constitution and Canon Sessions will be held on Tuesday, July 8th, and Wednesday, July 9th, at 7:00 pm (via Zoom) for the Working Group to share highlights of these DRAFTS and some of the process, learnings, and reasoning behind them, and for this group to hear from YOU too! Your questions and input matter as we work together to shape the Diocese of the Susquehanna.
Following the sessions, we will share a Feedback Form on this website. Feedback on these DRAFTS will be received through July 23rd. Know that all input will be read through and taken into consideration as we work to revise these documents.
The REVISED Transitional Canons and Constitution and Canons for the Diocese of the Susquehanna will then be posted along with a process for pre-filing amendments. They will be distributed to all lay and clergy delegates, discussed at pre-Convention meetings, and submitted to the 2025 Joint Convention for adoption.
We are grateful for your participation in this process and look forward to seeing you at the July Sessions.