EXPLANATION

The Age of Missionary Endeavor for the Churches in Communion with the See of Canterbury began with mission to American Indians, thereby providing the foundation for creating the Worldwide Anglican Communion.  Two thousand seven marks the 400th anniversary of the Jamestown colony, the first permanent English settlement on these shores, which was chartered with King James' stipulation that the Gospel be shared with Indigenous People of the "new" world.  The 72nd General Convention of the Episcopal Church, meeting in Philadelphia in July 1997, designated the decade of 1997 to 2007 as the Decade of Remembrance, Recognition and Reconciliation, during which each diocese was urged to take such steps as necessary to fully recognize and welcome Native Peoples into congregational life and to enter into a special intentionality toward developing an outreach partnership with Indigenous People.  Every domestic diocese of ECUSA, according to the U.S. Bureau of Census, has within its boundaries residents who are bona fide though often invisible, frequently unchurched, American Indians.  We still honor our commitment to Indigenous People, even though for various reasons, we have not been able to fully respond to the 1997 Resolution.  Therefore, we propose renewing the Resolution for the next decade so that we might accomplish the intentions of AO35 of the 72nd General Convention.  (A copy of the New Jamestown Covenant is on file in the General Convention Secretariat.)


* The final language, as well as the final status of each resolution, is being reviewed by the General Convention office. The Journal of the 75th General Convention and the Constitution and Canons will be published once the review process has been completed.