Resolved, the House of Deputies concurring,

<Amended text as it would appear if adopted and concurred. Scroll below the line of asterisks (******) to see the version showing all deleted and added text.>

That the 81st General Convention, a people grounded in the resurrection and new life, and a conviction that the world needs the life-giving expression of the Gospel unique to The Episcopal Church; acknowledge and grieve the losses many of our faith communities and dioceses are facing, and the future we all face as a Church if the trends of decline and diminished capacity continue unabated; and be it further, 

Resolved, That we recognize this is an urgent conversation already taking place at every level of our Church, and that the vitality of our congregations, faith communities, and whole Church must be named as a top priority requiring substantial time, governance, personnel, formation, and financial resources accordingly; and be it further 

Resolved, That we recognize the unique mission context of each diocese and congregation, including indigenous and non-English speaking communities, and those outside the contiguous 48 states, and that vitality initiatives require local expertise, and significant attention and resources directed toward them; and be it further

Resolved, That the Presiding Bishop, President of the House of Deputies, Executive Council, House of Bishops and dioceses convene groups to wholeheartedly engage church mission and vitality to (1) collect data-driven information and resources useful to churches and dioceses considering redevelopment, including stories of success and failure, (2) identify any gaps in the information available and hurdles to redevelopment, (3) make recommendations on how to leverage existing church property and financial assets to further the work of mission and ministry, including congregational redevelopment, church planting, and evangelism, (4) establish and resource a group, network, or para-church organization that can assist in these efforts, (5) access and make available external resources that already exist for this work; and be it further

Resolved, That the Presiding Bishop and President of the House of Deputies invite leaders that represent the diversity of the Church and with experience in the development of church property, church planting, church revitalization, and entrepreneurial ministry, such as the Episcopal Church Building Fund, Trinity Wall Street Mission Real Estate and Development (MRED), Episcopal Parish Network, ecumenical partners, and others outside the Episcopal Church to be part of this work; and be it further

Resolved, That the Presiding Bishop and President of the House of Deputies identify groups to collect, evaluate, disseminate, and encourage the development of data-driven resources and best practices for church planting, church revitalization, church closures, and church assets; to work with other groups to publicize the availability of these resources to The Episcopal Church, its dioceses, and congregations; and to seek feedback regarding resources needed (and used) by the widest possible variety of groups within the Church; and be it further

Resolved, That the Presiding Bishop and President of the House of Deputies take personal responsibility for convening the bodies needed to begin this work, ensure that whenever the House of Bishops and the Executive Council meet that this most urgent concern is addressed, and direct the Executive Council to publish an annual report to the Church and present a full report to the 82nd General Convention on progress for the first triennium; and be it further

Resolved, That given this work is a top priority and necessitates significant redirection of resources, the 81st General Convention strongly urges the presiding officers to protect funds already allocated for congregational vitality and data-driven initiatives and if necessary, to, redirect funds from short-term reserves to carry forward this work.

That the 81st General Convention and the Episcopal Church celebrates and actively supports the revitalization of congregations, seeking not to restore past glories, but to move into the new callings of our loving, liberating, life-giving God; and be it further

Resolved, That the Church continues to prioritize the revitalization of congregations and a churchwide network of support for congregational revitalization work that was initiated by GC2018-A032; and be it further

Resolved, That in the revitalization of congregations, the Church continues to prioritize commitment to mission and evangelism engaging under-represented groups, including youth and young adults, disabled persons, members of LGBTQIA communities, BIPOC communities, poor and working-class people, people with a high-school diploma or less, and/or people with little or no church background or involvement; and be it further

Resolved, That the budget for development of sustainable congregational revitalization throughout the Church will be $500,000 for 2024-2027 to be allocated as follows:

• $100,000.00 to engage Bishops and the diocesan representative(s) they appoint in development of a framework for congregational revitalization, identifying roadblocks that regularly thwart this work and identifying resources that are proven to enhance this work;
• $75,000.00 to engage clergy and lay leaders in gleaning learnings from congregational revitalization that they have successfully done and/or they have failed in attempts to do, identifying roadblocks that have thwarted their work and identifying resources that have enhanced their work;
• $75,000.00 for translation services and to facilitate participation of Spanish-speaking lay and ordained leaders in training for congregational revitalization;
• $75,000.00 for further development of five-phase congregational redevelopment strategy - (1) diagnosing/assessing resources and challenges, (2) discerning next calling, (3) connecting with local and diocesan partners, (4) iterating and continued resourcing, and (5) evaluating, refining and sustaining
• $150,000.00 to support a team of local and regional church-wide office staff to oversee the work; and 
• $25,000.00 to provide mentorship/coaching/training for lay and ordained leaders in revitalization of their congregations;

And be it further

Resolved, That the Presiding Bishop and President of the House of Deputies establish an Advisory Group on Church Planting and Revitalization of not more than twelve (12) people, consisting of those with experience in revitalizing congregations, diocesan oversight of such work, working with evangelism and mission, to carry out provisions of this resolution, including making recommendations to Executive Council about grants to be awarded, helping to identify potential revitalizers, and developing a network of coaches, and working with staff on training church revitalizers; and be it further

Resolved, That the Joint Budget Committee of Executive Council consider a budget allocation of $500,000.00 for the implementation of this resolution.

****** <Proposed amended resolution text showing exact changes being made:>

That the 81st General Convention, a people grounded in the resurrection and new life, and a conviction that the world needs the life-giving expression of the Gospel unique to The Episcopal Church; acknowledge and grieve the losses many of our faith communities and dioceses are facing, and the future we all face as a Church if the trends of decline and diminished capacity continue unabated; and be it further, 

Resolved, That we recognize this is an urgent conversation already taking place at every level of our Church, and that the vitality of our congregations, faith communities, and whole Church must be named as a top priority requiring substantial time, governance, personnel, formation, and financial resources accordingly; and be it further 

Resolved, That we recognize the unique mission context of each diocese and congregation, including indigenous and non-English speaking communities, and those outside the contiguous 48 states, and that vitality initiatives require local expertise, and significant attention and resources directed toward them; and be it further

Resolved, That the Presiding Bishop, President of the House of Deputies, Executive Council, House of Bishops and dioceses convene groups to wholeheartedly engage church mission and vitality to (1) collect data-driven information and resources useful to churches and dioceses considering redevelopment, including stories of success and failure, (2) identify any gaps in the information available and hurdles to redevelopment, (3) make recommendations on how to leverage existing church property and financial assets to further the work of mission and ministry, including congregational redevelopment, church planting, and evangelism, (4) establish and resource a group, network, or para-church organization that can assist in these efforts, (5) access and make available external resources that already exist for this work; and be it further

Resolved, That the presiding officers Presiding Bishop and President of House of Deputies invite leaders that represent the diversity of the Church and with experience in the development of church property, church planting, church revitalization, and entrepreneurial ministry, such as the Episcopal Church Building Fund, Trinity Wall Street Mission Real Estate and Development (MRED), Episcopal Parish Network, ecumenical partners, and others outside the Episcopal Church to be part of this work; and be it further

Resolved, That the presiding officers Presiding Bishop and President of House of Deputies identify groups to collect, evaluate, disseminate, and encourage the development of data-driven resources and best practices for church planting, church revitalization, church closures, and church assets; to work with other groups to publicize the availability of these resources to The Episcopal Church, its dioceses, and congregations; and to seek feedback regarding resources needed (and used) by the widest possible variety of groups within the Church; and be it further

Resolved, That the presiding officers Presiding Bishop and President of House of Deputies take personal responsibility for convening the bodies needed to begin this work, ensure that whenever the House of Bishops and the Executive Council meet that this most urgent concern is addressed, and direct the Executive Council to publish an annual report to the Church and present a full report to the 82nd General Convention on progress for the first triennium; and be it further

Resolved, That given this work is a top priority and necessitates significant redirection of resources, the 81st General Convention strongly urges the presiding officers to protect funds already allocated for congregational vitality and data-driven initiatives and if necessary, to, redirect funds from short-term reserves to carry forward this work.

That the 81st General Convention and the Episcopal Church celebrates and actively supports the revitalization of congregations, seeking not to restore past glories, but to move into the new callings of our loving, liberating, life-giving God; and be it further

Resolved, That the Church continues to prioritize the revitalization of congregations and a churchwide network of support for congregational revitalization work that was initiated by GC2018-A032; and be it further

Resolved, That in the revitalization of congregations, the Church continues to prioritize commitment to mission and evangelism engaging under-represented groups, including youth and young adults, disabled persons, members of LGBTQIA communities, BIPOC communities, poor and working-class people, people with a high-school diploma or less, and/or people with little or no church background or involvement; and be it further

Resolved, That the budget for development of sustainable congregational revitalization throughout the Church will be $500,000 for 2024-2027 to be allocated as follows:

• $100,000.00 to engage Bishops and the diocesan representative(s) they appoint in development of a framework for congregational revitalization, identifying roadblocks that regularly thwart this work and identifying resources that are proven to enhance this work;
• $75,000.00 to engage clergy and lay leaders in gleaning learnings from congregational revitalization that they have successfully done and/or they have failed in attempts to do, identifying roadblocks that have thwarted their work and identifying resources that have enhanced their work;
• $75,000.00 for translation services and to facilitate participation of Spanish-speaking lay and ordained leaders in training for congregational revitalization;
• $75,000.00 for further development of five-phase congregational redevelopment strategy - (1) diagnosing/assessing resources and challenges, (2) discerning next calling, (3) connecting with local and diocesan partners, (4) iterating and continued resourcing, and (5) evaluating, refining and sustaining
• $150,000.00 to support a team of local and regional church-wide office staff to oversee the work; and 
• $25,000.00 to provide mentorship/coaching/training for lay and ordained leaders in revitalization of their congregations;

And be it further

Resolved, That the Presiding Bishop and President of the House of Deputies establish an Advisory Group on Church Planting and Revitalization of not more than twelve (12) people, consisting of those with experience in revitalizing congregations, diocesan oversight of such work, working with evangelism and mission, to carry out provisions of this resolution, including making recommendations to Executive Council about grants to be awarded, helping to identify potential revitalizers, and developing a network of coaches, and working with staff on training church revitalizers; and be it further

Resolved, That the Joint Budget Committee of Executive Council consider a budget allocation of $500,000.00 for the implementation of this resolution.