A Pastoral and Administrative Statement from 
The College of Bishops About Senior Bishop Thomas Hoyt, Jr.

The College of Bishops of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church
September 25, 2013

TO THE MEMBERS OF THE CHRISTIAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH:

     As you are acutely and painfully aware, on Sunday, September 23, 2013, our beloved Senior Bishop and Presiding Bishop of the Seventh Episcopal District, Bishop Thomas L. Hoyt, Jr., experienced a health crisis.  Our prayers as well as yours are that God in God's merciful goodness will continue to heal and sustain Bishop Hoyt and continue to comfort Mrs. Ocie Hoyt.
     However, because the nature of his illness at the present time renders him unable to perform any administrative or sacred functions either as the Senior Bishop or as Presiding Bishop of the Seventh Episcopal District, the College of Bishops makes the following statement:
 Pursuant to  ¶437.2 of THE BOOK OF DISCIPLINE, REVISED 2010, to wit, The College of Bishops shall be the Executive Body of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church with authority to speak and act for the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church in the interim of the General Conference and the General Connectional Board;
and ¶437.6, to wit,

Unless otherwise directed by the General Conference, the College of Bishops shall, upon advice of the Legal Counsel, make the legal decisions and take the necessary steps necessary to preserve and protect the interests of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church;
and because of the undetermined extent of Bishop Hoyt's condition at the present time, The College of Bishops takes these actions:
     First, that Bishop Paul A.G. Stewart, Sr., shall be the Acting Senior Bishop of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church with all the authority appertaining thereto.
     Second, that the Acting Senior Bishop will assign associative episcopal leadership to provide episcopal supervision of the Seventh Episcopal District until such time as the Acting Senior Bishop is officially notified that Bishop Hoyt is medically able to resume full duties and responsibilities as Senior Bishop.
     Asking your continued prayers for Bishop Hoyt and his family as well as the Acting Senior Bishop, we remain,

THE COLLEGE OF BISHOPS

Bishop Paul A.G. Stewart, Sr.
Bishop Lawrence L. Reddick, III
Bishop Henry M. Williamson, Sr.
Bishop Thomas L. Brown, Sr.
Bishop Kenneth W. Carter
Bishop James B. Walker
Bishop Sylvester Williams, Sr.
Bishop Teresa E. Snorton
Bishop Godwin T. Umoette
Bishop Ronald M. Cunningham
Bishop E. Lynn Brown
Bishop Othal H. Lakey
Bishop William H. Graves
Bishop Marshall Gilmore
Bishop Dotcy I. Isom, Jr.

Services for Rev. Dr. Henry R. Delaney
Memorial Service for Rev. Dr. Henry Delaney will be held Saturday, Sept. 21, 2013,  at 2 p.m. at the St. Paul CME Church, 1601 Barnard St., Savannah, Georgia.

Wake will be held Friday, Sept. 20, 2013, from 6-8 p.m. at the H.R. Delaney Ministries, 2718 Mechanics Ave., Thunderbolt, Georgia.

Dr. Henry Delaney Passes
We are saddened to hear of the passing Wednesday evening of Dr. Henry R. Delaney, the former pastor of the St. Paul CME Church, Savannah, Georgia. Funeral arrangements are pending. Please remember the Delaney family in prayer. The Christian Index was informed of Dr. Delaney's passing by the Delaney family.

Guidelines for Submitting to the Committee on Resolutions 

The Committee on Resolutions is appointed by the College of Bishops in accordance with ¶206 of THE BOOK OF DISCIPLINE, REVISED 2010. The following are pertinent paragraphs from THE BOOK OF DISCIPLINE, REVISED 2010:

¶206. There shall be a Committee on Resolutions appointed by the College of Bishops. Each Bishop shall appoint one member to the Resolutions Committee by September 1 of the year preceding the General Conference. The Presiding Bishop of the District shall publish the name of the committee member throughout the District.

¶206.1. All resolutions, memorials, and other materials contemplated for presentation to the General Conference shall be sent to the appropriate Episcopal District Resolutions Committee member on or before January 31 of the year of the General Conference.

 ¶206.2. Resolutions mailed, sent or given to the Episcopal District representative shall be examined by him or her to ascertain if they meet the requirements for proposed legislation (cf. ¶1500.7, §4).

All resolutions requiring changes in the wording and/or legal meanings of provisions in the Discipline shall state the paragraph, section, page and language to be changed and the language to be substituted. In addition to the requirements referenced, resolutions shall not contain more than three preamble paragraphs. If the resolutions do not meet the requirements, they shall be returned for corrections.
In addition to these paragraphs from The Book of Discipline, Revised 2010, the College of Bishops has agreed upon the following regulations for the sake of uniformity:

(1) Resolutions should be submitted in writing.
            (a) Hard copies given to or mailed to the Episcopal District Representative should be typed in 12 point font, on only one side of the paper. Multiple pages should be stapled together.
            (b) Resolutions submitted via email should be sent as an attachment in Word document format.
            (c) The submitter of the resolution must type his/her name, address, telephone, email and local church information on each page of the resolution.
            (d) Resolutions submitted on behalf of groups and organizations should clearly state this information and include one name as the point of contact.

(2) As directed by ¶206.2 above, all resolutions requiring changes in the wording and/or legal meanings of the provisions in the DISCIPLINE shall state the paragraph, section, page and language to be changed and the language to be substituted.

(3) As directed by ¶206.2, all Resolutions shall contain no more than three preamble paragraphs.

(4) Resolutions not meeting the above requirements will be returned for corrections. Corrected resolutions must be returned in time to meet the January 31, 2014 deadline.
Submitted by Lawrence L. Reddick III, Secretary of The College of Bishops