To the Bishops and Deputies of the Episcopal Church Assembled at the 80th General Convention,

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” Luke 10:27

The sin of racism is pandemic in our society, church, and world. It is our responsibility, as the body of Christ, to understand our own complicity, historically and currently, and find effective ways to eradicate its inherent injustices and inequities. As part of its commitment to becoming a Beloved Community, the Diocese of Ohio, by vote of its Convention, hereby impresses upon the 80th General Convention of The Episcopal Church the urgency of this work and commends to said General Convention the seventeen (17) resolutions (see Appendix) submitted by Deputies who are members of the Union of Black Episcopalians for its faithful consideration and action.

The resolutions are:

• Funding of the Chaplaincies at the HBCUs
• Promote Equity and to Reduce Differences in Health Care Outcomes
• The Creation of a Clergy Retirement Contribution Fund
• Continued Funding of The Beloved Community
• Funding of the Implementation of The Internalized Oppression Curriculum
• Establishing Equity in The Awarding of TEC Grants
• Address The Issue of Voter Suppression
• Address the Issue of Mass Incarceration
• Address The Issue of Private Prisons
• Inclusion of a Hymn in Honor of Dr. Artemisia Bowden
• Direct the removal of the name of The Rev. William Porcher Dubose from the Lesser Feasrts and Fasts Calendar
• To Include Bishop Barbara Clementine Harris in the Lesser Feasts & Fasts Calendar
• to Establish Lift Every Voice and Sing as The National Hymn
• to Encourage Usage of The Sacred Ground Curriculum
• Resolution to Adopt the Emmett Till Antilynching Act
• Requiring Action in Response to TEC’s Rcial Audit
• Regarding the Inclusion of Juneteenth in the Lesser Feasts and Fasts Calendar

Respectfully submitted,

The 205th Convention of the Diocese of Ohio

November 13, 2021