Bishop Scott B. Hayashi asked members of the deputation to General Convention in Austin, Texas to detail their experience in short essays.

Click here to read the ones that were submitted.

The Episcopal Church’s Houses of Bishops and Deputies voted unanimously to re-admit The Episcopal Church of Cuba as a diocese of the Episcopal Church. The Diocese of Cuba will become part of Province II.

The houses passed resolution A238 which reversed the 1966 removal of Cuba from the General Convention. For more information on resolution A238 please click here.

Bishop Hayashi served as secretary of the legislative committee that offered the recommendation of adoption. He said it was simply time to do the right thing and welcome Cuba. He says there is an unbelievable spirit of faith and excitement within the congregations of Cuba.

Bishop Hayashi and a dozen other bishops visited Cuba in 2015 to lay the groundwork for this momentous occasion. Diocesan Communications Director Craig Wirth accompanied the group and produced this video to show their experiences and give a first look at Cuba after the country had been closed to US travelers for almost five decades.

Photo: Bishop of Cuba, The Rt. Rev. Griselda Delgado del Carpio, after the unanimous decision was made.

The Diocese of Utah is grateful to have been entrusted with the task of creating the important training materials to help prevent clergy misconduct through education.

The full site along with a demonstration of how to use it can be found at titleiv.org.

During General Convention, the United Thank Offering announced approved grants.

The Sudanese congregation at All Saints has been awarded $18,000 for a much-needed van. The van will provide transportation for those who need it. It serves our treasured and vibrant congregation of those of Sudanese heritage.

To find out about the church-wide grants that were awarded by United Thank Offering this year, click here.

The Rt. Rev. Scott Hayashi has been elected to The Episcopal Church Executive Council. The EC serves to govern The Episcopal Church by carrying out resolutions and actions passed in General Convention. This is an honor for the Bishop and our diocese.

The Executive Council regularly meets in between each General Convention. The next EC meeting is in October. The next General Convention will be held in 2021.

St. Mark’s Hospital Chapel of the Good Shepherd will have new stained glass windows created by artist Allison Linger. She interpreted sketches from the hos

pital’s Lead Staff Chaplain, Saundra Shanti, to create the beautiful stained glass images. They will be dedicated to the late Fr. Lincoln Ure, who was the beloved Director of Spiritual Care, a Chaplain and friend to all patrons of the hospital.

Bishop Scott B. Hayashi will officiate at the dedication, which is set for June 28, 2018 at 4PM. All are welcome to attend.

Convention in Austin, Texas, starting July 5. The deputation has been meeting regularly since March to review

and discuss legislation that guides the church in the once every three-year event.

Resolutions for this convention include the following areas: Theology of Episcopal Evangelism, Face to Face and in Cyber Space; recommendations from the Task Force on Marriage created by the 2015 General Convention; recommendations from the Task Force on the Episcopate (our bishops); proposed changes to the

Constitution and Canons; recommendations on improving the safeguarding of all persons; recommended updates of Church liturgies and music; a special dialogue on sexual violence and harassment; and international issues such as the Israel-Palestine conflict and immigration policies. Another area of increasing focus addresses small congregations and bi-vocational clergy models. The deputation has one more meeting to complete its preparations before leaving for Austin.

Also, Bishop Scott B. Hayashi will be representing the diocese at the House of Bishops at General Convention. Please pray for the deputation and for the whole of the Convention.

Deputies and Alternates going to Austin to the House of Deputies include:

The Rev. Trace Browning

The Rev. Isabel Gonzalez

Canon Steve Hutchinson

The Rev. Mary Janda

Ms. Nancy Tanner

The Rev. Cn. Pablo Ramos

Mr. David Reed

Ms. Rhonda Uber

The Rev. Vanessa Cato (Clergy Alternate)

Ms. Sandy Motes (Lay Alternate)

They have added two talented video and software experts to the crew, Nick Cockrell and David Skorut. The four crew members will bring the joyous and meaningful evening eucharist services to computers throughout the international reach of The Episcopal Church. The wider church is hoping General Convention and the worship services will be shared by thousands, who can watch via an user friendly media hub. It’s a rare chance to see several thousand Episcopalians in worship and to join via the web. This will be the third General Convention that our diocese has produced and directed live streams of the worship services. Each service will be seen at 6:30 MDT.

The church’s website, www.episcopalchurch.org, will have a link to the General Convention media hub.