The Acts of Convention

Resolved, That the 67th General Convention affirms that a ministry of joint discipleship in Christ with poor and oppressed people, wherever they are found, to meet basic human needs and to build a just society, is at the heart of the mission of the Church; and be it further

Resolved, That the Executive Council is directed to implement and co-ordinate with other programs of the Church the following functions of a priority ministry commitment by this Church to be called "The Jubilee Ministry":

1. Consciousness Raising. To challenge and confront the members of the Episcopal Church and other churches, through conferences, seminars, study materials, Christian education programs, and this Church's seminaries to understand the facts of poverty and injustice, encouraging them to take an active role in meeting the needs of poor and oppressed people and in the struggles against the causes of such suffering.
2. Designated Jubilee Centers. Through a sub-committee of the Coalition for Human Needs to locate and affirm as Jubilee Centers those congregations, including ecumenical clusters, already directly engaged in mission and ministry among and with poor people, so that their experience can be studied and the learnings used by other parishes to become Jubilee Centers.
3. Training. For leadership of, and involvement in, Jubilee Ministry, through academic-year field training for clergy and seminarians, summer work programs, seminars and classes for clergy and lay volunteers, including poor and oppressed people and indigenous leaders, sabbaticals, shared work between parishes in partnership, and utilization of retirees.
4. Human Resources. To identify persons with gifts and skills helpful in Jubilee Ministry, establish a retrieval system, and match personnel with Jubilee Center needs.
5. Research and Evaluation. To select particular Jubilee Ministries with significant potential as models, and to communicate their work and methodology to the whole Church.
6. Publications. To publish a quarterly journal at a nominal price to report on issues which affect the poor, public and church policy related to those issues, theological reflection, and local models of Jubilee Ministry, as well as occasional papers and books on related concerns.
7. Network for Public Policy. To cooperate closely with such organizations as the Episcopal Urban Caucus, the Standing Commission on the Church in Small Communities, the Appalachian Peoples Service Organization (APSO) and Coalition Fourteen (C-14) and others, in developing an active network able to respond quickly and significantly on public issues of peace and justice.
8. Evangelism and Congregational Development. To seek and implement additional ways of urban and rural evangelism, especially in the formation of non-caucasian congregations.
9. Jubilee Ministry Grants. To be made by the Coalition for Human Needs commission through the Executive Council, in accordance with the procedures and guidelines in the report of the Standing Commission on the Church in Metropolitan Areas, representing, in sum, a concrete expression of the priority commitment made by this Church in the foregoing resolution.