Resolved, the House of _______ concurring, That Canon I.1.2(n) is hereby amended by adding a new subsection (15), to read as follows:

(15) A Standing Commission on Science, Technology and Faith. It shall be the duty of the Commission to identify, explore and recommend policies to General Convention regarding emerging issues in science and technology and their implications for Christian faith, life, and practice. And be it further

Resolved, That the Standing Commission on Science, Technology and Faith shall have a budget of $60,000 for the triennium, 2009-2012; and be it further

Resolved, That the Executive Council Committee on Science, Technology and Faith be discontinued, effective with the appointment of the new Standing Commission; and be it further

Resolved, That Canon I.1.2(n) is further amended by adding a new subsection (16), to read as follows:

(16) A Standing Commission on the Eradication of Racism. It shall be the duty of the Commission to study and develop policies and strategies to dismantle and eradicate racism in The Episcopal Church and society and make recommendations to General Convention pertaining thereto. And be it further

Resolved, That the Standing Commission shall have a budget of $60,000 for the triennium, 2009-2012; and be it further

Resolved, That the Executive Council Committee on Anti-Racism be discontinued, effective with the appointment of the new Standing Commission.

EXPLANATION

Science and technology have an increasingly pervasive influence on culture and daily life. The church needs a body to keep abreast of such developments and to evaluate them in the context of the received wisdom of Scripture and tradition, to provide education and guidance for the responses of individuals, congregations and dioceses. As with all Commissions' work, their findings would be "tested" by General Convention becoming the policy of the church.

The joint meeting of all CCABs, the Presiding Bishop, and the President of the House of Deputies, held in Chicago in November 2006, focused on anti-racism training, and every CCAB was urged to address the effects of racism within their work throughout the triennium. The Standing Commission on the Structure of the Church surveyed all Standing Commissions, asking the following question: "Recognizing that the way the church is organized can create barriers to full inclusion of all God's children, the Standing Commission on Structure is interested in suggestions you might have about structural barriers you have identified. How does the existence of your commission and its mandate empower or impede the church's efforts to dismantle racism? Is your Commission's place along the "Anti-racism Transformation Continuum for Congregations and Religious Organizations" a function of anything in its structure that could be codified or corrected through a canonical change?"

The responses demonstrated the difficulty structures of the church have recognizing and dealing with the influence of white privilege on the way the church functions. The General Convention has repeatedly committed the church to the dismantling and eradication of the sin of racism to effect the liberation and healing of all God's children. A Standing Commission on the Eradication of Racism would provide a continuing focus on strategies and policies to accomplish this key mission of the church.