TRANS & NON-BINARY PERSONS: Created by the 133rd Annual Meeting, the members of our Task Force were appointed by the bishop in July 2022. We are charged with producing guidelines and/or tools for diocesan institutions and congregations to voluntarily conduct an assessment of practices and develop a plan to provide education, and implement improvements, including but not limited to restroom access and signage, formation activities, and communications online and in print.

To fulfill our charge, we have established the following tasks and goals:

• • Support and education of parents of LGBTQ+ youth
  • Liturgical Language (How do we balance the depth and beauty of our liturgy with language that does not encompass or express the full beauty of God’s creation?)
  • Development of Vestry/BAC trainings: What in our diocese perpetuates the oppression of trans and non-binary people? Can we provide a common language to demystify and foster communication around trans/non-binary? What other Church entities can we partner with who are already doing this work?
  • Development of assessment tools for faith gatherings/congregations: What needs attention (policies/procedures/bylaws)? Provide leaders with a “rubric” or checklist.

PALESTINIAN HUMAN RIGHTS: Created by the 122nd Annual Meeting, the Task Force for Palestinian Human Rights’ purpose is to provide educational opportunities concerning the Holy Land, focusing primarily on the injustices taking place in Israel/Palestine, particularly regarding the well-being of Palestinian children. The members of the task force are willing to provide informational programs and other resources to enhance communities’ knowledge and encourage and assist people in our diocese in education and advocacy for Palestine and to go on eyewitness pilgrimage trips to the area.

The task force strives to advocate for and support Palestinian Christians, their churches, institutions, and communities by educating and encouraging each church in our diocese to find a way to participate in this important ministry.  

Ultimately the task force seeks justice for all peoples of the Holy Land, namely Christians, Jews, and Muslims, as promoted by international laws and United Nations resolutions.

Summary of the Resolution passed at the 2025 Convention of The Episcopal Church in Western Oregon:

1)      The Episcopal Church in Western Oregon 2025 Convention calls for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza, for the release of all Hamas-held hostages, and Israeli-held unjustly detained Palestinian prisoners, and for the urgent provision of comprehensive, substantial humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza, in particular such vulnerable populations as children, the elderly, and those in need of medical care.

2)      The Episcopal Church in Western Oregon 2025 Convention join other Christians, Jews, Muslims and people of faiths calling for and promoting sustainable peace in Israel and Palestine with mutually negotiated solutions ending an inherently unjust and unstable military occupation, assuring equal rights, freedom, security, and self-determination for all. Action Alerts – The Episcopal Church

3)      The Episcopal Church in Western Oregon 2025 Convention condemn the increasing seizure of land and the escalating military and settler violence against Palestinians living under Israeli military occupation in the West Bank.

4)      The Episcopal Church in Western Oregon 2025 Convention calls us to support  the American Friends of the Diocese of Jerusalem AFEDJ and its ministry of peacebuilding and reconciliation, especially the Diocese of Jerusalem’s Al Ahli Hospital. AFEDJ is a nonpolitical, nonsectarian, 501(c)(3) organization and the leading fundraising organization for the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem. AFEDJ mobilizes financial resources for the diocese and its humanitarian institutions – its schools, hospitals, and centers for children with disabilities in Palestine, Israel, Jordan, and Lebanon. 

TRUTH & RECONCILIATION: Created by an adopted resolution at the 132nd Annual Meeting of the Diocesan Convention proposed by the Commission to End Racism (renamed the Engaging Racial Justice Working Group). It was tasked to tell the truth about the diocesan history regarding racism. Currently, the task force is researching to identify acts of complicity by the diocese in systematic racism and also to identify acts by the diocese in opposition to racism. Its primary work is to tell the whole truth of the church’s enabling and institutionalizing of racism within and without the church.

The resolution was brought to Diocesan Convention in response to the International Episcopal Churches’ mandate for the entire Church to engage in truth-telling in order to Become Beloved Community.

Unless the truth is told, there cannot be reconciliation. The goal of the task force is to compile and tell the historical, as well as the current truth. This is painful but necessary. The goal is to use the truth-telling to enable reconciliation with our past and with those we have hurt as a church. They are using the labyrinth adopted by Becoming Beloved Community as their working model. As you move through the labyrinth, all quadrants work together.