On October 18, the NAGA Executive Committee met to discuss the possibilities for our 2021 Triennial meeting. To date, we have no firm news on how the Office for General Convention, with whom we usually meet and for which we serve as the altar guild, has decided how to handle GC. It could be held in person as scheduled in Baltimore or it could be held as a virtual meeting in 2021 to conduct canonically required business, with an in-person meeting in 2022.
After much thought and prayer, your Executive Committee has decided that an in-person meeting in 2021 is inadvisable for our membership. The basis for this decision is (1) that COVID-19 remains uncontained and (2) at this writing, cases are rising in many parts of the U.S. However, our Constitution and Bylaws require certain business to be done each triennium. These items include election of officers, accepting any proposed changes to our Constitution and Bylaws, and accepting the triennial reports of board members.
To accomplish these mandated duties, we will hold a short virtual meeting in 2021. All members will receive specific instructions by email on how to register for our virtual conference, as well as instructions necessary to vote in our election. While we truly regret the need to cancel our 2021 in-person meeting, the health and safety of our membership far outweighs our delight in seeing each other!
Should the General Convention Office decide to meet in person in 2021, we have offered to serve as the Convention altar guild, as we have in the past. We will, if need be, ask for volunteers, preferably from nearby localities, to assist with Convention Eucharists. Should GC be held in person in 2022, it is possible that we will also hold an out-of-cycle NAGA meeting and again serve as Convention altar guild. The decision on a 2022 in-person meeting will be taken once we have a better understanding of GC plans and the state of the COVID-19 pandemic, availability of vaccines and treatments and all else needed to meet in safety. Even if we do not meet in person in 2022, we will, of course, have members available to serve as Convention altar guild.
Watch Epistle and keep checking our web site and your email for updates on our 2021 virtual meeting. Peace and blessings to all.
Albe Larsen, First Vice President