Repentance in Honolulu

Surrounded by the volcanoes of Honolulu, the delegates to the 58th triennial General Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church appropriately reminded themselves of Asia's explosive situation. The customary pastoral letter of the House of Bishops (which must be read to all Episcopal congregations within the month) pointed to "a tidal upheaval of deprived, hungry peoples struggling for food and nationhood and full human status and acceptance" in lands into which "half the population of God's world" is crowded.

"We in the United States," said the letter, "whatever our protestations of superior virtue . . . have inherited in great measure the fears and resentments of Asia toward the West . . . We can make a case for the very mixed benefits of empire and of economic penetration motivated by the desire for gain. Before God and men, we can make no case for contempt and assumptions of racial superiority. These are the deepest roots of our alienation from Asia. For these there is no answer but repentance."

The delegates also:

P: Voted to hold the next triennial convention (Oct. 5, 1958) in Miami Beach, after hearing assurances that there would be no taint of the racial segregation that caused the 1955 convention to be switched to Honolulu from Houston.

P: Backed Hawaii's and Alaska's bid for statehood.

P: Rejected a move that would permit churchwomen to be seated in the House of Deputies.

P: Noted a three-year growth in Episcopal Church membership from 2,471,295 to 2,757,744.

P: Adopted a record annual budget of $6,807,947.84 for the next three years (up about $1,000,000 over the last convention's budget), of which $4,920,826.15 is earmarked for domestic and foreign missions.

P: Raised the presiding bishop's salary from $12,000 to $15,000.

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