The House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church is meeting in Province IX in Quito, Ecuador (Diocese of Ecuador Central) from September 15 to September 20.  The following is an account of the activities for Monday, September 19.

The Episcopal Church House of Bishops began Monday, September 19 with Morning Prayer and Bible Study. The Bible study focused on the Mission of the Church through the lens of Matthew 5:21-26. At the conclusion of the Bible study, HOB chaplain the Rev. Stephanie Spellers of the Diocese of Massachusetts asked the bishops to reflect on their call to be reconcilers asking, “What is the breach you feel most compelled to repair?”

Emcee for the day was Bishop Paul Lambert of Dallas. Bishop Clay Matthews reintroduced the theme “Proclaiming the Gospel: Caring for the Least as Bishops in the 21st Century.”

The morning was devoted to a panel discussion on Migration, Poverty, Indebtedness, and the Environment in Ecuador. Panelists were Franklin Canelos, economist and university professor; the Rev. Nilton Giese, General Secretary of Consejo Latinoamericano de Iglesias (Latin-American Council of Churches); Esperanza Martinez, sociologist, biologist and researcher with Oil Watch; and Ana White, Immigration and Refugee Policy Analyst at the Episcopal Church Office of Government Relations.  Each presented data which detailed the many points and aspects of the topic; presentations were in English and Spanish.
 
In the afternoon session, Bishop Don Johnson of West Tennessee moderated the open discussion with the morning’s panel members and HOB members.

Province IX of the Episcopal Church is comprised of the Dioceses of Colombia, Ecuador Central, Ecuador Litoral, Honduras, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, and Venezuela.

Eucharist was celebrated at noon by Bishop Diane Jardine Bruce, Diocese of Los Angeles, in three languages: English, Mandarin and Spanish. HOB chaplain the Rev. Simone Bautista, Diocese of Washington, was the preacher.

Media Briefers for Monday, September 19
Bishop Mary Glasspool, Diocese of Los Angeles
Bishop Steven Miller, Diocese of Milwaukee

Links
Diocese of Dallas http://edod.org/
Diocese of Los Angeles http://www.ladiocese.org/
Diocese of Massachusetts http://www.diomass.org/
Diocese of Milwaukee http://www.diomil.org/
Diocese of Washington www.edow.org
Diocese of West Tennessee http://www.episwtn.org/
Episcopal Church Office of Government Relations: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/eppn
Province IX http://www.ecusa.anglican.org/directory_11134_ENG_HTM.htm

Consejo Latinoamericano de Iglesias: http://www.claiweb.org/
Oil Watch http://oilwatchmesoamerica.org/
The Episcopal Church: www.episcopalchurch.org