The Lay Professional Advocacy Committee (LPAC)

The Lay Professional Advocacy Committee of AAM exists to:

• Advocate for all lay employees at The General Convention of the Episcopal Church by:

• • testifying, tracking, and advocating for pertinent convention resolutions that affect lay employees,
  • maintaining contact and advocacy with other lay employee groups,
  • communicating with AAM members who serve in the House of Deputies, and
  • presenting and staffing exhibit booth promoting the work of AAM to the wider church.
• Encourage AAM members to be proactive in their diocesan elections.
• Support the work of the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music.
• Provide resources so that AAM members can be successful advocates for themselves.
• Provide workshop and educational resources at the annual conference, along with updates to The Journal of AAM and the AAM Board throughout the year.

 

How to become more involved in the wider Church

• Diocesan Level
  • Attend events and network within your Diocese.
  • As a musician, this might include involvement in musical needs of diocesan events.
  • Each diocese holds an annual Diocesan Convention, at which leadership is elected for the upcoming year.
  • If you are member of your parish, consider running as a parish representative to your Diocesan Convention.
• The Wider Church
  • Consider running to be a deputy to General Convention. Deputations from each diocese consist of four lay and four clergy deputies and four alternate deputies in each order. These elections occur at Diocesan Conventions.
  • Apply to serve on an Interim Body of the Episcopal Church. These groups do the work of the wider church between General Conventions.

 

Resources for Lay Employees working in the Episcopal Church

• Church Pension Group – The Church Pension Fund (CPF) and its affiliated companies, collectively the Church Pension Group (CPG), provide retirement, health, life insurance, and related benefits for its clergy and lay employees.
• The Episcopal Church’s Manual of Business Methods – A comprehensive, user-friendly manual that supports the increasingly complex work of all treasurers and parish administrators.
• Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music – An interim body of the General Convention created in 1997. This commission combines the work and responsibilities of two previous bodies, the Standing Liturgical Commission and the Standing Commission on Church Music.
• FORMA – Network for Christian Formation for the Episcopal Church which advocates for Lay Employees.
• Relevant General Convention Resolutions
  • 2022-A003 Uniform Paid Family Leave Policy
  • 2018-A237 & 2018-D045 Study Parity Between Lay and Clergy Pensions
  • 2018-B006 Encourage Letters of Agreement in Hiring Processes
  • 2018-C023 Ensure Availability of Multiple Insurance Providers
  • 2009-A177 Amend Canon I.8 to Establish a Denominational Health Plan