Now is the time to make plans to attend the 16th All-American Council
In a letter sent to all parishes of the Orthodox Church in America during the first week of March 2011, Archpriest Eric G. Tosi, OCA Secretary, addressed a number of matters relative to the 16th All-American Council, slated to convene in Seattle/Bellevue, WA October 31-November 4, 2011. To view a PDF of the letter click HERE.
The text of Father Eric’s letter reads as follows.
“We enter this year in anticipation of the 16th All-American Council to be held on October 31 to November 3, 2011. Once again the Orthodox Church in America will gather in meetings, fellowship and prayer. This All-American Council will be the first one to be held in the Pacific Northwest. We are particularly thankful for the Diocese of West and the local committee in the Seattle area for sponsoring this Council.
“The Council will be held at the Hyatt Regency Bellevue, which is in a suburb just east of Seattle. Flights to and from the Council are through Seattle-Tacoma Airport. The hotel is 30 minutes from the airport with convenient public transportation to Bellevue. We encourage you to look at the new Council website at http://aac16.org, which will provide detailed Council information including the distribution of all Council materials. The website will also be helpful in orienting you to the region.
“As has been reported, there will be a special pilgrimage to Sitka, following the Council, for the consecration of the new bishop of Alaska. FOS Tours will also be handling the arrangements for this wonderful event; you can contact FOS Tours and check with the Diocese of Alaska website at http://dioceseofalaska.org for detailed information. To simplify your traveling arrangements, a package deal with FOS Tours is available for the All-American Council and the Sitka trip.
“There will be some cost-saving changes regarding the distribution of the study materials and reports for delegates; they will only be available online for attendees to download. Each delegate is expected bring these downloaded materials to the Council with them. Binders and dividers will be provided at Council registration. These unnecessary printing and transportation costs represent a considerable savings and helps in keeping the Council assessments manageable.
“Registration material, as well as, calls for resolutions and statute changes will be made available this spring. There will be a change to registration process in that each delegate will be asked to preregister for a specific working group which will meet for two sessions during the Council. These working groups are based on a recommendation of the Strategic Planning Committee and will continue the ongoing discussions of the Strategic Plan that was mandated by the last Council. The recommendations that will come out from these working groups will then be presented to the Council’s general assembly to determine initiatives.
“We all look forward to the upcoming Council. Please continue to check the OCA and the All-American Council websites for further announcements and materials. We look forward to seeing everyone in Seattle as we gather as the “Household of Faith.”