National Convention will be adapted for pandemic safety

With the country in a much better situation now than it was this time last year, there are high expectations that National Convention will be able to go ahead. The National Assembly looks forward to welcoming delegates gathering to “fulfil the functions of an enlightened, consultative and co-operative body that will enrich the experience, enhance the prestige, support the authority, and assist the deliberations of the National Spiritual Assembly” and will have the great privilege and delicate task “to elect such national representatives as would by their record of service ennoble and enrich the annals of the Cause”.

However, pandemic risks still demand caution in regard to large gatherings so the National Spiritual Assembly has decided that this year’s Convention will only be open to the representative of the Continental Board of Counsellors, delegates, Auxiliary Board members, National Spiritual Assembly members, and one or two others who have been specifically invited by the National Spiritual Assembly because of the institutional role they have in the national arena. In a highly unusual step for New Zealand, the Convention will not be open to observers.

Attached is a letter of the National Spiritual Assembly explaining National Convention arrangements. Also attached is a letter from the Continental Board of Counsellors noting the significance of this Convention coming at the commencement of the next series of Plans, promising prayers for the success of the deliberations, and naming the Auxiliary Board member who will stand in for the Counsellors’ representative, Ms Tessa Scrine, who may not be able to travel to New Zealand unless the border opens. One further attachment is a list of delegates.