Preconciliar Commission meets, discusses ongoing AAC plans and agenda

BETHESDA, MD [OCA]—Despite a major storm that gripped much of the US, members of the Preconciliar Commission gathered at Saint Mark Church here on Thursday, February 3 to reveiw and refine plans for the 16th All-America Council [AAC].

The AAC—the first to be held in the Diocese of the West—is slated to convene in Bellevue, WA, a Seattle suburb, October 31 - November 4, 2011.

Among the issues discussed:

• A process of fees and registration has been established, while the AAC budget was finalized. Melanie Ringa, OCA Treasurer, will send a letter to all parishes during the second week of February with information on AAC assessments.
• A letter with information on hotel and flight reservations will be sent to all parishes by Archpriest Eric G. Tosi, OCA Secretary, by the end of February.

• Study materials, together with registration information, will be available in late spring. Everything will be posted and available for downloading on the AAC web site at http://aac16.org/, which will result in a major cost reduction. Concurrent with the meeting, the AAC web site went “live.”
• While the final AAC agenda and schedule have yet to be finalized, two break-out sessions are being planned as part of the strategic planning process. The sessions will enable delegates and attendees to explore 10 areas of Church life identified by the Strategic Planning Committee and its working groups. From these sessions, specific and concrete “action items” will emerge for presentation.
• Vendors and exhibitors offering liturgical supplies, books, icons, recordings, vestments, etc., will be available throughout the AAC.
• Some dioceses and organizations will hold assemblies and meetings on Monday, 31 October, immediately before the AAC’s formal opening.

Plans for visits to Alaska after the AAC are in process. Given Seattle’s close proximity to Alaska, it is anticipated that a full compliment of clergy and lay participants from Alaska will be present, thereby highlighing the OCA’s diversity and roots.

Chairing the meeting was His Grace, Bishop Benjamin of San Francisco and the West. In addition to Father Eric and Mrs. Ringa, others attending the meeting in various capacities included Archpriest Alexander Garklavs, OCA Chancellor; Archpriest John Pierce, clergy local committee chair; Priests Victor Gorodonchuk and John Vitko; Protodeacon Peter Danilchick; Prof. David Drillock; and Lisa Mikhalevsky. Other participants were unable to attend due to weather related flight cancellations.