General Convention 2006



			75th General Convention: June 13-21, 2006 in Columbus, OH

75th General Convention: June 13-21, 2006 in Columbus, OH

Resolved, That the 75th General Convention of The Episcopal Church move toward adopting recognized open standards for the data that are used in its electronic communications and data storage. A recognized open standard is defined to be one that is documented by, and whose specification is controlled by, a well-known national or international standards body; and be it further
Resolved, That proprietary data descriptions using these standards be fully published; and be it further
Resolved, That these recommended standards be communicated to the dioceses and congregations of The Episcopal Church and our ecumenical partners.

EXPLANATION
Electronic document storage and retrieval technology is rapidly evolving. The ability to store information electronically allows it to be easily retrieved, searched, and shared with others. However because the formats that are used to store the information are being modified, there have been numerous instances where information has become inaccessible because the system used to retrieve that information has become obsolete and is no longer manufactured. A classic example of this is scientific and demographic data that was collected and stored on punch cards in the 1960's. Much of this data is no longer able to be readily accessed without expensive techniques to transfer it to modern storage formats. A more recent example is the difficulty that some have in getting access to files that were created in older programs like WordPerfect or Dbase.
By using open-standard document formats, the Church will be able to "future proof" its data and ensure that the files created will be able to be read by future users. In addition, there is a significant advantage in using fully documented file systems for people who may not have access to expensive technology or who may need assistive technology to communicate effectively. Proprietary formats can often be used only with expensive proprietary software.

* The final language, as well as the final status of each resolution, is being reviewed by the General Convention office. The Journal of the 75th General Convention and the Constitution and Canons will be published once the review process has been completed.

Numbers in The Bible Numerology

Through the ages, people have been wondered and fascinated with the meaning of numbers in The Bible numerology. The numbers in bible numerology have deep hidden spiritual and prophetic significance. The numbers in old and new Testaments reveal the hidden meaning and concept often not understood by the common man or casual readers. If you look at the history, then we you will come to know that many great thinkers, achievers and scientist had shown keen interest in understanding the hidden code in the numbers in bible numerology and using them for their own interest.
Alphabets were used in their written calculations by Hebrews. We have the conclusive evidence of the usage of the Maccabeean coins in post-Babylonian times. Numerical expressions are used widely and at length in old Testament of Hebrew text. There is wide use of the numeric alphabets in Hebrew text instead of just alphabets which is conclusive evidence of the meaningfulness of the numbers in bible numerology. The numbers that are used in Old Testament are surely not determinative rather they are surely symbolic in their origin. For instance, the numbers 7 ,10, 100, 0 were thought to explain the phenomenon of completeness.
There are various numbers that are thought to have hidden meanings and concepts. Out of many numbers that are thought of having secret meaning 13 numbers have great significance in bible numerology, these numbers includes 1, 4, 5, 2, 3, 7, 6, 10, 40, 12, 50, 70, 49. So, one can not just neglect the hidden symbolism, concept and powers of numbers in bible numerology.