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If elected, this will be my first time as a deputy to the General Convention; however, it won’t be my first General Convention. I attended the 2018 Convention in Austin, TX as an ECCT Region Missionary to learn how the governance of the church works and to network. I learned so much and fell in love with the process, particularly the unanimous votes in both houses to readmit Cuba as a diocese of The Episcopal Church, witnessing the joy as the Episcopal community of Christ became a little more whole.
When we are in the thick of life and parish ministry, it can be easy to lose track of the fact that we are a much larger Christian body, full of diversity and a wide breadth of experiences. We are not all of one mind, but we are all connected through Christ. This is rarely more on display than at the General Convention, when we gather to wrestle with really big, hard questions about scripture, theology, and our place in the secular world. These questions and their replies have a direct impact on our parishes and our civic life. It is where we take a collective stand for justice, and it is where the path towards the future church becomes just a little clearer. It was a privilege to witness this work and holy discernment in 2018 and I look forward to the opportunity to be an active participant in the discernment in 2027. I especially look forward to bringing the voice of a small but mighty parish to the table where we have equal voice and opportunity alongside all the different expressions and models of church across TEC.
Over the course of thirty years of ministry I have served the Church in three dioceses in a wide variety and sizes of parish communities: rural, small town, suburban, and cathedral, including the contexts of regional/cluster ministries, poor, and affluent communities. I have also served on diocesan committees, and as chaplain at Camp Washington, and to several diocesan-affiliated groups, including a Board of Directors for Episcopal Church Women, and statewide leadership of Daughters of the King. I have been invited to lead retreats and facilitate vestry retreats.
In short, my work has been a rich experience of seeing the Church “up close and personal” in diverse contexts, helping me to see and recognize that each community is called to serve God according to its own unique identity. I believe that experience helps me to listen more openly, and honor the array of ministries, needs, challenges and passions that inspire the work of the Church at all levels. It would be my honor to represent ECCT with the fullness of that experience.
I have also been the Ecumenical Officer of ECCT for the last ten years, attending the annual National Workshop on Christian Unity and EDEIO’s (Episcopal Diocesan Ecumenical and Interreligious Officers) annual meeting each year. I am standing for election at this time because of my keen interest in the upcoming vote at General Convention for the Full Communion agreement with the United Methodist Church (UMC), which the UMC approved at their General Conference in 2024. This is the next step in the Ecumenical movement for TEC (the Episcopal Church).
I am well-suited for this role because I have had the opportunity to serve as a Deputy for ECCT at the last three Conventions, have served as a member of interim bodies, and have served on Legislative Committees, including as Co-Chair of a Legislative Committee and Co-Chair of the Black Deputies. These opportunities have given me the ability to engage in the work and ministry of the Episcopal Church at large.
I have been lucky enough to attend five of the past six General Convention since 2012. While at GC, I volunteered as a greeter, hospitality person and staffed various exhibits. For over a decade, I also have testified at numerous GC legislative hearings on topics ranging from liturgical proposals, investment strategies and environmental justice efforts. I have a strong interest and commitment to the legislative process, (which means I guess I am a bit of a church geek!) I do firmly believe that through church structure, budgeting and legislative processes we develop an ethical framework to share a prophetic voice for the world. The work of General Convention can remind the church and our nation of the Episcopal Church’s foundational truth and belief about God’s continuing loving movement in the world. Given the world and national turmoil, the 2027 General Convention will be an incredibly important gathering for the Episcopal Church to forcefully articulate Jesus’ radical, inclusive love of all people and creation. Through the formalizing of important resolutions and the adoption of a thoughtful churchwide budget, the Episcopal Church through General Convention can be a much needed beacon of Hope. I’d be honored to serve as one of ECCT’s deputies for this important General Convention.
After a time of prayer and personal reflection, I am honored to be nominated to continue to serve ECCT as together we continue to discern who and what God is calling us to be and to do on our journey with Bishop Jeff and Bishop Laura.. I have had the honor and privilege to serve in various capacities in the local and wider church. The experience I have gleaned have stretched me beyond my comfort zone to be a better Christian, a better priest and a better follower of Jesus Christ. My hope if elected is to have one more opportunity to learn more about our wider church so that I can help raise up and mentor the next generation of active, passionate, faith-filled leaders in ECCT.
I think I am suited for the position of Deputy to General Convention for 3 reasons. The first is that I want to go! Last year I had travel plans to GC in Louisville just for fun-sies . Unfortunately, I was sick and couldn’t attend. I would love the opportunity to attend convention in 2027.
The second reason is that I had an incredibly moving experience on a recent mission trip to Holguin, Cuba. There I met one of the most pastoral, intelligent, and hardworking priests I’ve ever met. We developed a friendship and he shared with me many of the difficulties of his position as a priest. From his living conditions, to his medical care, to his vacation time. I learned a lot about the diocese of Cuba from him, and the unfortunate realities of living in Cuba but also being a priest in a non-domestic diocese of the Episcopal Church. I promised him (and myself) that I would investigate clergy benefits parity in our non domestic dioceses, but especially Cuba. So, I would love the opportunity to be around national convention in 2027 to begin what I expect to be a life-long project of uncovering history and canons, and finding people already doing this work.
The third reason, is that I am new to all this and very eager to learn. I also have a secret talent for administrative tasks!
Reflecting on why I felt called to apply as a General Convention deputy, I thought of my earliest encounters with the Holy amid the apple orchards and Douglas firs where I grew up, hearing the Spirit’s whisper in the turning seasons.
That call has grown over years of ministry into a conviction that the Church is not fading — it is being born anew. I want to participate in helping the Body of Christ stretch, awaken and break forth into that next chapter. In fact, I believe we are living in one of the most exciting times in the Church’s history, and I feel called to help every whisper in the wind propel the Gospel forward in tangible ways.
I bring to this work the fullness of who I am: priest, pastor, storyteller, teacher, advocate, beekeeper, backpacker, lover of music and books, eager traveller.
I love the Episcopal Church in Connecticut. It was in ECCT that I was ordained in 2022. I have already served on its Steering Committee and on the Camp Washington Board of Directors. I treasure those experiences as times when I truly felt the heartbeat of our shared life in this diocese. I have maintained relationships born in those years, and I long to deepen my engagement and broaden my understanding of the larger Church in ways that will help our whole diocese walk more boldly into God’s dream. That dream is not of decline or scarcity — it is of an emerging Beloved Community, where the walls that divide us come tumbling down, where justice and mercy kiss, and where every person knows they are beloved of God.
This opportunity offers the chance to deepen how I hear and learn from the wider Episcopal community, to bring home stories, connections, practices that can help ECCT more fully embody God’s dream. In a time when many look at the Church and see decline, I want to lift up instead the vision of a Church being born — not a dying ember, but a rising dawn promising hope, courage, and imagination.
A big part of my vocation has been about helping people find God in unexpected places. I believe the Spirit meets us in surprise and promise. This opportunity feels like an extension of that calling.
I bring to it hopeful imagination, steady pastoral love, and fierce conviction that the Spirit is at work, birthing something new. I want to walk this path arm in arm—with my diocese and the wider Church — bearing witness to resurrection in every place we touch. In this moment, I offer all I am to the journey of becoming, trusting that we move together into a more beautiful, just, and loving future.
I have served as Deputy to The General Convention for 5 consecutive General Conventions and bring my passion for The Episcopal Church along with a desire for helping our church live more deeply into God’s mission in our time. My experience of being a Deputy has been broadened by my appointment to the Social Justice and International Policy Legislative Committee for 2 Conventions and a previous appointment to the Ecumenical and Interreligious Relations Legislative Committee. We are living in a time that cries out for peace and justice and respect for the dignity of all human beings. I believe my leadership skills in ECCT and those from my corporate life prior to ordination have prepared me to continue serving our wider church. And I feel called to this vital work and ministry.
In my ongoing ministry in ECCT, I have become ever more involved and interested in the governance of our church. Serving as a member and president of the Standing Committee, I am engaged in the collaborative governance of our diocese. In this role, I have become increasingly aware of the need for good governance at the parochial, diocesan, and wider church levels, along with the pressing needs of making the governance structures of our church adaptable and nimble enough to rise to the challenges of a rapidly changing ministry landscape. In addition, I served as a chaperone of our diocesan youth delegation to General Convention in 2024, interacting with ECCT’s deputation, and observing the work of General Convention.
I have been elected as an alternate to General Convention three times in two dioceses (Virginia and Newark), served on the Standing Committee in those dioceses including a term as president in Newark. As a lifelong Episcopalian, former choirmaster and organist, and with degrees in organizational management and practical theology (D.Min.), I have a lot of experience in observing, asking questions, and working collaboratively to come up with creative solutions. I was invited to serve on the Presiding Officers Working Group on Truth-Telling, Reckoning, and Healing out of which several resolutions were presented and passed at the 80th General Convention, leading to the creation of the Episcopal Coalition for Racial Equity and Justice and other efforts to begin to address the wounds of our history regarding indigenous boarding schools and our colonial past. I enjoy policy, polity, governance, and structure, but most of all, I love the Episcopal Church and look forward to continuing to serve in whatever ways I can.