This is a live blog covering the morning session of the House of Deputies that took place July 9, 2022.
Election Camp is over for a while
The president says we will elect no more until after convention.
Trustees of General Seminary
Michael Braxton and Noreen Duncan have been elected as lay trustees of the General Theological Seminary by unanimous consent.
T. James Kodera and Richard Norman, Jr. have been elected as clergy trustees of the General Theological Seminary by unanimous consent.
Julia Ayala Harris addresses the House
“I want to express my deepest gratitude to the other candidates on this historic slate. … Thank you for saying yes to this call.”
“I am unbelievably honored to be able to follow President Jennings. Thank you for your thankful service to this church to your own vision and for all the change you have brought for justice, for inclusion, for Jesus.
Now to you all in the House of Deputies: “I am honored to be your president-elect.
“You have sent a message to the church geeks of this church that if you try hard, and read the canons and read all the minutes you can actually make a huge difference on this church.”
Electing the Next President of the House of Deputies
The candidates are
- Devon Anderson
- Julia Ayala Harris
- Edwin Johnson
- Ryan Kusutomo
- Ward Simpson
First ballot: Julia Ayala Harris has the lead.
- Harris: 345
- Kusumoto 295
- Anderson 99
- Johnson 35
- Simpson 18
Second ballot. It’s between Ayala Harris and Kusumoto. 397 votes are need to elect.
- Harrris 392
- Kusumoto 355
Third ballot: Harris wins.
- Ayala Harris 417
- Kusumoto 359
Electing members of Executive Council
The house is electing six lay members to Executive Council. The elections to some of the judicial bodies have been postponed to make sure the slates reflect the geographic distribution required in the canons. All six are elected on the first ballot
- Diane Audrick Smith
- Sandra Montes
- Joe McDaniel, Jr.
- Annette Buchanan
- Scott Haight
- Tivuan Cooper
The house is electing two clergy members to Executive Council.
Charles Graves and Deborah Jackson are elected on the first ballot.
“It’s kind of like being at voting camp.”
So says the president as the house begins voting to choose seven lay members for the court of review.
Six members were elected on the first ballot
- Laura Russell
- Delbert Glover
- Grecia Reynoso
- Julie Larsen
- Brunilda Rodriguez-Velez
- L. Zoe Cole
In case you were wondering what the Court of Review does: The Canons provide for a Court of Review for disciplinary matters involving Priests and Deacons and a separate Court of Review for matters involving Bishops. Its purpose is to receive and determine appeals from Hearing Panels of any diocese as provided in Title IV.15, to determine venue issues as provided in Title IV.19.5, and to claims of undue delay pursuant to Title IV.15.1.
The house needs to elect one more member, an alternate, to this court. It failed to do so on the second ballot.
Julian Bivins, Jr. is elected on the third ballot.
Church Pension Fund Trustees Elections
Nine candidates were elected on the first ballot
- Cynthia Kittredge
- Sandye Wilson
- Sandra McPhee
- David Alvarez
- Ian Douglas
- Brian Prior
- Anne Vickers
- Gawain de Leeuw
- John McCray-Goldsmith
Three seats remain to be filled. A second ballot is underway.
No one was elected on the second ballot
Amy Haynie was elected on the third ballot. Two seats remain open. Only the top four remaining candidates will appear on the fourth ballot.
Gregory Rickel and Brendan Barnicle were elected on the fourth ballot.
Elections
Kurt Barnes is the only candidate for treasurer of General Convention. There is an argument to be made for uncoupling the roles of treasurer of the convention and chief financial officer on the staff of the presiding bishop, which Barnes also holds. But this is not the convention at which that school of thought will be in session.
Update: In an upset of Dewey-Truman proportions, Barnes has been elected.
There are 21 candidates for 12 positions on the Board of Trustees of the Church Pension Fund. The relationship between the church and its pension fund is a contentious topic, and an interesting aspect of this election is that the candidates are never asked to express their views on this issue.
There are 11 candidates for the six lay positions on Executive Council. There are four candidates for two positions in the clergy order.
Less Consenting Than Yesterday
There are a mere ten items on today’s consent calendar, compared to yesterday’s 130+ Deputy Adam Hamilton-Ferguson of Central New York wants to remove A045 which has to do with a word in a canon. The majority of the House does not. The consent calendar passes.
A great many deputies are still having Wi-Fi problems.
The House is moving into elections. A great many elections.
Dr. Coldren Says
We are on a flat trajectory. Virus wise. That’s good. We’ve had four more positive tests among deputies. That brings the total to eight. One percent of the population. “That is outstanding.”
Two family members and one or more volunteers have also tested positive.
He renews the request he has received from numerous deputies to ask everyone to wear masks in the common spaces of the hotels.
President Jennings is preaching on The Calling of St. Matthew with a little help from her friend Caravaggio. A few excerpts:
“When the divine comes into your midst, are you crouched and defensive, ready with your weapon? Are you wary like the boy in gold and red, who is leaning against the bearded man for protection? Do you sense the significance of the moment but wonder if God could possibly be calling you? Do you find yourself unable to pay proper attention because you are so focused on the task at hand? Or do you find you can’t take your eyes off things you can count?”
and
“In a few hours, the House of Deputies will elect my successor, and on Monday I will end my ten-years of service as president. It is a time when people ask you retrospective sorts of questions, such as which of the many things that happened during my long tenure I am proudest of.
I have a list. Only kidding.
I was thrilled and honored to be in the chair when the House of Deputies approved the resolutions that made marriage equality a reality in most of the dioceses of our church in 2015.
I was gratified by the work I helped initiate through the metoo committee that served in advance of the 2018 General Convention.
And I am in hopes that the creation of the Episcopal Coalition for Racial Equity and Justice through the passage of Resolution A125, will be among the most significant actions this church has ever taken.
But what I am proudest of are the people I have had the opportunity to call into leadership. There has been a generational change in our church. The houses of General Convention are more racially diverse than they have ever been. A new generation of young leaders is on the rise in our legislative committees, thanks, in part, I would like to think, to the creation of additional leadership positions which I filled exclusively with younger deputies. At this convention we are focusing special attention on the House of Deputies State of the Church Committee which was composed almost entirely of millennial leaders.
And while I do not know who the House of Deputies will elect as my successor, I do know that thanks to the decision, reached at the 79th General Convention, to compensate the person who holds this position, you will be choosing from the youngest and most diverse slate in the church’s history.
We have made significant progress in opening leadership positions in the House of Deputies to people who might previously have been excluded. But more remains to be done. Because if one learns anything in this job—which involves making hundreds and hundreds of appointments—it is that the spirt not only blows where it will, but upon whom it will.”
The legislative session will begin at 9:30 EDT.
The House of Deputies is worshiping in Spanish and English this morning using Morning Prayer Rite II and beginning with a land acknowledgment.
“We humbly acknowledge the traditional ancestral and contemporary homelands of Indigenous peoples on which we worship and meet today and the days to come. We recognize Baltimore is located on unceded lands of the Piscataway and Susquehannock peoples, and that Baltimore is called home by the Cedarville Band of the Piscataway Conoy Tribe. As we gather from places across this country and the globe, we honor and recognize the Indigenous peoples of the places we call home. We recognize the church’s part in the colonialism and oppression of Native peoples, and we commit to take action and build our awareness of our historical and current participation.”
Deputy Bryan Alexis Vélez-Garcia of Puerto Rico is presiding. President Gay Clark Jennings will preach.