General Convention elects members to Executive Council
[Episcopal News Service – Louisville, Kentucky] The House of Bishops and the House of Deputies have elected 10 new members to serve on Executive Council, the church’s governing body between meetings of General Convention. These members all will serve a six-year term.
Ten other members were elected by General Convention at the 80th General Convention in 2022 and will serve until the next convention in 2027.
The bishops elected two members on the first ballot: South Dakota Bishop Jonathan Folts and West Missouri Bishop Provisional Diane Jardine Bruce.
Deputies elected six lay and two clergy members. Laity all were elected on the first ballot: Heidi Kim of the Diocese of Minnesota, Gerlene Gordy of the Navajoland Area Mission; Warren Hawk of the Diocese of South Dakota; Laura Russell of the Diocese of Newark, Katie Sherrod of the Diocese of Texas and Grecia Christian Reynso of the Diocese of the Dominican Republic.
The two clergy elected are the Rev. Lester Mackenzie of the Diocese of Los Angeles, who was elected on the first ballot, and Deacon Stannard Baker of the Diocese of Vermont, who was elected on the third ballot.
The 10 newly-elected members still need to be confirmed by a vote of the other house.
Executive Council has a total of 40 members, 18 of which are elected to staggered six-year terms by the nine provinces of The Episcopal Church. The presiding bishop and House of Deputies president serve as chair and vice chair of Executive Council, respectively.
— Melodie Woerman is an Episcopal News Service freelance reporter based in Kansas.
