General Convention
What is General Convention?
General Convention is the national legislative body of the Episcopal Church. The General Convention sets policy for our denomination, including in worship, discipline, mission, finance, and vision. It consists of a House of Bishops, which includes all active and retired bishops, and a House of Deputies, which includes four lay persons and four clergy from each diocese, each area mission, and the Convocation of the American Churches in Europe. The Convention typically meets every three years. The Houses meet and act separately, and both must concur to adopt legislation. The General Convention alone has authority to amend the Prayer Book and the church's Constitution, to amend the canons (laws) of the church, and to determine the program and budget of the General Convention and the programs it authorizes. The General Convention also elects twenty of the forty members of the Executive Council, which administers policy and program between the triennial meetings of the General Convention.
Deputation of the Diocese of East Carolina to the 81st General Convention
The deputation from our diocese consisted of lay and clergy delegates who were elected at our 140th Annual Diocesan Convention in February 2023. As representatives of our diocese, they will work in the House of Deputies at the legislation and governance business on the schedule. Of course, our diocese is represented in the House of Bishops by Bishop Skirving. The 81st General Convention will take place June 23 - 28, 2024 in Louisville, Kentucky.
Our deputies are as follows:
Clergy:
- The Rev’d Paul Canady (Christ Church, New Bern)
- The Rev’d Tammy Lee (St. Paul’s, Beaufort)
- The Rev’d Robert M Alves (St. John’s, Fayetteville
- The Rev’d Caleb Lee (St. Paul’s, Wilmington)
Clergy Alternates:
- The Rev’d Richard G Elliott (St. Andrew’s on the Sound, Wilmington)
- The Rev’d Anne Abdy (Holy Cross, Wilmington)
- Ms. Tess Judge (All Saints, Southern Shores)
- Ms. Hannah Hutchens (St. Paul's, Greenville)
- Ms. Joan Geiszler-Ludlum (Church of the Servant, Wilmington)
- Mr. Tom Tully (St. James, Wilmington)
- Ms. Barbara Crumbacker (St. Mary's, Kinston)
- Ms. Karen Phillips Smith (St. Paul's, Wilmington)
