Welcome to the East Tennessee General Convention updates page. Here you will find information on news, resolutions, sermons, resources, and posts from our deputies. The 80th General Convention of The Episcopal Church is exploring new ways in holding pre-convention meetings to allow for greater feedback and participation whilst maintaining the integrity of their meetings. We are continually monitoring updates from General Convention publications. We’ve highlighted the concurred resolutions below for ease of access. Below you will find recordings of sermons, the GC80 show, and photos from our Deputation. You can sign-up for the House of Deputies email list here (scroll to bottom of page).
East TN General Convention Deputies
Clergy Deputies
The Rev. Leigh Preston, Co-Chair
The Rev. RJ Powell
The Rev. Cal Calhoun
The Rev. April Berends
The Rev. Derrick Hill, Alternate
Lay Deputies
Ms. Sinead Doherty, Co-Chair
Cn. Beverly Hurley Hill
Mr. William Simerly
Mr. Bill Steverson
Mr. Sean McEwen, Alternate
Committee Assignments
Ms. Sinead Doherty – Social Justice & International Policy, Assistant Secretary
Cn. Beverly Hurley Hill – Ministry, Member
Mr. William Simerly – Evangelism and Church Planting, Assistant Secretary
The Rev. Cal Calhoun – Dispatch of Business, Member
The Rev. RJ Powell – Agencies and Boards, Member
The Rev. Leigh Preston – Churchwide Leadership, Vice Chair
The Rt. Rev. Brian Cole – Congregational & Diocesan Vitality, Vice Chair
Media Updates
Living Church GC80 News Page | Episcopal News Service News Page
A Handy Wrap-Up of General Convention 80 from Episcopal News Service
Presiding Bishop’s statement to Executive Council regarding the 80th General Convention.
Rev. Canon Michael Barlow’s Update on the 80th General Convention.
A Helpful Gathering of Resolutions on Environment and Creation Care Measures
The Future of the Book of Common Prayer and an Expansion of its Definition
Bishops and Deputies March for End to Gun Violence
Budget Approved for The Episcopal Church
Indigenous Priest Elected Vice-President of House of Deputies
Bishop Sutton’s Welcome to GC80
The Rt. Rev. Eugene Taylor Sutton, Bishop of Maryland, welcomes all to Baltimore and General Convention #80.
Opening Sermon by Presiding Bishop Michael Curry
Sermon by the Newly Elected President of the House of Deputies, Julia Ayala Harris
For a commentary by Pat McCaughan of Episcopal News Service, click here.
The Living Church article on Youngest President of the House of Deputies.
Rev. Gay Clark Jennings Sermon
The GC 80 Show
Presiding Bishop Michael B. Curry
Welcome to the GC80 Show, an offering of The Episcopal Church’s Office of Communication, hosted by Public Affairs Officer Amanda Skofstad. Each episode will bring you interviews and information from the 80th General Convention of The Episcopal Church, being held July 8 – 11 in Baltimore, Maryland. Today’s episode of the GC80 Show features an interview between Amanda Skofstad, public affairs officer for The Episcopal Church, and the Most Rev. Michael Bruce Curry, our presiding bishop and primate. The two discuss the church’s recent Jesus in America research project, how Christians are viewed in contemporary culture, and the call to continue working on our mission priorities of evangelism, racial reconciliation, and care of creation. This episode was made possible by our partners at Church Pension Group (www.cpg.org) and Trytank Experimental Lab (www.trytank.org). Learn more about the many ways CPG and TryTank serve The Episcopal Church by clicking these links and visiting their social media channels.
Joint Nominating Committee for the Election of the Presiding Bishop
This episode of the GC80 Show features an interview between Amanda Skofstad, public affairs officer for The Episcopal Church, and the Rt. Rev. Mark Lattime, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Alaska and co-chair of the Joint Nominating Committee for the Election of the Presiding Bishop. Lattime and Skofstad talk about the composition and mandate of this committee, the role of listening in the discernment process of electing the next presiding bishop, and, on the more practical level, the timetable and process. To find out more about the work of this committee, visit them on social media by searching PB28Nominations. This episode was made possible by our partners at Church Pension Group (www.cpg.org), Trinity Church Wall Street (www.trinitywallstreet.org), and Episcopal Relief & Development (www.episcopalrelief.org). Learn more about the many ways CPG, Trinity, and ERD serve The Episcopal Church by clicking these links and visiting their social media channels.
Racial Reconciliation, Diocese of Maryland
Today’s episode of the GC80 Show features an interview between Amanda Skofstad, public affairs officer for The Episcopal Church, and the Rev. Canon Christine McCloud, canon for mission in the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland. McCloud and Skofstad discuss exciting, prophetic, and life-changing ministries in Maryland, which is hosting General Convention this year. Of particular note is the establishment of a $1 million reparations fund to build up communities of color, following years of spiritual formation and historical work by congregations and parishioners across the diocese. Learn more about the Diocese of Maryland and their racial reconciliation work at www.episcopalmaryland.org. This episode was made possible by our partners at Church Pension Group (www.cpg.org) and The School of Theology at The University of the South in Sewanee (https://theology.sewanee.edu/). Learn more about the many ways CPG and the Sewanee School of Theology serve The Episcopal Church by clicking these links and visiting their social media channels.
Wild Church, Diocese of Northern Michigan
Episcopal Migration Ministries
This episode of the GC80 Show features an interview between Amanda Skofstad, public affairs officer for The Episcopal Church, and the Rev. Chris McNabb, program manager for Neighbor to Neighbor with Episcopal Migration Ministries. The pair discuss Neighbor to Neighbor, a program that trains and provides ongoing support to faith communities who serve as sponsors for asylum seekers and Afghan arrivals. Learn more about this offering of Episcopal Migration Ministries visit www.episcopalmigrationministries.org. This episode was made possible by our partners at Church Pension Group (www.cpg.org) and Episcopal Divinity School at Union (https://utsnyc.edu/eds). Learn more about the many ways CPG and EDS at Union serve The Episcopal Church by clicking these links and visiting their social media channels.
St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church Brookings, Oregon
This episode of the GC80 Show features an interview between Amanda Skofstad, public affairs officer for The Episcopal Church, and the Rev. Bernie Lindley, rector of St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church in Brookings, Oregon. The two discuss Fr. Bernie’s call as a bi-vocational priest, whole-person care, and the church’s experience filing a religious freedom lawsuit against the city after their feeding and hospitality ministry was curtailed. This episode was made possible by our partners at Church Pension Group (www.cpg.org), Trinity Church Wall Street (www.trinitywallstreet.org), and Bexley Seabury Seminary (www.bexleyseabury.edu). Learn more about the many ways CPG, Trinity, and Bexley-Seabury serve The Episcopal Church by clicking these links and visiting their social media channels.
Rev. Gay Jennings Clark, Outgoing President of the House of Deputies
This episode of the GC80 Show features an interview between Amanda Skofstad, public affairs officer for The Episcopal Church, and the Rev. Gay Clark Jennings, president of the House of Deputies. Jennings and Skofstad cover some of the highlights of the last ten years, the challenges and joys encountered along the way, and thoughts for the next president, who will be elected on July 9. Learn more about the House of Deputies at www.houseofdeputies.org. This episode was made possible by our partners at Church Pension Group (www.cpg.org) and Trytank Experimental Lab (www.trytank.org). Learn more about the many ways CPG and TryTank serve The Episcopal Church by clicking these links and visiting their social media channels.
