The 79th General Convention of The Episcopal Church will convene for nine days in Austin, Texas beginning on July 5 and ending on July 13. It will include worship, legislative hearings and the crafting of legislation by 26 different legislative committees, and of course debate and action in both houses.

General Convention is the triennial gathering of clergy and lay deputies (four of each from every diocese) and all bishops in the House of Deputies and the House of Bishops, respectively. When we meet, we are the second largest legislative body in the world. Every piece of legislation must be passed by both houses for it to become the church's practice. We are a bi-cameral legislature, just like our federal system of governance.

Every three years, numerous communicants of our own diocese participate tirelessly as volunteers, helping the Convention accomplish an extraordinary amount of business in a relatively short period of time.

Deputation and involvement from within the Diocese of Ohio:

Deputies from Diocese of Ohio:

Lay

Dianne Audrick Smith, Chair
William A. Powel III, Vice Chair
Jane Freeman
James Simon

Clergy

The Rev. Gay Clark Jennings
The Rev. Percy Grant
The Rev. Debra Q. Bennett
The Rev. Evan Fischer

Alternate Deputies from Diocese of Ohio:

Lay

Richard Pryor III
Dennis Coughlin
Karen Neilsen

Clergy

The Rev. Dr. Brian Wilbert
The Rev. Alexander Barton
The Rev. Jeanne Leinbach
The Rev. Elizabeth Frank

Bishops from the Diocese of Ohio:

The Rt. Rev. Mark Hollingsworth, Jr. The Rt. Rev. Arthur B. Williams, Jr.The Rt. Rev. William D. Persell

House of Deputies Legislative Committees - Diocese of Ohio representatives:

• Constitution and Canons: James Simon, Chair
• Safeguarding and Title IV: the Rev. Elizabeth Frank, Legislative Aide
• The Episcopal Church in Cuba: Dianne Audrick Smith; Dennis Coughlin, Legislative Aide
• Social Justice & United States Policy: Jane Freeman
• Social Justice & International Policy: the Rev. Evan Fischer, Dispatch Liaison
• Prayer Book, Liturgy, and Church Music: the Rev. Debra Q. Bennett
• Ministry: the Rev. Percy Grant
• Churchwide Leadership: William Powel
• Dispatch of Business: the Rev. Evan Fischer
• Resolution Review Committee: William Powel

House of Bishops Legislative Committee:

• Constitution and Canons: the Rt. Rev. Mark Hollingsworth, Chair

Other Participants:

• Chaplain to the Official Youth Presence: the Rev. Vincent Black
• ECW Distinguished Woman from the Diocese of Ohio: Nancy Sherwin
• Executive Assistant to the President of the House of Deputies: Betsey Bell
• UTO Booth for Bellwether Farm: Katie Ong-Landini
• Media Coverage: Jessica Rocha

80 Nominees for Various Churchwide Offices:

• President, House of Deputies: the Rev. Gay Clark Jennings
• Church Pension Fund Trustee: James Simon
• Governing Board of Examining Chaplains: the Revs. John Drymon and Rosalind Hughes
• Executive Council: William Powel
• General Theological Seminary Trustee: Dianne Audrick Smith

Volunteers:

• Betty Kondrich
• The Rev. Mary Staley
• Yorki Encalada
• Bill DiTirro
• Dale Murphy
• The Rev. Rosalind Hughes
• Andy Bell

General Convention Resources:

• General Convention Website
• General Convention Media Hub
• Episcopal News Service
• The General Convention Virtual Binder

Other (Independent) Resources:

• The Living Church
• The Episcopal Cafe
• The Center Aisle
• House of Deputies News

Social Media:

• Follow along with General Convention on social media with #GC79.
• You can add a custom Diocese of Ohio General Convention Facebook profile frame. For directions, visit our Facebook page.