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  Election
 

ONE HUNDRED NINTH CONVENTION OF THE DIOCESE OF WASHINGTON

REPORT OF NOMINATIONS

The following nominations were made by the six Regional Assemblies. A few nominees withdrew their names, and this list reflects those changes. Biographical sketches and statements from the nominees are in the January issue of the Washington Window (see also below), and will also be in your Convention registration packet.

The nominees will be presented at 4 p.m. on the afternoon of Friday, January 30, 2004. Additional nominations may be made from the floor at the time of the nominating report, but please advise the Governance Office of any additional nominations or withdrawals in advance.

CLERICAL MEMBER OF STANDING COMMITTEE
(Two Presbyters to be Elected for Two-year Terms)

Region 1 – The Rev. Randolph Charles, Epiphany, DC
Region 2 – no nominee
Region 3 – no nominee
Region 4 – no nominee
Region 5 – The Rev. Noreen Seiler Dubay, St. Matthew’s
Region 6 – The Rev. Joan Beilstein, Nativity

LAY MEMBER OF STANDING COMMITTEE
(Two Lay Members to be Elected for Two-year Terms)

Region 1 – Mr. John More, St. John’s, Lafayette Square
Region 2 – Mr. A. Lawrence Toombs, St. Paul’s, K Street
Region 3 – Ms. Barbara Miles, St. Nicholas’ Parish
Region 4 – Ms. Jonesy Maxson, St. Mark’s, Fairland
Region 5 – Mr. Curtis Reiber, Holy Trinity
Region 6 – Dr. Howard Haft, Christ Church, La Plata


CLERICAL AT-LARGE MEMBER OF DIOCESAN COUNCIL
(One Clerical Member to be Elected for a Three-year Term)

Region 1 – The Rev. J. Carleton Hayden
Region 2 – no nominee
Region 3 – The Rev. Dr. Barbara Clarke
Region 4 – The Rev. Kathy Corbett, St. Luke’s, Brighton
Region 5 – The Rev. Julie Murdoch
Region 6 – no nominee

LAY AT-LARGE MEMBER OF DIOCESAN COUNCIL
(One Lay Member to be Elected for a Three-year Term)

Region 1 – Ms. Patricia Pickering, Epiphany, DC
Region 2 – Ms. Elizabeth Finley, St. Stephen and the Incarnation
Region 3 – Dr. Linda Freeman, St. Luke’s, Bethesda
Region 4 – Mr. Rusty Bishop, St. Mark’s, Fairland
Region 5 – no nominee
Region 6 – Mr. Joe Storey, Trinity, St. Mary’s

CLERICAL MEMBER OF ECCLESIASTICAL TRIAL COURT
(One Lay Member to be Elected for a Five-year Term)

Region 1 – The Rev. Dr. Phillip Cato, St. Mary’s, DC
Region 2 – no nominee
Region 3 – no nominee
Region 4 – no nominee
Region 5 – The Rev. Michael Marrett, Our Saviour, Brookland
Region 6 – The Rev. Sherrill Page, St. Barnabas’, Temple Hills

LAY MEMBER OF ECCLESIASTICAL TRIAL COURT
(One Lay Member to be Elected for a Five-year Term)

Region 1 – Ms. Michele Hagans, St. Luke’s, DC
Region 2 – Ms. Sarah Shapley, St. David’s
Region 3 – no nominee
Region 4 – Ms. Peggy Eisenhauer, Transfiguration
Region 5 – Mr. Gerry Perez, Holy Trinity
Region 6 – Ms. Helen Harrington, Christ Church, La Plata

ELECTIVE OFFICES
(Supplement to the Nominating Report)

To assist you in your voting, please refer to the January edition of the Washington Window (see also below), which contains photos and short biographical information on the nominees. Below is a listing of the offices with a brief description of their functions. Following is a list of the respective bodies and their membership so that you can see where the vacancies are.

STANDING COMMITTEE -- The Standing Committee serves as an advisory group to the Bishop, recommends candidates for ordination, is involved in the issuing of presentments against the clergy, makes recommendations on requests from congregations concerning alienation of property, and consents to the elections of all bishops in this country. The current Standing Committee is in the midst of overseeing the process of electing the next Bishop of Washington. Two clerical and two lay members (half of the committee) are being elected for a two-year term.

DIOCESAN COUNCIL -- The Council is the governing board for the Diocese, which is empowered to act on behalf of the Convention while the Convention is not in session (the other 363 days of the year). It is responsible for the development of work of the Diocese between sessions of the Convention, and it develops and promotes "Church extension and management of aided parishes, college work, education, social service, missions, information services, ministry to the aging, and other work referred to it by the Convention." The Council is ultimately responsible for presenting a budget to Convention (with the assistance of the Finance Committee) and for the spending of monies.

The Council is composed of the Bishops, one clerical and one lay member elected from each of the six regions, two clerical and two lay at-large members elected by Convention, three members appointed by the Bishop, and several ex officio members. One clergy and one lay as At-Large Members of Council will be elected for a three-year term at Convention. Regional representatives are elected at the Regional Assemblies following the set schedule. They communicate with the Regional Convener and attend any steering committee meetings for their region. See Diocesan Canon 11 for a full explanation of the Council. Diocesan Council generally meets second Tuesdays, 6-9 p.m. at churches in the Diocese. One clerical member and one lay member are being elected for a three-year term.

ECCLESIASTICAL TRIAL COURT -- The Ecclesiastical Trial Court tries charges that may be preferred against any priest or deacon of the diocese. It is composed of four clergy and three lay members (not members of the Standing Committee), each of whom serve for a five-year term. See Diocesan Canon 42 for a full explanation. One clerical member and one lay member are being elected for a five-year term.

THE 2004 STANDING COMMITTEE

Clergy: The Rev. Paul Abernathy, the Rev. Janice Robinson, 2 to be elected
Lay: Dr. Nancy Cummings, Ms. Delois Ward Gordon, 2 to be elected

THE 2004 DIOCESAN COUNCIL

Clergy: The Rt. Rev. John Bryson Chane, the Rev. Richard Downing (Region 1), the Rev. Susan Blue (Region 2), the Rev. Stephen Hayward (Region 3), the Rev. Mark Pendleton (Region 4), the Rev. Karla Woggon (Region 5), the Rev. Martha Bonwitt (Region 6), the Rev. Kathy Jordan (at large), one at large to be elected.

Lay: Mr. Peter Byrne (Region 1), Mr. George Ziener (Region 2), Mr. John Welch (Region 3), Mr. Anthony Moore (Region 4), Ms. Novella Wright (Region 5), Ms. Janet Sargent (Region 6), Mr. Atron Rowe (at large), one at large to be elected, Ms. Nelle Averitt (appointed), Mr. Robert Owolabi (appointed), one member to be appointed, Mrs. Doris Attridge (ex officio as ECW President, with vote), Ms. JoAnn Macbeth (ex officio as Chancellor, without vote), Ms. Salli Hartman (ex officio as Treasurer of the Convention, without vote), Mr. Wesley D. Baldwin (ex officio as Secretary of the Convention, without vote), Mr. Michael Febrey (ex officio as Chair of Finance Committee, without vote), Canon Paul Cooney (ex officio as Canon to the Ordinary, without vote).

THE 2004 ECCLESIASTICAL TRIAL COURT

Clergy: The Rev. Velma Brock, the Rev. Virginia Brown-Nolan, the Rev. Luis León, 1 to be elected
Lay: Ms. Patricia Snowden, Ms. June Vartoukian, 1 to be elected

Photos and short biographical information on the nominees
from the January 2004 Washington Window

The clergy and lay members of the Diocese of Washington pictured on this page have been nominated to fill the following positions:

- two clerical members of Standing Committee (two-year term)
- two lay members of Standing Committee (two-year term)
- one clerical at-large member of Diocesan Council (three-year term)
- one lay at-large member of Diocesan Council (three-year term)
- one clerical member of Ecclesiastical Trial Court (five-year term)
- one lay member of Eccelsiastical Trial Court (five-year term)

Not all regions nominated a candidates for these positions.
Elections will take place at the 2004 Diocesan Convention, set for Jan. 30-31.

STANDING COMMITTEE: clerical nominees

charles

  the Rev. Randolph Charles, Epiphany, D.C.
Region1

Charles is the rector of Epiphany, D.C. Current diocesan ministries: Resolutions Committee, Angus Dun Committee. Previous diocesan ministries: Diocesan Finances Task Force, Washington Episcopal Clergy Association vice-president, Urban Ministry Study Group. Ministries in previous diocese: Standing Committee, chairman of Commission on Ministry, elected three times as deputy to General Convention

     
seiler dubay   the Rev. Noreen Seiler Dubay, St. Matthew’s
Region 5

I am the rector of St. Matthew’s. Since my ordination 13 years ago, I have served as an assistant rector, an interim at four different churches and a long-term supply priest at several different churches. As a result, I have served congregations in all six regions in this diocese. I believe my experience in serving different churches would serve me well if I were elected to the Standing Committee.

     
beilstein   the Rev. Joan Beilstein, Nativity, Camp Springs
Region 6

Beilstein is rector of Nativity Parish, Camp Springs. She serves as chairwoman of the diocese’s Task Force on Justice and Equitable Treatment in the Church and as a board member of the Episcopal Senior Ministries. In the past, she has served on the Diocesan Council. On a national level, she serves on the Board of the National Network of Episcopal Clergy Associations and served as a deputy from the Diocese of Washington to General Convention 2003.

STANDING COMMITTEE: lay nominees
more  

John H. More, St. John’s, Lafayette Square
Region 1

Parish Legal Counsel (1988 - ); convener of Seminarian and Discernment committees (1986, 1994); assistant head usher (1990 - ); Church Growth Committee (2000 - ). St. John’s Companion Parish Group for Honduras (2003). Delegate to Diocesan Convention (2002, 2003). Diocesan Commission on Racism (1992). Co-chair of Washington Interfaith Network (1998 - ); Focus on affordable housing in the District (especially Dupont Commons, a new Diocesan-supported 147-townhouse community). Attorney. Formerly professor of classics, Brown University (1969-76).

     
toombs   A. Lawrence Toombs, St. Paul’s, K Street
Region 2

Toombs is senior warden of St. Paul’s, K Street. He serves as head lector and is active in the parish’s hunger and homelessness ministries. He previously served on the vestry of Trinity, St. Mary’s, where he was chairman of the rector’s Search Committee. He has served as a delegate to Convention several times. He has been a volunteer usher at Washington National Cathedral for almost 20 years. Toombs is a practicing attorney and is board-certified in consumer bankruptcy law.

     
miles  

Barbara Miles, St. Nicholas’, Darnestown
Region 3

Diocese: Incumbent on Standing Committee, 2000-2003, secretary 2002-2003; Education for Ministry coordinator 2002-2003; Diocesan Council 1995-1997; Finance Committee 1983-1995; Search Committee 1986; Convention delegate. Parish: Seminarian Support Committee; Vice Chair and Mission Committee; EFM mentor; Christian Education chairwoman; senior warden and vestry member; lay reader; Pastoral Visiting Lay Eucharistic Minister, choir member. MTS, Wesley Seminary 1996. Head of finance and macroeconomic policy, Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress.

     
maxson   Jonesy Maxson, St. Mark’s, Fairland
Region 4

Jonesy Maxson (baptized Kathryn Jones Maxson) is a member of St. Mark’s, Fairland where she serves on the vestry and is actively involved in facilitating adult education. She is a cradle Episcopalian, devoted to matters of faith and the Episcopal tradition. Professionally, she is currently the director of an assisted living community. Historically, she has used her master’s degree in counseling working with all stages and ranges of human conditions. Helping people is her mission.

     
reiber  

Curtis Reiber, Holy Trinity
Region 5

Senior warden. Holy Trinity School: oversight volunteer on three expansion programs; vice chairman of board of governors. Episcopal Center for Children: Secretary of the Board; Finance and Building committees; served on boards of Collington Episcopal Life Care Center and Henderson House. Completed Church Development Course. Served on diocesan Peace Commission, Finance Committee, Transition Committee for Eighth Bishop, Bishop’s Mission Development Team for St. George’s and St. James’.

     
haft  

Howard Haft, Christ Church, Port Tobacco
Region 6

Haft is a member of Christ Church, Port Tobacco, and has served on the vestry, as senior warden and as the representative to Convention in 2003. He is a practicing physician serving as the president of Maryland Healthcare and president of the Maryland Foundation for Quality Healthcare. He is a member of the faculty of the McDonough Graduate School of Business and a member of the volunteer clinical faculty in the Georgetown School of Medicine. He has six children and lives with his wife in La Plata.

DIOCESAN COUNCIL: clerical nominees (at large)
hayden  

the Rev. J. Carleton Hayden, PhD, St. George’s, D.C.
Region 1

Hayden is assistant at St. George’s; lecturer in history at Howard University; and president of the Washington Afro-Anglican Clergy. As chaplain to Howard University (1994-2002), he developed and funded study pilgrimages to South Africa, Trinidad and Tobago, England and Canada. He has served among Sioux Indians and in Tennessee, Canada, Michigan and Barbados. He serves on the boards of Kanuga Conferences Inc., where he chairs the Diversity Committee; Alexander Crummell School Project; and the Washington Episcopal School.

     
clarke  

the Rev. Dr. Barbara Clarke
Region 3

At-large clergy representative to Diocesan Council, 2001-2004; Canons and Constitution Committee; formerly on Diocesan Committee on Liturgy and Music; interim rector, St. Luke’s, Bethesda, and St. Matthew’s, Hyattsville; assistant, St. Margaret’s, D.C. and Ascension, Gaithersburg. I am currently serving as a supply priest. As a lay person I served on the vestry and was a delegate to Convention. I also bring 31 years experience of university teaching and research to my service on the Diocesan Council.

     
corbett   the Rev. Kathy Corbett, St. Luke’s, Brighton
Region 4

I worked in this diocese in the late 1990s as chaplain for Episcopal Caring Response to AIDS. From 1999-2002 I was in hospital chaplaincy in Baltimore. While in the Diocese of Maryland, I was on the bishop’s staff as Episcopal chaplain at Johns Hopkins Hospital and on Commission on Ministry. Although I am relatively new to the Diocese of Washington, I feel that I have energy to serve and ideas to share.

     
murdoch   the Rev. Julie Murdoch
Region 5

Murdoch is a transitional deacon at Holy Trinity. She has been active in the diocese since 1998. She has been a lay delegate and volunteer at Diocesan Convention; served on the Resolutions Committee; and was elected to the Ecclesiastical Trial Court in 1999. Before seminary, Murdoch was an attorney and consultant specializing in administrative law and substance abuse prevention. She has served in the U.S. Army JAG Corps, and has worked for the FAA and a private consulting firm.

DIOCESAN COUNCIL: lay nominees
pickering  

Patricia Pickering, Epiphany, D.C.
Region 1

A longtime member of Epiphany, I currently serve as senior warden, lay Eucharistic minister and lay reader. I served as junior warden, on several seminarians’ lay committees, the hospitality commission and the rector’s search and outreach committees. Additionally, I have been a member of the Bishop’s Transition Committee, Episcopal Women’s Caucus and president of the Downtown Cluster of Congregations, an interfaith organization of 30 congregations. A retired federal employee, I worked as communications officer and budget analyst.

     
finley  

Elizabeth Finley, St. Stephen and the Incarnation
Region 2

Finley is senior warden of Saint Stephen and the Incarnation. As a long-term volunteer and member of the Board of the Episcopal Caring Response to AIDS and current member of the Board of Samaritan Ministries of Greater Washington, she continues her involvement in the retreat program for people with HIV/AIDS. She is a nurse practitioner and the executive coordinator of the Community Programs for Clinical Research on AIDS, a National Institutes of Health-funded community-based AIDS research network.

     
freeman  

Linda Freeman, St. Luke’s, Bethesda
Region 3

Parish: St. Luke’s, Bethesda; lay reader; past: rector search committee, vestry, other parish committees. Diocese: co-chair, Soper Advisory Group; University of Maryland chaplaincy board; deputy to 2000, 2003 General Conventions; Cathedral Program Committee; National Cathedral Association Washington Committee board; past: Bishop Search committee; Diocesan Council (moderator four years); Standing Committee; other diocesan committees. Professional: lecturer, 19th-century British literature, University of Maryland, College Park.

     
bishop   Russell “Rusty” Bishop, St. Mark’s, Fairland
Region 4

I have been a member of the Episcopal Church for nine years, attending St. Mark’s, Fairland in Silver Spring. I have served on our vestry for two terms and on the Stewardship Committee for six years, and recently co-chaired a team to develop our parish vision. I served as delegate to the Diocesan Convention, and am serving my second term as convener for Region 4. I am currently serving on the Warden’s Planning Committee.

     
storey  

Joe Storey, Trinity, St. Mary’s
Region 6

I work as a librarian at St. Mary’s College. In St. Mary’s, I serve as a lay Eucharistic minister, pastoral visiting lay Eucharistic minister, verger, member of the Altar Guild, and on our liturgy planning group. I have served on our Stewardship Committee, Evangelism Committee, Rector Search Committee, and others. Service as a three-time vestry member has given me an understanding of how a disparate group of people can learn to put aside their differences and do the work that God has set before them.

ECCLESIASTICAL TRIAL COURT: clerical nominees
cato  

the Rev. Dr. Phillip Cato, St. Mary’s, D.C.
Region 1

Bishop’s Vicar, St. Mary’s, Foggy Bottom. Standing Committee, dioceses of Atlanta and Newark; deputy, General Convention, Commission on Ministry, Newark; Commission on Ministry, Task Group on Issues of Human Sexuality, Bishop’s Advisory Group, Diocese of Washington. Bioethicist for National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, NIH. Teacher of professional ethics and moral reasoning for clergy of Navy Chaplain Corps and United Methodist Church. Retired captain, Naval Reserve Chaplain Corps.

     
marrett   the Rev. Canon Michael M. Marrett, Our Saviour
Region 5

I am the interim priest at Church of Our Saviour, Brookland. Retired. I am a member of the Saint Anna’s Home Fund board and am the volunteer Episcopal chaplain at Washington Hospital Center. Formerly served on the Stewardship and Liturgy and Worship commissions, also served one term on the Ecclesiastical Trial Court in the 1980s. I have been in this diocese for the past 20 years, have considerable experience in parishes, mental health and law enforcement chaplaincies.

     
page   the Rev. Sherrill Page, St. Barnabas’, Temple Hills
Region 6

Since January 1998 it has been my privilege to serve as rector of St. Barnabas, Temple Hills. I have also served the Diocese of Washington as a board member of Washington Episcopal Clergy Association, a member of the Personnel Committee, a field education supervisor for Virginia Theological Seminary and as an active member of the Region 6 clericus.

ECCLESIASTICAL TRIAL COURT: lay nominees
hagans  

Michele V. Hagans, St. Luke’s, D.C.
Region 1

I look forward to the opportunity to use my gifts in service to the wider church. Employment: Real Estate executive, Fort Lincoln Realty Company Inc. since 1980. In the parish: Member of St. Luke’s since 1949. Currently serve as junior warden, verger and coordinator of the acolytes, lectors and lay Eucharistic ministers; senior warden 2001-2003. Currently in the ministry discernment process of the Diocese of Washington. In the diocese: Served as a teller and volunteer at the 2001 Diocesan Convention.

     
shapley  

Sarah Stowell Shapley, St. David’s, D.C.
Region 2

Shapley is vestry secretary of St. David’s, a lay delegate to Convention, seminarian’s lay mentor, and licensed Lay Eucharistic Minister. She directs the Washington Area Campaign for Episcopal Media Presence and is on the boards of Episcopal Church Women and the American Friends of St. David’s Cathedral (Wales). She graduated Bryn Mawr College in history with training in medieval canon law. For United States Environmental Protection Agency, she was CEO of a multi-state clean-up. She is an elected Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner.

     
eisenhauer  

Peggy Eisenhauer, Transfiguration, Silver Spring
Region 4

Parish activities: Choir. Vestry member for four years. Co-chair Advisory Committee for Our Place - a sponsored assisted living facility for senior citizens. Diocesan activities: member of the board of directors of Episcopal Senior Ministries. Diocesan delegate from Transfiguration. Other activities: Volunteer and deliver meals weekly for Food and Friends, Washington D.C. Volunteer coordinator for the Senior Outreach Program of The White House Visitors Center. Married to Russell Eisenhauer, with three children and seven grandchildren.

     
harrington  

Helen Harrington, Christ Church, La Plata
Region 6

Senior warden and choir member. Served as vice chairwoman on our Day School’s board of directors. Have served on the Parish Commission on Ministry, the Worship and Music Committee, and a committee to review parish bylaws. I am a lawyer - Master for Domestic Relations for the Charles County Circuit Court - and have been a member in good standing of the bars of the District of Columbia and Maryland for more than 20 years. I have more than 160 hours of training in mediation and alternative dispute resolution.

     
perez  

Gerald A. Perez, Holy Trinity, Bowie
Region 5

Perez has been a vestry member for five years, and is now Holy Trinity’s junior warden. His committee work includes strategic planning, facility expansion, youth and adult education, racial awareness and finance. He has also worked with youth ministry. Perez has completed the Church Development Institute program and is taking Education for Ministry. He is board president of the Bowie Therapeutic Nursery Center, and past co-chair of Interfaith Action Communities. He is a senior program manager at ARINC Inc.