The Rev. Kerlin Richter
Home Congregation: St. David of Wales, Portland
Number of General Conventions attended: 2 as a guest, this will be my first as a deputy
Legislative Committee: None
Why is General Convention important to you?
It is so beautiful to see the whole church come together. It is easy to feel like our one parish or
one diocese is The Episcopal Church, but when we all come together from all around the world
the wide range of who we are becomes visible.
What are you looking forward to the most for this year’s General Convention?
I am deeply curious about how we get everything done in the shortened time frame, and I am
excited to see friends and colleagues from all over the country. Not as much looking forward to
the July humidity in Baltimore.
What is one thing you want people in Oregon to know about General Convention?
How much work goes into it. It is an incredible amount of preparation and planning. I also want
everyone to know how excellent Alan Murray is and how well he is able to help new deputies
like me navigate and understand how everything works.
Becky Snow
Home Congregation: Trinity, Ashland
Number of General Conventions attended: 14
Legislative Committee: Constitution and Canons
Why is General Convention important to you?
To me, it is the best embodiment of the whole of The Episcopal Church, so it broadens one’s understanding of what The Episcopal Church is, what it aspires to, and how it is responding to God’s call to each of us as heard in the Baptismal Covenant. It is a place to see old friends and colleagues, hear new ideas, and share struggles and joys.
What are you looking forward to the most for this year’s General Convention?
The exchange of ideas and experiences from many perspectives on the struggle to find the best way to shape the way The Episcopal Church responds over the next 2 years to the issues we see today and the way it changes to move into the future so little of which we can predict.
What is one thing you want people in Oregon to know about General Convention?
The work of General Convention is the only time and place where voices representing every diocese and every order in The Episcopal Church bring to bear their minds, hearts, and souls to discern what God is calling the Church to do and say at any particular moment in time. To do that requires gathering in person, worshipping and reflecting together, taking the time to wrestle with the questions, and listening to those who offer different ideas.
What is something about yourself that you’d like the diocese to know?
I have been privileged and honored to be a Deputy for two dioceses, Alaska and now Oregon, since 1976. That has meant that I was part of the decisions to interpret the canons to allow women to be ordained, to approve the “new” prayer book, to recognize that LGBTQ folks are beloved children of God too with an equal place in the Church, and many other momentous changes over the past 46 years. That is probably long enough for any one person to be engaged. So after this General Convention I will not stand for election again. I want to thank Oregon for embracing me when we moved here.
While this is certainly a challenging time for the Church, we have plenty of gifted lay and clergy leaders and, so long as we keep our eyes on our mission, unending support from the One who walks with us.