2023 Nominations

The 202nd Convention of the Diocese of Georgia will elect persons to serve on the Board of the Corporation, Church Disciplinary Board, Diocesan Council, the Standing Committee, and a Trustee for the University of the South. Check here on the Nominations Page for complete information on elections at that time. Announcement of nominations will also be made through our weekly enewsletter From the Field.

Form for nominations

Form for nominees

Board of Officers of the Corporation – 1 lay person
The Board of Officers is charged with the oversight of the investments and disbursements of those funds entrusted to it through wills, deeds, and other trust instruments. The board meets quarterly. The person elected to it at Convention 2023 will serve through the Convention in 2030.

Whit Davis would like to serve on the Board on Corporation, so that he can use his professional experience to serve the Diocese of Georgia. In his professional life, he works with families and non-profits (including foundations and endowments) to guide their financial decisions and help them steward their financial resources. He believes that his role as an investment professional will be an asset to the corporation and its decision-making process. He and his wife relocated to Savannah in January 2021 and joined Christ Church upon arrival. He serves as an usher and he and his wife are leading the 2023 Stewardship campaign. He also serves on the Diocesan Finance committee and as a lay Trustee for Sewanee. Prior to moving to Savannah, the Davis’ were active members of St. Anne’s in Atlanta.

Church Disciplinary Board – 2 lay persons & 2 clergy persons
Previously known and “The Ecclesiastical Trial Court,” the Disciplinary Board of the Diocese of Georgia is vested with jurisdiction to hear and determine all proceedings in which a priest or deacon has been charged with one or more offenses specified in the canons of the Episcopal Church. It meets only when necessary. The 2 lay persons and 2 clergy persons elected will serve a three-year term through Convention 2026. 

Clergy

The Reverend Susan Gage serves part-time as the Priest-in-Charge at St. Barnabas Episcopal Church in Valdosta. Her other ministry is as a licensed massage therapist in Tallahassee, Florida, where she lives with her wife, Isabelle. A native of New Hampshire, she is a fan of all New England professional sports teams and enjoys listening to music and writing and performing with the Mickee Faust Club, a cabaret theater troupe. She started her professional life as a reporter, producer, and host at WFSU-FM and Florida Public Radio, where she covered state politics and the Florida Supreme Court. She serves on the diocesan Commission on Worship and is a member of the Racial Justice Georgia group. She is passionate about social justice, and takes to heart the mission of Jesus as found in Luke 4:18:

“‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free.”

The Reverend Samantha McKean is open to election to the Disciplinary Board because she cares deeply about the safety of the Church and the wellbeing of its clergy, and because she is eager to be of help to the Diocese. She would seek to serve with openheartedness, humility, moral clarity, and an abiding hope in God’s ability to heal and make whole. She currently serves as the Senior Associate Rector at Christ Church, Savannah, where she has been for six years. She has been an Episcopalian since 2012 and was ordained in 2019. She currently serves on the Commission on Ministry. This would be her first elected position.

Lay

Neil Dickert served as a Superior Court Judge in the Augusta Judicial Circuit from 1997-2007. He currently practices law with Hull, Barrett P.C. Dickert was a Judge of Superior Court, Augusta Judicial Circuit from 1997 to 2007. As judge, Dickert presided over civil, criminal, and domestic cases, to include over 100 jury trials, in this three-county circuit. He has practiced law since 1974 and has served on the Board of Governors of the Georgia Bar Association, as Chairman of the Board of Elections in Richmond County and in many other civic and professional positions. Trained as mediator in 40-hour course sponsored by Dispute Management in 1994. Successfully completed over 250 mediations. He was listed in Best Lawyers in America under category of Mediation. He is an active member of the Church of the Good Shepherd, Augusta, where he has served on the vestry and for three years as the Senior Warden. He served as a First Lieutenant, United States Army Medical Service Corps (1969-71), Receiving Bronze Star and the Vietnam Service Medal. J.D., University of South Carolina, 1974. M.B.A., University of South Carolina, 1969. B.A. in Economics, Wofford College, 1968. Married to the former Floride Clarkson, June 4, 1969, they have one son, Dr. Neal W. Dickert, Jr., Assistant Professor, Division of Cardiology, Emory University School of Medicine.

Peter Kastner would be pleased and honored to serve the bishop on the Disciplinary Board. He acted as a trusted advisor to numerous technology executives in the course of a forty year career. He understands the severity of the cases and issues brought before the board, and is prepared to deal with them forthrightly and in concert with fellow board members. Peter is a cradle Episcopalian. He has served on Vestries in four parishes. After retirement, he accomplished seven missions to Hispaniola, mostly building infrastructure for orphanages in Haiti. Peter joined St Peters after moving to Savannah seven years ago. He is presently senior warden and was parish treasurer. He is or has served on the St Peters endowment board, finance committee, pastoral care, LEM, meals ministry, and chair of the HVAC renovation project. This is his second diocesan convention as delegate.

Diocesan Council – 1 lay person or clergy
Council’s responsibilities are to carry out the polices, programs, and directions of Convention; to deal with contingencies as they arise; and to assist the bishop in developing the ministry of the diocese. It carries out the duties of Convention between Conventions. Council generally has four meetings a year, two in person and two online including one or two overnight meetings a year in various parts of the diocese. The person elected will serve a three-year term through Convention 2026.

The Reverend Bill Barton would be honored to serve as a member of the Diocesan Council to assist with developing and carrying out the work of the Diocese as directed by the Convention. With the challenges and opportunities which face the church, already underway, and intensified by Covid, he believes he has experience in a variety of settings to assist with this. A lifelong Episcopalian, Bill received his MDiv from the School of Theology, Sewanee and was ordained to the priesthood in 2009. He served a number of large and small congregations in the Diocese of Tennessee and served on the Standing Committee, as a member of the Beloved Community, Small Church Commission, and as a Deputy to two General Conventions. He also currently serves as a commissioner on the Darien City Planning and Zoning Board and am a founding member of the Butler Island Coalition. Bill actually likes the policy side of the Church! He has a particular interest in discerning the work of the Holy Spirit in the church through the development of congregational spiritual practices and the development of lay ministry. Since moving to Darien, GA in 2017, where he lives with his wife Sara, he has served as interim at St. Cyprian’s and St. Andrew’s in Darien, does regular supply work, and serves as assisting clergy at Christ Church, Frederica.

Standing Committee – 1 lay person & 1 priest
The Standing Committee is the bishop’s Council of Advice. In the absence of a bishop, the Standing Committee would act as the Ecclesiastical Authority for those purposes declared by General Convention. The Standing Committee must approve all ordinations and any financial indebtedness of parishes. It usually meets four times a year at the same time as the Commission on Ministry and in various locations throughout the diocese. The persons elected will serve a four-year term through Convention 2027.

Lay

Lisa Gibbs is honored to be nominated for the Standing Committee. She is a “cradle Episcopalian” who loves her church’s traditions and understands the importance of preserving those traditions while working for the future of the church itself in the Diocese of Georgia and the greater church. In her 30+ years at St. Anne’s she has taught Sunday School, been a lay reader, volunteered in the nursery, participated in the food ministry, was an enthusiastic participant in “foyer groups” (small monthly dinner gatherings) as well as a convener of the foyer groups, sung for short seasonal stints in the choir, raised two acolytes through high school graduation, with her share of driving to and from Honey Creek and other events with the children, and has generally done whatever she saw to do, to support the local parish. She is a 2023 graduate of the EFM program. She recently attended the Anna Alexander Pilgrimage on the coast. Her career has been as an attorney; the last 25 years as the child support attorney for the Tifton Judicial Circuit, and she continues to do legal work for the local Juvenile Court. In her professional capacity, she has developed an understanding that it is always wiser to listen carefully and consider the interests at stake before coming to a conclusion. She looks forward to working with Rev. David Rose and supporting and advising Bishop Frank Logue. 

Priest

The Very Rev. Al Crumpton, IV is currently serving as the dean of the Augusta Convocation and rector of Our Savior Episcopal Church located in the Augusta suburb of Martinez. In his role as convocation dean, Al also serves as a non-voting member of the Diocesan Council. With the exception of the years Al and his wife Valerie lived in Sewanee, TN while attending seminary at the University of the South, Al has lived in various parts of the Diocese of Georgia his entire life. Born and raised in Americus, Al attended kindergarten at Calvary Episcopal Church as a child and returned to Calvary in 2002 as an active and engaged parishioner. Al served in lay leadership positions at Calvary Americus, which is in the Albany Convocation. After seminary, Al served in the Southeast Convocation in ordained ministry at St. Mark’s Brunswick, and King of Peace Kingsland before being called to his current role in the Augusta Convocation at Our Savior Martinez. His roles in three of the six convocations in the Diocese of Georgia have given him a beneficial perspective of ministry successes and challenges throughout the diocese in rural and urban settings. In addition to serving as the president of the Standing Committee during the election of the eleventh bishop of the Diocese of Georgia, Al’s previous roles have included serving as the chairperson of the Southeast Convocation Discernment Committee, and as a member of the Cursillo Commission. Al is excited about the possibility of serving another term on the Standing Committee that supports the Diocese of Georgia and its parishes as the church moves forward into the future.

The Rev. June Johnson sees serving on the Standing Committee as the opportunity use the skills learned in a lifetime of church work. When she was 9 years old, she and her parents became members of a start-up church in Albany, GA. Her parents took leadership roles in the formation of the congregation and, as an only child, she attended every business meeting, every Bible study or worship service the parents attended. She watched the building and the congregation grow throughout her childhood and teens. She joined the Episcopal Church in 1990, received her M. Div from Candler School of Theology at Emory University, and was ordained as a priest in 2009. She has served 3 churches in the Diocese of Georgia. She graduated with the first CDI class in 2012, and has been a trainer for CDI/LWG for about 8 years. She has completed 4 years of EFM and has served as a Mentor for 5 years. She has served as the Diocesan Chaplain for both Episcopal Church Women and Daughters of the King, and has recently been admitted as a member of DOK. She has served as the Convocation Convener for Discernment committees, and on the Diocesan Council. In addition, she is an active member of Racial Justice GA within the Diocese. After becoming an Episcopalian, she was certified in Mediation by the Settlement Institute, trained in Prejudice Reduction by the National Coalition Building Institute, and certified as a Police Chaplain by the Georgia Association of Law Enforcement Chaplains. For the last 7 years, she has been active in MLKTybee Human Rights Organization and in Forever Tybee (FT works for transparency in local government). She counts herself blessed to have had all these experiences, and intend to work hard to make use of her skills, talents and prayers to benefit the Diocese and our work for our God.

The Rev. David Wantland is honored to be nominated to serve on the Standing Committee of the Diocese of Georgia. A relative newcomer, David has appreciated the collegiality and mission of this diocese and, born of that appreciation, he is enthusiastic to serve the diocese however he can. David is passionate about ministerial discernment and currently exercises that passion on one of the diocese’s convocational discernment committees. Ordained in 2017, David served for four years in Houston, Texas, before moving in 2021 with his husband, Colby, to work as Associate Rector at Saint Peter’s, Savannah. David is 2015 graduate of Duke Divinity School and a 2017 graduate of Seminary of the Southwest. During that time, he worked as a lay ministry coordinator, sacristan, bishop’s driver, seminary dishwasher, and however else he could serve the church. Particularly formed by the leadership of women clergy, David was honored to work as administrative assistant for Leading Women, a conference of and for women clergy in The Episcopal Church and The Anglican Church of Canada discerning vocations to higher leadership in the church. His early years of ministry were shaped by his work with Jerusalem Peacebuilders, a non-profit interfaith educational program bringing together Israeli, Palestinian, and American teens in pursuit of friendship & understanding for peace. He is both delighted and mortified that you may remember him from his dance floor debut with Bishop Logue at the 2021 Convention .

Trustee of the University of the South – 1 clergy person
The board meets in Sewanee, TN, early in October each year. The two laypersons and one priest who serve on the board from the Diocese of Georgia are to represent the university to the diocese. One clergy person will be elected for a three-year term to serve through Convention 2026.