Diocesan Convention 2025 Nominations

2025 Nominations

The 204th 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. This year we will also elect both clergy and lay deputies for the 82nd General Convention of the Episcopal Church. 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 2025 will serve through the Convention in 2032.

Debbie Gaskins began her career in 1985, and has spent the last 31 years with her current company, Wellington Shields & Co. She currently serves as the Senior Vice President, and has previously been the Branch Manager and the firm’s Insurance Principal. In her work, Debbie manages individual, joint, retirement, and Foundation/Not for Profit accounts. She has served on multiple boards in her career, including Archbold Memorial Hospital, Vashti Children’s Home, Thomasville Chamber of Commerce, Thomasville Cultural Center, and the Plantation Wildlife Arts Festival. She would be honored to serve the diocese as a member of the Board of the Corporation.

Church Disciplinary Board – 1 lay person & 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 1 lay person and 2 clergy persons elected will serve a three-year term through Convention 2028. 

Clergy

The Rev. Dr. Steve Clifton believes that with the benefit of more than forty years of ordained ministry, and having served in a similar position in the past, he would be an asset to the work of the Disciplinary Board of the Diocese. Although the need for this body to convene is (hopefully) rare, it is nevertheless important to have an experienced group of clergy and laity ready to serve should a situation arise for it to be activated, in order to preserve the integrity of the Church’s leadership.

Steve has served as the Vice-President of the Diocesan Council for the past two years and in a variety of other capacities at the local, convocational, diocesan, and national church levels in addition to his past ministries in Augusta, Bainbridge, Savannah, Valdosta, and Quitman, before taking on his current roles (since 2021) as Priest-in-Charge of Grace Church in Sandersville and St. Mary Magdalene in Louisville.

The Rev. Kyle Mackey is honored to have been nominated for a position on the disciplinary board, and is happy to be of service to the diocese in any way possible. Kyle has been an Episcopalian for about 15 years now, and has been ordained as a priest for 6 of those years. He is currently serving as the Rector of St. Patrick’s in Albany and has been in that position since August of 2024.

Lay

Hulet Kitterman has been a member of St. Mary Magdalene Episcopal Church since it was founded in 1976.  Since that time, she has served in a variety of positions, most recently as senior warden and as clerk of vestry. As a lay minister, she leads worship service on a regular basis, and  is also a lay Eucharistic minister. Hulet has also served on the diocesan Commision on Ministry. 

She is a retired public school teacher and principal.  During her 40 years in public education, she established many relationships with a variety of different people. She used those relationships to further the very active outreach ministry of St. Mary Magdalene.   

While matters needing the attention of the Disciplinary Board can be difficult and unpleasant, serving on this board requires a certain amount of both compassion and objectivity.  Hulet’s experience as a school administrator and as senior warden have helped her develop the ability to examine issues objectively but with empathy for the individuals involved. 

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 2028.

The Rev. Dr. Steve Clifton will complete a term as the Central Convocation clergy representative to Diocesan Council at the 2025 Convention, and he would like very much to continue his work on the Council as a clergy member at large. Steve believes that bodies such as Diocesan Council further the work of Christ’s Church by assisting in its representative governance, seeking to enhance the health of our congregations and helping to shape the course of our future as a diocesan family.

He has served as the Vice-President of the Council for the past two years and have contributed to a Task Group focused on the current diocesan assessment system and the process of appealing assessments to Diocesan Council, in addition to his service on the Council as a whole.

Steve grew up in the Diocese and served congregations in Augusta, Bainbridge, Savannah, Valdosta, and Quitman before taking on his current roles (since 2021) as Priest-in-Charge of Grace Church in Sandersville and St. Mary Magdalene in Louisville.

Over the course of his forty-plus years of ordained ministry, Steve has served in a variety of capacities at the local, convocational, diocesan, and national church levels. If elected, he will use this wide spectrum of experiences to inform his ministry on Diocesan Council.

Jody Grant is a member of Our Savior, Martinez and lifelong Episcopalian At his previous church he was youth group advisor, Sunday School teacher, Acolyte Master, Lay Eucharistic Minister, and Senior Warden. Currently, he is the Minister for Youth and Young Adults at Our Savior. He is also on the Strategic Planning Committee for the Diocese. He was the Diocesan Coordinator of the Happening program for many years, served on the Transition committee for the 10th Bishop of Georgia, and was a deputy to the 2012, 2015, and 2018, and 2022 General Conventions. He served on the Credentials Committee in 2015, was the Vice Chair of this Committee in 2018, and the Chair in 2022. At the national level, he served on the Happening National Committee and completed a 4 year term as the Vice-President/Secretary of Happening National Incorporated which is the executive committee of the Happening National Committee. Professionally, he has been and high school educator for 25 years, teaching science for 24 of those and the last year as assistant principal. He would like to serve on the Diocesan Council of the Diocese of Georgia to help support the mission and growth of our congregations across the diocese.

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, consent to the election of bishops in other dioceses, approve any financial indebtedness of parishes, and the purchase, sale, encumbrance, or disposition of real property. It usually meets monthly via videoconference and two times a year jointly with the Commission on Ministry at Honey Creek to consider those in the ordination process. These meetings typically are scheduled Thursday through Saturday. Other in-person meetings are held as needed in various locations throughout the diocese, usually 1-2 times per year on a weekday. Customarily, during the fourth year of service, the senior clergy person is elected president and the senior lay person is elected secretary. The persons elected will serve a four-year term through Convention 2029.

Lay

Dave Cranford is a member at Trinity, Cochran where he serves as a lay eucharistic minister and lector. Additionally, he has served on vestry in his home parish, holding the positions of senior warden and junior warden.  

Having previously served on diocesan council and standing committee, Dave is passionate about the Episcopal church and the Diocese of Georgia and possesses a firm understanding of the responsibilities of standing committee and the role it plays in ensuring the diocese remains viable and relevant.  

Dave has served on multiple Cursillo teams, participated in the inaugural Leading With Grace training and is currently a member of the diocesan creation care commission and is active with the diocesan LGBTQ committee.  “Involvement with various diocesan communities has deepened my commitment to lay leadership and spiritual formation and broadened by understanding of the concerns across the diocese which positions me to be an asset serving on the standing committee.”

Professionally, Dave is Vice President of Middle Georgia Signs and Guardrail, a family-owned highway construction business located in Cochran and is a proud University of Georgia alum.

Dave’s wife, Shayna W. Cranford serves as Rector of Trinity, Cochran; their children, Callie, Eli, and Chap have experienced the nurturing love of the diocese through participation in diocesan youth programming.

David Johnson would consider it a great honor to serve on the Diocese’s Standing Committee. He loves the Episcopal Church and is grateful to it for being his spiritual foundation. David respects the Diocesan governance and hopes to assist in fulfilling the Church’s role of realizing the joy of God’s love for all.

He is a cradle Episcopalian, baptized at his life long church of St Luke’s Hawkinsville in 1967. David has been committed to the welfare of St Luke’s: serving on vestry many times, acting as Senior Warden twice, Junior Warden once, attended many a convention, and working as the treasurer for the past 17 years. He is also a passionate fundraiser, acting as co-chair for St Luke’s most successful annual fundraising events.

David has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Valdosta State University, and spent the first half of his life running the family business, McCranie Tractor and Implement Co. More recently, he works as a real estate agent at Fickling and Co, as well manage his family’s pecans at Ocmulgee Orchards. He has lived in Hawkinsville his whole life, where he and his wife,Ellie and have four children who grew up active in Diocesan programs.

Kristen Weston would be honored to serve on the Standing Committee. Kristen was baptized and confirmed in the Catholic church, but after college (B.A. Brenau Women’s College) she realized her beliefs aligned with the Episcopal church. She has been a member at The Church of the Good Shepherd since 2001. She was a teacher at Episcopal Day School for many years. During her last year there, she taught Godly Play to preschool and elementary school students. She is in her last career as a client service associate with a private wealth management company, Asset Advisors. At Good Shepherd, Kristen is a member of the Altar Guild and has volunteered for many years with the youth at Good Shepherd as a elementary and high school Sunday School teacher, and as a middle and high school youth group leader. She also chaperoned 2 pilgrimages for high school students: The first was to Italy following in the foot steps of St. Francis and St. Clare, and the second was to Spain hiking the Camino de Santiago. One of the youths who got Kristen involved in Diocese youth events, as she asked Kristen to serve as a mom at Happening! Kristen continued to volunteer at Happening, Winter Retreats, and Convention Youth Retreats, and she was a youth leader when the past Presiding Bishop, the Most Reverend Michael Curry, preached a revival at Honey Creek. The greatest part about volunteering at Good Shepherd and for the Diocese of Georgia has been watching youth and her own children grow in their faith. Adair, her oldest, was rector of Happening #107, and her youngest, Spencer, will be rector of Happening #112. Annie, her middle child, serves as an acolyte.

Priest

The Very Rev. Tom Purdy has been ordained for more than twenty years, serving twelve and a half of those years in the Diocese of Georgia. He has worked to support diocesan ministries and initiatives in various ways in that time, and  is excited about the next chapter of our common life here in Georgia. Tom looks forward to an opportunity to serve on the Standing Committee, if elected, so that he can continue supporting our parishes and bishop as we work together to help the gospel and the Episcopal Church thrive in our communities. As we begin to live into our new diocesan strategic plan, we can focus on what the church is and needs to be in a broken world that yearns for the good news of God in Christ. Tom has served in many other roles in diocesan ministry, and thinks his experience and love for our diocese can be put to good use in this ministry.

Tom has served as Rector of Christ Church, Frederica, since 2013, after serving in the dioceses of Washington and Central Pennsylvania. He currently serves as Dean of the Southeast Convocation (which includes serving on Diocesan Council), convenor of the Clergy Cottage task force, and Sewanee Trustee (since 2017). He has represented the Diocese of Georgia at the last three General Conventions, most recently as a Deputy. He has previously served as the Chair of the Commission on Ministry and helped create the Georgia 200 Fund.

In his local community, Tom continues to serve on the board of Hospice of the Golden Isles, and he will complete hi third and final term at the end of this year, having served the previous four years as Chairman of the Board. Over the last decade, Tom has done a number of things in the community. He has been a part of an ecumenical effort to foster racial equity and healing in Glynn County, and continue to be very active in ecumenical and interfaith community efforts. He served one year on the board of Faithworks, an ecumenical outreach ministry in Glynn County. He served six years on the school council for our lowest-income elementary school, Burroughs Molette. Tom helped create and shepherd Glynn Episcopal Ministries, which he still participates in regularly. He also served as a trustee for Friends of Canterbury Cathedral US for seven years. As he has rolled off various boards, he has done so intentionally to make more time for work in service to the wider church.

Trustee of the University of the South – 1 lay 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 lay person will be elected for a three-year term to serve through Convention 2028.

Whit Davis was born in Savannah and graduated from the University of the South (Sewanee) in 1997 with a BA in History. While at Sewanee, he served on the Sewanee Volunteer Fire Department, the Orientation Core Committee, and in various fraternity leadership roles. While living in Atlanta and attending St. Anne’s, he served as an usher and member of the investment committee. In early 2021, Whit and his wife, Claire, and their three children moved back to Savannah. They are members of Christ Church, where they served as Stewardship chairs in 2023 and 2024 and he serves as an usher. Whit is a member of the Board of the Corporation for the Diocese of Georgia and is currently one of the Lay Trustees to Sewanee. As a trustee, he serves on the Constitution and Ordinances Committee and the New Trustee Orientation Committee. He is honored to be re-nominated for the lay trustee position, and hopes to continue to be able to serve the University.

General Convention Deputies – 4 clergy deputies and 4 clergy alternates; 4 lay deputies and 4 lay alternates 
The General Convention is the governing body of The Episcopal Church that meets every three years. The enxt session of the General Convention will be in Phoenix, AZ in 2027. All eight deputies and the first alternates both lay and ordained travel to the convention. Additional alternates are elected in case deputies find they are unable to attend prior to the convention’s start. The Province IV Synod is comprised of the General Convention Deputies of the twenty diocese in nine Southern states. Those elected to serve as deputies or alternates must be able to travel for the Province IV Synod.

Lay

Susan Borchert has attended our Diocesan Convention as a delegate numerous times, and would be honored to serve the Georgia Diocese as a Lay Deputy to the General Convention. She would like to expand my knowledge of the workings of the Episcopal Church and to assist in whatever endeavor will come her way. Being able to bring back the “Good News” from the General Convention to her congregation would certainly be a blessing.

Susan has been an active member of St. Barnabas Episcopal Church and has been a member of the Vestry. She has held the position of Senior Warden during Covid and am currently in that position. She has been an Episcopalian for over thirteen years, previously attending and actively involved in the Lutheran Church (ELCA). When the Gloria Dei closed in Valdosta, Susan turned to St. Barnabas as my new found church. She has embraced her church and became a Eucharistic Minister, a member of Altar Guild, a Lector, a leader for a Hospitality Sunday, and completed the coursework to become a Verger. She has attended many Lay Ministers Conferences at Honey Creek, worked through CDI as well as Leading with Grace. Susan is currently in her second year participating in EfM at Christ Church, Valdosta. She has recently was honored to participate in “Being With”, facilitated by Canon Josh Varner and Molly Stevenson. She attended the Lay Worship Leaders Conference, held at Honey Creek.

As a parishioner and Senior Warden, Susa has led Morning Prayer on Sundays when there was no Priest at St. Barnabas. She established the church Pumpkin Patch, which has become one of the best Outreach programs. She presents classes for Ushers and Lay Eucharistic Ministers. Susan currently works at LARC, Lowndes Advocacy Resource Center, which is a Day Program for developmentally disabled adults. She would truly be honored to become a Lay Deputy to the General Convention.

Madison Cook would be honored to serve once again as a lay deputy for General Convention and to represent our beautiful Diocese. As a cradle Episcopalian, her life and faith have been deeply shaped by the Episcopal Church, both at the parish and diocesan levels. Currently, she serves on the St. Thomas Vestry and on the Church Disciplinary Board for the Diocese. In 2024, Madison was humbled to attend her first General Convention as a deputy in Louisville, Kentucky, an experience that further deepened my desire to serve our church at the national level.

Over the past decade, she has sought opportunities to participate in leadership and service in ways that give back to the community that has nurtured her. As a youth, Madison was active in diocesan programs at Honey Creek, including serving as lead teen at New Beginnings. More recently, she has participated through small group studies such as Being With led by Canon Joshua Varner and Molly Stevenson, and by occasionally joining the choir to support the worship life at St. Thomas. These experiences have kept her connected to my parish and diocese while broadening her appreciation for the wider body of Christ and beyond.

Although her young adult life is full and busy, Madison remains committed to serving in the Episcopal Church wherever she is called. The Episcopal Church has helped shape her into the woman she is today, and Madison is thankful for the many mentors and fellow parishioners who continue to encourage her in faith and leadership. It would be a privilege to bring her experience, her dedication, and her love for the church to General Convention once more in 2027, helping to ensure that the voice of our Diocese is faithfully represented.

Jody Grant is a member of Our Savior, Martinez and lifelong Episcopalian At his previous church he was youth group advisor, Sunday School teacher, Acolyte Master, Lay Eucharistic Minister, and Senior Warden. Currently, he is the Minister for Youth and Young Adults at Our Savior. He is also on the Strategic Planning Committee for the Diocese. He was the Diocesan Coordinator of the Happening program for many years, served on the Transition committee for the 10th Bishop of Georgia, and was a deputy to the 2012, 2015, and 2018, and 2022 General Conventions. He served on the Credentials Committee in 2015, was the Vice Chair of this Committee in 2018, and the Chair in 2022. At the national level, he served on the Happening National Committee and completed a 4 year term as the Vice-President/Secretary of Happening National Incorporated which is the executive committee of the Happening National Committee. Professionally, he has been and high school educator for 25 years, teaching science for 24 of those and the last year as assistant principal. He loves the Episcopal Church, and as a deputy to General Convention, learned a lot more about it. He wants to continue to represent the Diocese of Georgia and be a part of the exciting change that is occurring in the church as it proclaims the Gospel.

Victoria Logue is a cradle Episcopalian, baptized and confirmed at Trinity in Statesboro. She has served once as a lay deputy to General Convention in 2012. In the Diocese, Victoria has twice served on Diocesan Council, including once as the Secretary of Diocesan Council. She in her fifth year serving on the board of Episcopal Youth and Children’s Services (EYCS) as vice-chair, chair, and currently as treasurer.

When her husband, Frank was elected bishop, Victoria became a board member of the House of Bishop’s Spouses Planning Group, helping plan events for spouses at Lambeth in 2022 and at General Convention in Louisville in 2024. Her term on that board ends in December and she hopes to renew her churchwide service helping guide the Episcopal Church into the future through the convention process.

Previously, Victoria organized and helped lead a series of successful spirituality retreats at Honey Creek: Journey to Wholeness (2008-2009) and Grounded in God (2011) and Forgiving Life (2012) as well as several Clergy Spouse Retreats; she has also developed numerous prayer paths for everything from youth events in 2001 to family camp in 2021. She is a life professed member since 2007 of the Third Order, Society of St. Francis in which she is on the editorial board of the newsletter, administrator of the Order’s Facebook pages, and a counselor to postulants in the Order. She is a certified Labyrinth facilitator, and a graduate of both of Sewanee’s lay programs, DOCC and EfM, and earned a Lay Diploma in Theology from Virginia Theological Seminary (2000).

Victoria is the author of more than two dozen books including Hiking and Backpacking, The Guide to the Blue Ridge Parkway, and Touring the Backroads of North and South Georgia. She has also published two stand-alone novels, and a young adult fantasy trilogy. Victoria is married to the Rt. Rev. Frank Logue. They have a 34-year-old daughter, Griffin Schaefer, who is a veterinarian at Aztec Animal Clinic in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Elise Miller has been an Episcopalian 57 years and a member of Calvary Episcopal in Americus since moving from Atlanta 20 years ago. At Calvary she has served on the vestry, Parish Life committee, Outreach, Altar Guild, Flower Guild, Finance Committee, Ladies Book group, and Search Committee.

Having just completed 4 years on the Standing Committee, Elise has found involvement at the diocesan level to be extremely enriching. She participated in CDI as well as Leading with Grace, Cursillo Team, and a Lay leader retreat. She would like to extend her church commitment to the national level.

Molly Stevenson would be honored to be elected again to serve as a Lay Deputy to General Convention. A self- proclaimed “Church Geek”, Molly has been a member of The Episcopal Church her whole life and loves everything about it. She has served through the years in the Diocese of Georgia on multiple commissions and committees, including The Standing Committee, Diocesan Council, the Honey Creek Commission, Happening Steering Committee, the Cursillo Commission, Cursillo Rector, and as a Deputy to General Convention, where she has served on various legislative committees and on the Standing Commission on Mission and Evangelism. Molly was recently accepted as a Postulant for Holy Orders.

At her home parish, Christ Church, Valdosta, she is a Lay Reader, Lay Eucharistic Minister, Acolyte, Adult Formation Coordinator, Choir member and currently serves as the Senior Warden and DOK President of the St. Nino Chapter. She has also been involved for many years in youth ministry.

Liz Williams would love to have the honor to serve as one of the General Convention deputies for the Diocese of Georgia. Liz has previously served as a deputy for the past two General Conventions, including serving on the House of Deputies Formation & Discipleship Legislative Committee, and each time has walked away renewed, hopeful, and full of appreciation for the Church. Liz currently serves the diocese as the Happening Coordinator, on the Executive Board of Directors of Episcopal Communicators, and Chair of the Conference and Site Planning Committee for Episcopal Communicators. Her work with the wider church has given her opportunities for growth, both personally and professionally.

Liz is a church nerd. She loves being an active member in how we can best preach the Gospel to those in our communities, both within and outside of our church walls. Being a part of the Diocese of Georgia deputation allows her to get a view of how the Church is living and breathing and moving in the world, and how we can best use that view in our own diocese.

Carey Wooten is long-time member of Calvary Episcopal Church, Americus, where she has served in a variety of leadership and lay-ministry positions. She grew up Macon, as a member of St. Paul’s, then lived in Montezuma, where she was a long-time member and lay leader at St. Mary’s. She has served on the Standing Committee for Diocese of Georgia, as Director of Leadership Ministries, and as a trainer for CDI and Leading with Grace. She currently serves as Chair of the Strategic Planning Committee. She is honored and excited for the possibility of serving the broader Church on this national level.

Clergy

The Rev. Leeann Culbreath has been honored to serve on the Georgia deputation for the last two General Conventions. For General Convention (GC)81, she was tapped to serve on the Social Justice and International Policy legislative committee, which steeped her in the complex and exciting process of moving an idea to church policy. Since GC81, she has seen how these policies inform and shape ministries at every level of the church and bring Episcopalians together to live our our baptismal vows in new ways.

Just prior to GC81, she convened (and now Co-Chair) the Episcopal Migration Caucus, a grassroots group of Episcopalians advancing the movement for Migration with Dignity in the church and our communities. Through the caucus, she now serves as a steering committee member for The Consultation, a consortium of progressive organizations in the Episcopal Church. She is eager to build on this work at GC82 in 2027 and offer her gifts and time to a legislative committee again.

Following ordination to the priesthood in 2020, Leeann has served in a variety of interim and supply roles in the Albany and Central Convocations. She is currently chair the Creation Care Commission, which she founded in 2015. As a deacon from 2013-2020, Leeann served on the Commission on Ministry, led an immigrant advocacy non-profit, cultivated community gardens and compost bins, and participated in several DR mission trips and disaster relief missions. For the last five years, she has co-facilitated the Episcopal Migration Response Network, part of Episcopal Migration Ministries.

Church governance is an unusual way to serve God, but it has become a core ministry for Leeann. Thank you for considering her for the GC82 deputation.

The Very Reverend Leslie Dellenbarger would be honored, if elected, to serve as a clergy deputy for the 2027 General Convention. Leslie currently serves as the priest-in-charge at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Bainbridge, Georgia. She has joyfully served at St. John’s since 2019. St. John’s is a vibrant, family sized congregation which is involved in or provides space for various outreach and community activities to include Al-A-non, a Parkinson’s support group, a Girl Scout Troop, a book club, and an afterschool tutoring program, a once per month feeding program sponsored by a community faith based organization, as well as St. John’s Free Little Food Pantry and Free Little Library, which now typically hands out 100 – 110 bags of food weekly, with a support team comprised of members of the church as well as community volunteers. In addition, Grace United Methodist Church began sharing space with St. John’s in August of 2024, adding another layer of vibrancy to St. John’s. St. John’s, a vibrant family sized congregation alive with the Spirit.

At the time of her ordination as a priest in 2017, Leslie began serving as a bivocational priest, having held secular employment as a psychologist. Following her ordination as a transitional deacon and then as a priest, Leslie served for a period of time (as a deacon an as an assisting priest) at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Thomasville, Georgia. In addition to currently serving as priest-in-charge at St. John’s, Leslie also serves as Dean for the Southwest Convocation (and therein, serves as a voice but no vote member of the Diocesan Council), as Chair for the Southwest Convocational Discernment Committee, as a member of the Diocese of Georgia’s Liturgical Commission, as an EfM mentor, as a member of the Clergy Cottage task force, and most recently as a member of the planning committee for the joint clergy conference with the Diocese of Atlanta, in addition to serving as a field placement supervisor. Leslie is a member of the Lion’s Club, a Girl Scout co-leader, and the representative for St. John’s with the local Chamber of Commerce. She also enjoys reading, leading or co-leading book studies, spending time with her wife, Alta, and their four legged family members, as well as gardening and spending time in nature.

Again, Leslie would honored, if elected, to serve the Diocese of Georgia as a clergy deputy to the General Convention in 2027. She believes serving as a clergy deputy is yet another means to answer her call to serve God, the Diocese of Georgia, and therein, the people of God.

The Rev. Susan Gage would be honored, if elected, to serve as one of our deputies at the General Convention in Phoenix in 2027. She is a lifelong Episcopalian and was an active participant as a junior choir member and acolyte in her childhood parish in New Hampshire. She remained connected to the church through the college ministries at Calvary Episcopal in Columbia, MO, before graduating and moving to Tallahassee, Florida, to take a job in public radio in 1990. She then went through what she calls “the wilderness years” of separation from the church due to the convulsions occurring in Florida over the presence of the LGBTQIA community, which led to several churches splitting in the mid-2000s. Susan felt a call back to the church in 2007, but did not find a true church home until she moved her membership to St. Thomas Thomasville. She was ordained to the diaconate in June 2021, and the priesthood in January 2022. She has served at both Christ the King and St. Barnabas in Valdosta and is currently Priest-in-Charge at St. Barnabas. Susan has been an EfM mentor, is a member of RJGA, and is on the diocesan Liturgical Commission and Disciplinary Board. She enjoys writing, watching sports, and leading Bible studies at St. Barnabas by using her background in cabaret theater to turn the stories into dialogues that can be acted out. Susan is a bivocational priest maintaining a private practice as a licensed massage therapist in Florida.

The Rev. Mike Gumulauskas wants to serve because he believe he has a voice that reaches beyond the echo chamber. Mike has been ordained a priest for three years and a deacon two years prior. He has served all three years as a priest at St. Andrew’s Darien. Mike is on the Diocese of Georgia Disciplinary Board and the Diocese of Georgia Daughters of the King chaplain. Mike serves a beautiful church filled with wonderful ministries, including a food bank, a thrift store, a Recovery Room with four different types of meetings, and two mentorship programs: one for grade school and one for middle school. Church at Morning Star for at-risk youth, and a hot food ministry, Two Saints.

The Rev. Larry Jesion is the founder and director of the Byllesby Center for ministry and outreach, located on the campus of Christ Episcopal Church in Augusta. Although Christ Church closed in 2020, the Byllesby Center’s original focus was to maintain and expand their existing ministries.

He was ordained in 2013 and served three years as a vocational deacon at Christ Church Augusta before being ordained to the priesthood in 2016. Additionally, he served as priest in-charge at Church of the Atonement Augusta and as rector at St. Michael’s Waynesboro before launching the Byllesby Center on February 1, 2024.

As a general convention delegate, Father Larry would bring a unique perspective and voice to some of the challenges the church faces today due to his experiences serving as both a vocational deacon and a bi-vocational priest. Currently working with homeless and economically challenged residents of an impoverished inner city neighborhood, the Center works to bring together and build relationships between people from all walks of life through a variety of activities including meals, food pantries (inside and out), addiction recovery and support groups, an afterschool homework and tutoring program, Scouts, on-site health clinics and Mental Health Matters presentations. The Center is closely allied with a neighboring elementary school, working with staff & students, to improve education outcomes.

The Rev. Ian Lasch would be thrilled to serve the Diocese of Georgia as a clergy deputy to General Convention. He has long followed General Convention from afar, to include reading through all the resolutions being considered by deputies. Ian has been an Episcopalian since finding his way through those red doors 15 years ago, and has served as Rector of St. Francis of the Islands in Savannah since returning to the Diocese of Georgia in August 2020. His service to the Diocese and the wider church includes serving as an Examining Chaplain in the Dioceses of Missouri and Georgia, as a member of the Diocese of Missouri’s Task Force on Baptism, and as the Chair of the Diocese of Georgia’s Liturgical Commission. As part of the work of the latter, he helped to co-author the Liturgical Commission’s “Memorandum on Resolution 2022-A059/2024-A072 to amend Article X of the Constitution of the Episcopal Church,” and the Diocese of Georgia’s new Rite for Communion by Extension.

The Very Rev. Richard Nelson and spouse, Deacon Geri Nelson, have served Calvary, since August 2019. Previously Richard and Geri had served St. Thomas Episcopal Church, Savannah for over 12 years, before retiring from full-time ministry in 2017. Previously he had served parishes in the Dioceses of Western North Carolina, Southwest Florida, and Chicago. In 2022 the Bishop of Georgia appointed Richard to serve as Dean of the Albany Convocation. Since 2023 has served as Chaplain to Diocese of Georgia Deacons, and in 2024 was elected to the Standing Committee.
During his time at Calvary extensive renovations to the Church, Lawrence Parish Hall, and CE Building have occurred. Calvary hosts an English as a Second Language class each week, four weekly yoga classes, and a weekly Al-Anon group. The very active Outreach Committee coordinates various outreach ministries including the Lee Street Blessing Box (food) and the Calvary Warming Station during inclement weather. Calvary tithes her parishioners’ pledges back into the community. It is projected that, in concert with Calvary’s Mustard Seed Thrift Store, $25,000.00 will be given in grants to various helping organizations and to fund Calvary’s Outreach efforts.

Richard is a graduate of Central Michigan University (1976) and Seabury-Western Theological Seminary (1983). In addition to parochial ministry, he has served as a volunteer Sheriff’s Department Chaplain, Prison Chaplain, member of various community service boards, and various Diocesan committees. Committed to ecumenism and cooperation, he is active in the Sumter Area Ministerial Association and volunteers at SAMA’s Community Services Ministry which assists with utility bills. Also committed to racial reconciliation, when possible, Richard and Geri attend services and special events at historically black congregations in Americus. Richard has led and/or spoken at numerous retreats, quiet days, and educational offerings during his 42 years of ministry. “In serving as a deputy I will bring the desire for inclusion of all voices in the Church, common sense, and persistent prayer for our Bishop, deputation and all called to General Convention.”

For relaxation Richard enjoys spending time with Geri, reading, model railroading, and is a “Wingnut”—a fanatic of the Detroit Red Wings.

The Very Rev. Tom Purdy, if elected, would be honored to serve as a deputy on behalf of the Diocese of Georgia at the 82nd General Convention in 2027. He served as a deputy in 2024 and as an alternate in 2015, 2018, and 2022. He also served as an alternate deputy in a previous diocese in 2012. Tom has a deep love of our Episcopal Church and the unique way in which our common life is shared by prayer, deliberation, and consensus as a church. He believes that the world needs what the Episcopal Church has to offer – the inclusive and life-giving message of Jesus as we have come to understand it. He is particularly interested in participating in General Convention to energize and equip parishes and dioceses, as it refocuses on what it means to be church, and re-prioritizing the work of parishes and dioceses to spread the good news and be the hands and feet of Christ. Tom believes our new Presiding Bishop and House of Deputies leadership have a good sense of this important work and it would be a great honor to represent Georgia as that work takes shape.

He has served as Rector of Christ Church, Frederica, since 2013, after serving in the dioceses of Washington (2008-2013) and Central Pennsylvania (2005-2008). He currently serves as Dean of the Southeast Convocation (which includes serving on Diocesan Council), convenor of the Clergy Cottage task force, and Sewanee Trustee (since 2017). Tom has previously served as the Chair of the Commission on Ministry and helped create the Georgia 200 Fund. He helped create and shepherd Glynn Episcopal Ministries, which he still participates in regularly. He also served as a trustee for Friends of Canterbury Cathedral US for seven years.

In our local community, Tom continues to serve on the board of Hospice of the Golden Isles, and will complete his third and final term at the end of this year, having served the previous four years as Chairman of the Board. Over the last decade, he has done a number of things in the community. Tom has been a part of an ecumenical effort to foster racial equity and healing in Glynn County, and continues to be very active in ecumenical and interfaith community efforts. He served one year on the board of Faithworks, an ecumenical outreach ministry in Glynn County. He served six years on the school council for our lowest-income elementary school, Burroughs Molette. As Tom has rolled off various boards, he has done so intentionally to make more time for work in service to the wider church.