Synod 2018 Nominees for Elected Positions Please review the included biographical information. Each answered the question: What gifts and qualifications do you bring to this position During Synod, you will vote for the following positions: President of the Executive Board of Province V Ms. Genevieve Callard Vice President of the Executive Board of Province V The Rt. Rev. Mark Hollingsworth Secretary of the Executive Board of Province V Ms. Alicia Hager Treasurer of the Executive Board of Province V Ms. Courtney Reid Executive Council of the Episcopal Church (clergy member) The Rev. Debra Bennett The Rev. Matthew Cowden The Rev. Dr. Jared Cramer The Very Rev. M.E. Eccles This position is previewed at Synod and elected at General Convention: Joint Committee for the Election of the Presiding Bishop The Rev. Judith Schellhammer If you are a Deputy to General Convention, you will have the opportunity to vote for members of the JCEPB. Nominations for this position are still open. We need a minimum of 2 clergy and 2 lay people. Contact Heather Barta if you would like to nominate someone to this position.
The Rev. Debra Bennett Nominee for Executive Council If God is the center of your life, no words are necessary. Your mere presence will touch hearts. This quote attributed to Vincent De Paul has particular meaning for me because God is the center of my life as are my passion for the Gospel and the church the vehicle through which gospel is shared. This love has moved me to accept the nomination to serve as the provincial representative to the executive Council of the Episcopal Church. I bring to this position over 30 years experience of serving the church as both lay and clergy on the parochial, diocesan, and national levels including deputy to General Convention, a member of diocesan stewardship committee, assistant secretary to convention, diocesan council member (Diocese of Ohio and Long Island), and member of the search committee to select commissioner for black ministries. I believe I would bring a unique voice and perspective to the Episcopal Church.
Ms. Genevieve Callard Nominee for President of the Executive Board of Province V As a lay woman with a background in youth formation and summer camp ministries, I bring a unique perspective to the Provincial Executive Board and the work of the wider church. I've served on the Provincial Executive Board in a variety of roles for over 10 years. My ministry emphasis is on building relationships, creating community, and forming young Christians. Three years ago I was elected to serve as the President of the Province with the desire to bring us more fully into Community. We ve made significant progress and yet I feel as though my work has barely begun and I want to continue to use my skills and gifts in service to the Province and would be delighted to be elected president for a second term.
The Rev. Matthew Cowden Nominee for Executive Council By God's grace, I bring prayer, intentionality, careful planning, strategy, the long- view, prayerful attention to both the needs of the whole and to the needs of individuals, my ability to delegate assignments, to bring projects to successful conclusion, and to advocate for and with those suffering from injustice. As (very brief) examples, I led a successful capital campaign to free my congregation from mortgage debt, led the first oversees pilgrimage for our youth group, and witnessed with clergy at Standing Rock. I am actively involved in the life of my faith community, diocese, province and the wider Church. I have represented our diocese on the Executive Board of Province V for seven years; served at the 78th General Convention in 2015 and will do so again this summer in Austin. I am committed to the health and growth of the Episcopal Church and to listening for and following the Spirit's call for what's next in this portion of the Body of Christ Jesus.
The Rev. Dr. Jared Cramer Nominee for Executive Council In my mid- thirties, after a decade of priestly ministry, I still hold a young priest's perspective. For the past eight years I have served as the rector of St. John's in Grand Haven, MI. Since 2015, we've had the only Latino ministry in the diocese, one that I worked towards fluency in Spanish to launch. This ministry received a Mission Enterprise Zone grant in 2017. I currently serve Western Michigan as first Clergy Alternate to General Convention. In all my work (and in previous roles as Synod Delegate, Commission on Ministry Chair, Dean, Convener of Diocesan Deans, representative of TEC to the Faith & Order Commission of the National Council of Churches, and a book on the struggles of Anglicanism), I've cultivated skills for finances, effective group leadership, a passion for the marginalized, and a commitment to church governance that equips faithful disciples and engages in 21st- century evangelism.
The Very Rev. M.E. Eccles Nominee for Executive Council I am the rector of a small parish and it is important to me to keep those I serve ever aware there is a much larger church out there. Since being ordained a priest 10 years ago, 1 served on Diocesan Council, Standing Committee, and as Dean of the Elgin Deanery; all of which taught me about church structure, governance and how positive changes can be achieved. Volunteering for the last three General Conventions (two years in the Secretariat and as Alternate Deputy) expresses my passion to help the Church make a difference in the world. One unusual gift 1 have is that of being trans male, therefore, bringing a perspective of service in the church as a woman and as a man, equipping me to be sensitive to those on the fringes and margins.
Ms. Alicia Hager Nominee for Secretary of the Executive Board of Province V I am a skilled and ready listener, able to type and listen simultaneously. Having served several years as Clerk to the Vestry of my home parish I am well versed in Robert s Rule and accurate minute taking. I am a joyful person who enjoys serving the needs of others. I look forward to working with the Province.
The Rt. Rev. Mark Hollingsworth, Jr. Nominee for Vice- President of the Executive Board of Province V Mark Hollingsworth, Jr. was raised in Dover, Massachusetts. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Trinity College, Hartford, a Master of Divinity and later an honorary Doctor of Divinity from the Church Divinity School of the Pacific. He was consecrated as the Eleventh Bishop of Ohio on April 17, 2004. Before coming to Ohio, he served in the dioceses of California, Kentucky, and Massachusetts as a school chaplain, parish priest, and diocesan staff member. He currently serves as Vice President of Province V and as a trustee of Bexley-Seabury Seminary and Kenyon College. Bishop Hollingsworth and his wife, Susan Hunt Hollingsworth, have four children. He enjoys cycling, fly-fishing, sailing, and restoring antique vehicles, and has recently begun to keep bees. He plays a variety of stringed instruments and the bagpipes.
Ms. Courtney Reid Nominee for Treasurer of the Executive Board of Province V I have served as the Treasurer for Province V for 5 years. I have deep knowledge of the duties of this position and in my role as Director of Operations in the Diocese of Chicago, I am fortunate to have the staff support that provides assistance to this position. As an officer of the Executive Committee, I have come to appreciate the vital and important role that the Province has in supporting collaboration between dioceses. I believe that this collaboration is critically important for the future of the church and I look forward to my continued involvement.
The Rev. Judith Schellhammer Nominee for Joint Committee for the Election of the Presiding Bishop (This position is previewed at Synod and elected at General Convention) I am prayerful, detail- oriented, willing to work hard, semi- retired, and committed to see God s mission for the Church fulfilled. To that end, five years ago, as chair of our Resolution Review Committee of Diocesan Council, I began a weekly blog for the diocese highlighting the work of the Church through our many resolutions to give the people in our pews the resources they need to live out these resolutions. Because I also recognize the value of on- going Christian formation in the lives of all our people, I facilitate a diocesan program for discerning one s spiritual gifts and following God s call. More specific to this committee, I have served on a search committee for our diocese and also have participated in faculty searches at Hillsdale College. Through these experiences, I have learned the importance of collegiality and team- work, honest and open communication, and the need to put aside personal agendas.