Alternate Deputies for General Convention

At the 139th Diocesan Convention, Alternate Deputies will be elected to represent the Episcopal Church in Colorado at the 82nd General Convention of the Episcopal Church in Phoenix, Arizona in July, 2027. Each diocese elects four Deputies in each order, clergy and lay, and up to four Alternate Deputies, who serve if an elected deputy is unable to. Deputies to The General Convention participate in the full General Convention and meet as the deputation from the Episcopal Church in Colorado before and after General Convention 2027. Deputies are available to share with congregations the work of the General Convention in the months following General Convention. Deputies (and one alternate) are present at Convention, and expenses are covered by the Diocese (per diem for meals). Serving as a General Convention Deputy offers your voice and vote to the wider Episcopal Church, and also includes following an area of legislation and working for the good of the Episcopal Church with the whole deputation.

The Clergy Deputies shall be clergy canonically and actually resident in this Diocese at the time of their election and throughout their period of service and not under discipline, and the lay Deputies shall be communicants in good standing of a Parish or Mission of this Diocese at the time of their election and throughout their period of service. In 2027, General Convention runs from Saturday, July 3, to Thursday, July 8, 2027. Bishops and deputies will be asked to arrive in Phoenix, Arizona, the site of the convention, by June 30 for preparatory meetings on July 1 and 2.

Clergy Nominees

The Rev. Brian Winter

What happens at General Convention should never stay at General Convention! Activities and decisions made at General Convention are intended to be shared beyond the event itself. The Deputies are responsible for preparing, participating in church governance, and communicating new policies or decisions to their respective dioceses and churches. As someone serving as a priest, regional Missioner, and Vice-President of Province VI, I interact with various communities and assist in distributing information about General Convention within different settings.

The Rev. Boyd Evans

A diocesan deputation is a special spiritual community. As a member of our deputation, I would be committed to listening thoughtfully to the ways the Holy Spirit is moving in the other members of our team, supporting our deputies through the demands of convention, and working together to cover committee meetings and caucus.

Being part of the deputation also involves sharing the spirit of the General Convention with the diocese and local parishes. As a deputy, I have been dedicated to reporting back to the diocese and region about the ongoing mission of the wider Episcopal Church and maintaining this ministry between conventions. I am committed to the preparation needed for General Convention, including pre-convention online meetings and providing updates to my region and the Diocese afterwards.

The Rev. Debbie Shew

I have served in small town single-clergy parishes, large multi-clergy suburban parishes, on a bishop’s staff as the Canon for Community Ministries (coordinating poverty-related, social justice, and global mission ministries, and heading The Episcopal Charities Foundation of The Diocese of Atlanta as part of the job).  I also served as the Vicar and Director of a “settlement house” type of ministry in a very underserved neighborhood in Atlanta, where my family and I lived among the people we worshipped and served with, learning much about being “white” through the experience of living in a largely “black” community.  It’s there where I began to understand my white privilege in more than an intellectual way.  As a Volunteer for Mission in the Church of the Province of Kenya, and as a SCOM grant recipient living in South Africa, I saw how “being church” looks in other provinces of our Anglican Communion.  Since moving to SW CO and beginning relationships in the Episcopal Church in Navajoland, I’ve seen the ravages of white supremacy in new ways.  Living on the Western Slope, I’ve also begun to understand more fully the realities of life in a rural area.  I believe these experiences can give me a helpfully-wid(er) perspective when I look at our own Episcopal Church and consider our life together.

The Rev. Michael Kornelsen

As a newly ordained member of the clergy, and as a long-time parishioner in the Episcopal Church in Colorado, I feel called to serve and experience the wider national church in order to learn from and interact with lay and ordained members of the church beyond our state’s borders. Nothing can substitute for learning from others how they experience church and the love of God and neighbor. Interacting with delegates from all over the world is a rich opportunity to understand and be inspired by the place of the church in our nation and world today.

The Rev. Nadine Pope

I spent a lot of time in the church into my young adulthood and my mother was a parish administrator for many years when I was young. I witnessed the many significant changes and struggles the Episcopal Church endured over the decades as it has dealt with social justice issues, changing theological perspectives, and culture. I think having this knowledge and overview is helpful for putting things in context and understanding varied perspectives.

The Rev. Tory Moir

The Rev. Tory Moir is a priest who has served the Episcopal Church in Colorado for over a decade as both clergy and laity. Tory is currently pursuing a PhD in Religion at the University of Denver and Iliff School of Theology, and serves the church as a supply priest, member of the churchwide Taskforce for LGBTQ Inclusion, and a Deputy at two previous General Conventions. Tory lives in Broomfield with their wife, kids, and menagerie of animals.

Lay Nominees

Br. Scott Michael Pomerenk, BSG

The vowed life is about seeking the Holy while living in normal reality, and I have found much holiness in the reality of General Convention. My perspective as a religious in combination with my perspective as a father of young children is unique in our diocese and in the Church. I’m excited about the possibility of continuing to serve in Colorado’s General Convention Deputation.

Chuck Theobald

As individuals and a larger community, we are called to prayerfully consider how we carry our message as Episcopalians and Christians into the world. Our participation in General Convention connects us to the larger Church, and the larger Church to us.

For the last General Convention, I served on the committee overseeing agencies and boards of the Episcopal Church. Our major contribution was passing legislation to begin to reform the way the Church Pension Group administers the Church Health Plan so that lower cost health plans offered to church employees no longer subsidize the expenses of higher cost plans. This is the kind of careful and detailed work that benefits the smaller parishes in Colorado and the overall diocese by modernizing the rules under which we all operate to ensure expenses are fairly allocated. As a deputy I will continue to seek areas where the church needs to improve that have direct impact on parishes and diocese.

Erica Pomerenk

I have a very strong interest in social justice and how we as a Church address the many, many  social justice concerns  in our world. This includes how vital it is for the Church to be truth-tellers; to examine our history and work for Racial Reconciliation and Justice, even when so many forces are working against said work in the world.

As a parent of three young children, I have a vested interest in helping the church to continue to be a beacon, even in the midst of adversity.  I love to watch our kids find their voices and home in the church, it is so important that we strive to continue being a place that is welcoming to all people, a place that continues to teach the Gospel and Live the Gospel,  live the Way of Love.

Karla Schapansky

The gender and sexuality of all Christians whether a member in a pew or Leader or especially ordained clergy, is a very real and conflicting matter. I support the progress that the Episcopal Church has, and is making to, above all, speak the message that we are all God’s children and that He/She loves everyone. The enormity of the Immigration and Deportation catastrophe troubles me. The slippery slope between Church and State is certainly present today.

Lawrence Hitt, II

The Executive Council committee that I chair (GO) will be evaluating and making recommendations on how to restructure TEC to better serve dioceses and congregations, as articulated by Presiding Bishop Rowe. I see this as critically important as the challenges of spreading the Gospel and ministering to God’s people become more difficult.

I also believe that the truth–telling and research into the role of The Episcopal Church in the indigenous school scandal, which is underway, is essential to effectively and meaningfully strive to address historic wrongs and work towards justice as the Gospel commands. This work was initiated in very large measure by General Convention resolutions and is emblematic of the capacity of our church to address critical issues.

Zoe Cole

I feel called to serve the Church as a Deputy to General Convention because the church is in a period of transition. It is also more vital than ever that the church witness to the practical ways in which God commands us to love one another and to proclaim God’s love to the world, not only with our lips but in our common life together. We have information to share from Colorado and to learn from our siblings elsewhere because even though we act locally, we are also members of an international church within a global communion.

Sharon Caulfield

I hope that our Church will continue to be welcoming, safe, and sustainable. I honor the theological and organizational approaches to Scripture, Tradition, and Reason that distinguish The Episcopal Church from other denominations. In my role as Vice-Chancellor, I have consistently sought to remove impediments to participation in our Church for all those who wish to serve in good faith. I have been the principal author of the resolution before the 2025 Colorado Diocesan Convention to clarify the opportunities for lay leaders to serve in fiduciary roles in more than one congregation, because I want to ensure that all communicants in good standing in The Episcopal Church know that their time, treasure and talents can be fully utilized in these times. One thing I have heard from some in the national church is a sentiment that The Episcopal Church will evolve into a ‘church on the coasts’ and that family-sized parishes in the central part of the country may fall by the wayside as they cannot sustain themselves. While I recognize the challenges faced by smaller parishes, I know from our healthy diocese that this purported evolution does not have to be the future of The Episcopal Church. Rather, our small and medium sized churches can play an outsized role in the moral and social fabric of their communities, both as Episcopalians and as part of ecumenical and other cross-spiritual movements. I hope to bring that spirit to the General Convention.