The Annual Meeting of the Global Episcopal Mission Network will be held at 1 p.m. on Thursday, May 4, during the Global Mission Conference at St. Mark’s Church in Tampa, Florida.
All conference attendees are invited and encouraged to attend. GEMN members will vote on such matters as the Bylaws and elections.
A major agenda item will be action on the proposed revision of GEMN’s Bylaws, which govern the internal life of the network. Minor changes in the Bylaws have been made over the years, but the current revision makes the entire document internally consistent. The proposed revision includes the GEMN’s current purpose statement and core values and brings the Bylaws into congruence with current practices such as online meetings. The revision is available here, with all significant changes noted in footnotes. Bylaws Team chair Dr. Martha Alexander will present the proposed revision.
Since GEMN has now been able to establish an endowment, thanks to the generous bequest from Ohio mission activist the late Rev. Beth Frank, this year’s meeting will feature for the first time an endowment report, presented by Endowment Committee chair the Rev. David Kendall-Sperry.
Two members rotating off the Board of Directors will be recognized. Dr. Martha Alexander of the Diocese of North Carolina is retiring after serving two terms during which she has chaired the Bylaws revision and the Finance Team, and she will continue to serve on the Mission Formation Team. The Rev. Maurice Dyer, representing the Diocese of Pennsylvania, emceed the Global Mission Conferences held online in 2021 and 2022 and convened the Board’s staffing taskforce. He is now engaged in military chaplaincy.
A slate of nominees for Board positions will be presented:
The Rev. Canon Walter Brownridge (left, above), canon to the ordinary for cultural transformation in the Diocese of Vermont, is nominated for an initial 3-year term. Walter served as a DFMS missionary at St. George’s Cathedral in Cape Town, South Africa, where he became a friend of Desmond Tutu. Since then he has served as dean of students at the School of Theology, Sewanee, and dean of the cathedral in Honolulu. He is a member of the Standing Commission on World Mission. More details about Walter are here.
Ms. Molly O’Brien (center, above), current vice president of the GEMN Board, is standing for reelection to a second 3-year term. Molly completed the Mission Formation Program and is a member of the Global Commission of the Diocese of Pennsylvania, where she is a member of Christ Church, Ithan, and St. Martin’s Church, Radnor. She has experience with Cristosol and was administrative coordinator at Virginia Seminary’s Center for Anglican Communion Studies. Molly is an academic adviser at Eastern University’s College of Business and Leadership. More details about Molly are here.
The Rev. Canon Dr. Helen Van Koevering (right, above) from the Diocese of Lexington was appointed by the Board after the 2022 Annual Meeting and now stands for election to the two years remaining in that initial term. Helen brings 28 years of fulltime mission experience in southern Africa, 26 of them in Mozambique and two in Zimbabwe. She is rector of St. Raphael’s Church in Lexington. See here for more on Helen’s background.
A nominee for the remaining vacancy is TBD.
Reports will be presented by president Ms. Ayda Patricia Martin of the Dominican Republic; executive director the Rev. Canon Dr. Titus Presler of the Diocese of Vermont and Bridges to Pakistan; and treasurer Mr. Bill Kunkle of the Diocese of Southwest Florida. Minutes of the 2022 Annual Meeting are accessible here and will be presented by secretary the Rev. Dr. Grace Burton-Edwards,
Here’s the meeting agenda:
Welcome
Prayer
Minutes of 2022 Annual Meeting: Rev. Dr. Grace Burton-Edwards
President’s Report: Ms. Ayda Patricia Martin
Executive Director’s Report: Rev. Dr. Titus Presler
Finance Report: Mr. Bill Kunkle, GEMN Treasurer
Endowment Report: Rev. David Kendall-Sperry
Presentation & Ratification of Revised Bylaws: Dr. Martha Alexander
Recognition of Retiring Board Members
Dr. Martha Alexander and the Rev. Maurice Dyer
Election of GEMN Board Members: Slate so far –
Rev. Canon Dr. Helen Van Koevering, Diocese of Lexington
Rev. Canon Walter Brownridge, Diocese of Vermont &
Standing Commission on World Mission
Ms. Molly O’Brien, Diocese of Pennsylvania
2024 Global Mission Conference
Other Business
Adjournment