[Episcopal News Service – Baltimore, Maryland] The House of Deputies on July 10, 2022, elected the Rev. Rachel Taber-Hamilton, Rector of Trinity in Everett, Washington, as its vice president. She is the first ordained woman, and only the third woman, to serve in this capacity since the role of deputies’ vice president was created in 1964.

I’m looking forward with such joy and such humble gratitude to being able to be in a position to support the work of the House of Deputies, to care for all of you, and assure that every voice may be brought to bear.

The Rev. Rachel Taber-Hamilton

Taber-Hamilton, who is Shackan First Nation, joins President-Elect Julie Ayala Harris, a Latina lay woman from the Diocese of Oklahoma, to be the first people of color serving together as leaders of the House of Deputies. Their elections mark the first time two women will lead the house.

Taber-Hamilton is an Indigenous priest in the Diocese of Olympia, and she succeeds the Hon. Byron Rushing, who has served since 2012. She The other candidate was the Rev. Edwin Johnson of Massachusetts.

After her election, Taber-Hamilton was joined on the platform by other Olympia deputies as she was greeted by the house with a standing ovation. [Our rector, the Rev. Jed Fox, is third from the right in the picture.]

She said, “I’m looking forward with such joy and such humble gratitude to being able to be in a position to support the work of the House of Deputies, to care for all of you, and assure that every voice may be brought to bear. I also have such a deep commitment to supporting our [newly-elected] President Julia [Ayala] Harris, and the continued development of our lay ministers in the church, who I believe will be a significant aspect of our adaptive future.”

— Melodie Woerman

The Rev. Rachel Taber-Hamilton

Raised in a multi-cultural and mixed-race heritage of First Nations (Shackan, British Columbia), Pennsylvania Dutch and Scots-Irish, Rachel Taber-Hamilton has had a life-long passion for cross-cultural communication, preservation of traditional life ways and folk traditions, social diversity and ethnic ministries. She has over 25 years of experience in working with the needs of diverse communities, providing leadership and consultation in recovery processes related to community and organizational trauma.

Rachel holds a BA in Theater Arts from SUNY Geneseo, an MA in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Alaska Fairbanks, an MDiv from Loyola University in Chicago. Her post-graduate work at Indiana University was in the area of Folklore Studies, specializing in the role of symbol systems and folk heroes within processes of transformational cultural change and adaptive community identity.

Ordained as a priest in 2004, Rachel has served throughout her tenure in the Diocese of Olympia on various diocesan councils and committees of the General Convention of The Episcopal Church. She is a committed advocate for social justice concerns and restorative justice in civic policy development. Rachel is currently Rector of Trinity Episcopal Church in Everett, WA, which serves as a hub congregation supporting advocacy work for refugees and immigrants in the Episcopal Diocese of Western Washington.

Text and pictures below the headline from the website of Trinity Episcopal Church in Everett, Washington.

What happens at General Convention?

The legislative process of General Convention is an expression of The Episcopal Church’s belief that, under God, the Church is ordered and governed by its people: laity, deacons, priests, and bishops.

The General Convention is the Church’s highest temporal authority. As such, it has the following power:

• Amend the Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Church
• Amend the Book of Common Prayer and to authorize other liturgical texts
• Adopt the budget for the Church
• Create covenants and official relationships with other branches of the Church
• Determine requirements for its clergy and other leaders
• Elect its officers, members of the Executive Council, and certain other groups
• Delegate responsibilities to the Interim Bodies of The Episcopal Church
• Carry out various other responsibilities and authority

Church of the Redeemer

Church of the Redeemer: Worshiping God, living in community, and reaching out to the world around us. We are an Episcopal Church serving north King County and south Snohomish County. We welcome you be with us as we walk the way of Jesus.

Church of the Redeemer is at 6210 Northeast 181st Street in Kenmore, Washington. We are a short distance north of Bothell Way, near the Burke-Gilman Trail. The entrance looks like a gravel driveway. The campus is larger on the inside than it is on the outside. And we managed to hide a large building on the side of a hill that is not easily seen from the street.

The Episcopal Church welcomes you.