What does the House of Deputies look like?

Earlier I posted some pictures of the House of Bishops. Here are a few shots of the House of Deputies. For those of you who don't follow these things too closely, the deputies are clergy and lay people, elected from each diocese. Each diocese in the Episcopal Church gets to send four clergy and four lay people. It's also typical to send some alternates.

The Very Rev'd George Werner (seated in the center) is the outgoing president of the House of Deputies. He often presides, though he can delegate that task to someone else -- often the President-elect (currently the Vice President), Bonnie Anderson.












Here's another shot of Werner. Those three stripes mean that he has a doctorate. I'm not entirely sure why the president wears academic regalia; I'll try to get to the bottom of that. The big book in front of him is NOT a phone book in case the deputies get hungry and need to order pizza. Rather, it is a Bible to remind people of the importance of the Word of God in their deliberations. I'll also try to find out to which passage the book is opened.















The Rev'd Jennifer Phillips, one of our clergy deputies rose to make a point during debate on a measure concerning liturgy. I believe she was urging the immediate observance of the Chaplains of Dorchester -- even before it is formally approved for our calendar -- for places who might find that helpful.



















This is what the deputies see as they look to the front. The podium is flanked by two large televsion monitors that focus on what's happening. If you look carefully, you'll see Jennifer Phillips (previous photo) speaking. As I wrote elsewhere, the flags behind the presiders chair represent all the countries of the Episcopal Church (not the Anglican Communion, just the Episcopal Church).













There are pages (all volunteers) who assist the deputies in their work. Usually they bring messages to/from deputies or deliver ballots, etc. In this photo, I believe Dee (from RI, and writer on this blog) is delivering caffeine to the RI deputation. This is not a luxury. Given the sometimes tedious nature of the legislative process, coffee might qualify as a requirement.