Elizabeth Wagner-Weber

Nominee for Lay Deputy to the 81st General Convention

Please describe your participation in the life of your congregation, the diocese, and the larger community.

I have been an active member of the church since I was five years old when I was first trained as a Lay Reader. Since then I have also served as Eucharistic Minister, Acolyte, Acolyte Director, Sunday School teacher, Altar Guild member, and general volunteer. In High School I was lucky enough to be chosen as Youth Delegate to Diocesan Convention, where I personally saw how the people control the actions of the Diocese through polite debate. My parish has also sent me as a voting delegate for the past several years, with veteran delegates my first two years guiding me and newer delegates in the years since learning from me. During 2020-2021 I served on my parish’s Search Committee for our Priest in Charge, and I am currently in my second year of a three-year term on the Vestry.

Why do you feel God is calling you to serve in this position?

I am fascinated every year at Diocesan Convention by watching the debates and arguments made when Resolutions are considered. At this point I recognize many faces, and I can see how the makeup of each parish changes yearly, and how that in turn affects the decisions made by the Diocese. I also see how few people there are every year who are my age, and how each year sees fewer and less interested Youth Delegates. I believe I am called to go further than the DSO’s convention partially because we need the diversity of opinion of our younger parishioners, and partially to learn how each Diocese affects the Episcopal Church as a whole. I don’t just bring with me the opinions of my fellow parishioners, but the opinions of a wide-variety of friends who see the Church differently; with these, I bring the diversity the Church needs to grow and sustain itself. I am also blessed with a supportive partner and with the financial stability to go to General Convention.