Self-proclaimed ‘church geek’ Julia Ayala Harris elected House of Deputies president
House of Deputies President-elect Julia Ayala Harris address the house as the Rev. Gay Clark Jennings, the outgoing president, listens. Photo: Scott Gunn
[Episcopal News Service – Baltimore, Maryland] The House of Deputies elected Julia Ayala Harris, lay deputy from Oklahoma, as its new president during its morning session on July 9 at the 80th General Convention.
Ayala Harris, elected on the third ballot, will succeed the Rev. Gay Clark Jennings, who is finishing up her third and final term. After the vote, Jennings invited Ayala Harris to come to the front of the convention hall and address the House of Deputies. She was joined there by the rest of the Oklahoma delegation.
“I am unbelievably honored to be able to follow President Jennings,” Ayala Harris said. She thanked the deputies for electing her while describing herself as a “church geek.”
Read the complete story by Mary Frances Schjonberg and David Paulsen of the Episcopal News Service.
Tags: News / General Convention