Meet the Deputies

Colorado's General Convention Deputies

LAY DEPUTIES AND ALTERNATES:

Legislative Committee Assignments are listed below their names.

  Mr. Lawrence (Larry) R. Hitt II, Esq. 

                        Member, 04-Constitution

Larry is a member of Good Shepherd Episcopal Church in Centennial, and has served as the Chancellor for The Diocese of Colorado since 1990. He is also an adjunct professor at the Iliff School of Theology, where he teaches in the Anglican Studies program. He has served for more than ten years as National President of the Episcopal Chancellors Network. He is a Trustee of The Episcopal Church Archives and a US representative to two Anglican Communion networks: Legal Advisors and Safe Churches. This will be his 7th General Convention. He is one of only a handful of US members of the Ecclesiastical Law Society (UK) and a member of the editorial board of The Journal of Episcopal Canon Law. He also served 14 years as an officer and director on the National Board of Big Brothers/Big Sisters of America. “My prayer life will continue to be the primary foundation for my service to the church,” he says.

Ms. L. Zoe Cole, Esq. 

                        Secretary, 05-Canons

Zoe is a member of St. Luke’s in Denver, where she is a Godly Play storyteller and an Education for Ministry (EFM) mentor, among other roles. She is an attorney, a part-time judge and is working towards  her PhD in theology, specifically studying the intersection of law and ethics.  “As I listen to the needs and concerns of my sisters and brothers in Christ in the diocese and in the Church, it is clear that discipleship has never been more important to our continuing ability to proclaim the Good News with confidence and to serve those in need, locally and globally,” she says.|

Ms. Lelanda S.Lee, Co-Chair 

                        Vice Chair, 18-Ecumenical Relations


Lelanda is a member of St. Stephen’s in Longmont, and, following a career in banking and finance, she has spent the last several years serving the church in a variety of roles. She conducts Anti-Racism trainings and is the Anti-Racism Network Coordinator for Province VI. She is also the lay representative from Province VI to the Executive Council, and the secretary of the Diocesan Standing Committee. “I believe that a vibrant, well-formed and informed laity is critical to the new life that is before The Episcopal Church,” she says. “As Christians, we know the Good News of God in Christ, and I believe that equipping and encouraging the laity to tell our stories of our experiences of the Good News can transform our communities and grow the Body of Christ.”

Mr. JackFinlaw, Esq.

                        Member, 12-Ministry

Jack Finlaw is a long-time member of St. John’s Cathedral in Denver. He is the chief legal counsel to Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper. He also serves on several community boards, including Opera Colorado. “The Episcopal Church has a particular charism to share with those who are seeking an enlightened understanding of the religious life and who crave an experience of the sacred in a community that understands God through scripture, tradition and reason,” he says.

Ms. Erica Hein,      Lay Alternate
 
Erica works as a customer service supervisor for Southwest Airlines.  She is a lifelong Episcopalian, and she has attended several General Conventions, including serving as an alternate in 2009. She is a graduate of Education for Ministry (EFM) and has served as a youth leader.  “I am always looking for ways, through worship, study, service and fellowship to build upon my faith,” she says. She is also eager to share her experience of General Convention with young adults like herself.

   

Ms. Janet Farmer    Lay Alternate  

                        Legislative Aide, 13-Prayer Book, Liturgy and Music

Janet moved to Crested Butte full time in 2010, and immediately began to build on her long involvement with The Episcopal Church. Before moving to Colorado, she served as a congregational consultant for the Diocese of Texas, and on the Episcopal Diocesan Ecumenical Officers national board there.  She went on to serve on the Standing Commission for Ecumenical and Interreligious Relations, and as part of the National Dialogue with the United Methodist Church.  Janet currently serves as vice president of the board of directors for the Colorado Episcopal Churchwomen, and as Bishop’s Warden for All Saints in the Mountains in Crested Butte.

CLERGY DEPUTIES AND ALTERNATE:

The Rev. Ruth Woodliff-Stanley                 

Ruth is the rector at St. Thomas in Denver, and serves as the regional missioner for the High Plains region of the diocese. She has served as a chaplain for two previous General Convention deputations. ” I have been drawn to the legislative process and have seen the strength of The Episcopal Church’s approach to decision-making and discernment,” she says of her call to be a deputy.



 

The Rev. BrooksKeith                                  

                        Member, 12-Evangelism

Brooks serves as the rector of Transfiguration in the Vail Valley, which comprises congregations who meet in three interfaith chapels from Vail Village, to Beaver Creek, to Edwards. “Finding a sustainable, flexible, affordable structure for The Episcopal Church in the twenty-first century is a particular passion of mine,” he says, and goes onto say that he is also interested in dynamic congregational development, youth ministry and world mission.

The Rev. AndrewCooley, Co-Chair                        

                        Member, 01-Dispatch of Business

Andrew is currently serving as an interim rector at St. Luke’s in Fort Collins. He attended his first General Convention as a youth observer in 1979, where he witnessed the current Book of Common Prayer being ratified. He is a senior deputy, which means that he has served as a deputy at more than six General Conventions. “My participation in General Convention puts me in touch with people with vastly different viewpoints and visions for the church than my own,” he says.  “As I learn how to work with them, I learn how to listen and respond better to others in this diocese that I might not otherwise be drawn to.”

The Rev. ChristyShain-Hendricks   

Christy serves as the rector of St. John’s in Breckenridge and as the regional missioner for the Northwest region.  She is also a congregational development consultant and a spiritual director. She served as a deputy to General Convention in 2009. She says, “While I believe ‘the issues’ facing us are important, what is more important to me is what has been revealed by our wrestling with them, namely, that we are struggling mightily to learn what it means to be the Body of Christ in our world.”

The Rev. MaxBailey  Clergy Alternate      
      
Max serves as rector at St. Stephen’s in Longmont, and he’s a Fellow in the American Association of Pastoral Counselors. He served as an alternate deputy to General Convention in 2009. “It seems to me that our work as a church is the transformation and conversion of people for the kingdom of God,” he says. “To that end, we must continually be open to transformation and give ourselves over to the spirit within each of us.”