The following information is from Dr. Bonnie Anderson, President of the House of Deputies of The Episcopal Church concerning General Convention 2009.

Dr. Bonnie Anderson, President of the 847 member House of Deputies, has announced the names of six distinguished individuals who will be her special guests at the 76th General Convention of the Episcopal Church to be held in Anaheim, California from July 7 though July 18 2009.

“I am pleased that these wonderful laity and clergy will be present with us at The General Convention,” Anderson said. “Active in their own Churches across the Anglican Communion, these guests bring a wealth of experience, wisdom and good will. I look forward to having them with us and know that they will be enthusiastically welcomed by our General Convention.”

To be recognized at a reception held in their honor on July 10, Dr. Anderson”s guests will attend legislative sessions in the House of Deputies, attend open hearings and participate in many other General Convention events.

The special guests of the President of the House of Deputies include:

– The Very Reverend Dr. Victor Atta-Baffoe , Dean of St Nicholas Seminary, Cape Coast, Ghana.

– The Reverend Luiz Alberto Barbosa, President of the House of Clergy and Laity of the Episcopal Anglican Church of Brazil

Canon Robert L. Falby, Prolocutor of the Anglican Church of Canada

– Dr. Esther Mombo, Academic Dean of St. Paul’s United Theological College, Limuru, Kenya

– The Very Reverend Rowan Smith, Dean of Cape Town at St. George’s Anglican Cathedral

– Dr. Jenny Te Paa, Principal of Te Rau Kahikatea, College of St. John the Evangelist, Auckland, New Zealand.

Episcopal Church

House of Deputies President Bonnie Anderson

General Convention

Biographical Information

The Very Reverend Dr. Victor Atta-Baffoe

Victor Atta-Baffoe is the Dean of St Nicholas Seminary, Cape Coast, Ghana. He is a member of the Inter-Anglican Doctrinal and Theological Commission, Chairman of the African Network of Institutions of Theological Education Preparing Anglicans for Ministry (ANITEPAM), and is a member of the Anglican Covenant Design Group.

Victor was educated at St Nicholas Seminary, Cape Coast, Ghana (LTh); Trinity College, University of Toronto, Canada (STL); Episcopal Divinity School, Cambridge, Massachusetts USA (MA); Yale University Divinity School, New Haven, Connecticut, USA (STM), King”s College London, University of London (PhD).

Luiz Alberto Barbosa

Rev. Luiz Alberto Barbosa currently serves as President of the House of Clergy and Laity of the Episcopal Anglican Church of Brazil, General Secretary of the National Council of Christian Churches of Brazil and is a practicing lawyer. In 1997 Rev. Barbosa helped found the Anglican Church in Goiânia, St. Philip Parish. He continued in his work in the church becoming a Lay-Reader of the Anglican Diocese of Brasilia, 1st Warden of the Mission Church of San Felipe in Goiânia , member of the Anglican Diocese of Brasília Standing Committee, and Delegate to the Provincial Synod of 2000. Rev. Barbosa lived in England and received pastoral training and studies sponsored by the United Society Propagation of the Gospel, was ordained a deacon in the Anglican Church and became Assistant-Minister of St. Philip Parish in Goiânia and was ordered presbyter of the Anglican Church in 2004.. He served as Executive Secretary of the Anglican Diocese of Brasilia for six years and Minister responsible for the Mission of Reconciliation in Anapolis – Goias during that same time. Rev. Barbosa holds a law degree and a Master of Science in Religion from the Catholic University of Goias.

Robert L. Falby, Q.C.,

Canon Robert Falby serves as Prolocutor of the Anglican Church of Canada. Mr. Falby has over 25 years of experience in virtually all forms of commercial litigation, ranging from contractual and tortious disputes, arbitrations, insurance matters, professional discipline, and real estate and employment related matters. He has represented clients involved in litigation in a wide range of industry sectors, including natural resources, insurance, financial institutions, school boards, and government agencies and utilities. Mr. Falby has appeared as counsel before the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, the Ontario Court of Appeal, the Federal Court of Canada and the Supreme Court of Canada. He has appeared before numerous Administrative Tribunals on behalf of clients including: the Ontario Municipal Board, the Ontario Securities Commission, and the Ontario Human Rights Commission.

Dr. Esther Mombo

Esther Mombo is Academic Dean of St. Paul’s United Theological College, Limuru, Kenya, where she also teaches church history and theologies from women’s perspectives. She served as a consultant at Lambeth 1998 and spoke at the Primates” meeting in Brazil. She is a member of the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians. Her writings have been on women’s issues, evangelism, HIV/AIDS, Christian-Muslim relations, and poverty in Africa and she is a contributor to Other Voices, Other Worlds (ed. Terry Brown). She initiated the first Masters Program in Christian Response to HIV/AIDS at St. Paul”s and has made significant contributions to developing women”s ecclesial leadership in Africa.

In the Anglican Communion she is a member of the Inter-Anglican Doctrinal and Theological Commission and most recently served on the Lambeth Commission, which produced the Windsor Report. She is a graduate of St. Paul’s, Limuru; Trinity College, Dublin; and Edinburgh University, Scotland.

The Very Reverend Rowan Smith

Rowan Smith is the Dean of Cape Town at St. George’s Anglican Cathedral. He has served as Trustee on the Desmond Tutu Educational Trust as well as the Peace Foundation. He is involved in advocacy for the gay and lesbian community and seeks to articulate the spirituality of this section of the community, as well as issues around HIV and AIDS, and abuse of women and children.

Rowan has served in parish ministry, as Chaplain at the University of Cape Town, and as Chaplain to Archbishop Desmond Tutu. He has also served as Provincial Executive officer for the Church of the Province of Southern Africa. Rowan read for the A.K.C. Diploma at King”s College, London, and then completed a course in Pastoralia at St Boniface College, Warminister, before returning to South Africa.

Dr. Jenny Te Paa

Jenny Te Paa is the Principal of Te Rau Kahikatea, College of St. John the Evangelist, Auckland, New Zealand. She is as a member of the World Council of Churches Commission on Ecumenical Theological Education and Ministry Formation; and a

Moderator of the Working Group responsible for funding faculty development and

Ecumenical Theological Educational projects on an international basis. In 2001 Jenny was appointed by the Archbishop of Canterbury to serve on the Inter-Anglican

Theological Doctrinal Commission for a seven-year term, and in 2003 she was appointed to serve on both the Commission on Theological Education for the Anglican Communion and on the Lambeth Commission. She also belongs to the International Anglican Indigenous Network and the International Anglican Women¹s Network. Jenny has written many articles for publication in various theological journals and secular publications throughout the world. She currently serves as one of the senior editors of Lifting Women”s Voices, a collection of prayers from women and girls across the world-wide Anglican Communion in support of the Millenniums Development Goals., Jenny”s education includes PhD (Berkeley), D.Div (honoris Causa) (Boston), MEd (Hons) (Auckland), BTheol (Auckland), Dip Soc. Serv (Hons).