January 2026 Diocesan Convention: Looking Ahead

From his consecration forward, the Rt. Rev. Dr. Justin S. Holcomb has emphasized a central purpose for the Episcopal Diocese of Central Florida, expressed in one simple phrase: gospel, church, mission. Central Florida’s 57th annual Diocesan Convention, to be held at the DoubleTree by Hilton Orlando at SeaWorld on Jan. 23-24, 2026, will underscore this purpose through the theme of “Gathered. Nurtured. Sent.,” supported by this reminder from Scripture: “As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you” (John 20:21). Detailed information, including regular updates, can be found on the 2026 Convention information page at the brand-new diocesan website, but keep reading for highlights of this year’s event and upcoming deadlines. Please keep checking back as the latest information on amendments, resolutions, election nominees and more becomes available.

At both the Clergy Conference, held on Oct. 29-30 at the DoubleTree at SeaWorld, and at the second annual Parish Administrators Luncheon & Training, held Nov. 13 at St. Michael’s, Orlando, the diocesan staff introduced attendees to the new diocesan website, including the Convention page. Both clergy and administrators expressed their appreciation for the shared time together and for the attractive, uncluttered and easy-to-navigate site with its numerous links related to the Convention and other essentials. Watch the website navigation video here.

New Theme: Gathered. Nurtured. Sent.

“We are all about the gospel, the church, and the mission of the church to proclaim the gospel,” said Erik Guzman, diocesan director of communications. “So it’s a cycle, and we’ve followed that cycle with our Diocesan Conventions since the first one in Bishop Holcomb’s episcopacy [2024], in which he focused on the gospel.

“The verbs ‘gathered, nurtured, sent’ are the verbs that go with the nouns, ‘gospel, church, mission,’” he continued. “This is Jesus’ pattern in the Bible, which the bishop has clearly articulated: He gathers us with the good news of reconciliation in God in Christ; and then he nurtures us in the church with Word and sacrament, community and discipleship; and then he sends us out on mission with the very same message that gathered us – the gospel.

“So that’s the cycle of discipleship, and 2026 is our ‘mission’ year in that cycle,” Guzman explained. “We have come to its fullness with this year’s theme: Gathered. Nurtured. Sent.”

“By moving from gospel to church to mission, we never leave one totally behind,” he added. “We’re just adding to a wider focus. In the church, we are discipled with the message of the gospel, and then the mission is being sent out as a church with the message of the gospel. So all three are always active, but this year’s focus will be on mission.”

New Venue: DoubleTree SeaWorld

“I’m truly excited about how intentional the diocesan staff has been in gathering insight from previous Convention attendees and leveraging the information to make the January Convention even better,” said Ms. Adria Northern, executive assistant to Bishop Holcomb and the Rev. Canon Dr. Dan Smith. “When we say to clergy and laity, ‘We want to hear from you,’ we mean it. Feedback is one of the most effective tools we have for planning, and my hope is that by listening and implementing the suggestions we’ve received, this Convention will be the best yet as we move forward with our theme: ‘Gathered. Nurtured. Sent.’”

Last year’s Convention at Trinity Episcopal Church & School, Vero Beach, marked the first time Guzman provided communications support for a Diocesan Convention with educational sessions. “Trinity has a beautiful, well-equipped sanctuary and campus, and they were incredibly hospitable,” he said. “There was a lot of space, but it became clear that there were points at which we were still experiencing constraints. Diocesan leadership involved in organizing Conventions made the decision to look for a venue that would really support what we’re trying to do with both general and breakout sessions.”

That search resulted in the decision to hold the January 2026 Convention at DoubleTree SeaWorld in the hotel’s Palms Conference Center. “Here, we will have some beautiful spaces for both our general and breakout sessions and some wonderful meals,” Guzman said. “We tested this venue on a previous event, our 2025 Clergy Conference, and learned a lot from that. The staff there is incredibly accommodating, and the food is high quality, so it was a great experience. We’re looking forward to sharing that experience not just with our clergy, but also with the lay delegates and guests who come to our Convention.”

One area will see significant improvement at the DoubleTree. “Parking was a challenge in Vero, with off-site parking and shuttles,” Guzman said. “That’s not a concern at the DoubleTree, which has great parking.”

The General Sessions and breakouts will be offered on Friday, followed by the Eucharist and supplemented by a buffet lunch and dinner. Saturday will include the normal business of the Convention, including the bishop’s annual address, elections, voting on amendments and resolutions along with breakfast and lunch, again served buffet-style.

The change in venue also brings with it a fee of $125 per person, which, Guzman said, “covers the four meals, the parking and a small portion of the expenses.” The convenience and quality of on-site meals and parking more than make up for the cost, which applies whether delegates choose to attend Friday’s educational sessions or not, he explained. “It really is a two-day event, and we encourage everyone to attend both days.”

This fee is separate from the hotel stay, but the diocese has reserved a block of rooms at a discounted rate, available through Jan. 2, 2026. Click here to visit the DoubleTree site and book at the special rate, and please note that although staying on-site offers obvious convenience, delegates need not stay at the Convention hotel to attend either or both days of Convention.

Emphasis on Education: General and Breakout Sessions

“While the diocesan staff prepares for the Diocesan Convention throughout the year, the next two months are when our preparations are finalized,” said the Ven. Julie Altenbach, archdeacon. “We are excited about the theme, ‘Gathered. Nurtured. Sent.’ The General Session speakers as well as the speakers in the breakout sessions will offer insightful and encouraging ways for our churches to be agents of Christ in the world.”

This year’s Convention will again feature three general sessions, all focused on mission: “Placing The Episcopal Church in the American Religious Landscape” with Dr. Ryan Burge, political scientist and statistician, The Great Dechurching; “Demystifying Evangelism” with Mrs. Michelle Tepper, national director of denomination engagement, Alpha USA; and “Becoming a More Outward-Facing Church” with the Rev. Randy Pope, founding pastor, Perimeter Church, Johns Creek, Georgia, and president of Life on Life Ministries. More information on all educational sessions is available at this link.

“I think the general sessions are going to be just as well received as they were last year,” Guzman said. “The data we’re going to get from Dr. Ryan Burge in our first general session will shed light on who we are now as a church; it will be very specific to our stream of Christianity. And then for our second general session, we will have Mrs. Michelle Tepper, who works for Alpha, talking about demystifying evangelism – the ‘how’ of sharing the gospel. And then our third general session features the Rev. Randy Pope explaining how our churches can make disciples who are equipped to take the gospel to others, becoming more outward- rather than inward-facing.

“The breakout sessions also offer something for everyone,” he said. “I am really excited to have Bishop Ann Ritonia with us; Bishop Justin has wanted to offer some training focused on veterans for a while. We have lots of veterans in our diocese; Bishop Ritonia will talk about how to serve them and how to know what their needs are as we reach out to them with the gospel message of reconciliation. I know the other sessions will be just as amazing as hers. We planned these as a staff considering the real needs and desires of our churches as they seek to carry Christ’s message beyond their walls.”

Meredith McNabb, associate director of education for the Lake Institute on Faith and Giving at Indiana University’s Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, is offering a breakout session on fundraising. She is presenting at the invitation of Canon Sarah Caprani, chief of staff for the diocese, who heard McNabb at a Lilly Endowment gathering in March of this year. “She’s an amazing speaker,” Caprani said.

All breakout sessions will be held at 2:45 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 23, and all but two will be repeated at 4 p.m. that day (repeated sessions are designated with an *; the two unrepeated sessions are being held in rooms DoubleTree had already reserved for others’ use). Breakout sessions are as follows, with more information available by clicking on the link with the session title.

Mission Track

• *Honduras: Mission Possible, with the Rt. Rev. Lloyd Allen, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Honduras; and the Rev. Wes Dubic, chair of the Honduras Commission and priest assistant, St. James, Ormond Beach.
• *Beyond the Walls: Serving Those Who Serve, with the Rt. Rev. Ann Ritonia, bishop suffragan of Armed Forces and Federal Ministries, The Episcopal Church.
• * Exploring Global Partnerships: Partnering With Those Who Serve, with the Rev. Stephen and Mrs. Mary Dass, missionaries to homeless children and youth, Sao Paolo, Brazil; the Rev. Elliot Drake, associate rector, All Saints, Winter Park; the Rev. Loren and Mrs. Linda Fox, mission strategy consultants; and the Rev. Koko Wisdom, vice president of People Care at Pioneers, Orlando.
• Together, On Purpose: Coordinating Youth Ministry Across the Diocese, with the Revs. Garcia Barnswell-Schmidt, Kevin Bartle and Jared Jones, diocesan youth coordinators; and Mr. Joshua “J.J.” Joseph, executive director, Camp Wingmann.

Financial Track

• *Sustainability and Spirituality: Fundraising for the Church, with Ms. Merdith McNabb, associate director for educational programming, Lake Institute on Faith & Giving.
• Church Pension Group: Supporting Those Who Serve the Church, with Ms. Alina Martinez, CPG relationship manager; and Mr. Chipasha Kashoki, CPG director, relationship management.

“One of the constraints of the venue is the rooms available for breakout sessions, and we had to do some juggling there,” Guzman said. “I encourage churches to make it a point to focus on those educational sessions at registration. Take a look ahead of time at how the delegates and guests from your church can split up so you can bring as much information back as possible. If you really want to go to the Youth Ministry or Church Pension Group sessions, those won’t be repeated, so have someone from your group attend during the 2:45 block, and add other sessions in the 4:00 time slot.”

“We’re constantly evaluating the best experience for delegates alongside wise stewardship, and we want to strike that balance,” he added. “We’ll have evaluation forms available for delegates as we’ve done in the past, and we’ll have a post-event in-office evaluation to help us begin working through what the Convention experience should look like going forward.”

Convention Business; Changes in Voting

The business of the Convention, including elections, Bishop Holcomb’s annual address, adoption of the 2026 diocesan operating budget, voting on any submitted resolutions and amendments to the diocesan canons, and more will take place on Saturday, Jan. 24. Bishop Holcomb and the diocesan staff encourage people to consider election to various offices within their deanery and in the diocese. “We have great things happening in the diocese; that requires wisdom in governance and people who are committed and passionate about diocesan governance and leadership,” the bishop said.

Nominations should be submitted by a clergyperson or adult lay communicant of a parish or mission; both clergy and lay delegates may submit their own names as nominees. Visit this link for the nomination form.

The deadline for submitting amendments has passed; the deadline for submitting resolutions, using this form, is Dec. 11, 2025. Per the diocesan canons, any presented at the Convention must first be reviewed and approved by the Standing Committee.

The bishop, who was elected as a deputy to General Convention three times prior to his episcopacy, emphasized another important election to take place in January. “We will also elect our deputies and alternates to the 82nd General Convention of The Episcopal Church,” he said. “This will take place July 3-8, 2027, in Phoenix, Arizona, exemplifying our task as those who are gathered, nurtured and sent, taking an active part in the larger mission of the Church.”

Elections taking place in January are as follows; deadline for nominations is Jan. 16, 2026:

• Standing Committee: Clerical Order: one to be elected; Lay Order: one to be elected.
• Diocesan Board: Clerical Order, three-year term: one to be elected; Lay Order, three-year term, two to be elected; Lay Order, two-year term, one to be elected.
• Trustee, University of the South: Clerical Order, three-year term, one to be elected.
• 2027 General Convention: Clerical Order, four deputies and four alternates to be elected; Lay Order: four deputies and four alternates to be elected.

Still another change brought about by the shift in venue comes in the area of electronic voting. “While in many ways, the DoubleTree is an affordable solution for us, one issue that came up was one of fees – for WiFi in particular,” Guzman said. “We’ve been doing electronic voting – which requires a certain amount of bandwidth – at our Conventions since COVID. To accommodate 500-600 people voting at the DoubleTree was cost prohibitive; the WiFi alone would have cost tens of thousands of dollars.

“While that wasn’t a hurdle we anticipated, we were able to overcome it,” he continued. “Vistacom, the company that provides VPOLL, the platform we’ve used with our mobile devices for voting at Convention, also has voting devices that don’t require WiFi but use a radio frequency instead. We’ve chosen to use those devices this year. Clergy will get one set; the laity will get another set, which we will manage with distribution at check-in, retrieving the devices once voting is concluded.

“What this means is that we won’t have practice voting via Zoom prior to Convention as we have in years past,” Guzman said. However, also as in years past, he has a plan in place for introducing delegates to the electronic voting process.

“We will have sample devices available at pre-Convention deanery meetings, but we won’t be able to demonstrate actual voting,” he said. “The first time delegates will use the devices will be at Convention during the practice. Just as we’ve done in the past, there will be on-site training and a practice vote in advance of the actual voting, with time and student aides available for tech support and assistance.

“The devices are more expensive, of course, than people simply using their phones, but not as expensive as the WiFi fees we would have incurred,” Guzman explained. “Going forward, we’ll have to evaluate this and other aspects of using a venue like this as part of our decision-making process for our next Convention.”

Critical Deadlines

Both Altenbach and Guzman have some important reminders for church leaders, both clergy and lay, as the Convention approaches. “One very important way churches can help us as we continue to prepare for the Convention is to complete and submit the Certificate of Election of Lay Delegates,” Altenbach said. (Please visit the following links: Parish Certificate of Election of Lay Delegates, Mission Certificate of Election of Lay Delegates.)

“This form also includes spaces for names of alternates in case one of the delegates is unable to attend,” she said. “Filling out these forms with as many names as are allowed ensures that each church has full representation. In addition, once we receive those names, we are able to start communicating directly with those who will attend.”

Guzman added another key point. “We also encourage churches to submit the Certificates of Election of Lay Delegates before the Jan. 15 deadline if possible. Please include your list of alternates, and only complete one certificate per church or mission. Last year, we had churches submitting multiple certificates as names were added, which became confusing. If each church will do the preliminary work of identifying the delegates and the alternates, that will be incredibly helpful for our small staff.”

Find a complete list of deadlines for the January 2026 Diocesan Convention here.

Deanery Meetings

And Altenbach has an additional hint. “The second way churches, especially clergy, can assist us with ensuring a successful Convention is to encourage fellow clergy, delegates and alternates to attend the pre-Convention Deanery meetings,” she said. “These offer valuable information and allow participants to ask questions for clarity.”

Deanery meetings are listed below; please visit the associated links for more information:

• Northwest Deanery, Mon., Jan. 5, 2026, 6-8 p.m., St. James, Leesburg.
• Northeast Deanery, Tues., Jan. 6, 2026, 6-8 p.m., St. Mary’s, Daytona Beach.
• Central Deanery, Wed., Jan. 7, 2026, 7-9 p.m., Church of the Resurrection, Longwood.
• Southwest Deanery, Sat., Jan. 10, 2026, 4-6 p.m., St. Paul’s, Winter Haven.
• Southeast Deanery, Sun., Jan. 11, 2026, 4-6 p.m., Christ Church, Suntree-Viera.

Guzman also reminded churches to pay close attention to the deadline for room registration. “Our discounted block of rooms is only available until Jan. 2; that’s another constraint of the hotel: They want to know our room count by then. Since canonically, delegates don’t need to be identified or communicated to the diocese until 10 days before Convention, on Jan. 15, that can be a challenge.

“We encourage churches to go ahead and book their rooms before Jan. 2, even if you don’t know the exact names until later,” he said. “You know how many delegates your church can have. Even if you end up using alternates, you’ll need rooms for them.”

Final Thoughts

As they continue their preparation, Bishop Holcomb and his staff are united in their excitement about the Convention. “I’m looking forward to the 57th annual Diocesan Convention,” the bishop said. “We heard only good things after the Clergy Conference about the Doubletree SeaWorld, and we look forward to returning there in January. We hope everyone will be able to join us for both Friday and Saturday. The theme of this year’s Convention, ‘Gathered. Nurtured. Sent,’ with the emphasis on ‘Sent,’ speaks to how God gathers us with his gospel; nurtures us with Word, sacrament and community; and sends us out to the world.”

Altenbach agrees. “Our Diocesan Convention represents the best of how we are God’s one, holy, catholic and apostolic church,” she said.

Northern summed up the heart of the bishop and his staff as the January 2026 Convention approaches. “My prayer is that every person who attends will experience meaningful worship, feel connected and leave encouraged, educated and equipped for mission work – knowing that they are loved and cared for by one another, our staff and our special guests,” she said. “The January Convention will offer an all-inclusive experience, with educational sessions, Convention business, worship, meals and lodging all in one location: the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Orlando at SeaWorld. It’s a wonderful opportunity to combine our diocesan hospitality with the team at the DoubleTree and serve the members of the diocese in this way.”