Eight members of the Episcopal Church's House of Deputies are scheduled meet privately with Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams at General Convention in a session that is intended in part to address lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) issues in the church.

General Convention meets July 8-17 in Anaheim, California, and Williams will be present July 7-9.

The session is not an official convention meeting and thus there has been no announcement of the plans. However, when contacted by Episcopal News Service, the Rev. Canon Michael Barlowe of the Diocese of California confirmed the details.

Barlowe said that he and the other deputies understood the meeting was to be brief and private, but that it was not a secret.

"It's not a summit or constituted in an official way," he said. "We don't expect to issue a communiqué or anything like that."

. . . In addition to Barlowe, the deputies are:

• Louie Crew, Diocese of Newark;

• the Rev. Canon Lisa Gray, Diocese of Michigan;

• the Rev. Tobias Haller BSG, Diocese of New York;

• Joanne O'Donnell, Diocese of Los Angeles;

• the Rev. Altagracia Perez, Diocese of Los Angeles;

• Rebecca Snow, Diocese of Alaska; and

• Michael Spencer, Diocese of Eastern Michigan.

The Rev. Eric H. F. Law, known for his work in multicultural leadership training, has been helping the deputies prepare for their meeting, according to Barlowe, and Law may attend the session with Williams.