October 6, 2026
Dear Clergy, Wardens, Treasurers, and Delegates in the Diocese of Olympia,
When we began planning for Convention earlier this summer, we developed an updated fee schedule for delegates and other Convention participants. We recognize now that we did so without fully explaining our rationale for the change. In doing so, we caught some of you off guard. We are sorry about that. We’re working on communications overall at the Office of the Bishop, which includes developing a more robust plan on both communicating appropriately and being in communication with you all. In that spirit, we want now to provide you with additional information about our rationale for the new fee structure.
Since we last gathered in 2024 as a whole body, costs for meeting in person have risen significantly. In 2025, we held a regional hybrid convention which helped us significantly lower the cost to participants and to the diocese as a whole. However, even with the hybrid model last year, we had always planned on gathering in person this year as one body together in one place.
In the past when we’ve met in person, our Diocese has allowed delegates to opt out of Convention-provided meals as a way of keeping down fees for participants. However, we’ve since discovered that in doing that, we did not, in fact, lower the total cost of Convention, due to contractually obligated food minimums we’ve been required to pay.
We’ve also begun asking our neighboring Dioceses in Province VIII what they charge for convention. Fees for similar two day gatherings have run from $96 to $300 per person, including when those meetings have taken place in their own Cathedrals or other diocesan owned spaces. By comparison, the fee charged to participants at our last fully in-person Convention in 2024 was $40 per person plus up to an additional $39 for lunches.
This year, as we reflected on our own rising costs, we realized we needed to increase our fees to help defray those higher costs. This also gave us the opportunity to simplify the fee structure. That’s why we made the decision to come up with a simple flat rate fee of $125 or $150, depending on whether you took advantage of “early bird” pricing. We also developed a Friday-only event pricing. Even with these simplified fees, the diocesan operating budget still covers most of the cost of Convention, and for 2026, approximately 68%, or $102,000, are borne by that budget.
As you prepare budgets for next year, please know that registration fees for 2027 will remain the same as this year: $125 for the early bird registration through early September, and $150 if you miss that deadline. Also, know that while we already have a signed contract in place for next year with the Tacoma Convention Center, we are exploring different ways of gathering for our Convention beginning in 2028.
Again, our apologies for the ways this has impacted your own planning. We look forward to gathering with you in a couple of weeks as we are reminded of the ways we encounter the love of Christ so we can become those who embody hope for our world.
Faithfully,
Cristi+
The Rev. Canon Cristi Chapman
Canon to the Ordinary