The Diocese of Georgia reports:
Bishop Scott Anson Benhase has appointed the Rev. Yvette Owens as the Diocese of Georgia’s Archdeacon. Owens is the first African-American woman named as Archdeacon, the second woman—and only the second Archdeacon in the Diocese. The first Archdeacon, the Rev. Dr. Saundra Turner, will retire on April 4, 2019.
Owens’ journey to the diaconate began 20 years ago when Wanda Todd, a parishioner at Christ the King, Valdosta, invited her to church. Eight years after she attended that first service Owens was ordained at Christ the King. “I felt the call to serve God, but I had never heard about deacons,” she said. She then spoke with the Rector, the Rev. Stan White, and found out about the role of deacons in the church and the life of servanthood.
“I realized that I had been on a journey of servanthood my whole life,” she continued. “My mom was a military wife and modeled that life and when I had my children, by volunteering at school and the Scouts, I was modeling servanthood, too.”
Owens said that from April 4th on, “my servanthood will be about serving my fellow deacons and equipping them to bring more deacons to the diocese.” She said that the life of Saint Anna Alexander, Deaconess, has inspired her—and shown that she has a whole lot more to do.
