In his first weekday on the job, November 4, Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe announced three departures from his staff and three new appointments. All six transitions involve people in positions of central importance to the church’s work.
The departing staff members include:
- The Rev. Canon Ann Hallisey, canon to the presiding bishop for ministry within the Episcopal Church. Hallisey assumed this role following the election of former canon Mark Stevenson as Bishop of Virginia.
- The Rt. Rev. Todd Ousley, Bishop for Pastoral Development, whose duties once included overseeing the steps of Title IV charges, but that work is now done by the Rev. Barbara Kempf. The Office of Pastoral Development also coordinates and assists with diocesan searches for new bishops. Ousley, and former Presiding Bishop Michael Curry, are the subjects of Title IV charges regarding their handling of disciplinary matters. The latest update about the case was on March 14, when an investigation began.
- The Rev. Canon Stephanie Spellers, canon to the presiding bishop for evangelism, reconciliation, and creation care, will conclude her ministry on November 30. Bishop Rowe wrote that Spellers “has resigned from this role in order to devote time to research on a new book and a period of discernment and reflection.”
New staff members include:
- Vanessa Butler, executive coordinator to the presiding bishop, who is based in Washington, D.C. Butler served with Rowe in his ministry in the Dioceses of Northwestern Pennsylvania and Western New York as executive assistant and canon for administration.
- The Rev. Lester V. Mackenzie, Associate of the Holy Cross, chief of mission program, who is based in Los Angeles. Rowe described his work: “In this new role, he will support bishops and dioceses, diocesan networks, and church organizations by strategizing, coordinating, and building capacity for ministries of racial reconciliation, creation care, formation, and evangelism, and other key mission priorities. Lester will also use his gifts and experience at bridge building and reconciliation to support bishops and diocesan leaders in times of strategic change and conflict.” MacKenzie is a native of South Africa, whose grandfather, the Rt. Rev. Edward Mackenzie, was a suffragan bishop to Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
- Rebecca Wilson, chief of strategy, is based in Akron, Ohio. “Rebecca Wilson, whom you may know from her work as a partner at Canticle Communications, joined our staff on Friday as chief of strategy,” Rowe wrote. “In this new role, she will support me in developing and implementing mission strategy and our structural realignment; coordinating governance ministry; and supporting dioceses experiencing crises and discerning new models for ministry. She will also coordinate staff alignment with mission strategy.”
“At the investiture on Saturday, I said that the days are over, if they ever existed, that our dioceses could go it on their own without acknowledging our mutual interdependence and our need to do ministry together,” Rowe wrote in concluding his message. “All of the church center restructuring and realignment now underway is in the service of becoming one church that is even more committed to supporting the participation of our dioceses and congregations in God’s mission.”
