We give thanks for the ordination of Steven Byrd to the vocational diaconate at Redeemer Anglican Church, Richmond, VA on November 12, 2022.

We thank God for the ordination of Michael Koppola to the priesthood on Saturday, October 9, Church of the Ascension, Kearneysville, WV.

“Although I couldn’t understand everything she said, I never doubted her love for me and my sister. Her broken English and my poor Spanish was no barrier for her love.”

We thank God for the ordination of Sallie Rathbone to the priesthood on Saturday, October 1, Immanuel Anglican Church, Woodbridge, VA.

On Sept. 13, Clergy from around the Diocese gathered at Truro Anglican Church, Fairfax, VA, to pray together, learn together, and enjoy time together with Bishop John at his last clergy day before retirement.

We thank God for the ordination of Daniel Lee Hindman II to the priesthood on Sunday, September 11, Redeemer Anglican Church, Richmond, VA.

We thank God for the ordination of Tuck Bartholomew to the priesthood and Robert Cunningham to the transitional diaconate on Sunday, August 14, Church of the Good Shepherd, Charlottesville, VA.

St. Thomas Anglican Church, Gainesville, VA, is hosting a preaching course called Equipped to Preach the Word, in partnership with the Evangelical Fellowship in the Anglican Communion.

The Rev. Peter Frank, Rector of Church of the Epiphany in Chantilly, VA, offered the invocation at the Memorial Day parade in downtown DC.

On May 2-4, clergy and spouses from the Diocese enjoyed a retreat at the Virginia Crossings Hotel and Conference Center north of Richmond, VA.

On April 29, Don Kroah interviewed the Rev. Clancy Nixon, Rector of Church of the Holy Spirit in Leesburg, VA.

While travel has been restricted over the past two years, Pastor to Pastor calls provided a means for SOMA to continue its ministry during the pandemic. This February, Bishop Guernsey participated in a Pastor to Paster call and shared valuable wisdom gained from his years in global ministry and mission.

The service was a poignant reminder of the diaconal calling that undergirds all ordained ministry. Several friends attending the ordination commented on part of the Bishop’s exhortation, “…you are to interpret to the church the needs, concerns and hopes of the world.”

We thank God for the ordination to the transitional diaconate of Michael Koppola at Church of the Ascension, Kearneysville, WV on March 6, 2022.

We thank God for the ordination of the Rev. Rudolph Tucker Bartholomew III and Daniel Lee Halderman II into the transitional diaconate at Redeemer Anglican Church, Richmond, VA on Feb 11, 2022.

A call to leadership and perhaps ordination is not the work of a few; it is the work of the whole church. First, by praying that God would raise up servant-leaders for His Church. But also, by speaking words of encouragement to those in whom we recognize—albeit in nascent form—gifts of teaching, pastoring, and leadership.

On December 19, 2021, the Rt. Rev. John A. M. Guernsey instituted Darryl Fitzwater as Rector of Church of the Ascension, Kearneysville, WV.

We thank God for the ordination of the Rev. Amy Rowe to the priesthood on December 26, 2021 at Incarnation Anglican Church, Arlington, VA.

On Friday, Nov. 19, the Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic’s postulants gathered with Bishop John and members of the Examining Chaplains at The Falls Church Anglican for a half-day practicum aimed at developing their skills as leaders of Anglican worship.

If church attendance is so good for us physically and spiritually, why is it so hard for us sometimes (even without a pandemic)? Well, both Christian and secular culture have been on a decades long quest for the benefits of church without the commitments that go with it.