The Diocesan Staff – Partnering in Ministry

The Diocesan Staff – Partnering in Ministry During 2016, Bishop Seage has been hard at work across the diocese: confirming, receiving, Baptizing, and ordaining. He has overseen the calling process of new postulants, who will become our future clergy. He supported and counseled your clergy and churches. And he has represented the Episcopal Church in Mississippi across the nation and world in Episcopal, Anglican, and ecumenical matters. David Johnson, our Canon to the Ordinary has worked hard to support churches in transition, safeguarding, training, and mutual ministry reviews. He has traveled regularly to churches throughout the diocese to support them in times of transition or difficulty and has served as supply clergy throughout the diocese, while at the same time preparing for his successor as he looks forward to retirement in 2017. Brian Ponder has hit the ground running as our Canon for Finance and Administration. It is hard to imagine the depth and breadth of knowledge he has had to study up on in the past year. He supports churches and our diocesan ministries in financial and insurance matters both routine and extraordinary. He keeps our Executive Committee and Trustees organized and working hard for you. And he provides pastoral care and serves as supply to churches throughout the diocese. As your Director of Development and Planned Giving, Gates Elliott has been assisting numerous churches in the diocese in matters of stewardship: helping you to redesign and improve annual giving campaigns and providing guidance and assistance in setting up planned giving programs at your churches. He has been building relationships across the diocese to encourage support for ministry in our churches. He, too, has supplied regularly throughout the diocese and loves to visit with our churches to see how we might better support you. In the office, Peggy Jones, the Assistant to the Bishop, is kept working very hard supporting his ministry across the diocese. She also supports our churches in matters of insurance enrollment and our scholarship funds. She is also vital to the preparations for our diocesan events, like Council and Clergy Conference, among others. Liley Gilbert, our Bookkeeper, is the principal day-to-day accountant for the diocese. She manages payroll, expense reimbursement, accounts receivable, and scholarship payments. Suzanne Phillips Smith, the Assistant to the Canons, doesn’t just answer the phone, she also keeps the office organized. Suzanne is our communications leader, keeping us updated online and in social media. She conducts background checks, along with Father Johnson. Like, Peggy, our diocesan events could not happen without her management of registration and logistics.