“In Service: The Role of Deacons in Global Mission” is focus of Mission Thursday on Sept. 11

In Service: The Role of Deacons in Global Mission is the theme of the first Mission Thursday of the fall, to be held online at 1pm on Sept. 11.  Sponsored by the Global Episcopal Mission Network, this webinar will feature a number of Episcopal deacons sharing how their role as deacons and their experiences in global mission came together in Holy Spirit moments.

Register for this Zoom webinar here at Eventbrite.  The event is free and open to the public.  It is the first Mission Thursday to focus on the role of deacons.

Deacons play a vital role in global mission by:

• Serving as bridges between the church and the world,
• Proclaiming the Gospel in word and action,
• Responding to human need, and
• Promoting a “do with” rather than a “do for” approach to global engagement.

Diakonia, the Greek word for service, reaches out to all persons created in God’s image, and to all of God’s creation.

The webinar will be anchored by two deacons who are members of GEMN’s Board of Directors:

• The Rev. Canon Robin Newman is deacon at St. Francis Episcopal Church, Great Falls, Virginia, and GEMN’s vice president.  Nancy’s congregation has a long-term relationship with the Diocese of Ezo in South Sudan and Diocese of Salisbury’s Sherborne Deanery Ezo Link Team.  She was active in the relationships between her previous parishes and the Diocese of Liberia and the Diocese of Central Tanganyika. She is a member of the Diocese of Virginia Global Mission Advocate team.  View Robin being interviewed in August about her diaconal ministry by New York Bishop Matt Heyd: link.  

• The Rev. Dr. Nancy D. Searby is deacon at St. Francis Episcopal Church, Great Falls, Virginia, and is GEMN’s vice president. Nancy’s congregation has a 26-year relationship with the Diocese of Ezo in South Sudan. She was active in the relationships her previous parish, St. Dunstan’s in McLean, has with the Diocese of Liberia and the Diocese of Central Tanganyika.

Others who will be sharing from their work in global mission are: 

Alma Cardona, postulant for the diaconate in the Diocese of Honduras, is one of two Global Mission Advocates for the diocese. She is principal of Epiphany Episcopal School in Villanueva, Cortés, where, after teaching for 25 years, she felt the desire to help her students see Jesus Christ through the love they can receive.

The Rev. Florian Jones-Stamm is deacon at St. Paul’s, Richmond in the Diocese of Virginia, where he helps connect the church with the needs and voices of the wider community. A native of Germany, he brings a global perspective shaped by his background in anthropology, law and theology. 

Patrick Kidd, a postulant for the diaconate in the Diocese of New York, is a
member of St. James’ Church, New York City, where for over 20 years he has been involved in global ministries. Patrick has chaired the Diocese of New York’s Global Mission Commission since 2019. 

The Reverend Judy Quick, a deacon in the Diocese of Alabama, has lived into her call to bridge the church and the world through a variety of ministries in the wider church, within the diocese, and in parishes she has served.  A former GEMN vice president, she is a board member of the American Friends of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem.

This year, two important diaconal gatherings touched on the role of deacons as icons for service in the world:  Nancy Searby attended the triennial conference of the Association for Episcopal Deacons, held in San Antonio in June.  It focused on the theme of “Ignite Change” and highlighted deacons’ call to interpret the needs of the world to the church and to encourage the church to challenge injustice.

In July, Robin Newman attended the 2025 Diakonia World Federation Assembly in Moshi, Tanzania, which focused on “Dancing the Faith – Drumming the Hope.”  She led a workshop on “Holy Ground, Global Companions: The Deacon’s Dance of Service.”  The Diakonia World Federation offers an international and ecumenical community of diaconal friendship, connecting deacons in diversity and commonality.  It reminds the church of God’s call to service, justice, compassion, and peace for creation, and assists deacons in living out their ministries in the world with vision and hope.  Held every four years, this was the first federation assembly held in Africa.

Come and see how deacons and global companions learn from one another, and hear insights and stories from recent gathering