Loading...Debbi Rodahaffer, director of Christian education at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church, Louisville, and a member of the Diocese of Kentucky’s Department of Christian Formation, was elected board president of the National Association for Episcopal Christian Educators (NAECED) during their annual conference Jan. 22-24 at Vallombrosa Retreat Center in Menlo Park, Calif.
In a statement read by the Rev. Canon Lucinda R. Laird, St. Matthew’s rector, to parishioners during the parish’s annual meeting, Rodahaffer credited her election to this position, where her primary roles will be listener and nurturer, in part because her ministry at St. Matthew’s, which has has been nurtured and lifted up by so many in her parish and in the diocese.
On Saturday, January 23rd, during the NAECED annual meeting, Vicki Garvey, Canon for Christian Formation in the Diocese of Chicago, and Lisa Kimball, Ph.D., director of the Center for Ministry and Teaching and a professor at the Virginia Theological Seminary, were elected to the board of directors. Deborah Rodahaffer was re-elected to the board. They will serve four year terms.
Nominees for board offices - Rodahaffer, president; Jenifer Gamber, Diocese of Bethlehem PA, vice-president; the Rev. Lisa Flores, Diocese of Michigan, secretary; and Laurie Bailey, Diocese of Louisiana, treasurer - were elected by acclamation.
Members rotating off the board are the Rev. Dr. Howard Anderson, Diocese of Los Angeles, and immediate past president, Kate Gillooly, Diocese of Ohio.
The national association of Christian educators is the largest professional organization in The Episcopal Church. It held its first conference 13 years ago in San Antonio, Texas, after a small group of forward-thinking Episcopal educators saw the need by parish educators for resources, guidance and support from others who shared their day-to-day responsibilities for parish education/formation for children, youth and adults.
Today the organization has grown to more than 300 members. They include lay and ordained, salaried and volunteer educators who work in Episcopal parishes, dioceses, resource centers, The Episcopal Church center, and seminaries, and they also includes members of other denominations.
The organization's listserv has come to be known as one of the best resources for educators in the Episcopal Church. Its Tapestry Conference, a year in the making, complete with workshops, guest speakers and opportunities for wellness, is held each year in a different part of the country.
The 2010 Tapestry Conference was opened by the Rev. Dr. Sue Singer, assistant professor of ministry development and director of the Doctor of Ministry Program at the Church Divinity School of the Pacific, and the Rt. Rev. Marc Andrus, bishop of the Diocese of California. The Rev. Donald Schell, president of All Saints Company and co-founder of St. Gregory of Nyssa, gave a participatory presentation on “Paperless Music." He was one of sixteen excellent presenters. Trinity Parish, Menlo Park, hosted an open house and presentations during Friday’s registration. Radical hospitality was shown by Trinity and the Episcopal Diocese of California.
NAECED will hold its 2011 Tapestry Conference, next Feb. 3-5, at St. Peter’s Church in Charlotte, N.C. For more information or to join the organization go to www.naeced.org.
