June 23, 2024
Dear People of God in the Diocese of Southern Ohio:
I am writing to share with you some news about two upcoming changes to my senior staff, and to ask for your prayers, for them and for the diocese, as we navigate this time of transition.
First, I am grateful to share that the Rev. Canon Jason Oden, who has served our diocese as canon for formation and new Episcopal communities since October 2021, has been called as rector of Indian Hill Church, Cincinnati, the Episcopal-Presbyterian congregation in our diocese. He will take up that ministry on September 1, and his last day on our diocesan staff will be July 31.
During his time on the bishop’s staff, Jason has helped establish and revitalize a number of parish-based, campus-based and missional ministries and served as a key part of the interim leadership team at Procter Center. He has also strengthened the work and witness of many other diocesan ministries, including our dismantling racism training program, the Faith in Life Committee’s expansion, and our relationship with Bethany School. I am grateful for his service and pleased that his call to return to parish ministry will keep him in our diocese.
Jason’s transition to ministry with the people of Indian Hill provides us an opportunity to assess the position he has held, and so as part of our ongoing visioning process, we will determine how best to focus this ministry in the future. Look for more news coming in the fall.
Second, I want to let you know that I will be reconfiguring our lead position on the finance team in order to establish a canon position that will oversee both diocesan operations and finance. This means that, with thanks, we will bid farewell to Chief Financial Officer Christine Perme on July 11. Christine has served our diocese ably and faithfully since 2021, first as comptroller and then as chief financial officer, and has helped ensure financial consistency and appropriate controls through the transitions of the last several years. I am grateful for her service in this time of change, and I hope you will join me in wishing her all the best in her future endeavors.
In the next several months, we will develop a job description for this new operations and finance canon and search for the right candidate to fill it. Between now and then, we are planning for interim leadership in the finance office. I will update you later this summer about our progress.
Our diocese’s deputies and I are at the Episcopal Church’s General Convention in Louisville, Kentucky, this week along with many other diocesan friends who are taking advantage of our proximity to visit or volunteer. I look forward to seeing you if you plan to come to convention, and we will keep you informed about our work, including the election of the 28th Presiding Bishop on Wednesday. In the meantime, please pray for us as we do the ministry of governance, for Jason and Christine as they embark on their vocational transitions, and for everyone here and at home who is discerning how our church can best participate in God’s mission in the years to come.
In Christ,
