150th History & Storytelling Webinar
Thursday, September 4th from 7-8 pm on Zoom
This year, we celebrate 150 years of ministry as the Diocese of Southern Ohio — generations of disciples serving God and joining in the transformation of our communities. In anticipation of this major milestone, a task force of Southern Ohioans have been working together to gather our history and tell the stories of who we are and who we have been — in discipleship, in race relationships, women’s ministries, LGBTQ+ progress, and the industrial and economic changes that have affected our communities.
On September 4th at 7 pm, our 150th History & Storytelling Group will host a Zoom webinar for all Southern Ohio Episcopalians. Bishop White will host a panel discussion with diocesan leaders representing significant stories or affinities within our diocese:
- The Rev. Canon Jane Gerdsen, rector serving St. Barnabas, Montgomery, will represent women’s ordination and other changes in our diocese and church that strengthened women’s ministries.
- Robin Holland, chair of our Commission on Ministry and member of St. Philip, Columbus, will represent the resilient presence of our Historically Black congregations.
- Joshua Sherwood, member of the Diocesan Council and member of St. Peter’s, Gallipolis, will represent the legacy and continuing life of post-industrial river parishes in Appalachia.
- The Rev. Mike Smith, priest associate at St. Anne, West Chester, will represent the significant progress toward inclusion and leadership of LGBTQ+ Christians in our church and diocese.
- The Very Rev. Owen Thompson, dean of Christ Church Cathedral, will represent the Mother Churches which established Episcopal witness throughout our diocese through the founding of new parishes.
Short biographies of each of our panelists are available below.
Please join us as we remember, learn, and celebrate the complex legacy of the Diocese of Southern Ohio! RSVP to receive your Zoom link.
About our Host & Panelists
The Rt. Rev. Kristin Uffelman White was elected 10th Bishop of Southern Ohio on September 30, 2023 and ordained as bishop on February 17, 2024.
Bishop White served as canon to the ordinary for congregational development and leadership in the neighboring Diocese of Indianapolis from 2018 until her election as bishop diocesan in 2023. She is a lifelong Episcopalian who was born in Anchorage, Alaska and raised in Prineville, Oregon. She served Church of the Holy Spirit, Lake Forest and St. Augustine’s, Wilmette, both in the northern suburbs of Chicago, before joining the bishop’s staff in Indianapolis. She has been a trainer and director in the College for Congregational Development, a church-based leadership training program, and served in various diocesan roles during her time in the Diocese of Chicago.
She is passionate about leading and developing mission-driven communities of faith.
The Rev. Canon Jane Gerdsen serves as rector of St. Barnabas Montgomery. She is an honorary canon of Christ Church Cathedral. Previously, she spent ten years serving the Diocese of Southern Ohio as canon for ministry development and as missioner for fresh expressions, working to encourage new forms of Christian community. She has also served as a priest in a variety of other churches and communities in Southern Ohio including Christ Church, Dayton, St. Andrew’s, Dayton, and All Saints, Pleasant Ridge.
Jane grew up in the Diocese of Southern Ohio and has been in active in diocesan ministry since she was in high school. She was a summer camp counselor at Procter Summer Camp where she met her husband, Rob Konkol. She was sponsored by Calvary Episcopal Church in Clifton and attended Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She has served in a variety of ministries in the diocese including the Commission on Ministry, the Commission for Congregational Life, the Finance Committee, and as a deputy to General Convention in 2012. She also served the wider Episcopal Church as the chair for the Advisory Group on Church Planting and Mission Development from 2015-2018.
Robin Holland has been a member of St. Philip Church in Columbus most of her life. At St. Philip, she is the chaplain of the vestry, leads a weekly bible study, and facilitates the monthly studies for the St. Philip Chapter of the Order of the Daughters the King. Over the years, she has chaired or co-chaired several committees, including the Christian Education, Nominating, Search, and Stewardship Committees, as well as numerous other parish projects and ministries. In the diocese, she is currently chair of the Commission on Ministry and member of the 150th History Project Committee. In the past, she served for 19 years on the Minority Empowerment Initiative Trust Board and also was a member of the Anglican Academy Advisory Committee.
She is a retired public-school teacher, having worked with the Columbus City Schools for 35 years. Most of her career she was involved in the area of language arts, which is still her passion. For ten years she was also one of the co-directors of the Columbus Area Writing Project (the local affiliate of the National Writing Project, a professional development network for educators) and co-facilitated its Summer Writing Institute at The Ohio State University and also worked with a variety of related Writing Project professional development activities throughout the year.
Joshua Sherwood was born and raised in the heart of Appalachian Ohio, and always felt a deep connection to the rugged hills and winding streams that define this region.
“I spend much of my free time exploring the natural beauty around me—whether it’s kayaking quiet waterways, hiking wooded trails, or discovering hidden gems along the backroads. I have a passion for environmental health, and I’m proud to serve my community through my work with a local health department, helping to protect the land and people I care about. When I’m not outdoors or at work, you’ll often find me visiting regional wineries or indulging my love for precision-engineered German automobiles. Appalachia has shaped who I am—grounded, curious, and always seeking the next adventure.”
Joshua is a member of St. Peter’s, Gallipolis and serves on the Diocesan Council of Southern Ohio.
The Rev. Michael J. Smith, Ed.D. was born and raised in Cincinnati to Roman Catholic parents, attending Catholic schools from primary school through college. He received his B.A. in scholastic philosophy and M.Div. from Mount St. Mary’s seminary in Cincinnati. He went on to teach religious studies in Catholic high schools and served as assistant pastor for two Roman Catholic parishes. He left the Roman Catholic Church and the priesthood in 1980 and began working in secular nonprofits. In 1985, he began his consulting practice, Pastoral Coaching and Consulting Associates, working with over 300 varied organizations over 18 years including churchwide structures and bodies of The Episcopal Church. After two unsuccessful attempts to have his ordination received into The Episcopal Church in this diocese, he was finally received by Bishop Briedenthal in 2012.
He earned an MA in pastoral counseling from the Athenaeum of Ohio; a master’s in religious education from Loyola University, New Orleans; and a doctorate in education from North Central University, San Diego. He taught at Wilmington College in Ohio, Cincinnati State, and at the Christ College of Nursing and Health Sciences where he was eventually made Dean of Arts and Sciences and later Provost and Chief Academic Officer. Upon retirement from the college, he served as priest-in-charge at the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer, Cincinnati and as assisting priest at both St. James, Westwood and the Church of the Advent, Walnut Hills. He currently serves as assistant clergy at St. Anne, West Chester.
The Very Rev. Owen C. Thompson grew up in the Episcopal Church. He was ordained to the priesthood in 2003 at Christ Church Cathedral and spent 22 years in parish ministry in the Diocese of Long Island, New York. In 2021, he was called to serve in the Diocese of Southern Ohio as the Dean of Christ Church Cathedral in Downtown Cincinnati.
He holds a Master of Divinity from The General Theological Seminary in New York, a Master’s in Educational Communications and Technology from New York University, and a Bachelor of Arts in English with a minor in Performing Arts from Hobart College in Geneva, New York.
He is the son of the late Rt. Rev. Herbert Thompson Jr., retired Bishop of Southern Ohio, whose ministry motto is “To reconcile. To heal. To Liberate. To Serve.” Dean Thompson has adopted as his own. In addition to his life and work in the Church, Dean Owen is also a community activist who is dedicated to works and causes that focus on reconciliation, peace, justice, equality, equity, food insecurity, homelessness, undoing racism, gun violence prevention, and creation care.
RSVP
There is no cost to attend this important webinar. Please RSVP to receive your Zoom link!
