Change Font Size:   A A A

May 21, 2013 | G. Jeffrey MacDonald

The Living Church: Iona's Vision Expands

When the Iona School for Ministry launched in 2004 as a training ground for bivocational priests and deacons, organizers in Diocese of Texas hoped the innovative program would help small congregations in eastern Texas find the type of leaders they need.

 

Nine years later, Iona has done that and more. Besides training 27 deacons and 25 priests in the Diocese of Texas, the school now attracts students from as far away as Nebraska and Wyoming, and it’s taking steps to replicate the model in other dioceses.

 

“We were never thinking that other dioceses would want to send students to our school,” said Mary MacGregor, executive director of the Iona School for Ministry. “That was not even on our radar. The word got out about our school.”

 

Last year marked the start of the Iona Initiative, a pilot program aimed at reproducing insights from the Iona School for Ministry and training bivocational leaders for service in eight dioceses. Overseen by the Seminary of the Southwest, the Iona Initiative provides local formation programs in Oklahoma, Wyoming, and Hawaii.

 

Read the rest of the story from The Living Church