What if our vision for Episcopal ministry focuses on a geographic area and the people in it instead of being restricted to individual churches working separately? And what if churches in this area work together in a planned, collaborative way, using three orders of ministry – lay, deacon, and priest? This is a new model for our diocese called The Episcopal Area Ministry (TEAM).
Congratulations to the new James River Area Ministry, supported by Grace Church in Western Goochland (near Richmond) and St. John’s in Columbia.
The ministry team includes licensed lay ministers, the rector of Grace (the Rev. Emily Dunavent), a supply priest (the Rev. Bill Wells) and a newly assigned deacon (the Rev. Brian Justice). The team collaborates in this nexus of Goochland, Fluvanna, and Cumberland counties. For more information about this ministry model, contact the Rev. Shirley Smith Graham.