Transition Ministry Updates (Summer 2021)

The people of the Diocese of Central New York celebrate the following clergy calls and transitions:

Clergy New to the Diocese

Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Adams has called the Rev. Jon Lavelle to serve as Priest-in-Charge beginning September 1, 2021.

Jon taught in the Middle East for 20 years and was ordained by the Rt. Rev. Michael Lewis, Primate of the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East. He served as Curate of St. Christopher’s Cathedral, Manama, Bahrain from 2014-2016 and then Chaplain at St. Luke’s in Ras Al-Khaimah, United Arab Emirates from 2016 to 2018. After living in the Arabian Gulf for many years, Jon returned to his hometown of Buffalo, NY in 2018 and was received into the Episcopal Church, USA, by the Rt. Rev. William Franklin. He served as Rector of St. John’s-Grace Episcopal Church, Buffalo, from 2018-2021. 

Jon studied theology at St. Michael and All Saints College at Cardiff University, Wales. His church interests include interfaith dialogue, contemporary liturgy, 12-step spirituality, contemplative traditions, and evangelization.  

Jon has a keen interest in criminal justice reform and serves on the New York State Campaign for Alternatives to Isolated Confinement. He is also an adjunct professor of English for SUNY, teaching in NYS correctional facilities, Watertown Hub. His wife, Karen Caldwell, is from Brockville, Ontario and is Assistant Professor in the Business Department at SUNY Potsdam. 

Jon, Karen, and their children John and Carol love hiking and canoeing with their dog, Willy. Carol is a Master’s student at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, and is advising Jon and the church on sustaining the honey-bees and other pollinators in the region.

St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Chenango Bridge has called the Rev. Dawn-Victoria Mitchell to serve as Priest-in-Charge beginning September 1, 2021.

Dawn-Victoria was born and raised in a suburb just north of Boston, Massachusetts, then lived in Missouri for a total of almost 22 years. In fifth grade, she began attending the small United Methodist congregation where she had been baptized as an infant. She came to the Episcopal Church during her studies at St. Paul School of Theology in Kansas City, Missouri, and credits her four years at an all-girls Roman Catholic high school, together with John Wesley’s emphasis on the Eucharist, for bringing her into The Episcopal Church. Dawn-Victoria is an avid student and lover of Episcopal liturgy. 

Dawn-Victoria enjoys reading in her downtime, particularly classics of English literature such as Jane Austen, William Shakespeare, and Charles Dickens and mysteries by Agatha Christie and Louise Penny. She also enjoys walking and being outdoors, and considers international travel a passion. She has been to the Holy Land, England, Greece, Rome, Paris, Spain and Portugal. Her favorite travel, though, is her visits to spoil her three nephews, two nieces, and great-nephew and great-niece. She is owned by a cat, a Bombay named Shalimar. 

Shel is currently working on a D.Min in Congregational Growth and Development through the Bexley-Seabury Seminary Federation in Chicago, IL.

Calls within the Diocese

St. James’ Episcopal Church in Pulaski has called the Rev. Shelly Banner as Priest-in-Charge beginning March 23, 2021.

St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in New Hartford has called the Rev. Kathlyn Schofield as Priest-in-Charge beginning May 15, 2021.

Bishop DeDe Duncan-Probe ordained the Rev. Patricia Kinney to the priesthood on May 22, 2021. St. John’s Episcopal Church in Speedsville called Kinney to serve as Parish Priest beginning July 1, 2021. 

Bishop DeDe Duncan-Probe ordained the Rev. Meredith Kadet Sanderson to the transitional diaconate on July 10, 2021. Sanderson continues in her role as chief of staff and director of communications for the Diocese of Central New York

Retirements and Departures

The Rev. Christine J. Day has retired from her ministry as rector of All Saints’ Episcopal Church in Johnson City.

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