Amy Coultas, Jason Lewis called to new positions in Kentucky diocese

Posted Jul 10, 2013

[Episcopal Diocese of Kentucky press release] The Rt. Rev. Terry A. White, Bishop of the Diocese of Kentucky, has called the Very Rev. Amy R. Coultas to serve as Canon to the Ordinary. He simultaneously called the Rev. Jason D. Lewis as the Diocese’s first Canon for Congregational Vitality. Both Canons’ work would begin September 1st and will be formally installed at Diocesan Convention at Christ Church Cathedral on November 8th – 9th.

The Very Rev. Amy R. Coultas, Interim Dean of Christ Church Cathedral, Louisville, KY, has previously served as Canon Missioner, Chair of the Deputation to General Convention, Vicar to St. James’ Episcopal Church in Shelbyville, member of the Commission on Ministry, and as Chaplain to the Diocesan Youth Summer Camp. She currently serves as a member of Trustees & Council, the Joint Nominating Committee for the Election of a Presiding Bishop, The Episcopal Church – Presbyterian Church USA Dialogue, and as the Ecumenical & Interreligious Officer of the Diocese of Kentucky.

The Rt. Rev. Terry A. White said, “Amy has a deep love for and commitment to the people of the Diocese of Kentucky and our common mission to make Christ’s redeeming love known to all. Among her gifts is the ability to engage current missiology in ways that encourage and challenge members of the Church to build on our current strengths that the Gospel might be proclaimed in fresh and powerful ways.

“Through her work within the Diocese of Kentucky, she has gained deep knowledge and understanding of the diocesan community. Her work for the wider Episcopal Church and through her extensive work with and among young adults, she has a fostered a solid network of connections where ideas for strengthening mission are shared.  Amy also brings gifts for organization and communication which will stand her well in working with congregations and her colleagues on the diocesan staff as an administrator and representative of the bishop. I am delighted that she has accepted this call to serve as Canon to the Ordinary.”

The Very Rev. Amy Coultas responded to her call as Canon to the Ordinary saying, “Our shared diocesan life has been an essential part of my own Christian formation, and I am excited and humbled to be able to participate in that common life in this new position.  I look forward to working with the talented staff, and I am grateful for the strong foundations already laid by Canon Smith.  I have great respect for Bishop White’s leadership and I am honored that he has asked me to serve in this way.”

The Canon to the Ordinary is called to serve as Bishop’s Chief of Staff and work closely with him on the variety of missional, strategic, personnel, financial, and administrative issues that form the Bishop’s ministry.

The Rev. Jason D. Lewis, Rector of St. Mary Magdalene, Belton, MO, serves in the Diocese of West Missouri as the Chair of the Commission on Ministry. He has served as an instructor of the George Herbert Institute for Pastoral Studies. His wife, Amy, and three children, Julia, Maria, and William will be accompanying him in his move to Louisville.

“In creating the position of Canon for Congregational Vitality, lay and ordained leaders counseled me to call a person with experience in building up a congregation. Jason is a great example of such a priest,” The Rt. Rev. Terry A. White said. “When I first met him in the Diocese of West Missouri he was a lay leader of a new congregation, in discernment for the priesthood. That congregation moved from meeting in a funeral home, then to a storefront. My last day as a priest in Kansas City, I attended the consecration of his congregation’s new church building.

“Jason is well-versed in various approaches to strengthening congregations through mission and evangelism, as well as how lay and ordained leaders can effectively work together to build the reign of Christ.  He will also encourage a greater focus on stewardship, particularly financial stewardship.  He will travel the diocese, getting to know our congregations and listening to the challenges and opportunities before us, helping us focus our energies.  It is a genuine pleasure to welcome to him to the Diocese of Kentucky as our new Canon for Congregational Vitality.”

In response to the Rt. Rev. Terry White’s call, the Rev. Jason Lewis said, “I am really looking forward to coming and engaging this new ministry, meeting the people of the Diocese of Kentucky, joining their ranks, and walking alongside them to encourage and accomplish the work of God.”

The Canon for Congregational Vitality is called to serve as a resource to congregations in building their evangelical, missional, and financial stewardship ministries.


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