The Rt. Rev. Dr. Jonathan H. Folts, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of South Dakota, is pleased to announce the appointment of The Rev. Clay Riley, Rector of All Angels, Spearfish, as an Archdeacon for Congregational Vitality.
This newly created position, which will be limited to four to 10 hours per week, will be a pilot program focused in West River “due to the large number of vacancies and covenant partnerships in the region,” Bishop Jonathan writes. The goal is to “help the facilitation of parishes as they seek to achieve vibrancy and health, thus increasing their ability to spread the Gospel and be an integral, thriving part” of the Diocese.
Fr. Clay will continue as Rector of All Angels; this position will be his work for the Diocese.
In his description of the job, Bishop Jonathan writes that this position “will provide ‘boots on the ground’ assets in the immediate area and save the Diocese mileage and work hours for key Diocesan leadership, benefiting the entirety of the Diocese and the Diocese staff.”
“In essence,” Bishop Jonathan writes, “the region will have a trained person who can help congregations become part of a Church that many people don’t expect them to be by risking something big for something good, just as Jesus did.”
“I am really looking forward to working closer with the Diocesan staff and with congregations, and to see where we can go in the future,” Fr. Clay said. He will begin this work later in May.
Please see the formal description below.
