Diocese of North Carolina Announces the Rev. Kelly Ryan as Missioner for Discipleship

The Diocese of North Carolina announces with joy that the Rev. Kelly Ryan has accepted a call to serve diocesan congregations as Missioner for Discipleship.

The position was created as part of, and is made possible by, the $1.25 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. the diocese received in October to reconceive the way it supports congregations as they seek to form disciples of all ages. Instead of traditional programming, the project is designed to spark congregational imagination around intergenerational worship and its connection to holistic Christian formation, to support connections among congregations, and to equip and empower congregational leaders to design and lead inclusive, sensory-rich worship rooted in The Episcopal Church’s liturgical traditions.

Ryan previously served at Duke Divinity School as director of the Thriving Congregations Coordination Program and as senior director of Communications and executive editor for Leadership Education at Duke Divinity, as well as a communications coach for Lilly Endowment grantees. For more than two decades, she has served children and their families as a catechist, tutor, mentor and hospital volunteer. Since ordination as a vocational deacon, Ryan has worked with Bishop Jennifer Brooke-Davidson, assistant bishop of the Diocese of North Carolina, in Christian formation and served as deacon and children’s minister at St. Joseph’s, Durham. She holds a Master of Divinity, a certificate in Christian Education, and an MA in Christian Practice from Duke Divinity School, as well as a BA in journalism and political science from the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill.

“We are excited to bring to our team one of The Episcopal Church’s leading lights in discipleship, particularly in innovative, contextualized intergenerational formation,” said Brooke-Davidson. “Kelly’s warmth, enthusiasm, encyclopedic knowledge and collaborative skills will help our congregations lead the way in growing disciples of Jesus Christ – no matter the size, composition, or financial resources of a congregation. This is just what the church of the 21st century needs.”

Ryan will direct the implementation of the five-year grant, which is part of Lilly Endowment’s Nurturing Children Through Worship and Prayer Initiative, a national strategy to help Christian congregations more fully and intentionally engage children in intergenerational corporate worship and prayer practices.

“The world is crying out for disciples of all ages to live their baptismal promises,” Ryan said. “It will be such a joyful privilege to walk alongside congregations to support them in discerning how to best form Jesus followers in their context and experiment with new ways to engage children in worship and deepen their prayer lives.”

Ryan will begin her ministry on diocesan staff February 1.