Canon Susan Transition to Diocesan Ministry
Beloveds,
It is with great excitement that I share with you Canon Susan Colley Joplin’s appointment as Dean of the Iona School for Spiritual Direction for the Diocese of Oklahoma.
Canon Susan has been a huge part of Cathedral life for the past (almost) 30 years, and her passion for Spiritual Formation is know across the Diocese of Oklahoma. It is an honor for Canon Susan to be recognized in this way by the Diocese, and we are grateful for her and her presence at the Cathedral.
The Iona School for Spiritual Direction will begin formally in January 2021 with a beta class. Canon Susan will work with a small number of students to build and grow the School over the coming years.
With this new role at the Diocese, Canon Susan’s role at the Cathedral will shift. She, Bishop Poulson, and I have worked carefully in creating a planned work reduction here at the Cathedral that correlates with the ramping up of the Iona School for Spiritual Direction. Canon Susan will remain full-time at the Cathedral in 2021, and will be spending the year creating transition pathways, ensuring that life at the Cathedral will continue to flourish when she steps away from full-time ministry at the Cathedral. In 2022, Canon Susan will transition to quarter-time ministry, being present in worship as her schedule allows and serving as the coordinator of Spiritual Direction here at the Cathedral. In 2023, Canon Susan will cease to be on the staff in a traditional way and will be at that point a Stipendiary Clergy, functioning in ways that provide the most flexibility for the Iona School for Spiritual Direction and meet the needs of the Cathedral.
Personally, I am proud of and delighted for Canon Susan. To answer God’s call is no easy task, and it always comes with a cost. To leave her role at the Cathedral and to chart a new course takes courage and trust. I am honored to support her, and I know that you all join me in this support. Transitions are difficult, but I take great comfort knowing that Canon Susan will remain, in a new way, a part of St. Paul’s community.
God Bless you Canon Susan in this new call! And God Bless St. Paul’s, who has been nurtured by the steady love of Canon Susan. We will celebrate, when Covid allows, this new venture.
I remain, faithfully yours,
Dean Churchwell