The Episcopal Diocese of

North Dakota



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Welcome to our email Newsletter!

A highlight from this issue:

• Diocesan Missioner Announcement
• November Council Meeting Recap

Read on for other announcements and the calendar!

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Happy Thanksgiving!

Almighty and gracious Father, we give you thanks for the fruits of the earth in their season and for the labors of those who harvest them. Make us, we pray, faithful stewards of your great bounty, for the provision of our necessities and the relief of all who are in need, to the glory of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Diocesan Missioner Announcement

Dear ND Episcopalians,

It is my happy duty to inform you that I have extended a call to Ms. Ashley Hubbard to join us as our Missioner for Ministry Development. In this role, Ashley would organize, support, and encourage learning/teaching leadership for communities of worship and mission throughout the Diocese. 

Ashley has accepted this call and we signed the Letter of Agreement last Friday. Her first day of ministry with us will be December 15th, when she will meet with the Diocesan Ministry Support Team in Fargo for orientation.

Ashley comes to us from a recent turn as the Canon for Formation in the Diocese of South Dakota. She and her family will relocate to Bismarck, where she will be centrally located to reach out more easily to many of our North Dakota congregations.

Ashley holds an MDiv from Virginia Seminary, a Masters in Secondary Education from Auburn, and a BA in Biology from Huntingdon College, Montgomery, Alabama. Previous to entering Auburn, she worked for eleven years as a Senior Microbiologist for the Bureau of Clinical Laboratories in Alabama. 

Come December 15th, we will publish Ashley's diocesan contact information. Please mark your calendars to welcome Ashley to our portion of the High Plains 'vineyard'.

Yours in Christ,  +Brian

The Rt. Rev. Brian Thom

Bishop Provisional of North Dakota

Summary of Diocesan Council Meeting

November 22-23, 2024

Grace Church, Jamestown

At the November meeting of the Diocesan Council, Council members discussed and approved various actions related to Diocesan finances such as adjustments to the 2025 Budget, clergy housing allowances, and the year-to-date Finance Report. The Council also reviewed Diocesan Committee and Staff Reports as well as the schedule of upcoming Council meetings and clergy retreats. Bishop Thom announced the dates of the next NDCIM meeting (March 15, 2025), and the 53^rd Annual Diocesan Convention (October 24-25, 2025 at Prairie Knights Convention Center).

The Council reviewed the process that the Nominating Committee will follow in searching for and inviting a new Bishop Diocesan, and Standing Committee President Jason Thoms announced the following as members of the Nominating Committee:

• Solveigh Barney, St. George's, Bismarck
• Sean Burt, Gethsemane, Fargo
• The Rev. Kim Fox, St. Paul's, White Shield
• Carmine Goodhouse, St. Luke's, Fort Yates
• The Rev. Harvey Henderson, St. Paul's, Grand Forks
• Alison Hiatt, St. George's, Bismarck
• David Lukudu, St. John’s, Moorhead
• The Rev. Jamie Parsley, St. Stephen's, Fargo
• Dan Rice, St. Stephen's, Fargo
• Leslie Ross, St. John's, Dickinson
• Chad Schmidt, All Saints, Minot
• Betty Swain, St. Sylvan's, Dunseith

It is expected that the Nominating Committee will submit a minimum of three Bishop candidates to the October 2025 Diocesan Convention, with one to be elected by the Convention as Bishop Diocesan.

Bishop Thom announced that he has hired Ashley Hubbard as the new Diocesan Missioner. Ms. Hubbard has an M.Div. from Virginia Theological Seminary, a Masters in Secondary Education from Auburn University, and a BA in Biology from Huntingdon College. She is in the ordination process at Rapid City, SD and has worked as a Curriculum Developer Consultant with The Episcopal Church and as the Canon for Formation with the Episcopal Diocese of South Dakota. 

Seminary of the Southwest Announces Full Scholarship Packages for Ministry Training

Seminary of the Southwest is excited to announce that it will offer full scholarship packages to the entire annual cohort of full-time residential Master of Divinity and Diploma of Anglican Studies students beginning with the 2025/26 academic year.

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