Staff Transitions Announcement

From Bishop Monnot:

Dear siblings in Christ,

As the seasons change around us, I want to let you know that we are also entering a season of staff transitions. Two of our staff members, Anne Wagner and Traci Ruhland Petty, have made the decision to move on from their work with the Episcopal Diocese of Iowa. You can read both of their messages to you below.

From Anne Wagner

For 31+ years I have had the great privilege of working with some of the most remarkable people in Iowa and The Episcopal Church. My work has often included figuring out how to do things I’ve never done before, and retiring is another one of those things. I am just at the beginning of this process and my “off ramp” will likely take a good part of 2026. I can’t quite see the ending yet—maybe because I’m reluctant to conclude something that is fulfilling and I love. On the other hand, I believe it is time that both the diocese and I start making room for new things, along with different ways of doing them.

From Traci Ruhland Petty

Over the last 7 years I have had the privilege of serving alongside your other amazing diocesan staff members. I have gotten to know so many of you and have seen the passion and care that you bring to your communities and each other, especially through the GILEAD Grant program and Episco-PRIDE ministry. Working with those ministries and all of you involved in them have been two of my greatest joys over my time here. With staffing roles transitioning, I was offered a new position but have discerned that it is not a good fit for me. Around that time, my husband also began the search process for a new job. My full-time role as a member of diocesan staff will come to a close at the end of this July, and we will be moving out of state (though will still be in the Midwest) sometime late summer/fall. I am grateful for my time here and for everyone I've gotten to work with on this staff and through various ministries. Though I am sad to leave you, I am excited and hopeful for what the future may bring. Thank you all.

I don’t think it is possible to fully express in words the myriad ways that both Anne and Traci have brought their gifts to this diocese. For me, coming in as a new bishop more than four years ago, their steadfastness and competence, along with their willingness to try new things, made all the difference to my early years as bishop.

Anne’s decades of service have made her a repository of diocesan memory that will be impossible to replace. Her dedication to placing the financial and property resources of the church at the service of the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been a model for all of us in proper stewarding of our material assets. She has the ability to explain the diocese’s financial matters to those of us who do not come from a financial background and yet are charged with making decisions, and she is always patient with questions. She sees issues when they come up and shares them with committees or individuals so that they can be resolved. Finally, anyone who has spent time with Anne knows what a delight she is to be with, with her sense of humor and fun coupled with her genuine love of life. Anne will be deeply missed by all of us.

Traci’s work on diocesan staff has ranged widely, and I cannot mention everything she has done here. Her work with the GILEAD Grant program has impacted people and congregations across Iowa in ways too numerous to count. Her dedication to carrying out that work through supporting applicants and helping them craft their applications improved outcomes for everyone involved. Shortly after I arrived as bishop, I asked Traci to take on the area of communications, and she has absolutely shone in this role. I am so grateful to her for taking on that challenge and running with it so beautifully. In addition, It is impossible to end a paragraph about Traci without mentioning Episco-PRIDE, which she was an important part of creating. Episco-PRIDE is making an enormous difference in communities across Iowa, sharing the message of God’s inclusive love with people too often shunned by the church. All of us will miss her sense of fun and quiet ability to improve any gathering she plans or is part of, and the staff will particularly miss her weekly fun facts to end our staff meetings.

A New Staff Position

Many of you know that the diocese has been working with Ministry Architects, a consulting firm, to guide us in restructuring our staff for our current needs as a diocese. With these two staff departures, we will be posting a new position that includes some elements of each of Anne’s and Traci’s positions, although it is in no way an attempt to replace two people with one. This new position, Canon for Administration, is part of a larger picture that includes some job descriptions changing and responsibilities shifting. More information about this transition process will be forthcoming. For now, please join me in sharing your gratitude with Anne and Traci for their years of dedicated service and for the incredible differences that they have made for all of us in their work.

Yours in Christ,

+Betsey

The Rt. Rev. Betsey Monnot, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Iowa