Three Priests and One Deacon Ordained in January

by Chad Senuta

The diocese gathered at Grace Cathedral on Saturday, January 13, 2024 to participate in the ordination of three priests and one deacon. The Rev. Susan Byler was ordained to the vocational diaconate, and three priests were ordained: the Rev. Caroline Howard, the Rev. Jody Carroll, and the Rev. Martha Lamoy. The ordination was streamed on the diocesan YouTube Page.

Bishop Cathleen Bascom presided, preached, and ordained the new deacons. Looking to the day’s Gospel and Old Testament readings, the bishop noted in her sermon that those who are ordained are called to be the body of Christ. She stated “The body of Christ is the church. Our ordination service today celebrates that every one of us is a crucial member of Jesus’ life, folded into his way of love for this time and place. Together, collectively we are the vehicles of Christ’s redemptive activity on earth. Anglicans believe that what Jesus wants to get done here and now is primarily done through us, all of us.”

The Rev. Byler and the Rev. Lamoy attended the Bishop Kemper School for Ministry, Topeka, while the Rev. Howard attended the School of Theology at the University of the South, Sewanee, Tennessee. The Rev. Jody Carroll is canonically resident in the Diocese of West Missouri and was ordained by Bishop Bascom on behalf of Bishop Diane Bruce, Bishop Provisional of the Diocese of West Missouri. Rev. Jody currently serves as Canon of Grace Cathedral, Topeka. The Rev. Howard was sponsored by St. Peter’s, Pittsburg, and serves as the Curate for Creation Care at Bethany House & Gardens, Topeka, and as the quarter-time Vicar for St. Mary’s, Galena. The Rev. Lamoy was sponsored by St. Thomas, Overland Park, and now serves as the Vicar of the three congregations in the Little Church on the Prairie Minster: St. Paul’s, Coffeyville; Church of the Epiphany, Independence; and Church of the Ascension, Neodesha.