Farewell, Canon Ponder

The Rev. Canon Brian Ponder takes his leave from the diocesan office for a second time

After nearly three decades of service to the church in Mississippi and Tennessee, the Rev. Canon Brian Ponder announced his resignation as Canon to the Ordinary. It was his second stint working for the diocese, after starting his career in the church as a clerical assistant in the mid-nineties before heading to seminary.

In his resignation letter, Ponder wrote, in part:

It has been an honor and a sacred privilege over these past nine years to serve among you through my work at the Allin House. I am grateful for the trust placed in me and for our partnership in ministry. I never could have imagined in 2001 when I left the diocesan staff headed to seminary that I would return in 2015 at Bishop Seage’s invitation. To work alongside you, our Bishops, diocesan leadership, committees, and communities has grown and stretched me in ways unimaginable, and I have welcomed its challenges and graces.

One of the most profound graces for me in our shared ministries over this time has been the opportunity, again and again, to worship with many of you on Sundays and throughout the week. To have been invited into your parishes and missions to preach and celebrate the Eucharist, to hear from you at coffee hour, to work with your vestries or mission committees and the clergy that serve our churches, to share in good conversation in the Sunday School classroom, and to work as colleagues in ministry has been an absolute joy. Thank you.

Bishop Wells wrote, in announcing Ponder’s departure, “I know that you join me in thanking Brian for his faithful service to this Diocese, as a priest and pastor, and as a member of the Diocesan staff, and we envelop him in prayers as he rests and renews.”

Ponder is taking a sabbatical, during which he plans to continue a course of study at St. John’s University School of Theology and Seminary.

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Meade to serve as new Canon to the Ordinary

Bishop Wells announced that the Rev. Gary Meade has accepted the call to serve as the Diocese of Mississippi’s next Canon to the Ordinary, beginning November 1. Currently serving as the Interim Dean of St. Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral, Memphis, the Rev. Meade has served parishes in the Episcopal Diocese of West Tennessee and the Episcopal Diocese of the Rio Grande. The Rev. Canon Chip Davis will serve as interim Canon to the Ordinary until the Rev. Meade’s arrival.