Iona Collaborative

New Instructor: The Rev. Amy Richter, Ph.D.

"Good News! The church doesn't have a mission—the mission has a church."

How might the Book of Acts reshape the way we read, preach, and participate in God's ongoing work in the world?

Join us this fall as we welcome The Rev. Amy Richter to Iona Continuing Education. Amy serves as Dean of the School for Ministry in the Episcopal Church of New Hampshire and is the author and editor of several books on Episcopal worship and Christian formation.

In Reading and Preaching Acts as the Mission of God, participants will explore the Acts of the Apostles through the lens of God's mission, discovering fresh ways to preach the lectionary texts while recognizing how the Spirit continues to form and send the Church today.

As Amy shares:
"I'm excited to spend time with you studying the Acts of the Apostles through the lens of how this book shapes our understanding of God's mission for us as Spirit-filled disciples of Jesus. I look forward to getting to know you and how God is working in and through you as we learn together."

Thursdays | 4:00–5:15 p.m. CT
September 10 – November 12

Registration opens on Tuesday, August 4.

Meet one of our new Iona instructors, Pastor Tia Norman!

Ministry has a way of asking us to carry so much. Pastor Tia Norman knows that faithful leadership also requires space to pause, breathe, and tend to our own souls.

As a bivocational pastor and contemplative leader, Tia companions clergy, lay leaders, activists, therapists, and other caregivers who spend their lives caring for others while seeking a place to care for themselves.

In Tending the Inner Life of the Leader: Cultivating Presence, Resilience, and Renewal in Ministry, you'll step away from the pressure to do more and into practices that nurture your relationship with God, deepen self-awareness, and help sustain you for the long journey of ministry. Through contemplative spirituality, embodied awareness, guided practices, and meaningful conversation, this course offers a gentle invitation to remain whole while serving others.

Tending the Inner Life of the Leader: Cultivating Presence, Resilience, and Renewal in Ministry

📅 Wednesdays, 2:45–3:45 p.m. CT
📆 September 16 – November 18
(No class October 7 or October 28)

Whether you're serving in a congregation, your workplace, or your community, this course offers a welcoming space to slow down, reconnect, and be renewed.

Registration for Fall 2026 Continuing Education opens Tuesday, August 4. We can't wait to welcome you and Pastor Tia.

Meet A New Instructor for Our Fall 2026 Continuing Education Courses: The Rev. Tracie Middleton

We're delighted to welcome The Rev. Tracie Middleton to our Fall 2026 teaching team with a brand-new course created especially for vocational deacons.

With more than 17 years of ordained ministry, Tracie has served in parish ministry, chaplaincy, education, and community-based crisis response. A graduate of the Iona School for Ministry in the Diocese of Texas, she has also served as President of the Association for Episcopal Deacons. She has worked alongside deacons across the Anglican Communion and beyond.

Identity-Shaping Images of the Diaconate

What images best capture the heart of the diaconate?

Together, participants will explore four powerful metaphors—a servant, a bridge, a door, and an interpreter—and consider how each shapes our understanding of the deacon's unique calling. The course culminates in a deeper reflection on the deacon's vocation to interpret the needs, concerns, and hopes of the world to the Church, connecting faith with the realities of everyday life.

This course is designed exclusively for vocational deacons, offering space for thoughtful conversation, shared wisdom, and renewed clarity in ministry.

The course is:
Thursdays | 6:30–8:00 p.m. Central Time
September 10 – October 29

Registration for Fall 2026 courses opens Tuesday, August 4. We can't wait to learn with you!

Real ministry is beautiful. It can also be hard.

Ministry can be joyful, exhausting, hopeful, and heartbreaking—sometimes all in the same week. Serving God's people means celebrating moments of grace while also carrying the weight of difficult seasons alongside those we serve.

One participant shared:

"It seems as though everyone in our cohort has had their 'heart broken' through the challenges we've endured in our ministry settings—not just our own hearts, but the hearts of those we serve. My broken heart was strengthened by listening to the stories of others and knowing that they continue to go through it day after day. We're all in this together, in Christ."

One of the gifts of formation alongside others is discovering you don't have to carry ministry alone. Formation isn't separate from the work of ministry—it happens in the middle of it, through honest conversations, shared wisdom, and the reminder that others understand both the joys and the challenges of serving.

Because formation happens in the middle of real life.