The Holy Spirit, Global Mission, and Becoming a Deacon

By the Rev’d Dr. Nancy D. Searby

Looking back over the past 12 years, I can see the Holy Spirit at work in my life. In

2014, I visited the village of Wilunze, Tanzania, with several people from St. Dunstan’s

McLean and St. Mary’s Arlington. We peered out the windows of the van driven by staff

of the Diocese of Central Tanganyika, Tanzania. We heard joyous music played on

drums and sung, and saw gathering groups of soon-to-be friends. We were greeted with

overwhelming joy, and I was overcome with the generosity and love I felt.

That moment, and that trip, planted an important seed as I felt the Holy Spirit nudging

me, pushing me, towards becoming a deacon in the Diocese of Virginia; I was ordained

in August 2023. And this year, my love of and commitment to global mission led to

becoming the President of the Global Episcopal Mission Network (GEMN).

GEMN seeks to gather, inspire, and equip people to participate in God’s global mission.

With core values of humility, inclusion, and companionship, the network includes

dioceses, agencies, congregations, seminaries, religious orders, and individuals.

As GEMN President, I can apply my experience and gifts in systems analysis and

strategic planning, as well as my love of Jesus and all people on our planet.

My dad served in the U.S. Air Force, and our family traveled around the United States

and to Guam. Later I worked to strengthen the skills of people around the world to use

NASA’s free satellite data for better environmental decisions. Throughout my life, I

learned to serve and walk alongside, get to know and appreciate people with different

gifts than mine, who come from different places and cultures. As I look back, I was

preparing to interpret to the Church the needs, concerns, and hopes of the world, which

is an important part of my diaconal covenant.

Deacons play a vital role in global mission by serving as a bridge between the Church

and the world, proclaiming the Gospel in word and action, recognizing people’s gifts and

responding to their needs, and promoting a “do with” rather than a “do for” approach to

global engagement. The Diakonia reaches out to all persons created in God’s image

and all of God’s creation.

Deacons serve in a parish as placed by the Bishop. As I serve with St. Francis Great

Falls clergy and lay community, our love of God’s global mission is put into action

through our relationships with the Diocese of Ezo, the Province of the Episcopal Church

of South Sudan and with the Sherborne Deanery’s Ezo Link team from the Diocese of

Salisbury, the Church of England.

In addition to my role with GEMN, I serve alongside Diane Wright as one of our

diocesan global mission advocates, and I’m our diocesan ministry partner for Episcopal

Relief & Development (see https://episcopalvirginia.org/ministries/mission/). At this time

when The Episcopal Church has downsized the staff engaged in global mission and has

reduced the frequency of the Companions in Mission webinars from monthly to

quarterly, I believe GEMN has an important role to play as we live into the global

mission of God.

During Bishop Austin Rio’s sermon at the GEMN Missio 2026 conference co-hosted

with the Diocese of California, he encouraged and inspired me: “Through the contexts

and the communities where you’ve served, the gospel has taken on more flesh, and my

guess is that in both the most soaring and revelatory moments of your ministry and the

most alienating and difficult death-filled valleys, you have known the accompanying

grace and peace of God that passes all understanding.”

Going on God’s global mission transforms us, and together with our companions in

mission, we contribute to bringing about God’s “kin”dom.

 Curious about the diaconate? See our Deacons webpage and reach out to me or

our archdeacons.

 Curious about St. Francis Great Falls’ relationships with the Diocese of Ezo and

the Diocese of Salisbury. See our Outreach webpage.

 Curious about global mission in the Diocese of Virginia? Sign up to join our

mailing list at our Global Missions webpage.

 Curious about GEMN? Sign up at our GEMN website and plan to attend Missio

2027, our annual mission conference to be held online April 6 – 8, 2027, with

locally organized in-person gatherings of attendees. Stay tuned for the dates of

the asynchronous Mission Formation Program.