The Right Reverend Ruth Woodliff-Stanley has called the Rev. Ryan Currie as Canon for Common Mission. Fr. Currie currently serves as associate rector at Holy Cross Faith Memorial Episcopal Church on Pawleys Island. As Canon for Common Mission, he will help build the body of our reintegrated diocese with a focus on healing; maintain a strategic focus with annual diocesan events to ensure alignment with the mission and goals of the diocese; coordinate gatherings with deans and deanery-level events to strengthen connections and relationships; support and gather deacons and presbyters, including affinity groups of clergy; and develop and oversee opportunities for congregations to strengthen the capacity of leaders to reach our common mission.
Bishop Woodliff-Stanley is thankful for the gifts Fr. Currie has to offer our growing diocese. “I am thrilled to welcome Father Ryan Currie to our Diocesan Team,” said Bishop Woodliff-Stanley. “Ryan’s thoughtful approach to organizing systems toward a common purpose was evident to me from the first experience I had of his leadership in our diocese. Ryan brings gifts ideal to help us grow the diocese in this new season.”
Fr. Currie expressed joy about the new call. “I can’t wait to get to know Episcopalians from across this diocese and to build up our shared ministry together,” said Fr. Currie. While he is excited about this new opportunity, he will miss being a part of the Holy Cross Faith Memorial family. “I could not be more grateful to the people of Holy Cross Faith Memorial: they have formed and nurtured me as a priest and a follower of Jesus,” said Currie. “I know I will carry what they’ve taught me into this new role.” Bishop Woodliff-Stanley shares in his gratitude to his current church home. “I am grateful to Ryan and to the people of Holy Cross Faith Memorial who have nurtured him and raised him up for this ministry,” said the bishop. “I look forward to his joining our team with joyful expectancy and tremendous gratitude.”
After being ordained into the priesthood by the Diocese of the Gulf Central Coast while serving in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the Rev. Currie quickly found a home in our diocese, beginning his ministry at Holy Cross Faith Memorial in the summer of 2019. “When I first came to South Carolina three years ago, I said then that I felt a deep sense of call to this diocese,” he said. “The faithfulness of Episcopalians who were so creative and courageous in the face of so much adversity was impressive to me, and I knew it was something I wanted to be a part of. In this role, I am grateful that I will be part of a new and important chapter in our common story.”
In addition to serving as associate rector at Holy Cross Faith Memorial, Fr. Currie has served as a chaplain for SUMMA camp in Sewanee, and a priest-in-community at St. Clement’s, St. Paul, Minnesota. “Whether it was with youth as a camp chaplain, with parishioners at HCFM, or with vulnerable LGBTQ+ people and their allies in our region, my ministry has always been about creating and stewarding spaces where I felt like God could be seen and heard and known,” said Fr. Currie. “That is my biggest hope as I enter this new role—that I might play some small role in helping the people of God find a place of welcome, justice, and refreshment as we go about the work of the Kingdom.”
Fr. Currie is engaged to be married to his partner, Richard. He will begin as Canon for Common Mission on July 15.
