By Trish Nelson, C4SO’s former Canon for Ordinations
I have loved my season in the role as Canon for Ordinations. However, the scope has grown over the last few years and, because of this growth, the job is bigger. Too big for me. Effective February 1, I stepped down as Canon.
My replacement is the Rev. Amy Rozko. She currently co-leads a church with her husband, the Rev. Dr. JR Rozko, in Canton, Ohio and will be ordained to the priesthood in May 2023. Amy is wise and gifted in discernment and will serve you well. After a month of training with me to make for a smooth transition, Amy has fully stepped into her new role as Director of Ordinations. After her ordination to the priesthood, she will receive the title of Canon for Ordinations.
Below, I ask Amy a few questions to introduce her to all of you. For me, it’s easy to see that she is the person God has called to do this ministry now.
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Amy, we’ve known each other for awhile. In fact, we met when you were going through the ordination process to the transitional diaconate a few years ago. I’ve enjoyed this opportunity to get to know you even better and want others to get to know you better as well.Amy: Thanks, Trish. Your thoughtfulness is going to be a wonderful gift to our diocese. Our conversations have gone between serious topics and greater visioning for this ministry—and that seems to come easy for you. What in your past experience helped you develop that ease?Amy: Before coming to Anglicanism and pastoral ministry, I served two international missions-sending agencies—first as an international cross-cultural worker, then in the home offices mobilizing and training North Americans for cross-cultural ministry. In those roles, I helped people discern a call to cross-cultural ministry. I considered it to be a profound gift to hear the stories God was writing in the lives of so many of his people. Each person’s story has such unique pain and beauty, and it’s a sacred honor to hold space for those stories. I’m humbled to be stepping again into a role where I get to walk alongside people discerning a call to ministry. As it relates to moving between tasks and topics quickly, I’m also a mom to three children (currently 11, 9 and 5), so I have experience at moving between tasks and conversation topics rather abruptly. I always talked about how, in this role, I loved watching God work in the lives of church planters, and young leaders. The transformation that can happen in this process makes my heart sing. I’ve watched that happen in your life as God has used you in different ways. How do you think your own ordination discernment experience will guide you as you serve in this role?Amy: Having very recently gone through the ordination process myself, I can still recall what it was like to sit on that side of the process. I hope that will give me empathy for those in that position and can help me continuously improve the process as the needs of our diocese and candidates evolve, while still holding to our diocesan values. We’ve done some careful planning to make this transition feel seamless to our people. The more I’ve had an opportunity to work with you, the more confident I am that they are going to be receiving a greater level of care as they continue their processes. What are the plans for our current candidates in the next few months?Amy: I’m looking forward to getting to know the candidates and the leaders in the diocese. Even with all of the wonderful work you have done to prepare for this transition, Trish, I know it will take some time for me to master all the ins and outs of the process, and I appreciate the grace that has already been extended to me in that regard. I know that many who have been ordained within C4SO have found our ordination process to be a meaningful and Spirit-filled experience, and it is my hope and prayer that will continue to be the case for anyone in the process. Amy, I have loved this time of preparation with you. C4SO and all its future aspirants are in the best of hands. I am praying for God’s favor and blessing on you and your ministry.Amy: Thanks so much, Trish. You have served the diocese so well during this season and have left things better than you found them. Thanks for your leadership. |
Amy Rozko is originally from Davenport, Iowa, and graduated from Indiana Wesleyan University. She then served as a missionary in Russia and later led the mobilization process and training efforts of two different missions organizations in Indiana and Illinois for several years. Amy attended Fuller Theological Seminary where she earned an MA in Global Leadership, and she is currently working on her D.Min at Asbury Theological Seminary with a focus on Leadership, Formation and Church Planting. Amy was ordained as a transitional deacon in September 2021 and will be ordained to the priesthood in the spring of 2023. Amy and her husband, the Rev. Dr. JR Rozko, are parents of three children (Aubrey, Junia, and Aidan), are certified Enneagram trainers and Co-Lead Pastors of First Church of the Resurrection, a 200+ year old congregation in Canton, OH. Amy is excited to serve the diocese and those sensing a call to ordained ministry in her role as Director of Ordinations. Contact Amy.
Photo credit: Agape Creative.
Amy Uncensored
Waffles or pancakes?
Either is fine, but I’d pass both over for a donut. My favorite is hot, fresh-out-of-the-oil apple cider donuts, but when I travel I love trying uniquely flavored donuts at local donut shops.Narnia or Hogwarts?
Narnia (I’ve actually never read a Harry Potter book or seen a movie.) but I’m also partial to Pooh Corner and Pemberley.Dogs or cats?
We do not have any pets (to my children’s dismay!) but I enjoy hanging out with other people’s cats and dogs. No reptiles or amphibians, please.Favorite book of all time?
We can agree the Bible is in a category all its own, but besides that, how can I choose? That’s like asking me which child is my favorite. I recently introduced my oldest daughter to A Wrinkle in Time and it’s one of a few books I enjoy reading and re-reading. Required reading for my D.Min program currently takes up most of my reading time but I also love listening to audiobooks as I walk or do tasks around the house. I listen to a lot of historical fiction, Young Adult fiction (trying to keep up with what my kids are reading!), humorous memoirs and Dallas Willard books read by the author. I’m always open to recommendations.