Dear C4SO Community,

Nine months into this role, as I’ve visited nearly all of our 60 churches and ministries, met with vestries and congregations, and gotten to know our 200 clergy and ordinands, one thing has become abundantly clear: C4SO is healthy, growing and ready for what’s next.

With the Forward Fund surpassing its $1M goal—with 100% church participation!—C4SO is well-resourced to press forward on our three missional priorities: church planting, leadership development, and clergy care.

But resources alone don’t move a vision forward. The full weight of pastoral care and presence across our diocese requires that we expand our team.

To that end, I am delighted to announce that I have appointed the Very Rev. Drew Henley to serve as C4SO’s Canon to the Ordinary, beginning August 1.

As is traditional in Anglican polity, the Canon to the Ordinary serves as the Bishop’s principal deputy, someone both pastorally and administratively gifted who knows our culture, canons and people well enough to speak with authority on my behalf. That kind of extended pastoral reach matters greatly in a diocese of 60 churches across many different contexts.

Drew will help ensure that C4SO clergy have a responsive, pastorally grounded point of contact for the questions and challenges that arise in the day-to-day work of leadership.

A Little Bit About Drew

Drew is the founding rector of Redeemer Community Church in Atlanta, and he also serves as C4SO’s Dean of the East Deanery. Testimonies from those Drew has served are consistent: Drew is a warm, patient presence who helps leaders manage challenging situations with steadiness and grace.

Drew also chaired the Search Committee responsible for finding and vetting C4SO’s next Diocesan Bishop, and everyone involved watched him lead that process—listening to the diocese and the Spirit, attentive to the complexities of what this new season required—with both wisdom and skill. We are excited to see him bring those same qualities to his new role as Canon to the Ordinary.

Because this role is part-time, Drew will continue serving as rector of Redeemer Community Church and, for the time being, as Dean of our East Deanery.

I am thankful for Drew and excited to have him on the team. Over the coming months, I will continue to expand our team and reimagine roles to meet C4SO’s current and future needs so that every church in this diocese has what it needs to thrive.

Grace and peace,

Bishop Jeff