Write a commentThe Rt. Rev. Dr. DeDe Duncan-Probe, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Central New York, will ordain Shelly Banner to the priesthood at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday, July 26th.
In accordance with diocesan COVID-19 guidelines, in-person presence at the service, held at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Liverpool, will be limited. All are welcome to participate via livestream; please visit cnyepiscopal.org/ordination-banner for details.
Banner grew up, one of fifteen siblings, on a family farm south of Syracuse; she currently resides in Oswego, New York. She has spent most of her working life as a music educator and holds an undergraduate degree in biochemistry and music from SUNY Oswego and a master’s degree in music education from Penn State and SUNY Oswego. Banner currently leads the vocal music program at Trinity Catholic Elementary School in Oswego and has served St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Liverpool, New York as a deacon since 2010. She has been instrumental in building up outreach initiatives at St. Matthew’s, including launching the church’s monthly Open Table free community meal. Prior to her arrival at St. Matthew’s, she served as a deacon at the Episcopal Church of the Resurrection in Oswego and completed an internship at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Marcellus.
Banner will be the first person ordained to the priesthood in the Diocese of Central New York during the COVID-19 pandemic. Asked how the pandemic has shaped her sense of call, Banner expresses “surprise and wonder” at the joy she finds in online worship and ministry. “Though our buildings are no longer the physical hub of our shared ministry, people are stretching beyond previous confines and learning new skills,” she says. “The Church grows stronger through the love and passion we share in proclaiming God’s love for this world.”
Bishop DeDe Duncan-Probe, who oversees all the clergy in the 85 congregations of the Episcopal Diocese of Central New York, says, “Shelly’s curiosity, her quiet passion for justice, her ability to connect people with the Gospel through action, and her genuine love have allowed her to make a real difference as a deacon. As a priest she will be ready to help her congregations put love into action. All of us here in the Diocese of Central New York are looking forward to blessing and sharing in her calling to the priesthood. We know the Holy Spirit will continue to bless communities across Central New York through her ministry.”
### Established in 1868, The Episcopal Diocese of Central New York is made up of 11,000 faithful Christians worshiping in 85 Episcopal congregations and chapels, including one college chaplaincy. The Diocese is part of The Episcopal Church in the worldwide Anglican Communion. The diocese extends to 14 counties in the center of New York State: Broome, Cayuga, Chemung, Chenango, Cortland, Jefferson, Lewis, Madison, Oneida, Onondaga, Oswego, Seneca, Tioga and Tompkins.
