Simonis Named Canon for Church Planting

Bishop Mark Lawrence recently appointed The Rev. Todd Simonis, who serves as an Associate at St. Helena’s, Beaufort, as the diocesan Canon for Church Planting. “Church planting is one of the most effective ways to evangelize our changing culture,” said the Bishop, “and my dream is for church planting not to be an exception but to increasingly be the normative mindset in our diocese. In order to make that a reality I wanted to recognize the leadership role Todd is playing amongst our diocesan church planters and formalize his role as it relates to the diocese.”

The Rev. Shay Gaillard, Rector of St. Helena’s said, in a note to his congregation, “As the diocese is seeking to establish some structure and support for church planting and planters, a need for a point person was identified. Todd and I anticipated that he would be called to be a resource beyond St. Helena’s for this very purpose. As such, Bishop Lawrence appointed Todd as his Canon for Church Planting at the clergy conference last week. The term Canon is used for ordained persons who assist the Bishop with a specific purpose and does not necessarily designate a new calling or vocation. This new title recognizes what Todd is already doing and is not a new job. I can’t help but be thankful for this vision-sighting. St. Helena’s is becoming a resource for “raising up worshiping communities … in Beaufort and beyond. We celebrate what God continues to do in our midst, in the diocese, and beyond”