Priest who served Grace Church begins new diocesan roles
The Rev. Dr. John P. McGinty, who has served Grace Church-Brooklyn Heights as assisting priest for the past nine months, has been named as canon for formation and dean of the Mercer School of Theology. He started these new positions earlier this month, following an announcement that Bishop Lawrence Provenzano made Episcopal parishes around the Diocese of Long Island, which includes Brooklyn.
The position of Canon for Formation is new. In that role, Father McGinty will coordinate with the Bishop, the Commission on Ministry and the Canon to the Ordinary the recruitment, education and formation of those who are called to Holy Orders in the Episcopal Church and the Diocese of Long Island. He will also consult and work with congregations throughout the Diocese of Long Island for the strengthening of lifelong faith formation. As administrator of the Mercer Scholarship Fund, McGinty will oversee the provision of funding for postulants and candidates for ordination in the Diocese of Long Island, and need-based scholarships throughout the Episcopal Church in the United States. The Mercer Scholarship Fund has begun a partnership with the Society for the Increase of the Ministry to develop merit-based scholarships for seminarians.
Father McGinty will also be dean of the Mercer School of Theology. The Mercer School offers educational and formational programs for those who have been chosen for the diaconal process, study programs for laypersons who wish to enhance their knowledge of scripture, theology and the traditions of the church, and continuing education programs for clergy. In the coming year, the Mercer School will offer a mentoring program for a postulant for ordination to the priesthood.