Diocese of Louisiana Clergy Conference

Keynote Sessions:

The Rev. Canon Michelle W. Bolt and the Rev. Giulianna C. Gray

"Leadership Literacies to Nurture the Possible and to Prepare for the Probable”

We are practicing our common profession in a time of rapid change, where the answers to our challenges can’t be found in the binders left to us by our predecessors.  And yet, the Spirit is kindling new and exciting movements for the Church.  Leading the people of God well in this context requires great flexibility and skill. Canon Bolt and Rev. Gray will present leadership literacies to help equip you to nurture what’s possible and to prepare for what’s probable in your own ministry context. Presentations will include time for reflection and interaction. We will provide a fully annotated bibliography to encourage self-directed further exploration as well as questions designed to seed reflection in future colleague groups and conversations.

Tuesday, January 10

9:30-10:30 Leadership Literacies to Nurture the Possible

10:30-10:45 BREAK

10:45-11:45 Leadership Literacies to Prepare for the Probable

Biographies

The Rev. Canon Michelle Warriner Bolt has served as a priest in East Tennessee for over 15 years, most recently as Canon to the Ordinary since 2018.  She is an alumna of the University of Tennessee and holds graduate degrees from both Harvard Divinity School and Seabury-Western Theological Seminary.

As Canon, she spends her days in the church tending to the rending and mending forces of communities, assisting Bishop Brian Cole in crafting a beautiful patchwork of clergy and lay leadership across East Tennessee.  In her free time, she is either making this spiritual patchwork tangible through the art of quilting or cheering on her four boys on a sideline or pool deck with her husband Patrick.

The Rev. Giulianna Cappelletti Gray is so happy to be coming back to the diocese of Louisiana which had been home for her and her family for a number of years. She discerned her call to ordination through Trinity Episcopal Church in New Orleans and served at St. George's and the Chapel of the Holy Spirit after her ordination in 2008.

Currently, she is the Director of the Sewanee Ministry Collaborative, the Thriving in Ministry Program at seminary at the University of the South. Additionally, she serves as chaplain to the spouses and partners of the Episcopal bishops, and a non-stipendiary priest associate at the Episcopal parish of St. Mark and St. Paul on the Mountain in Sewanee.

A native of West Virginia, her education has included undergraduate education at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio (BSW, 2000), and graduate education both at Tulane University in New Orleans (MSW, 2002), and the Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria (MDiv, 2008). Because she loves to continue learning, she is currently a Doctorate of Ministry student at VTS with a focus on Ministry Development and is completing a professional certification program through the Chestnut Paes Enneagram Academy.

Giulianna's husband Peter, also ordained in New Orleans, now serves as the chaplain at the University of the South. Together they have 2 children: Joseph is now in 6th grade, and Francesca in 3rd.

Most recently, Michelle and Giulianna have collaborated in speaking and hosting a workshop at the Sewanee Alumni Lectures. They share a passion of equipping the people of God to meet the challenges of an uncertain future through the cultivation of creative potential and spiritual community.