Susan and her husband Joe Dickey are parishioners at Apostles Anglican Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. She just completed a three-year vestry term, serving one year as Senior Warden and two years as Junior Warden. Susan also serves as Organist for Apostles’ traditional service and assists in choir and worship leadership. Prior to joining Apostles when it was planted in 2006, Susan served on numerous committees at the Episcopal Church of the Ascension in Knoxville, including seven years on Vestry and the Finance Committee. She served as Senior Warden for one year and Treasurer for four years. Susan has been active in church life from a young age. She has had a passion for effective group and individual performance in her work life, and she brings this joy for learning better ways of interacting within her church family.
A quote from Susan:
“When we consider work and church organizations, there are obvious differences: profit motive, position-laden chain of command, employee versus volunteer … but there are powerful similarities! All organizations are flawed, all people are flawed, things will go wrong, and things will go well … people are involved in both business organizations and churches, and that’s one reason we have much to learn from one another.”
Friday, November 6
Earlybird Sessions with Susan
10am – Noon
Speaker: Susan Ridgell
Come to the Earlybird Session at Synod this year and find something different!
It’s geared to be practical and relevant to the challenges many lay leaders face when serving on Vestry. You will:
• Discuss topics specifically targeted for those who serve on Vestry – you’ll be thinking together and learning together
• Hear from our Earlybird Session speaker, Susan Ridgell, about practical tools and lessons learned from her experience in lay leadership
• Build relationships with other ADOTS lay leaders – and consider ways to keep it going Susan Ridgell, PhD, hails from a business background that includes financial auditing, management, and industrial / work psychology.
Friday Afternoon Session with Susan
1:30-2:30pm “Practical Tools for Leadership”
Speaker: Susan Ridgell
Topic: Practical Tools for Leadership
- Brief overview of areas identified by Earlybird session as important
- Overview of lay leadership on the vestry
- Facilitated brainstorming session: “What is the ADOTS philosophy for Lay Leadership?” and other topics
- Fun
