Meet Our New Pastor for Digital Ministry, The Rev. Jo Owens

I am thrilled to share that the Rev. Jo Nygard Owens has accepted the call to serve as the Cathedral’s inaugural Pastor for Digital Ministry, a new position that will enable us to more fully live into our mission to be a House of Prayer for All People, no matter where they live. 

Jo describes herself as “one part minister and one part church communicator.” She comes to us from the Presbyterian Church (USA) and has spent most of her professional career working in churches in her native North Carolina. She currently lives in Cleveland, with her two children and her husband, BJ, who is the dean of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral.  

Jo’s passion is finding strategies to tell the good news of the gospel in creative and innovative ways. Most recently, she’s done that through her consulting business, Vibrant Church Communications. Whether she’s leading youth retreats or helping churches navigate top-to-bottom design campaigns, her goal is to meet people where they are, and to create new pathways for them to explore the life of faith in the church.  

That’s why I’m so excited to welcome her to the Cathedral team, where she will help grow our efforts to strengthen and support the Cathedral’s digital community. Jo is committed to creating and expanding spaces for people to encounter God and one other in new and innovative ways, and she has a passion for the ways online tools can enhance ministry in this digital-first era. 

Jo’s work will involve ministry across the Cathedral, both in-person and online. Working closely with our Canon Vicar, the Rev. Canon Dana Corsello, she will be a primary shepherd for our digital congregation, and she will help us launch new digital tools and foster online communities. Because this is a new position, we’ve encouraged Jo to be entrepreneurial and to take risks – and yes, to not be afraid to fail. We will share what we learn with the wider church.  

Jo will remain in Cleveland with her family, but will travel to Washington regularly to be with us in person. We also hope to get her on the road to host regional gatherings of the Cathedral’s far-flung digital worship community.  

I need to say a special word of thanks and gratitude to the generous donors who had the vision and willingness to invest in this new work. We want to make the most out of the Cathedral’s remarkable digital reach and, with God’s help, we will.   

I hope you’ll join me in welcoming Jo to the Cathedral family and join me in prayer that our mutual ministry together will flourish as we find new ways to tell the old, old story of God’s amazing grace.