DISCIPLESHIP

Lisa Aycock

Lead Youth Missioner
919-600-5308
EMAIL

As of January 1, 2019, Lisa Aycock is the lead youth missioner in the Diocese of North Carolina.

She and her husband, Ricky, have four kids, three granddaughters, two dogs and a flock of chickens. In her free time, Lisa enjoys gardening, photography, and spending time outdoors and at the beach.

Jenny Beaumont

Missioner: Adult & Life-long Formation
919-600-5299
EMAIL

Jenny Beaumont is a cradle-born Episcopalian who has lived in the Diocese of North Carolina for most of her adult life.

Jenny is a race and reconciliation leader and a national trainer for Education on Ministry through University of the South. She was the lead author of These Are Our Bodies: Talking Faith at Church and Home and co-author of These Are Our Bodies: Talking Faith at Church and Home: Foundation Book, all while running a learning center created to meet the needs of families and students with specific and expert support in learning.

Reimagining Christian formation for a 21st-century context is a focus and passion for Jenny. She uses both traditional in-person gatherings as well as online models to expand offerings and networks across our diverse diocese. Jenny collaborates in efforts, strategies and approaches in adult learning, emphasizing our mission priorities.

Jenny works closely with the diocesan youth missioners and other diocesan staff, the Chartered Commission for Lifelong Christian Formation, the Racial Justice and Reconciliation Committee, the Commission for the Diaconate and the Diocesan Council department for Christian formation, all of whom work together to continue to build relationships and cooperative efforts with formation leaders across the diocese and the wider Church.

Jenny is a Deep Living Spiritual Life Coach, certified in the Enneagram and is currently working towards her a Masters in Religious Studies from UNC-Charlotte. She lives in Charlotte with her spouse, Michael, and her three grown children. Jenny loves to read just about anything and to have her hands in the dirt—weeding, planting and sowing seeds.

The Rev. Kelly Ryan

Missioner for Discipleship
984-263-5423
EMAIL

The Rev. Kelly Ryan serves diocesan congregations as the missioner for discipleship. The position was created as part of, and is made possible by, the $1.25 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. the diocese received in October 2024 to reconceive the way it supports congregations as they seek to form disciples of all ages. Instead of traditional programming, the project is designed to spark congregational imagination around intergenerational worship and its connection to holistic Christian formation, to support connections among congregations, and to equip and empower congregational leaders to design and lead inclusive, sensory-rich worship rooted in The Episcopal Church’s liturgical traditions.

Kelly previously served at Duke Divinity School as director of the Thriving Congregations Coordination Program and as senior director of Communications and executive editor for Leadership Education at Duke Divinity, as well as a communications coach for Lilly Endowment grantees. For more than two decades, she has served children and their families as a catechist, tutor, mentor and hospital volunteer.

Since ordination as a vocational deacon in 2024, Kelly has served as deacon and children’s minister at St. Joseph’s, Durham. She holds a Master of Divinity, a certificate in Christian Education, and an MA in Christian Practice from Duke Divinity School, as well as a BA in journalism and political science from the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill.

Joy Shillingsburg

Mission Strategy Coordinator
919-521-5927
EMAIL

Joy Shillingsburg is a lifelong educator who served as the director of youth and outreach at St. John’s, Wake Forest, for more than a decade before joining diocesan staff. Prior to serving at St. John’s, Joy spent 15 years as a classroom history teacher outside of Philadelphia and in the Wake County Public School System. Her commitment to teaching historical truths and how these truths have the power to liberate and transform our lives and society has been a through line of her work. At St. John’s, Joy led vibrant intergenerational programs that linked formation rooted in Becoming Beloved Community to vibrant outreach ministries. As an extension of her work as director of youth and outreach, Joy founded Wake Forest Community Table. This thriving nonprofit served more than 25,000 meals from 2020 through 2022 while connecting diverse members of the community to each other through quarterly gatherings that explore the history, laws, personal stories, and systems that necessitate the twice-weekly meal distribution.

Joy lives her faith by serving her neighbors and is deeply committed to leading diverse stakeholders to do the work of Becoming Beloved Community. Joy earned her M.S. in History Education at Villanova University. She lives with her family in Wake Forest. Joy loves biking, hiking, traveling, and podcasts almost as much as reading!