About Us
Book a Coach
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We are thrilled to introduce you to our team of trained and certified Invite Welcome Connect Coaches who are available to assist your clergy and lay leaders in the implementation of Invite Welcome Connect. Successful engagement with the ministry of Invite Welcome Connect depends on intentional collaboration between clergy and lay leaders, and the addition of a Coach significantly increases the ability of a faith community to creatively live into the ethos of this ministry.
An Invite Welcome Connect Coach works with the clergy and/or Invite Welcome Connect team(s) of a faith community to support, encourage, and hold them accountable to envision, plan, and implement the Invite Welcome Connect ministry into the life of that congregation. The focus for a Coach is on the congregation building its own capacity as it creatively utilizes Invite Welcome Connect resources.
For more information about booking a Coach email iwcteam@invitewelcomeconnect.com
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MEET OUR COACHES
Mary MacGregor,
Coach Coordinator
Mary MacGregor coordinates all the coaching activities for Invite Welcome Connect.
Mary is the retired Canon for Congregational Vitality and MIssion Amplification at Episcopal Diocese of Texas. An Experienced Consultant with a demonstrated history of working in the religious institutions industry, Mary is skilled in congregational leadership development and assessment, diocesan staff development, clergy coaching, search committee consultation , speaking, annual giving campaigns for churches.
She graduated from LSU, BA; Southern Univ; M.Ed. 2017 and is the recipient of an Honorary Doctorate from Seminary of the Southwest for contributions to the Episcopal Church.
Kevin Caruso
Kevin is the Rector of Trinity Episcopal Church in Wheaton, IL. He has been blessed to share in ministry with the people of Trinity for the past 7 years.
Kevin is also blessed to be the father of 3 wonderful children who fill his days with laughter and love. As a priest, he seeks to support people in discerning how God calls them to live with purpose and passion. He's excited to serve as Invite Welcome Connect Coach.
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In addition to attending the IWC 2-day training and the IWC coach’s training, Kevin presented at the IWC digital gathering in 2020 and currently serves on the IWC Advisory Board. He's a graduate of the College for Congregational Development, and one of the Episcopal Leadership Missional Cohorts. He also currently serves as a consultant for the Diocese of Chicago and supports congregations by facilitating the search process for clergy leadership and Mutual Ministry Reviews.
Diane Gaidon
Diane was excited about the transformative power of Invite Welcome Connect when introduced to it several years ago. As a trained coach, she is eager to assist individuals and congregations lead gospel-inspired lives. Diane has found that her other roles as a trained transition consultant for parishes in the Diocese of Long Island and a life-professed Third Order Franciscan inform her passion for radical hospitality, loving the vulnerable, and growing the body of Christ. Diane is self-employed as a manual physical therapist and is a member of Christ Episcopal Church in Babylon NY.
Nancy Talmo
Lieve Hendren has been privileged to serve in Invite Welcome Connect ministries since 2018, helping to launch a Greeting team at St. James Episcopal Cathedral in Chicago and to navigate the unique challenges from the COVID-19 transition to virtual worship. Lieve has volunteered in church ministries engaging all ages including adult formation, young adults, liturgy teams, and music education. Outside of church, Lieve works as a nonprofit strategy consultant. As an Invite Welcome Connect coach, Lieve is committed to building consensus around a shared vision and ensuring that everyone has a voice at the table. Most of all, Lieve loves walking into new churches and meeting parishioners passionate about living out their shared values in Christ.
Mary Alice Matheson
Mary Alice was first introduced to Invite Welcome Connect in the spring of 2016 at a diocesan event in the Central Gulf Coast. A spark was ignited in her and she committed to looking outside the Church walls where God's people are also doing amazing things, to celebrate the good within our communities, and to look for opportunities to bridge gaps between the Church and the world. In the ministries she has served, Invite Welcome Connect has inspired new offerings and new ways of thinking.
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Currently, Mary Alice serves as the Missioner for Mobile in the Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast and as the part-time associate at St. Luke's Mobile. She hopes your community will take the opportunity to live into Invite Welcome Connect, and she and the other coaches look forward to walking with you in this ministry.
Toni Snow
Toni Snow attended her first Invite Welcome Connect event a few years ago, where Mary Parmer shared this ministry with the Episcopal Church in Delaware. She immediately embraced this ministry, understanding the impact and possibilities of incorporating it within the churches.
Toni is now an Invite Welcome Connect coach, assisting her diocese to lead their Invite Welcome Connect ministry. She believes that Invite Welcome Connect provides the church with a road map to carry out the Great Commission, showing us how to reach our communities for the plan of God. Her passion is to see people come to the Lord and help them grow and become disciples for the Kingdom of God.
Toni works for the Episcopal Church in Delaware as the Project Support Manager, where she helps the visions, plans, and goals of leadership and others come alive.
