Cameron O’Riley

Nominee for Procter Board of Directors

Please describe your participation in the life of your congregation, the diocese, and the larger community.

Currently I serve as the Associate Rector at Christ Church in Glendale, Ohio with special emphasis on formation and service while also assisting the Rector as pastor, priest, and teacher. Since 2016, I have participated as a chaperone with diocesan youth events as well as Camp Chaplain at the Procter Center. In July of 2022, I assumed the role of Diocesan EFM Coordinator. Within the Cincinnati region, I participate in the DoSo Youth Network, and locally, as of November 2022, I will be a Trustee of the Glendale Heritage Preservation Society. Outside the Diocese and my local community, I am a member of the Alumni Council for the School of Theology at Sewanee representing the territories of Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky. Other affiliations include Gathering of Leaders and the Episcopal Preaching Foundation.

Why do you feel God is calling you to serve in this position?

Since arriving in the Diocese of Southern Ohio in the summer of 2016, the Procter Center has become, for me, a holy place. Through participation in Residence programming, parish retreats, diocesan events, camp, and more, I became familiar with the inner workings of the Procter Center and with others who love and care for her. I feel that God can use me in this place by drawing on my experience as a social worker, mental health provider, and priest to imagine and improve the ways Procter meets the needs of the diocese at large, parishes, individuals, and the community around them while continuing to be true to our Episcopal identity in all its various forms and iterations. I feel called to support Procter in her role as a place of healing, nurturing of the spirit within and around us in God’s creation, and to be a safe place for people to come to grow in faith and play and celebrate the wonders of God’s love.

Finally, as I have shared with some, I met God at church camp. I was a tearful, homesick child when one day the Camp Director’s father came for a visit and introduced himself. He invited me on a walk every afternoon, and together, we followed the path that led down and around the lake. He listened to my fears, and told me about himself, and he shared camp secrets like where the fireworks were hidden. Once I’d grown up, I realized he was Jesus showing up in the places of most need. So, I go to camp every year cause there just might be someone to walk with, and think serving on the Procter Board is another path I’m being called to follow.