The Episcopal Church in Louisiana

DEACONS OF LOUISIANA - Pelideacons

Pelideacons (the deacons of Louisiana)


Deacon Dick Almos Ordained October 23, 2005, Dick's home in Slidell was severely damaged in the hurricane. He has been ministering in a variety of ways to other displaced residents of a trailer park outside of Birmingham where he and wife, Jean, have lived since the storm. Dick is looking forward to returning home when he will be facilitating Alabama deacons who want to help in the restoration effort. He is a deacon at Christ Church Slidell and has also been active in the seaman's ministry in New Orleans.


Deacon Linda Armstrong Ordained October 23, 2005, Linda is Director of Pastoral Care at St. James Place, a Baton Rouge retirement community. She was the featured speaker at a recent day-long retreat at St. Margaret's Baton Rouge and has been spending time with the mobile ministry unit in the New Orleans recovery effort. Linda has also been involved in Kairos outside at Angola prison, and preaches and teaches adult education courses at St. Alban's, Baton Rouge, where she and her husband, Lance, are active.


Deacon Janice S. Bales Ordained 27 October 1982. Jan served for five years as deacon at St. George's Church, New Orleans, and as Director of Deacon Formation in the diocese, in charge of those preparing for ordination and of the baby deacons. In June 2004 she and husband Fred returned to New Mexico to live near their children and grandchildren.


Deacon Quin Bates Ordained October 23, 2005, Quin has been the appointed deacon for the diocesan mobile ministry unit, serving the hardest his areas of the New Orleans region, most recently in the lower 9th Ward. The unit offers water, snacks, cleaning supplies, Bibles and pastoral care. Quin has been active in CASA, a youth advocacy program and in working with incarcerated juveniles. He and his wife, Lauranel, are active at St. Mark's, Harvey, where Quin is active in outreach and as a catechist.



Deacon Kathleen S. Comer Ordained 23 February 2002. Kathy serves as deacon at St. Martin's Church, Metairie, where she does pastoral visiting and works in conflict resolution. Having spent a year as a resident chaplain at Ochsner Foundation Hospital and another year as a hospice chaplain, she now works as chaplain for Lambeth House, a retirement community in New Orleans. She has completed six and a half CPE units.



Deacon Maggie Dawson Ordained 13 September 2003. Maggie serves as Director of Deacon Formation for the diocese and is a deacon at St. Martin's Church, Metairie. A certified spiritual director, she received training at the Anglican School of Theology in Dallas. She and her husband Mike live in Metairie, where she operates a business in computer consulting out of her home.



Deacon Charles N. deGravelles Ordained 10 June 1995. Charlie was appointed Archdeacon in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. A long-time prison minister, he is the Associate Chaplain at the Episcopal School of Baton Rouge and serves as deacon at Trinity Church, Baton Rouge. He and his wife, Angela, have three children. Charlie co-edits the New Orleans Poetry Journal Press and plays bass in the rock band Shadrach and the Tongues of Fire.



Deacon Milton Gibson Ordained October 23, 2005, Milton is currently taking a brief sabbatical after doing intense hurricane relief work in the North Shore area. Milton has been involved in crisis intervention, grief counseling, evangelism, and community leadership at Christ Church Slidell, where he and his wife, Beth, are active, and in the community.


Deacon JoAnn M. Garma Ordained 22 August 1982. Formerly at Grace Church, New Orleans, for many years, JoAnn spent a year at St. Michael's, Mandeville, and a year at All Saints, River Ridge. Before ordination she was a chaplain in Orleans Parish Prison. She later became chaplain at Children's Hospital and worked for the McFarland Institute as a CPE Supervisor. She now lives in Austin, Texas, where she is CPE Supervisor at Seton Hospital.



Deacon Howard Gillette Ordained 13 September 2003. Howard serves as deacon at St. Matthew's Church, Houma. A retired agent with U.S. Customs, he spent a year doing CPE with the New Orleans Police Department and a year as resident chaplain at Ochsner Foundation Hospital. He is employed by Ochsner as one of two chaplains, with responsibility for ministering to patients and families in ICU and CCU. He and his wife Mary live in Houma on Bayou Terrebonne.



Deacon Michael G. Hackett Ordained 23 February 2002. Mike is an Assistant Director of Deacons in the diocese and serves as deacon at St. Augustine's, Metairie. He is Co-Administrator of the Chapel of the Transfiguration ministry at Angola Prison and is a Court-Appointed Special Advocate (CASA). Mike was recognized as the 2006 CASA Volunteer of the Year. For many years he managed computer services at Southeast Louisiana University in Hammond, from which he retired in 2004. He and his wife Jan (a retired nurse) live in Metairie.



Deacon John Holbert Ordained October 23, 2005, John is a member of St. Philip’s New Orleans where he is active in outreach and other areas. Since Hurricane Katrina, John has been a chef preparing meals at the St. George's feeding ministry in New Orleans. John's other ministries include work as a grief counselor for the Jefferson Parish coroner. Formerly in law enforcement himself, John has received an appointment to be a police chaplain in Jefferson Parish.

Deacon Lydia Hopkins Ordained October 23, 2005, Lydia has had a key role in facilitating the feeding ministry begun at her home church, St. George's New Orleans, providing meals for Katrina workers and victims. She has also been a regular volunteer with Deacon Quin Bates on the mobile ministry unit. Her husband is Patrick Rogan.


Deacon Patricia R. Lyle Ordained 19 December 1986. Pat serves as deacon at St. James Church in Baton Rouge, where she is spiritual director at the St. James Center for Spiritual Formation. She leads several retreats in the diocese every year. She also has an active ministry in nursing homes. She and her husband Don live in Baton Rouge.



Deacon Cindy Obier Ordained 13 September 2003. Cindy serves as deacon at Trinity Church, Baton Rouge. An architect, she works as supervisor of the State Fire Marshal's office. She is Co-Administrator of the Chapel of the Transfiguration ministry at Angola Prison where she is a presenter for the DOCC program. Her professional job requires her to be the state enforcer of the Americans with Disabilities Act. She and her husband Bob live in Baton Rouge.



Deacon Louis K. Ogle Ordained 23 February 2002. Louis serves as deacon at St. Michael's Church, Mandeville, and as a professional chaplain at St. Tammany Parish Hospital. A former officer with the Louisiana State Police, he has completed seven CPE units. He serves as a chaplain at St. Tammany Hospital and has developed a nursing home ministry at his parish church. He and his wife Jean live in Mandeville.



Deacon Ormonde Plater Ordained 11 July 1971. Author of several books on the diaconate and widely acknowledged as a leading advocate for the order, Ormonde was Archdeacon for the diocese until his retirement in 2005, and was the chief architect of its diaconate program. He was formerly at St. Anna's Church for 25 years and now serves as deacon at Grace Church, New Orleans. Retired from the family sugarcane business on Bayou Lafourche, he lives with wife Kay in New Orleans, enjoys the nearby presence of grandchildren Isabelle and Piers. Two other grandchildren, Lance and Kayla, live in faraway California.



Deacon Lucy Plettinger Ordained October 23, 2005, Lucy has added a weekly nursing home service to her other ministries at Grace St. Francisville. She is, as a key team member with the Chapel of the Transfiguration at the Angola prison, leading inmates in Disciples of Christ in Community (DOCC) education classes, and acting as deacon in the Eucharist services at the prison. Her husband is Will.




Deacon Debbie Scalia Ordained 13 September 2003. Debbie serves as deacon at All Saints, River Ridge, and is Dean of Christian Life and Lower School Chaplain at St. Martin's Episcopal School in Metairie. She and her husband Sal live in River Ridge with their daughter Cindy.



Deacon Jim Tomkins Ordained 13 September 2003. Jim serves as deacon at Holy Spirit, Baton Rouge. Jim was instrumental in the aftermath of Katrina in providing goods and services to the North Shore region. His main ministry in the community is to the Sudanese population. He is also involved with evangelism and mission work, and he traveled to the Sudan in 2004 as the first American cleric in that country in more than 30 years. He and his wife Allyson live with their children in the Covington area, where he raises and sells tropical birds.



Deacon Reese Wiggins Received as deacon from the Roman Catholic Church on 13 September 2003. Reese serves at St. Luke's, Baton Rouge, where he directs 8-10 outreach programs and chairs the outreach committee. He is also involved in mission work in Central America. He and his wife Glenn live in Baton Rouge, where he works as a senior engineering designer. He has three grown children.


Deacon Philip Wild Ordained October 23, 2005, Philip and his wife, Phyllis, are long time members of Christ Church Covington where Phil is active in outreach and other ministries. He is currently developing a ministry to North Shore nursing home residents displaced from New Orleans.