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The Rev. Jo Ann Lagman named Episcopal Church missioner for Asiamerica ministries

August 7, 2024
Office of Public Affairs

The Rev. Jo Ann Jaén Lagman of the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago has been named Asiamerica missioner for The Episcopal Church. A family medicine physician by training, she serves as rector of St. David’s Episcopal Church in Aurora, Illinois.

“I am pleased that the Rev. Jo Ann Lagman has been chosen by a search committee representing the breadth of Asiamerica ministries,” said the Rev. Anthony Guillén, the church’s missioner for Latino/Hispanic ministries and director of ethnic ministries. “I look forward to working with her as she brings her leadership and gifts to this diverse and growing segment of our church.”

In her new position on the presiding bishop’s staff, Lagman will provide leadership in connecting, resourcing, and communicating about Asiamerica/Pacific Islander ministries and Asian/Asian American leaders at churchwide, provincial, and diocesan levels. Among other responsibilities, the missioner is charged with helping identify, encourage, and support leaders among Asians and Asian Americans, with special attention to diocesan multicultural officers, LGBTQ+ communities, mixed-culture families, women, multiethnic communities, and youth.

Lagman is on the standing committee of the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago and a board member of Bishop Anderson House, a chaplaincy center affiliated with Rush University Hospital. She recently became a trainer for the College for Congregational Development.

Ethnically Filipino, Lagman was born in the U.S. and moved to the Philippines as a teenager, where she completed high school, a bachelor of science, and medical school before returning to Chicago. She earned a master of divinity from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois.

Noting that her background provided “unique formation in being both Filipino American and an immigrant,” Lagman said she is excited to begin her new role Sept. 17. “I look forward to the creative ways the Spirit moves in liturgy, building up leaders, church revitalization, and social justice in our context.”

Learn more about The Episcopal Church Office of Asiamerica Ministries.