The Reverend Erin Hougland, Associate Rector for Community Engagement and Vitality
The Reverend Erin Hougland has accepted the call to serve as Trinity’s newest priest, in the role of Associate Rector for Community Engagement and Vitality. Mother Erin’s primary responsibilities will be in the outreach and justice, as well as evangelism and welcome ministries of the parish. Also, like all clergy at Trinity, Mother Erin will engage in preaching, teaching, and pastoral care in the parish, but with a particular eye towards new-member incorporation, external community connections, and stewardship.
BIO
The Rev’d Erin Hougland received her B.A. in Theological Studies from Hanover College in 2008, her M.Div from Earlham School of Religion in 2014 with honors, and her Diploma for Anglican Studies from Bexley Seabury Seminary Federation in Chicago in 2017.
Mother Erin is a cradle Episcopalian, the child of an Episcopal priest and has been part of the Episcopal Church her whole life. Mother Erin is passionate about showing the world what the Episcopal Church has to offer through our rich tradition of welcoming all people without exception, our compassionate social justice work and outreach to our neighbors in need and through our deep spiritual tradition and liturgy.
Upon graduation from Hanover in 2008 Erin became the Neighborhood Christian Legal Clinic’s first Volunteer Coordinator through the AmeriCorps VISTA program. Upon completion of her VISTA year, Erin and her husband lived abroad in Yanai City Japan, working for the JET program teaching English for a year. When Erin and her husband returned to the U.S. Erin enrolled in seminary and continued her work at the Neighborhood Christian Legal Clinic as their Volunteer and Internship Coordinator where she worked extensively in the Clinic’s administration helping to advance their contributed resources, brand and presence in this corner of Indianapolis.
In 2016 the Rev. Erin helped to plant and became the Director of Discipleship at Good Samaritan Episcopal Church in Brownsburg. Upon her ordination in June of 2017 Mother Erin became the Pathways Priest for the Episcopal Diocese of Indianapolis. In this program Rev. Erin has worked in three unique congregational settings: at Good Samaritan, a new church plant in the Diocese; at All Saints, an established and rapidly growing Anglo-Catholic congregation; and at St. Timothy’s, a recently revised and growing congregation. While the settings are different, Erin’s work has been consistent: harnessing and empowering strong lay leaders, revitalizing stewardship and giving initiatives, furthering outreach and evangelism efforts and programming, and developing discipleship and pathways for newcomers, all with a focus on vitality and sustainability.
Mother Erin is originally from Kentucky and has loved living in Indianapolis and watching the city grow and begin to thrive over the last ten years. Erin is the mother of two young boys, Ian and Sam and is married to Isaac. The Hougland’s love exploring the city, traveling, hiking and camping, eating good food and spending time with family and friends. Erin is also a Tai Chi instructor and has recently begun teaching classes again at Trinity.
