The Rt. Rev. Rayford B. High, Jr., will ordain Tony Hiatt to the Sacred Order of Deacons at 7 pm on Tuesday, October 7, 2014, at Trinity Episcopal Church, Fort Worth.
Tony Hiatt is originally from Indianapolis, Indiana. He graduated from Purdue University with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering in 1982. He is employed by Trinity Industries in Dallas. Tony and his wife Lydia have been married for 31 years. They have three adult children and became grandparents for the first time in July. They have lived in Fort Worth since 1999.
Hiatt was raised in the United Methodist Church and discovered the Episcopal Church while he and his family lived in the Chicago area in the 1990’s. After moving to Texas, he was confirmed in The Episcopal Church by the Rt. Rev. Sam Hulsey in 2000. He served on the vestry and as senior warden at St. Anne’s Episcopal Church, Fort Worth, and later on the vestry at Trinity Episcopal Church, Fort Worth. He has been actively involved in the Cursillo movement for several years and helped to launch Cursillo in the reorganized Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth in 2012.
Hiatt perceived a call to ordained ministry following the diocesan schism, and entered the discernment process for ordination in 2009. He began studies at Brite Divinity School in Fort Worth in January, 2010, and completed a Master of Arts in Theology and Ministry in May, 2014. He also completed additional formation for Episcopal ordination at the Iona School for Ministry in the Diocese of Texas. Following ordination to the diaconate, he will serve as deacon at St. Luke’s in the Meadow, Fort Worth, while continuing preparation for ordination to the priesthood. He is drawn toward ministry to small congregations, and intends to maintain his secular employment while serving the diocese of Fort Worth in a bi-vocational capacity.