Virgin Islands News May 2026

Appointment of Canon to the Ordinary 
The Episcopal Diocese of the Virgin Islands is pleased to announce the appointment of The Reverend Sandra Walters Malone as Canon to the Ordinary. In accordance with Canon 10:2(a), The Right Reverend Rafael Morales Maldonado has appointed Rev. Malone, currently Vicar of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Sea Cow's Bay, Tortola, to this significant role, effective 1st May 2026.

The installation will take place on Saturday, May 30th at 10:30 a.m. at the Cathedral Church of All Saints in St. Thomas, USVI. The public is cordially invited to attend and participate in this momentous occasion.

Canon Malone is a native of Barbados who transferred her membership to St. George's Episcopal Church on Tortola upon relocating to the island in 1991. She made history in 2008 as one of the first three women ordained deacons in the diocese and in 2010 became the first woman ordained a priest. She has served St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Sea Cow's Bay — a fully self-supporting mission in the Deanery of the Virgin Islands — as Vicar since 2016. 

She holds an MA in Children, Youth, and Family Ministry from Wesley Seminary at Indiana Wesleyan University, a Certificate in Anglican Studies from the Church Divinity School of the Pacific in California, and a Certificate in Spiritual Direction from the Metagem Institute in Alabama. She has also received training in Missional Leadership at Luther Seminary in Minnesota and completed studies in Addiction Studies at the Caribbean Institute on Alcoholism and Other Drug Problems in Tobago.

Canon Malone is grateful for the unwavering support of her husband of 33 years, Meade, and their children, Marisa and Timothy, who have been a constant source of strength and encouragement throughout her ministry journey.

​The Diocese welcomes Canon Malone into this new role and looks forward to her continued service and leadership.

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Title IV Training in Puerto Rico
The Episcopal Dioceses of the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico joined together at the Diocesan Center in San Juan for a two-day intensive training. The delegation from the Virgin Islands consisted of both ordained and lay representatives across the two jurisdictions — the British Virgin Islands and the United States Virgin Islands — that make up the diocese.

Title IV of the Constitutions and Canons of the Episcopal Church constitutes the Church's foundational framework for ecclesiastical discipline and accountability. It establishes the processes by which the Church responds to allegations of misconduct by its clergy, ensuring that all proceedings are conducted with fairness, transparency, and a commitment to healing and restoration for all parties involved.

Title IV reflects the Church's deeply held conviction that the integrity of ordained ministry is inseparable from the health and wholeness of our communities, and that accountability is itself an expression of pastoral care. Therefore, the initiative for proper training in Title IV is not merely an administrative requirement — it is a vital ministerial formation that equips clergy and lay leaders to uphold the dignity and safety of every person within the Body of Christ.

Participants expressed great appreciation for the training and found the information highly valuable as the Body of Christ collectively collaborates for the common good. Participants were also treated to authentic Puerto Rican cuisine and refreshments throughout the two days, and each received a hat as a memento of the occasion.

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