Practicing What She Preaches—and Teaches

On Tuesday, April 1, the Rev. Kaity Reece ‘24 led thirty Episcopalians from across the Diocese of Nebraska for a day of public witness and fellowship at the Nebraska Capitol.  

As part of the diocese’s Episcopal Advocacy Day, participants heard from key leaders on the Nebraska Legislature’s Judiciary Committee about current criminal justice reform efforts.  

They also spoke to senators in the rotunda to share their support for LB 319. This bill would end Nebraska’s lifetime ban on food assistance benefits (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as SNAP) for individuals with certain drug offenses. Together, the group spoke with eighteen of the Nebraska Legislature’s forty-nine senators about the need to end the lifetime ban.  

For Reece, the Episcopal Advocacy Day was an opportunity to practice what she teaches. In March, she offered a praxis course for ordination track students at the Bishop Kemper School for Ministry titled “How to Build Relationships with Elected Officials (and why you might want to).” The course focused on practical engagement strategies at the local, state, and federal levels and provided a framework for church leaders to think about this work in the context of discipleship. 

The roots of this Zoom-based course reach back to Reece’s time at CDSP, when she completed an independent study during her final semester in the hybrid program. After more than a decade working in public policy, first as a legislative aide to a state senator and later as an advocate and lobbyist, Reece was preparing to leave her full-time work in the State Capitol in Lincoln for a full-time parish position in Omaha.   

“As I completed my final year of studies and in anticipation of my curacy, I knew I was going to be making a major shift,” she said. “My independent study work at CDSP gave me the opportunity to explore how lessons and experiences from my eleven years in public policy translated to my new parish-based context.”  

With support from the Rev. Kyle Oliver, EdD, adjunct instructor in Christian formation and Reece’s supervisor for the independent study, she designed and piloted an early version of what would become the Bishop Kemper School praxis course via a workshop for rectors and senior wardens in the Diocese of Nebraska.  

Reece’s coursework also built on previous work she completed as an Episcopal Evangelism Society (EES) grant recipient during her time at CDSP. Her project focused on developing faithful witnesses supporting criminal justice reform through workshops, public events, and formation opportunities.  

The policy focus for these EES-supported initiatives was restoring voting rights for thousands of Nebraskans after the completion of their criminal sentence, a bill that became law in June 2024. Reece was further recognized for this project as a 2023 EES Directors’ Award recipient. 

“The Episcopal Advocacy Day earlier this month provided our team an opportunity to put into practice much of the advice I’ve shared over the past year, first with church leaders as part of my independent study project, and more recently at Bishop Kemper School for Ministry,” she said.  

“I’m proud of our work ensuring that no Nebraskan goes hungry and that returning citizens have the resources they need to be successful after incarceration. As one of our partners recently said, ‘We must do more to let people who are home be home.’ I’m also grateful for how CDSP and others formed and supported me as I integrated my secular vocation with my work as a priest.”