The Venerable Shawn W. Denney
Archdeacon of Springfield

The Venerable Shawn W. Denney, who has just been appointed Archdeacon of Springfield, is Vicar of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Springfield, Illinois. He is a graduated of MacMurray College (B. A., 1973), Jacksonville, and the University of Illinois College of Law (J.D., 1976), Urbana, Champaign.

Fr. Denney, a licensed attorney, was employed in the Office of the Illinois Attorney General for nearly 27 years, serving five Attorneys General. At the time of his retirement under the State’s recent early retirement incentive (December 31, 2002), he was Senior Counsel to the Attorney General and chair of the Attorney General’s Ethics Commission. Previously, he had served as First Assistant Attorney General, Solicitor General, Chief Attorney in the Springfield office and Chief of the Attorney General’s Opinions Division. During his tenure with the Attorney General, Fr. Denney was known for his expertise in State laws pertaining to open government, and particularly, the Open Meetings Act. He drafted two major revisions to the Act and shepherded them through the General Assembly. In 1991, the Illinois New Broadcaster Association named him Illinoisan of the Year, and in 1995, he received the James C. Craven Freedom of the Press Award from the Illinois Press Association, both given for his work as an advocate for open government.

Archdeacon Denney was ordained Deacon in 1977 and Priest in 1998, serving in sequence as Deacon-in-Charge, Priest-in-Charge and Vicar (since January 1, 1999) of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Springfield, IL. He has served the Diocese of Springfield in a number of capacities both as a layman and as a member of the clergy, including Standing Committee, lay and clerical; the Commission on Ministry, lay and clerical; the Diocesan Council, lay and clerical; the Ecclesiastical Trail Court; and as chair of the Committee on Constitution and Canons. He has also served as Director of the Division of Mission and Worship. Elected as an Alternate Clerical Deputy to the 73^rd General Convention (2000), he attended and served as a Deputy to that Convention due to a vacancy in the representation of the Diocese. He is a Clerical Deputy to the 74^th General Convention. The new Archdeacon and his wife, Mary Ann, have one son, Lucas.

Mrs. Sue Spring
New Diocesan Administrator

Sue Spring joined the diocesan staff on Wednesday, April 16, 2003 as the new Diocesan Administrator. She and her husband Dave relocated from Mahomet, Illinois to Sherman, Illinois in mid-March.

Sue spent the last eight years working for Solo Cup Company’s corporate office in Urbana, Illinois as an Information Services Supervisor/Administrator. Dave is a technical consultant employed by Ciber, Inc.  He is currently assigned to the Secretary of State’s office.

The Springs have two children. Jamie (21) is attending college in Champaign, Illinois. Daniel (19) is taking a semester off from school and working full time in Champaign.  He plans to attend Southern Illinois University-Cardondale in the fall.