We are pleased to welcome the Rev. Dr. Regina Hopewell to the Diocese! She joins us from the Diocese of the Rocky Mountains to serve as a vocational deacon at Church of the Ascension.

Regina was ordained to the vocational diaconate in the Diocese of the Rocky Mountains in 2013, where she served at International Anglican Church until moving from Colorado Springs, CO, to West Newton, PA, three years ago. After enjoying a few years of retirement with her husband, Mark, she felt God’s gentle nudge to return to the diaconate in the church the Hopewells are quickly falling in love with—Church of the Ascension, Pittsburgh.

Regina is a former university professor, a graduate of Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary, a spiritual director certified in Ignatian spirituality and leading people through the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius, and a wife of 45 years to Mark. Although they have no children, Mark and Regina have mentored and loved children young and old from around the globe. Regina worked for Compassion International for 16 years and led the Rwanda sister church relationship for International Anglican Church for many years.

The Hopewells have traveled extensively, both when on pilgrimage to places like Assisi, Rome, the Holy Land and the Camino de Ignaciano in Spain, and to visit international friends and church family. Introducing Anglicans to the Rwanda Church by leading pilgrimages to one of the nations that helped birth the Anglican Church in North America is a passion of Regina’s. She has visited Rwanda fifteen times, most recently in August 2025. In addition to travel, the Hopewells love walking, bicycling, and camping in their Solis Pocket camper van with their feline friend Julian.