Bishop Brewer with the four newly ordained deacons, L-R The Rev. Eleanor Brown, The Rev. Marcia Allison, The Rev. Jonnette DeMarsico, The Rev. Patricia Orlando

“The Church’s One Foundation” rang through the sanctuary of the Cathedral of St. Luke, Orlando, as the ordination service for four female deacons began on Saturday, Oct. 9, at 11:00 a.m. The Rt. Rev. Gregory O. Brewer, bishop of the Diocese of Central Florida, assisted by The Very Rev. Kristi Alday, archdeacon, presided over the ordinations of The Rev. Marcia Arlene Allison, The Rev. Eleanor Beverly Brown, The Rev. Jonnette Mare DeMarsico and The Rev. Patricia Roberts Orlando.

In addition to the formal presentation of the deacons and signing of the Declaration of Ordination, the service included the Old Testament reading from Jeremiah 4:1-9, a choral rendering of Psalm 84 and an Epistle reading of Acts 6:2-7 along with multiple prayers, hymns and affirmations.

Brewer began his homily with a prayer he found on Twitter and received permission to use: “Give us, O Lord, a love for you that is dedicated and determined, like the women who stayed by your cross; courageous and committed, like the women who went to your tomb on Easter morning; inspired and infectious, like the women who were bursting to share the news.”

Brewer charged the four ordinands to be “dressed for action and have your lamps lit” (Luke 12:35a). He reminded them of their calling as servants, saying, “You wouldn’t want to do this unless you knew God had called you.”

“You’re called servants because it’s hard; it’s demanding; it will ask the best of you … in the most inconvenient times,” he said, adding that empowerment for ministry must come from a deep inner relationship with God. “You have met God in those secret places.”

The bishop explained that the call to serve others comes with a willingness to take risks, even when others don’t understand. “We need to be a church that demonstrates a proprietary commitment not to safety but to mission, to somehow reach out to the people that God cares about who don’t look like us,” he said. “Because we don’t take those risks, the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.”

The newly ordained women view the time of ordination from individual vantage points that point to God’s power at work in their lives. Allison said the process of responding to God’s call is “a ride that is tumultuous, joyful, exciting and frightening, but never to be ignored. … After ordination day, which was an amazing day of celebration, I jumped right in the next day for installation to my home church at St. James, Ormond Beach,” where her husband serves as rector.

Allison also plans to continue expanding her ministry of “sharing the gospel through iconography,” she said, noting that her calling is also growing in grief ministry.

Brown found her ordination “bittersweet” because “the journey was long and hard,” she said. “The Lord sustained me and let me complete the diaconate. It’s only the beginning. The fact that my husband, Terry, passed away Aug. 2 was very hard for me. … He supported me every step of the way.”

“I felt honored signing a contract with our Lord and Savior, with the church where I serve and serving his people,” Brown said. “Standing with Archdeacon Kristi and the bishop was absolutely perfect. She has been there for me from the start.”

Brown, who serves at Good Shepherd, Lake Wales, said her ministry will be in prayer and healing, adding, “I’m depending on the Lord to tell me where and what he wants me to concentrate on.”

DeMarsico, who serves at St. Peter the Fisherman, New Smyrna, primarily in the area of pastoral care, agreed on the nature of the ordination service. “It was a most humbling experience to be ‘officially’ set apart to serve him, while at the same time, it was the most elevating experience, being drenched with the Holy Spirit. Being one of four women ordained was an added blessing!”

Various elements of the service ministered to DeMarsico. “The reading from Jeremiah 1:4-9 was especially meaningful for me, as the book of Jeremiah has been a stronghold for me throughout this past year,” she said. “And the Communion song, ‘I Want to Walk as a Child of the Light,’ was the theme and song of my Cursillo weekend back in the ’80s, and I was very moved to be singing it in this context.”

“Ordination felt like a wedding day,” Orlando said. This transitional deacon, who serves as director of pastoral care at the Cathedral of St. Luke, Orlando, found Brewer’s charge to “consider the stole across your shoulder as the towel and wash basin,” especially meaningful.

“I couldn’t help but think of the Towel and Basin Award I was given at graduation from Asbury Theological Seminary,” she said. “The words, ‘move in the same direction’ became taking my outer robes of propriety (being willing to wear my brokenness for others to see), basking in humility as I wash the feet of his people, knowing the love, the forgiveness, the comfort, the instruction and the strength of my God as I daily surrender to his will, his Spirit’s molding of my inner being.”