The residency program of the Diocese of Central Florida, already known for its excellence in helping develop new clergy, is expanding this summer to include two new churches: the Cathedral Church of St. Luke, Orlando, and Holy Trinity, Melbourne. The Rev. Garrett Puccetti, ordained as a deacon by the Rt. Rev. Dr. Justin S. Holcomb on Jan. 11, will begin his resident assistant rector role at St. Luke on Aug. 1; and the Rev. Daniel McCarley, ordained as a priest on June 3, 2023, at St. James’, Texarkana, Texas, where he currently serves as director of children, youth and family ministries, will start as resident associate rector at Holy Trinity on Aug. 18.

In both cases – as with the other two churches with current residents, Grace, Ocala, and Church of the Messiah, Winter Garden – the residency pairs a clergy member eager to learn with a supervising priest who has a passion for mentoring.

‘For the Church’

“We at the Cathedral Church of St. Luke seek to extend in mission God’s love for the world,” said the Very Rev. Dr. Reggie Kidd, dean. “Bishop Holcomb, the chapter [vestry for the Cathedral] and I are excited that the residency program gives us the opportunity to do just that by committing ourselves to training leadership for the church of the next generation.”

Puccetti has equal enthusiasm about his upcoming residency position. “As I was getting into postulancy, the residency program was first getting kicked off, and I was really excited about it,” said Puccetti, whose sending parish is St. Francis in the Fields, Harrods Creek, Kentucky. Married to Erin – a learning interventionist with a charter school in Milwaukee, Wisconsin – for five years this month, he graduated from Nashotah House in May.

“Even in my initial parish discernment, I threw out that the residency program in Central Florida was something that I was interested in down the road,” he said. “Of course, the first time I actually ever visited the Cathedral was for my ordination. But shortly after that, I learned that they were doing a residency program, and I was very excited about that, because I think the Cathedral is a beautiful place and obviously has a very good leadership team.

“It struck me as a very intentional program, in that it was designed specifically to get newer, often younger, priests into the position to best use their future ministry for the church,” he added. “I’m excited about the way that the residency program should prepare me to be a good investment to the diocese and the church, after they’ve put their resources and discernment and support behind me. This is sort of a continuation of that, hopefully, to best use whatever gifts I’m bringing to the church.”

The Rev. Tom Phillips, rector of Holy Trinity, displays equal zeal for his church’s participation in the residency program. “I’ve always had a heart for training up and equipping leaders, as mentorship was huge for me as I started out in ministry,” he said. “Holy Trinity also has a rich history of sending out great leaders into the wider church, one of whom, the Rt. Rev. Dabney Smith, now serves as our assisting bishop.

“The benefit of the residency extends to the parish as much as the resident, as it provides opportunity for Holy Trinity to thoughtfully explore the effectiveness of its various systems, programs and structures,” he added. “The residency puts a microscope on the business, administrative and ministry functions of the parish, which is a great exercise in excellence for our church and staff.”

Like Kidd, Phillips believes his new resident brings with him gifts and abilities that will bless his church. “Daniel is a talented leader who is coming with good experience in ministry that will immediately be helpful to Holy Trinity at this stage of our growth,” he said. “His background ministering to young people as a chaplain will certainly be helpful as we continue to develop our children’s and student ministry. His heart for evangelism will certainly make us sharper. His vision for well-done contemporary worship will be helpful as we begin a new contemporary service over his time here.”

The Rev. Frans van Santen, priest-in-charge, Grace, Ocala, the only diocesan priest who has been a resident himself and is now supervising a resident, the Rev. Brian Stankich, has a unique perspective on the diocesan residence program. A former businessman, he not only came to the diocese from another country, the Netherlands, but also from another denomination, the Anglican Church. Van Santen and his family (his wife, Erin, who grew up in Florida, and their children, Estella and Moses) moved to the U.S. in the summer of 2020.

Through conversations with the Rt. Rev. Gregory O. Brewer, then diocesan bishop, and Holcomb, then canon for vocations, van Santen realized a residency might be perfect for his unusual situation. At Holcomb’s suggestion, he met with the Rev. Jonathan French, then rector of Grace and coordinator of the diocesan residency program.

“I think it was within five weeks after we moved that I was in Ocala, talking with Father Jonathan,” van Santen said. “He explained to me what the residency was, and it sounded very appealing.” But at the time, neither the church nor the diocese had any residency openings.

No openings – until French called him back a few weeks later. Grace’s first resident, the Rev. Caroline Osborne, was leaving to take a position in Tennessee. The church now had a need – and van Santen, whose wife’s parents live in Altoona, only an hour away, was ready and willing to fill it.

“I thought, ‘This is a place where I can grow into doing this well,'” van Santen said. French hired him, and he started as Grace’s third resident in November 2020. But over time, a problem developed: How could he leave?

“My wife and my children, I myself too, we really started to love Ocala as a place to live,” he said. “They love their school, but we also really love the church community. And the longer I was there, the deeper the love grew, and the harder it was going to be for us to eventually get out of there and go to another church.”

But God had a plan for that as well. After making an exception by hiring van Santen as associate rector once he completed his residency, French left his longtime position at Grace in December 2023 – but not before recommending to the vestry that the church hire van Santen to meet the need caused by his departure.

“There’s a rule that associates cannot apply for a senior position in the same church … the only one who’s going to override that rule is the bishop,” van Santen explained. “And Bishop Holcomb wholeheartedly said yes, ‘In this case, for this congregation.'” The entire congregation erupted in what van Santen described as “an explosion of joy” when his appointment as priest-in-charge was announced.

‘For the Resident’

Although Holy Trinity’s coming resident, McCarley, was not specifically seeking a residency position, he is convinced of God’s call to his new position. “I am currently a curate in the Diocese of Dallas,” he said. “And I was looking for my next cure, because I’m coming to the end of my contract here. I knew Central Florida was kind of a sister diocese of ours in many ways, and so I reached out to Bishop Holcomb.

“We were on the phone, and he asked if I had ever heard of Melbourne, because looking at my resume, he thought the perfect place for me would be with Father Tom Phillips,” McCarley explained.

He had, in fact, heard of Melbourne; his fiancee, Virginia Compton, a mental health therapist, grew up there. Her parents still live in Indiatlantic, and the couple already believed God was leading them to move closer to her family.

“I knew that what I was looking for was not a rector position,” he explained. “A lot of my colleagues went straight from a curacy to a rectorate, and I knew that I wanted to continue working as an associate … the residency was just part of the benefit of the calling to Holy Trinity. I was looking at other options that were not residencies in themselves, but this one was a great fit, and clear in the way the Lord was calling us.”

Phillips believes the residency program will bless not only his church, but its new resident as well. “The various programs and worship services at Holy Trinity provide an incredible training ground for talented new clergy to learn the ropes of pastoral ministry and program-sized administration,” he said. “From the school to our incredible pastoral care programs to our five weekly Eucharists of various rites and styles, a resident will be exposed to most of what one will commonly encounter across the spectrum of our Episcopal Church. … Broadly speaking, Daniel will find himself engaged in all aspects of parish life and ministry, learning to function as a rector, who’s ultimately responsible for all that takes place in the parish,” he said.

Kidd is also convinced of the value of the residency program for participating clergy. “We are excited to welcome Garrett Puccetti as our first resident, so we can further his formation in preaching the gospel, teaching Christ’s way of living in the world, leading worship, providing pastoral care, recruiting and organizing God’s people for their work of ministry,” he said. “The Cathedral has, almost by accident, been that sort of leadership training hub for years – including for me.”

As the incoming Cathedral resident, Puccetti agrees. “I think part of Dean Kidd’s vocation in general has already been raising up next generations of ministers,” he said. “So I think getting started with the residency program at the Cathedral was a natural extension of his ministry, and hopefully one that is being picked up by the Cathedral as well. … the Cathedral, at the center of the diocese, has a whole lot to offer the wider church, and to offer the next set of new priests like me a good experience to catch us up and train us in a strong diocese and a strong parish with good, faithful leaders.”

Having now completed his residency, van Santen remains convinced of the program’s value. Despite his business background, “the way you lead a church, and the way in which you lead church meetings, that’s not something you learn in seminary,” he said. “But a lot of what it means to be a rector is to lead and to have a vision and cast a vision and develop strategy. … it was so helpful to watch Father Jonathan do that and to be able to ask questions.”

“Another aspect of the program that I value highly is the opportunity to develop into a great communicator,” he added. “The best way to become a better communicator is, first of all, to do it; second of all, to receive helpful, positive criticism. … I cannot think of a better start for the priesthood and of the whole role as a leader in the church than to do it under the supervision of someone who really has the intention for your best and for the sake of the kingdom.”

‘For the Gospel’

As the diocesan residency program continues to expand, its primary focus is the same as that of the diocese: the propagation of the gospel, as Kidd expressed when he said the Cathedral seeks “to extend in mission God’s love for the world” and that the residency program will provide that opportunity.

McCarley said that, along with preaching and celebrating duties plus helping strengthen the relationship between the church and Holy Trinity Academy, evangelism will be “a large emphasis of mine.” Phillips also sees the potential gospel impact of the residency program in general and McCarley in particular.

“One of the things that impressed me most about Daniel was his heart for the gospel,” he said. “He loves Jesus, and he wants others to come into fellowship with Christ as well. That vision for ministry will drive him, and us, to new places as a parish. It will keep us willing to innovate, create and stay relevant. I’m excited about that both for Daniel and for Holy Trinity.”

Among van Santen’s gospel contributions at Grace is the reintroduction of the Alpha course, a series of interactive sessions that explore the core principles of the Christian faith, to the congregation. The parish responded with initial skepticism followed by an enthusiasm that continues today.

And although numbers aren’t everything, when they represent souls changed by the gospel, they matter. “We are growing quite fast,” van Santen said of the church’s health since he became priest-in-charge. “We have almost 50 more on Sunday mornings than we did before, and those people bring their friends and others.”

For the churches. For the residents. For the gospel. With these priorities at its center, the diocesan residency program is poised to continue its expansion for the kingdom and the glory of God.