PHOTOS PROVIDED BY CHRIST CHURCH, PENSACOLA
Bishop Greg Brewer of the Diocese of Central Florida ordains the Rev. Katie Gillett to the priesthood on Aug. 29 at Christ Episcopal Church in Pensacola.

Hundreds turned out to watch the Rev. Katie Gillett take the final step into priesthood late last month when she was officially ordained into the Sacred Order of Priests at Christ Church Parish in Pensacola.

A former member of St. Mary of the Angels Episcopal Church in Orlando, Gillett and others close to her estimated that 300 people turned out for the service on Wednesday, Aug. 29. This past spring, she accepted a call as the Associate Rector for Outreach and Spirituality at Christ Church. She moved from Central Florida to the Panhandle and began her new position on Monday, June 11. Her first Sunday preaching and serving at the altar came on Friday, June 15.

“The ordination service was absolutely beautiful,” Gillett said. “It began at 6 p.m. and was followed by a reception. My parents were able to attend along with a friend from seminary and several from my sponsoring parish, St. Mary of the Angels. There were also a lot of clergy from the Central Gulf Coast diocese, approximately 36.”

Bishop Greg Brewer of the Diocese of Central Florida was the visiting bishop in the Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast and was invited to offer up the peace, Gillett said. Brewer performed the ordination and preached, while Bishop James Russell Kendrick of the Central Gulf Coast celebrated the Eucharist.

The ordination comes just seven months after she was ordained as a transitional deacon at The Cathedral of St. Luke in Orlando. She graduated from Duke Divinity School in Durham, North Carolina, in May.

“I am most grateful for all who attended and are committed to upholding me in ministry,” Gillett said. “I am very thankful for all who have and continue to support me both in my journey and in my ministry. Bishop Brewer’s words were immensely moving, and I will treasure his charge in my heart as I embark in my ministry with Christ Church. It has been immensely joyful, and I am in awe of the vocation I am called to.”

Photo caption 2:
The Right Rev. Russell Kendrick, Bishop of the Central Gulf Coast, far left, poses with Rev. Katie Gillett, center, and Bishop Greg Brewer after Gillett’s ordination.

Gillett earlier said her job duties at Christ Church will include assisting the rector, primarily responsible for providing clergy support to the areas of outreach and spirituality, and having the opportunity to be part of many ministries of the parish.

“I am excited to be part of the Christ Church family as we seek to be a loving family of Christians who, by God’s grace and Spirit, pray, think, and serve in the name of Christ Jesus (our mission),” she said.

Gillett said the church’s outreach mission is to serve God “by helping people in need of the basic necessities of life by following Christ’s mandate in Matthew 25, “… for I was hungry, and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me …”

Gillett also is a published author. Her article “Blessed Repetition” last year appeared in Anglican Episcopal House of Studies Perspectives for Duke Divinity School.

For more information on Christ Church, please visit the website https://christ-church.net on the internet.