Diocese-Wide Celebration at St. Richard’s, Winter Park, Brings Bishop’s Vision to Life

On the evening of Oct. 1, the Rt. Rev. Dr. Justin S. Holcomb presided at a diocese-wide celebration of Holy Eucharist at St. Richard’s, Winter Park, with confirmations, receptions and baptismal reaffirmations. The service was what the bishop has long envisioned. First imagined as a deanery celebration, it grew to include candidates from churches across the diocese.

Diocese-Wide

A total of six congregations and 200 clergy and laity participated in the evening, which included 12 confirmations, six receptions and 10 reaffirmations. In addition to St. Richard’s, congregants from St. Barnabas, DeLand; All Saints, Enterprise; St. Luke & St. Peter, St. Cloud; Holy Cross, Sanford; and Church of the Messiah, Winter Garden, participated. The six churches represented two deaneries: Central and Northeast.

Earlier this year, Holcomb suggested to all five deanery deans the idea of opening similar celebrations to any church within their deanery that might have candidates for confirmation, reception or reaffirmation, a vision he and his team have had for some time.

This fall, the Rev. Dale Truscott, interim priest-in-charge at St. Richard’s, contacted the bishop to say he had prepared candidates for confirmation and reception. When the bishop mentioned the possibility for a diocese-wide Eucharist, Truscott and the St. Richard’s vestry enthusiastically offered to host the service.

“This service reflected the bishop’s vision for collegiality and fellowship, just celebrating being brothers and sisters in Christ,” said Canon Sarah Caprani, the bishop’s chief of staff. “Almost every seat was taken. The spirit was good. Bishop Justin preached a fantastic sermon. Rev. Dale and St. Richard’s were superb hosts. The music was amazing.”

“The service at St. Richard’s couldn’t have gone any better,” she added. “This is an important step in people’s Christian lives. The more people who could come and celebrate it and witness it together, the better.”

“The bishop sees this as kind of a ‘pilot project,’” Truscott said. “It’s getting these sacramental acts done in a timely manner, but at the same time, it brings parishes together and sets up future events at other locations, and that is a great thing.” He also said the celebration helped to push Holcomb’s overriding vision of spreading the gospel “front and center.”

“He [Bishop Holcomb] came up with the idea of not just doing it as a single weekday visit to the parish in order to get some confirmations done, but as a deanery-wide event and then a diocesan event,” he said.

Gospel-Focused

In his sermon, Bishop Holcomb told those present that each of the candidates for confirmation, reception and reaffirmation is “a testimony of God’s faithfulness to all of us. God made a promise to them in baptism, and them being here is a symbol of God keeping his promises.”

The vows of confirmation, reception and reaffirmation should not be seen as candidates making a promise that God will hold them to, Holcomb said. Instead, they represent “you standing up inside a promise that God has already made and kept to you, his child. … At your baptism, God said, ‘I will be your God. You’re mine.’ And the priest said, ‘You’re sealed by the Holy Spirit in baptism. You’re marked as Christ’s own forever.’

“This evening you say, out loud, in front of everyone: yes,” the bishop said. “That is not the covenant. That is your ‘amen’ to it.” That’s you saying amen to God’s covenant to you.”

The evening also included a diocese-wide choir organized and led by St. Richard’s director of music, Dr. Carl MaultsBy. “The music, I believe, not only set the tone of the event, but elevated the spirituality and purpose of the event, which was to welcome people into the community of Christ,” MaultsBy said. “This celebration was a huge deal for the diocese and for St. Richard’s.”

The next such joint celebration of Holy Eucharist with confirmations, receptions and reaffirmations will take place on Sunday, Nov. 1, at 5 p.m. at Holy Trinity, Bartow, with Bishop Holcomb again scheduled to preside. Clergy from across the diocese who are interested in bringing candidates for this and future celebrations should contact Irene Safier at the diocesan office: isafier@cfdiocese.org or 407-423-3567, extension 300.