Left Photo: (L-R) Emilynn, Micalynn, Natalie and Donovan Layne were baptized during chapel on April 29, 2024. Photo – REBECCA ALLISON  |  Right Photo: Chaplain Barnswell-Schmidt baptizes Penelope Hatcher, Feb. 7, 2025. – Photo courtesy of HTEA

Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy, Melbourne, instituted baptisms at the school in the 2023-2024 school year. The Rev. Garcia Barnswell-Schmidt, head chaplain and one of the three youth coordinators for the Episcopal Diocese of Central Florida, has since baptized a total of 16 people at HTEA, with one more to receive baptism before this school year ends. The baptisms were made possible by her ordination to the priesthood and the approval of both the Rt. Rev. Dr. Justin S. Holcomb and the Rev. Tom Phillips, rector of Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, Melbourne.

“In the past, I could only go so far with the children in their spiritual journey,” explained Barnswell-Schmidt. “Before my ordination as a priest, baptisms were not allowed at the Lower School. Many students don’t have a church family, so they see HTEA as their church home. When students and their families sought to be baptized at the school, I sent students directly to the rector at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, Melbourne, and other Episcopal churches in the area to continue their spiritual journey.

“Students often mentioned feeling like strangers in the churches they visited, that it wasn’t the same, as there was no connection or established relationship,” she said. “Parents often noted that it felt out of place to have a stranger baptizing their children.”

Barnswell-Schmidt reached out to Holcomb, seeking the bishop’s permission to baptize students at the school. “He recognized the unique situation and gave his blessing, provided the Rev. Tom Phillips, the newly called rector at Holy Trinity, would also give his blessing,” Barnswell-Schmidt said. “Father Tom happily agreed.”

Parents Phillip and Patti Hatcher with their children, Penelope and Paxton, and Chaplain Barnswell-Schmidt on the day of the children’s baptism. – Photo courtesy of HTEA

From Oct. 20, 2023 – May 17, 2024, she baptized 13 people. “We had three more baptisms this academic year (2025),” she said.

“I am thankful for the Rev. Garcia Barnswell-Schmidt and her ministry in the diocese and at Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy,” Holcomb said. “I love that students there, including some who have been unchurched, have asked to be baptized. What a great testimony of her ministry! I am also grateful for the way she faithfully proclaims the gospel, offering hope to the students and reminding them of God’s promise to them in Christ.”

The baptisms all took place during the Lower School chapel service. “All the students who were baptized consider HTEA to be their spiritual home,” Barnswell-Schmidt said. “Their relationship with God was formed in this community. They attend chapel services here with their friends and their parents. Some students had also mentioned that they didn’t desire to be baptized in the churches they were already attending because they felt more at home in chapel.”

And her baptism ministry is extending beyond students. “One mother, Micalynn Layne, approached me about baptizing her three children,” she said. “The children’s father supported the idea but pointed out that Micalynn had never been baptized. I got to baptize her and her three children! Micalynn, Donovan, Natalie and Emilynn were baptized on April 29, 2024.”

“All three of my children have attended Holy Trinity since they were 3,” Layne explained. “Rev. Garcia has always been their chaplain. We waited to be baptized until she was ordained. Donovan wanted to be baptized at the Lower School with his sisters and me because his faith journey began there.”

Those who are baptized receive a certificate of baptism, the baptismal napkin and a baptismal candle. “They light their candles right after they’re baptized,” Barnswell-Schmidt said. “I tell them how special they are to God and how much he loves them. I then remind them to light the candle (with Mom and Dad’s help)  on their birthday or the baptism anniversary. The candle reminds them of their baptism, that they are now a part of God’s family and that nothing they do or say can separate them from this love.”

She noted that the ceremony means a great deal to the students, saying, “I have a few who will come up to me occasionally and ask me if I remember that I baptized them. A few students would also come to me and remind me that the anniversary of their baptism was coming up and that they were excited to light their candles again.”

“We have one more baptism scheduled for May,” Barnswell-Schmidt said. “It is a teacher whose children attend the Upper School. They have been baptized, but she has not. She has been at the school for four years but will be moving away at the end of the semester.

“She told me she wants to be around the people who know her and love her, and she wants to be baptized by a priest she knows and trusts,” the chaplain explained. “She wants to forever be connected to God and to her faith community: Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy.”