“This is an impossible vocation. But it is also the vocation to which you are called.”

Those words from The Rt. Rev. Gregory O. Brewer set the tone for his sermon at a Sept. 10 service at 11 a.m. at the Cathedral Church of St. Luke, Orlando, in which he ordained nine men to the order of the diaconate.

The following, each listed with his sponsoring church, all took their vows as deacons: Scott Anderson, Christ the King and Jesús de Nazaret, Orlando; Zacher Bayonne, Trinity, Vero Beach; John “Winn” Collier Jr., All Saints, Winter Park; Ernest Hargett Jr., St. John the Baptist, Orlando; Preston Grissom, Incarnation, Oviedo; Luke Klingstedt, All Souls, Horizon West; Timothy Rutherford, St. Augustine of Canterbury, Vero Beach; Ron Schoomaker, Christ the King, Orlando; and Ralph Seckinger, St. Paul’s, Winter Haven.

The ordinands affirm the impossibility of their new vocation. “Throughout my discernment, I have been struck by two seemingly antithetical realities: that I feel prepared by the best mentorship possible and that I am called to an impossible task,” said Grissom, who serves as a hospital chaplain at Chesapeake Regional Medical Center, Chesapeake, Virginia. “I am encouraged that the Almighty God is most clearly revealed in his humility, and it is in our weakness that God’s power is displayed.”

Klingstedt, curate at St. Timothy’s, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, agrees. “True, authentic servanthood is impossible without the grace of God,” he said. “Ordination is indeed an impossible task if we approach it without a recognition of the providence and mercy of God. Thankfully, as Bishop Brewer reminded us, God has been with us every step of the way, even before we felt that initial tug on our hearts toward a call to ministry.”

“I cannot believe how blessed I am to get to be called to this impossible vocation, and I am confident that God got me this far, and he will carry me through as long as I lean on and follow Him,” said Rutherford, head chaplain at Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy, Melbourne.

Bishop Brewer closes his sermon with prayer during the ordination of nine deacons on Sept. 10, 2022, at the Cathedral Church of St. Luke, Orlando.

He also identifies with Brewer’s emphasis on prayer as an essential part of the work of a deacon. “I have been realizing more and more how much prayer is foundational to ministry,” he said. “I loved that Bishop Brewer pointed out anyone who is too busy to pray thinks they can do it without God’s help. I find that to be true.”

Like Brewer, many of the ordinands spoke to the priority of God’s calling on their lives, which the bishop said was birthed in the heart of God long before they recognized it. “I felt like this was written for me, because in my discernment, I felt like God told me I was designed for this vocation,” Rutherford said. “Hearing similar language in the sermon brought on the joy of the Holy Spirit.”

Schoomaker added that the aspect of divine calling “long before I ever knew or understood” was the part of Brewer’s sermon that most impacted him. “Indeed, as I look back, it is so humbling to see God’s gentle hand guiding and forming, encouraging me to walk by faith and then opening my eyes to his will.”

Hargett, who was previously ordained in another tradition and serves food to the community and the homeless through St. John’s, Orlando, pointed to the priority of calling as well. “The bishop’s sermon touched me on several levels,” he said. “Mostly that God has always been behind the scenes, working, guiding and ordering my steps, waiting for time, destiny and purpose to align themselves so I could be released into this new ministry.”

Brewer also made it clear that a deacon’s calling is one of service. “The heartbeat [of being a deacon] is not the capacity to lead,” he said. “It’s the capacity to be a servant. … The mantle of Christ is a towel.”

Rutherford agrees. “I do not think anything could be truer than this,” he said. “Being more like Jesus is being willing to serve others in their mess.”

Seckinger, who is continuing his ministry at St. Paul’s, Winter Haven, where he has been a member for more than 18 years, also identifies with a calling to service. “During my time at St. Paul’s, I have served in many capacities,” said the Vietnam combat veteran, who hopes to work with fellow combat veterans who are having trouble readjusting to civilian life in mainstream America.

“I enjoy providing help to others, within and outside of the church, so the role of servanthood as a deacon feels natural to me,” he said. “I pray that I will prove to be worthy of the trust and confidence bestowed upon me by members of the church, friends and my family.”

“It’s instructive to me that vocational ministry begins with becoming a deacon, one who serves,” said Collier, director of the Eugene Peterson Center for Christian Imagination and associate professor of pastoral theology at Western Theological Seminary in Holland, Michigan. “And while we might add other callings to this, the call to lay our lives down in service never abates.

“As Bishop Brewer reminded us, ‘Once a deacon, always a deacon.'”

View the entire service here and the bishop’s sermon here.