“This is not a failure – faithfulness is never a failure.”

The Rt. Rev. Dr. Justin S. Holcomb used these words in making a difficult announcement during his address to delegates and honored guests at the 2025 Diocesan Convention at Trinity, Vero Beach: The Diocesan Board allocated no funding for All Souls’ mission in 2025, and the mission held its final service on Jan. 12. Yet the bishop’s heartfelt statement resonates throughout the All Souls story.

“The idea for the mission came about in 2019, when an incredible population was moving into Horizon West, a booming, growing area west of Orlando,” said the Rev. Canon Dr. Dan Smith, canon to the ordinary. “This was what we sometimes call a mother-daughter start. There was a sponsoring congregation, and for the most part, that was Church of the Ascension, Orlando, in the Dr. Phillips area, where Father Matthew Ainsley was the associate priest.

The congregation assembled at All Souls’ opening service, November 2019. | Photo Credit: Episcopal Diocese of Central Florida

“The church sent him along with 25-30 adult members to start that mission,” Smith said. “They also got support from Church of the Messiah in Winter Garden, because Horizon West is between Dr. Phillips and Winter Garden.” Since Church of the Messiah had previously planted Church of the Ascension, Ainsley referred to the former as All Souls’ “grandmother” church.

Looking for a Home

With what Smith called “significant” financial support from the diocese, All Souls launched in its rented space at Bay Lake Elementary School in Windermere, which primarily reaches families from Horizon West and feeds into Horizon West Middle School. Only months later, “All Souls was growing, and we were getting a steady flow of visitors,” Ainsley said in a 2020 interview with the Central Florida Episcopalian.

But then the unbelievable happened. In March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic shut down not only the school but all public gatherings for worship in the diocese as well. From that moment forward, despite an eventual return to Bay Lake (at a much higher rental fee); becoming an official mission of the diocese at the 2022 Diocesan Convention; more than one season of meeting at its grandmother church; and having six potential properties under consideration for lease or purchase, some of which fell through at the last minute, All Souls still lacked an essential ingredient: a home.

“From my point of view as a congregational development officer, we were teaching people to go to Messiah, Winter Garden, not All Souls, Horizon West,” Smith said. “Church of the Messiah was a gracious host. We deeply appreciate everything that they did … but in the long term, that became a roadblock to growing All Souls.”

Ainsley sees the same issue. “If you’re a chef, you can’t be selling filet mignon from the trunk of your car,” he said. “You’ve got to find a kitchen to cook in. We needed a kitchen to cook in, and that was critical to our success. … One line I used was, ‘We need critical mass and a place to amass so we can say Mass.'”

He said throughout the search for a base of operations, he experienced the support of the diocese, especially from Holcomb and Smith. By the mission’s final months, “We were in a critical spot,” he said. “We either had to get to the next phase, which meant we would have a home, or it would all fall apart. We did everything we could – the bishop, Canon Dan – we as a team, working together. I wasn’t trying to solve this on my own.”

Lessons Learned

“All Souls just ran into a whole number of things that were outside their control that have forced this moment in time,” Smith said. He and Holcomb both said the pandemic, the rising costs of property in Horizon West and a moratorium on building there played a huge part in the church’s inability to find a permanent home. Despite these uncontrollable factors and his support for Ainsley’s work, which he described as “tremendous,” Smith said the diocese can learn some lessons from All Souls’ journey.

“I think we do have to remember that the church is a business; it’s just that our business is the gospel,” he said. “I think one of the lessons is that we recognize what the true cost is to start a new mission, and that needs to be done carefully with great discernment and a recognition that if you decide to move forward, you’ve got to move forward in a big way. You can’t ease into the starting of a mission. It’s a tough lesson, but it is a lesson.”

Smith sees another teaching point too. “I really believe we ought to be in Horizon West,” he said. “I don’t see how to make it happen, and that’s the other thing: We need to identify places for church plants early in their development. We went into Horizon West after development was well underway, after the costs had gone up. If we want to start missions, we’ve got to get in on the ground floor.”

When the diocese planted St. Matthew’s, Orlando, 40 years ago, Smith was the founding priest. He said back then, property costs were much lower, and, “We knew exactly where we were going to go, what we were going to do before we held the first service.”

All Souls’ members representing the church at the 2022 Diocesan Convention, in which All Souls was officially recognized as a mission. | Photo: BISHOP JUSTIN HOLCOMB

“Part of good vision is hindsight, right?” he asked. “It’s always 20/20, and maybe the costs would change in a different location. But for Horizon West, we could have put close to a million dollars there in the first two years, and then we might really have something today.”

Ainsley agrees. “I think it’s right to say that we did face a perfect storm,” he said. “We overcame some incredible challenges as a church. But I think going forward, yes, if you’re going to plant a church, I think up-front investment and preparation are critical.”

What Now?

All Souls’ members are now free to pursue membership in other churches. “We hope they will find another church home, whether they go back to Ascension, whether they stay at Messiah in Winter Garden, whether they go to another Episcopal Church or even another denomination, we pray they will find another church home,” Smith said. On a recent visit to Ascension, Orlando, he noticed as many as half of the All Souls members in attendance.

“Father Ainsley is continuing to pastor those folks as they go through their own discernment work,” Smith said. “There is enough reserve in funds at All Souls to continue to pay him for somewhere between four and six months at his full salary. During that time, we will do everything we can to find a suitable place for him to exercise his ministry, and we want to do everything we can to have his and his family’s backs.”

“Father Ainsley had a real passion for this place, and his sacrifice and his work were, from my point of view, extraordinary,” he added. “There was some great lay leadership out there too, and they did everything they could to make it a success. It just wasn’t to be.”

“I want to honor the outstanding leadership of Father Matt Ainsley and the dedication of his family – Kasey, Windsor and Pippa,” Holcomb said in his announcement at the Diocesan Convention. “Their passion and sacrifice have been a tremendous gift to All Souls and our diocese. The lay leaders and members of All Souls have likewise shown extraordinary commitment, generosity and faithfulness throughout this journey.”

Ainsley requested prayer for his family and the All Souls family as they discern their next steps. The Ainsleys are visiting other churches, and he already has some supply work lined up.

“I’ve been in the ministry a long time,” he said. “By the grace of God, I started preaching when I was 15 years old, and I’ve known this is what I’m supposed to do since I was a kid. … I loved All Souls with all my heart. A big part of that was the people, phenomenal people who wanted to learn and grow and serve. … I think we really did ‘worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness,’ which is Psalm 96:9.”

“All Souls was a great church,” Ainsley said. “What happened is a tragedy, and yet the silver lining is [quoting 1 Cor. 15:58] ‘[our] labor in the Lord is not in vain.’ It was an incredible place to be, to see people experience both natural and spiritual growth. … It’s such a privilege to walk with people and see them grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus. None of that goes away.

“I’m sad, but I’m at peace, and I have no regrets,” he continued. “Every time we got knocked down, we got back up. We did some great ministry, and the Lord was glorified. I can’t have any regrets because I don’t know what else I could have done – not that it was all in my hands. It never was.”