Father Stephen and his wife, Meagan, with Bishop Holcomb, fellow diocesan priests and family. | Photo: KEITH WINTER
The Rev. Stephen Feibelman was ordained to the Sacred Order of the Priesthood on May 21 in an evening service at All Saints, Winter Park. The Rt. Rev. Dr. Justin S. Holcomb presided, and the Rev. Jared Jones, one of the three youth ministry coordinators for the Diocese of Central Florida and rector of Holy Cross, Sanford, preached.
Feibelman and two others were ordained as transitional deacons at the Cathedral Church of St. Luke, Orlando, on Nov. 16, 2024. He first felt God’s call stirring in high school. “I was attending Summit Church near downtown Orlando, and I remember being enamored by what was happening in the room as God’s Word was being proclaimed to his people,” he said. “I did not understand then what the feeling was or what it might mean for my life. I just remember thinking, ‘I might like to do that someday.’ That feeling stuck with me from then on, but it was not until halfway through seminary that I heard God calling me specifically to ministry in The Episcopal Church.”
He attended Asbury Theological Seminary. “I went through the process a bit backward,” he said. “I finished seminary before I began serving on staff at All Saints. It was sometime in that year that I began the official process in the diocese. All Saints served as my sponsor and provided me an opportunity to serve in full-time parish ministry as the youth minister while I was in discernment.”
Father Jared Jones preaches the ordination sermon. | Photo: KEITH WINTER
The service was deeply personal for Feibelman, who was presented by his wife, Meagan; his parents, Richard and Donna Feibelman; and the Rev. Stuart Shelby, rector at All Saints. In his sermon, Jones, who formerly served alongside Feibelman as assistant priest at All Saints, challenged the new priest to focus on the eternal aspects of his ministry and to remain grounded in the truth of the gospel.
“As we proclaim Stephen to be a presbyter and minister in the church of God, we are saying that through his lips, people are going to come to know Jesus who wouldn’t have otherwise,” he said. “Fathers are going to hear the love of God, and they’re going to turn their hearts back to their children. … Wives are going to turn their hearts to their husbands when they hear the great love that God has for them in Jesus Christ. Children are going to grow up to believe that God loves them – people of all shapes, sizes, sins, preconditions. … God is going to bring his flock through the mouth of a sinner like Stephen. His sheep are out there. He knows them by name, and they know his voice. Tonight, we simply proclaim, ‘There’s a new preacher to go out into the fields, and call his sheep home.’ Amen.”
In his charge to Feibelman, Holcomb echoed Jones’ emphasis, reminding Feibelman of his joy in the truth that God loves him and encouraging him with Jesus’ command to abide, or remain, in that love.
“The church needs you to abide there in your love of God,” the bishop said. “Don’t wander off anywhere else. You are free to be mesmerized by the eternal love between the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, how we’re incorporated in because of what Jesus has done for us. Keep your eyes fixed on that. Keep telling us over and over.”
The service held great meaning for the new priest. “What stands out to me was the awareness I had of everyone around me: my family, my friends, colleagues and my church,” he said. “I’d felt the purity of this call for so long in my own heart and was swept away by the support of so many wonderful people who were there to say, ‘Yes, we believe this is true for you, too.’
Father Stephen’s wife, Meagan, supported his entire journey to the priesthood. | Photo: KEITH WINTER
“The first thing I recall doing as a priest is turning toward the congregation and saying, ‘The peace of the Lord be always with you,'” Feibelman continued. “It took me a second to get the words out. I’d been hoping for that moment for so long, and then I looked around and saw all the people who had supported me along the way – people I knew and people who knew me. It was special.”
He has many people to thank for guiding him on his journey. “I would like to thank my wife, Meagan, first,” he said. “It is because of her unwavering support and encouragement that I made it to this point. There were times I thought it might be best to quit, and she was there to say, ‘Just keep going.’ God could not have provided a better partner in ministry than Meagan. I also want to thank my family – both my side and Meagan’s – for their prayer and support along the way. I’d also like to thank Father Stu Shelby, All Saints Winter Park and its clergy: The Rev. Lo Cook, Deacon Liz Tucker and the Rev. Elliott Drake. I could not have asked to serve and learn alongside a better team. I’d like to personally thank the Rev. Jared Jones for his friendship and encouragement throughout this process as well.”
Feibelman is confident of the call of God on his life. “I’ve had no flashes of lightning or prophetic dreams – just the quiet work of a gracious God who, despite everything, just kept on calling,” he said. He plans to continue serving at All Saints “until God makes it clear it is time for Meagan and me to begin serving in another parish.”
He looks forward to his life as a priest. “I am so excited that my work is to proclaim the good news of Christ crucified and to invite people, day in and day out, into the great hope found only in him,” he said.