(Left) Deacon Rutherford and Bishop Holcomb | (Right) Attending clergy pose with Bishop Holcomb and the newly ordained Deacon Rutherford | Photos: St. George, The Villages

At a service attended by the parishioners she will serve and others with whom she has close relationships, the Rev. Colleen Rutherford was ordained to the vocational diaconate on Aug. 9 at her home parish, St. George, The Villages. The Rt. Rev. Dr. Justin S. Holcomb delivered the charge, and the Rev. Dr. James Taylor, rector, gave the sermon. 

Past ordinations of vocational deacons were held as a group at the Cathedral Church of St. Luke, Orlando, but Holcomb has decided to change that. These ordinations are now held in the home parishes of new deacons, surrounded by the community that has known and supported them in the process. Transitional deacons will still be ordained in groups, but their ordinations to the priesthood will generally be held in the churches where they will serve.

“It felt incredible to have the ordination in my own parish,” Rutherford said. “When I walked into the church during the processional and saw so many people from St. George, those from St. Mary’s Episcopal Church (where I had done my fieldwork), and friends from outside of my church – each of whom had supported me in some way throughout this journey – I felt overwhelmingly blessed and surrounded by love. Those feelings magnified as I looked at their faces throughout the service. … I also thought about how blessed I was to be called to the ministry I was about to undertake.”

Holcomb incorporated Rutherford’s 42-year nursing career into the charge from The Book of Common Prayer. He began by pointing out a pectoral cross he was wearing, given to him by a parishioner at St. Michael’s, Orlando.

“This pectoral cross is connected to healing and hope with regard to abuse and trauma,” he said. “I wore it tonight, Colleen, because of your vocation as a nurse and as a teacher of other medical professionals for over 40 years. You have been an agent of healing. Embrace how God made you and imbued you with gifts, particularly your call to heal. People will still need that gift from you as a deacon, where ‘you are called to serve all people, particularly the poor, the weak, the sick, and the lonely.’ 

“I am telling you this as an invitation and not as a burden,” Holcomb added. “Through your gift of healing and compassion, you are living out Christ’s gospel and his disposition toward servanthood.”

A lifelong Episcopalian, Rutherford sensed the call of God on her life at a young age. “I have always felt the calling or desire to serve others, first in the small parish I grew up in, then in high school as a volunteer EMT with my best friend and her parents,” she said. “I looked at my nursing career as a way I was able to serve God’s people.” 

Many people supported Rutherford on her journey to the diaconate, and she is grateful to all of them. “Father Ed Bartle and Deacon Nancy Bryson set me on this journey and were supportive of my calling; Father Jim Taylor has been a positive support throughout my journey,” she explained. “Rev. Lisa Wimmer was so supportive and taught me a great deal throughout my fieldwork at her church. Rev. Mark Lafler always had positive words and prayers. Archdeacon Kristi Alday answered many, many questions with understanding and grace.

“Most of all, I want to give glory and praise to Jesus,” the new deacon said. “Without him walking beside me, I never would have made it through.”