St. Thomas, Eustis, held a diocesan-wide retreat, “Re-Ordering Our Lives Through Lent,” at Canterbury Conference Center, Oviedo, on Feb. 23-25. “Having the retreat on Thursday through Saturday after Ash Wednesday was the perfect start to the Lenten season,” explained the Rev. Matthew Perreault, retreat organizer and rector at St. Thomas. Perreault’s background in retreat ministry…
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Two diocesan leaders were honored by the city of Orlando on Feb. 28, 2023, the end of Black History Month and just prior to Women’s History Month. The Rev. Maytée de la Torre, associate rector, Christ the King, and assistant vicar, Jesús de Nazaret, both in Orlando; and Mrs. Monique Myers, member of the Standing…
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“Who are these women?” Nadine Craig wondered when she began attending St. Mary’s, Belleview. “These women” were those “who seemed to just have a glow and a light about them, and they were always smiling, and they were wearing these Fleury crosses,” she explained. “And then someone said, ‘Do you know about the Daughters of…
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2023 diocesan vestry training was held on March 4, 2023 at Church of the Messiah, 241 North Main Street, Winter Garden, FL 34787. The handout, slide deck, and other resources from the sessions are available below. Handout for Vestry Training (PDF) Vestry Training Slide Deck (PDF) Operating and Procedures Manual (PDF) View all of the…
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During the Rev. Mason Waldhauser’s conditional ordination to the priesthood on Dec. 9, 2022, Dr. Garwood Anderson, dean of Nashotah House Theological Seminary in Nashotah, Wisconsin, reminded him that the call of a priest is a call to follow Christ in servanthood. “Because you follow the great Shepherd, you will be a good shepherd,” Anderson…
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Spirit and Word. Fire and water. Strength and weakness. Beauty and brokenness. These contrasts resonated as themes throughout the ordination of the Rev. Andrew Lazo to the priesthood on Jan. 25 at Church of the Messiah, Winter Garden, the church he currently serves as apprentice rector and participant in the diocesan Residency Program. And these…
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When the Holy Spirit speaks, it pays to listen. The Rev. Canon Ellis Brust, rector of St. Andrew’s, Fort Pierce, has a special reason to embrace that truth after a recent divine encounter. On Sunday, Jan. 15, Brust sensed that God was impressing something on him as he prepared to baptize three children. “We had…
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The 54th annual Diocesan Convention of the Diocese of Central Florida both celebrated and embodied its theme, “Entering a Future With Hope.” This was the final Convention as bishop for the Rt. Rev. Gregory O. Brewer, who announced his mandatory retirement at last year’s Diocesan Convention. He is set to retire in July following the…
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There is an old proverb on the concept of sankofa from the Akan tribe in Ghana that translates loosely to English: “It is not wrong to go back to what you have forgotten.” Derived from the words for “return” (san), “go” (ko) and “seek and take” (fa), sankofa’s symbol is a bird whose feet are…
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“For us, ‘historic’ does not mean we are a museum for the past, but rather that God has given to us a significant responsibility for the present and the future of our community.” Holy Cross, Sanford, is holding true to this declaration on the church website, marking its 150th anniversary this April with a celebration…
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