Central Florida Episcopalian Online

On Feb. 20, 2023, St. James, Ormond Beach, reached out to those grieving loss and those who minister to them with an event designed to offer comfort and hope. “Tending to Your Broken Heart When Someone You Love Has Died” brought a diverse crowd of more than 200, which included clergy, health industry leaders, compassionate…

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Bishop-elect Dr. Justin S. Holcomb was asked to serve as a resource consultant for a Lambeth Phase 3 meeting held Feb. 28-March 3, 2023, in London. Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby designed the 15th Lambeth Conference to consist of three parts. Phase 1 was a listening phase held in a series of online meetings for bishops…

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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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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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En una elección marcada tanto por la unidad como por la diversidad, la Diócesis de la Florida Central eligió al Rvdo. Canónigo Dr. Justin S. Holcomb, de 49 años, como su quinto obispo. Holcomb, quien ha servido a la diócesis como canónigo de vocaciones desde 2013, fue elegido el 14 de enero en la primera…

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In an election marked by both unity and diversity, the Diocese of Central Florida has elected the Rev. Canon Dr. Justin S. Holcomb, 49, as its fifth bishop. Holcomb, who has served the diocese as canon for vocations since 2013, was elected on Jan. 14 on the first ballot out of a slate of three…

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