Epiphany, in which we celebrate God’s light coming into the world, is a significant season in the church year, celebrated across many Christian traditions. The word “epiphany” comes from a Greek word meaning “appearance” or “manifestation.” It reminds us that God’s love didn’t stay hidden. In Christ, God revealed himself—not just to Israel, but to…
[ Read More]The Episcopal Church celebrates the Feast of the Epiphany on Jan. 6, 12 days after Christmas. That day commemorates the arrival of the wise men from the East to Bethlehem to pay homage to the newborn Christ child. It also marks the beginning of Epiphany season, a four- to nine-week period that ends on the…
[ Read More]The Rev. Canon Patricia Orlando, canon priest for spiritual formation and pastoral care at the Cathedral Church of St. Luke, Orlando, knows about pain. Not only has she lost both of her parents in recent years, but like many of us, she has also experienced other deep losses. But it was not her grief that…
[ Read More]It’s always cause for rejoicing in heaven when an individual responds with genuine faith to the gospel of Jesus Christ. This rejoicing, then, is surely palpable in response to the work God is doing in the Episcopal Diocese of Central Florida, where more and more churches are seeing God move to bring people to belief…
[ Read More]The Rev. Stephanie Soper was ordained into the Sacred Order of the Priesthood on Nov. 24 in a service held at the Church of the Ascension, Orlando. The Rt. Rev. Dr. Justin S. Holcomb, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Central Florida, presided. She was one of seven in the diocese ordained as transitional deacons on…
[ Read More]A recent teaching opportunity with the Anglican Episcopal House of Studies at Duke Divinity School in Durham, North Carolina, left the Rev. Canon Dr. Dan Smith with a favorable impression of both the seminary and the Anglican Episcopal community there. The Nov. 12 visit also confirmed a positive trend that Smith, canon to the ordinary…
[ Read More]During Advent, we reflect on the prophecies that preceded the birth of Jesus and how he fulfilled them. This grounds the entire season in the story of God’s people waiting for the coming of the Messiah. God is sovereign over the future, and he alone is capable of telling the future perfectly. God told his…
[ Read More]Grace, Port Orange, has received an $89,000 matching grant from the Florida Department of State, Division of Historical Resources, to restore its historic chapel. Tinny Ryder wrote the grant, with contributions from Bobbi and John Palmer, Kimberly Mansfield, Hal Read, Lynda Moore, Glenda Coursen and all of the church’s parishioners. “I am thankful for Tinny,”…
[ Read More]The Rt. Rev. Dr. Justin S. Holcomb, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Central Florida, ordained five deacons in three separate services in November, with one priest to be ordained Nov. 24 (watch for that story in our December issue). The new deacons are the Revs. Colleen Rothrock, Dan King, Wesny Dubic, Stephen Feibelman and…
[ Read More]An early autumn evening set the scene for a remarkable event in the Diocese of Central Florida, as nearly 200 people gathered on Oct. 16 to watch and discuss a film dramatically portraying a vibrant contrast between theism and atheism. Several churches in the Episcopal Diocese of Central Florida, including All Saints, Winter Park; the…
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