Central Florida Episcopalian Magazine - Easter 2021

CENTRAL

F LO R I DA

EPISCOPALIAN WWW.CFDIOCESE.ORG / EASTER 2021 / ISSUE 1 / VOL 124

BISHOP BREWER writes, “We find in the weakness of the cross true resurrection power.” p. 3

RESURRECTION

Life

The Miracle of Redeemed Weakness A R T Í C U LO S N O TA B L E S E N E S PA Ñ O L

CENTRAL

EPISCOPALIAN

CONTENTS

EASTER 2021 / ISSUE 1 / VOL 124

COVER PHOTO The Rev. James Giles stands ready to distribute food and the hope of the gospel to hundreds lined up at Gateway to Hope in Ocala, Florida. See article on p. 8.

6

A million-dollar grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. is funding Bishop Brewer’s vision for raising up new leaders and helping existing leaders to grow and thrive in the Diocese of Central Florida.

ESPAÑOL

4 Vida de resurrección: el milagro de la debilidad redimida, por Obispo Brewer 14 La Convención Diocesana virtual se vuelve más

débil, más profunda, más fuerte

F LO R I DA

BISHOP BREWER

3 Resurrection Life: The Miracle of Redeemed Weakness

DIOCESAN FAMILY

5 How Does Jesus Build His Church?

12 Virtual Diocesan Convention Goes Weaker,

Deeper, Stronger 16 Andrew Walker Leads First Diocese of Central

Florida Virtual Choir 17 ‘Alleluia’ Mornings in Easter

LEADERSHIP

6 Million-Dollar Grant Supports Bishop Brewer’s

Vision for Leadership

8

As many ministries have adapted to the changing landscape due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Gateway to Hope has regrouped and expanded its mission to feed families in the greater Ocala area.

OUTREACH

12

8 Gateway to Hope Offers Service, Evangelism in Ocala

CHILDREN & YOUTH

10 LiftUp Partners With Holy Trinity, Melbourne,

to Change Young Lives 18 New Beginnings at Camp Wingmann Reinvented

MINISTRIES

19 Canterbury: Sacred Space and Service 20 Redemption Flows Through Bishop Brewer’s

Cursillo Experience

LAST WORD 22 Go Fishing

DIOCESAN CALENDAR

23 Good Shepherd Sunday, Bishop Brewer’s Visitations,

Ordinations, Subscriptions

Connect with us on social media @cfdiocese

The 52nd Annual Diocesan Convention is in the books—or more accurately, on the screens. After facing the challenges of its first-ever virtual Convention, the diocese looks ahead with new capabilities and opportunities.

THE DIOCESE OF CENTRAL FLORIDA The Right Reverend Gregory O. Brewer, Bishop Serving 15 counties through 81 churches and 30,000 members

THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH The Most Reverend Michael B. Curry, Presiding Bishop and Primate

An international community of 2.5 million Christians in North and South America, Europe and Taiwan

THE ANGLICAN COMMUNION The Most Reverend Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury

A global community of more than 85 million Christians in more than 165 countries worldwide

2

Easter 2021 CFE

cfdiocese.org

B IS H OP B REWE R

Resurrection Life: The Miracle of Redeemed Weakness

BY THE RT. REV. GREGORY O. BREWER

As I write this, nearly a year has passed since The Rev. Canon Scott Holcombe sent out the first letter to the diocese announcing our COVID-19 precautions. Yes, this has been one of the most challenging years of my episcopacy, yet it has not come without opportunities to embrace the love of God. It strikes me that, like the pandemic, this Lenten season invited us to an opportunity to celebrate the Weaker, Deeper, Stronger theme of our recent Diocesan Convention. Each year, Ash Wednesday marks the start of a season of weakness. We come to God and confess our sins, receiving the mark of ashes to signify that without Christ we have nothing and cling to the cross as our only hope.

Since the cross is a sign of death, those who live by it are also marked by death: death to their selfish desires, their old nature and the sin and shame that has held them bound.

Only the grace of repentance transforms us into people of the cross. Our weakest point is when we kneel before our Father and confess our unworthiness to receive forgiveness. That moment brings enduring faith and freedom even as we yield to our profound helplessness, complete dependence and absolute surrender.

After all, the Jesus who died for our sins is the only one who causes Christianity to make sense, offering

cfdiocese.org

meaning and changing us. What wins our hearts is not Christian music, liturgies, art, social impact or even missionary service, but Jesus alone. He is our death and our resurrection.

In this place of weakness, I find myself pressing in reading and praying more intently, sharing more transparently and preaching more directly. Not only is God helping me to go deeper, but God is helping us all to go deeper. God is helping us all to grow stronger: “Whenever I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor. 12:10b). We find in the weakness of the cross true resurrection power.

As we move with our Lord on this Easter journey, I believe with all my heart that God is shaping us, changing us, restructuring us to “know Christ and the power of his resurrection” (Phil. 3:10a).

Let us press forward, find new impetus to embrace the love of God and live into the death and resurrection so freely offered to us in Christ.

Grace to You,

Bishop Gregory O. Brewer

CFE Easter 2021

3

OBISPO BREWER

Vida de resurrección: el milagro de la debilidad redimida POR OBISPO GREGORY O. BREWER

As I write this, nearly a year has passed since The Rev. Mientras escribo esto casi ha pasado un año desde que el Rev. Canónigo Scott Holcombe envió su primera carta a la diócesis anunciando nuestras medidas de precaución con relación al COVID-19. Sí, es cierto que este ha sido uno de los años más difíciles en mi episcopado, sin embargo, no ha sido sin oportunidades para abrazar el amor de Dios.

Después de todo, el Jesús que murió por nuestros pecados es el único que hace que el cristianismo tenga sentido.

Nos da significado y nos cambia. Lo que gana nuestros corazones no es la música cristiana, las liturgias, el arte, el impacto social o incluso el servicio misionero, sino solamente Jesús. Él es nuestra muerte y nuestra resurrección.

Me sorprende que, al igual que la pandemia, esta temporada de Cuaresma nos haya invitado a tener la oportunidad de celebrar el tema de nuestra reciente Convención Diocesana: “más débil, más profundo y más fuerte.” Cada año, el Miércoles de Ceniza marca el comienzo de una temporada de debilidad. Venimos a Dios, confesamos nuestros pecados y recibimos la marca de las cenizas que significan que sin Cristo no tenemos nada y nos aferramos a la cruz como nuestra única esperanza.

En este lugar de debilidad, me encuentro presionando para leer y orar más intensamente, compartir de manera más transparente y predicar de manera más directa.

Dios no solo me está ayudando a profundizar, sino que también nos ayuda a todos a profundizar más. Dios nos está ayudando a todos a ser más fuertes: “Cuando soy débil, entonces soy fuerte” (2 Corintios 12: 10b).

Encontramos en la debilidad de la cruz el verdadero poder de la resurrección.

Dado que la cruz es un signo de muerte, los que viven de ella también están marcados por la muerte: muerte a sus deseos egoístas, a su vieja naturaleza y al pecado y la vergüenza que los ha mantenido atados.

Solo la gracia del arrepentimiento nos transforma en personas de la cruz. Nuestro punto más débil es cuando nos arrodillamos ante nuestro Padre y confesamos nuestra indignidad para recibir el perdón. Ese momento trae fe duradera y libertad incluso cuando cedemos a nuestra profunda impotencia, completa dependencia y entrega absoluta.

A medida que avanzamos con nuestro Señor en este viaje de Pascua, creo con todo mi corazón que Dios nos está moldeando, cambiándonos, reestructurando para “conocer a Cristo, experimentar el poder que se manifestó en su resurrección” (Filipenses 3: 10a).

Sigamos adelante, encontremos un nuevo ímpetu para abrazar el amor de Dios y vivir la muerte y la resurrección que se nos ofrecen tan libremente en Cristo.

Su gracia sobre ti,

Obispo Gregory O. Brewer

4

Easter 2021 CFE

cfdiocese.org

DIOCE SAN FAM ILY

How Does Jesus Build His Church?

BY THE REV. CANON DR. JUSTIN HOLCOMB

“And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matt.

16:18, ESV).

When reading this passage, many people focus on figuring out who or what the “rock” is upon which Jesus builds his church. The options are: Peter, Peter’s confession (Matt. 16:16), Jesus or the apostles. Yet so much more is happening here. These are Jesus’ first words in response to Peter’s powerful declaration that “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matt. 16:16b, ESV).

The opening words “and I tell you” hint at the importance of what Jesus is about to say. He is explaining the significance of his identity as the Christ. Jesus announces that, as the Christ, he intends to build his church. And he makes it personal with the first-person pronouns: “I will build my church.”

This personal pronouncement also reveals that cosmic conflict will be involved — “the gates of hell shall not prevail against” the church Jesus is building.

Following a Pattern

Photo: By Ebyabe - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0

Jesus is the great church builder, and he has a clear strategy from the beginning of his earthy ministry to create his church, a specific community with a specific purpose.

Mark 3:13-15 serves as an example: “And he went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him. And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach and have authority to cast out demons” (ESV).

Jesus builds his church by “spiraling.”

He draws in people and gathers them

Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, Fruitland Park

to himself. He constitutes them as his community. He then sends them out to the world on mission: “As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world” (John 17:18, ESV).

This spiraling pattern repeats after his Resurrection and Ascension. In Acts, Jesus tells the apostles to wait in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit fills them. They are then constituted as a new community and sent to the world.

Jesus gathers more people by sending out his church. These gathered ones are then constituted as his church and sent to the world. Spiraling.

Being the Church What is our response to Jesus’ church-building work? Jesus gathers us so we can worship the Triune God in spirit and truth. Jesus constitutes us as a community, so we are nurtured and nourished by Word and sacraments. When we are sent, we tell others the good news of Jesus Christ.

The effect of this spiraling is that we experience the love of God in

worship, we embody the love of God in community, and we extend the love of God in evangelism.

Worship, community and evangelism work together as the means by which Jesus is building his church through us in the power of the Spirit. Practically, this means we do not need to choose between our wonderful liturgical worship or evangelism. Nor do we need to choose between nurturing a warm, inviting community and inviting people to join us.

God has always built a place for his own dwelling: Moses built the tabernacle, Solomon built the temple, and Jesus is Immanuel (“God with us”) but doesn’t stop there as he builds his church.

The church is his church, and he has committed to build it despite all the strategies of the enemy. Jesus is the great church builder who joyfully invites us to be not only recipients of his ministry but also agents of his ministry.

CFE Easter 2021

5

L E ADE RS H IP

Photo: Erick Perez

The Rev. Canon Dr. Justin Holcomb and The Rev. Frans van Santen, the newest member of the diocesan residency program.

Million-Dollar Grant Supports Bishop Brewer’s Vision for Leadership

BY M A RT I PIEPER

Have you ever received an early Christmas present? How about one worth $1 million?

The Diocese of Central Florida received just such a gift on Dec. 4, 2020, when The Rt. Rev. Gregory O. Brewer, bishop, received official notification of a milliondollar grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. as part of its nationally competitive Thriving in Ministry Initiative.

The grant funds Brewer’s overall vision for the raising up of new leaders and for helping existing leaders to grow and thrive, supplementing and expanding the diocese’s current programs and initiatives. It also supports his emphasis on collegiality, encouraging cooperation and fellowship between diocesan clergy members.

“We are fostering leadership and are committed to doing so with time as well as finances for both clergy and laity,” Brewer said. In 2013 he appointed The Rev. Canon Dr. Justin Holcomb as canon for vocations to assist him in the 6

Easter 2021 CFE

area of leadership development, and Brewer has appointed Holcomb and his assistant, Ellen Ceely, as administrators for this new grant.

Not only did Holcomb write the grant proposal that yielded a $50,000 planning grant, also from Lilly Endowment, which allowed the diocese to move toward this larger one, but he also planned and hosted four listening days with 12-15 priests each over the months preceding the final grant application.

Each listening day included a specificgroup: clergy of color, female clergy, clergy in mission and aided congregations, and clergy leading growing churches. Each session also had two or more of three facilitators: The Rev. Canon Dr. Dan Smith, Dr. Ana Gomez and Monica Taffinder Tyedmers. The summaries and recommendations for action they wrote assisted Holcomb in preparing the grant proposal (in response to Lilly Endowment’s invitation)

that yielded the $1 million grant.

The aim of the Thriving in Ministry Initiative is “to help pastors thrive in congregational leadership and, in doing so, enhance the vitality of the congregation they serve,” according to Lilly Endowment. The diocese intends to use the grant for several exciting endeavors, divided into four general categories.

1

Localized Training and Outreach

This initiative will assist the five diocesan deanery deans in their task of providing specific training to meet localized needs, using money from the grant to help fund training such as clergy conferences, workshops and retreats at the deanery level. The grant will provide $2,500 each year for each deanery to arrange for its own localized training as well as $5,000 of annual financial support for shared outreach events, also at the deanery level. cfdiocese.org

“These ideas for localized work came directly from the clergy listening sessions,” Holcomb said. He and The Rev. Canon Scott Holcombe met with the deanery deans in early February to explain the opportunities provided by the grant. All five deans are now moving this initiative forward at the deanery level.

2

Cohort of New-tothe-Diocese Clergy

This second initiative funded by the Lilly grant involves setting up a cohort of clergy who, no matter how long they have served in ministry, are new to the diocese. It supports collegiality

Bishop Brewer stands behind four candidates recently ordained to the transitional diaconate: (from left to right) The Rev. Frans van Santen, The Rev. David Svihel, The Rev. Robin Reed and The Rev. Jonathan Jameson.

Photo: Erick Perez

cfdiocese.org

by bringing these priests together for the common purpose of helping them serve well in terms of understanding how the diocese works as well as providing assistance with congregational development, preaching, administration, conflict resolution and other important leadership skills.

“It’s not so much a teaching time as it is time for Canon Dr. Dan Smith, Canon Scott Holcombe and me to get them together to spend time with each other and facilitate conversation about these topics,” Holcomb said. “That cohort has already been formed, and we started meeting monthly in March.”

3

Developing and Training Mentor Priests

This initiative, still in the planning stage, will identify, develop and train those experienced priests within the diocese who are willing to mentor newly ordained priests. Brewer, Holcomb and Holcombe are currently developing such a list and will, with support from a mentoring expert, offer the needed training in effective mentoring skills to support both the broad purposes of strengthening leadership and building collegiality.

4

Expanding the Diocesan Residency Program

L E ADE RS H IP

“The goal of ministry outreach is to build collegiality,” Holcomb said. “And one way to do that is to actually serve other people together. This initiative isn’t about taking care of ourselves as clergy.

This is focused serving in our deaneries together, whether that’s backpacks for underprivileged children, a clothing ministry, a homeless ministry, an anti-sex-trafficking ministry – some type of collective working together for outreach purposes. These endeavors could be evangelistic, more oriented toward social mercy or a blend of the two.”

The final initiative covered by the Lilly grant will train and support newly ordained priests in a manner akin to a medical residency. The Rev. Jonathan French of Grace, Ocala, will serve as the director of the diocesan residency program. In addition to the two residency spaces already in place at French’s church, the diocese hopes to use funds from Lilly Endowment to establish three other residencies. Rectors and vestries wishing to host residents have been invited to apply, demonstrating their willingness to provide an active and supportive learning environment that will best prepare these priests for missional leadership.

The diocese begins the residency effort with the goal of making it a sustainable, long-term program, but the grant will provide a needed boost. On March 3, Holcomb and French met with rectors and vestry members of those churches interested in applying as residency sites.

God’s gift via Lilly Endowment will enable the Diocese of Central Florida to deepen and broaden its emphasis on leadership development by providing the funding to do so most effectively. In doing so, diocesan leadership will continue to depend on the support of staff, deanery deans and local clergy in fulfilling its call to proclaim the gospel in an increasingly needy and broken world.

“We are delighted at the way God has blessed our efforts in leadership development through the receipt of this grant,” Brewer said.

“We are strengthening our relationships with one another, becoming even more deeply a diocesan family.”

CFE Easter 2021

7

OUTRE ACH

The Rev. James Giles distributes food and the hope of the gospel at Gateway to Hope.

GATEWAY TO HOPE OFFERS SERVICE, �

�

EVANGELISM IN OCALA

BY DEWAYNE H A M BY

As many ministries have adapted to the changing landscape due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Gateway to Hope has regrouped and expanded its mission to feed families in the greater Ocala area. The nonprofit has existed since 2011, providing more than 100,000 people with services ranging from employment to housing to food.

With physical distancing now in place, the ministry has adapted, focusing more on food delivery, this time using a safe, drive-thru model.

“We’ve been running what they’re calling a mobile pantry,” The Rev. James Giles, CEO, said. “Every Saturday, we have

about anywhere from 150 to 300 cars, averaging about 1,200 to 2,000 people represented that come through, and we fill their cars with food.”

MEETING NEEDS During the distribution, Giles’ army of 30-40 volunteers gather to help hand out the food and minister to people in cars as they drive in, giving comfort and spiritual direction.

Giles, an ordained Episcopal priest, has a nursing degree with some experience in psychology. He soon learned his background was helpful in discerning red flags of emotional need, a valuable tool he has also instilled in his volunteers.

“We’re trying to help people and keep them safe,” he said.

“Somebody might be struggling with extreme bipolar. We have a lot of schizophrenics that come through. We find ourselves in a lot of different situations.”

Giles said before the pandemic hit, Gateway to Hope’s primary beneficiaries were the homeless, retired veterans and the self-employed. Since the shutdown, with so many job losses, their crowds come from a variety of places and all

8

Easter 2021 CFE

“Sometimes there’s a lot of humiliation, a lot of embarrassment,” he said. “And we’re just trying to comfort them and let them know that God loves them. This is all about our opportunity to minister to our community and just trying to encourage them in the midst of the challenges they find themselves in.”

BUILDING BRIDGES Food, Giles believes, is “the bridge in people’s lives,” a way to minister and make a connection for an eternal difference.

“Being an evangelist at heart, my primary calling says they need Christ; they need the gospel; they need to know the grace and love of Christ,” he said. “So that’s at the heart of what we do. But at the same time, there are so many physical needs that need to be met. And thankfully, we’ve been able to accomplish a lot of that.”

basis to help gather food in a large trailer the ministry owns, traveling to places like Jacksonville, Gainesville and Orlando.

They travel through the week, whenever they are notified of someone wanting to donate large amounts of food. Gateway to Hope receives its funding through a few major donors, including a partnership with St. George Episcopal Church in The Villages that includes volunteers who help in the ministry. Sadly, three of the ministry’s volunteers from that location lost their lives to COVID in the past year.

OUTRE AC H

walks of life, even those who might seem as if they don’t need assistance. Workers often see families drive up in newer, nice automobiles, sometimes with tearful apologies that they’ve lost their jobs and might soon lose their cars or homes.

“The scripture that kind of keeps coming to mind is the Apostle Paul talking about running the race and finishing well, and I really believe this is an opportunity for people in that stage in life to finish well,” Giles said. “This volunteer ministry is as much of a ministry as the people who need the food.”

Looking ahead, Giles hopes the ministry will be able to meet in person again as before the shutdown. After the food distribution on Saturdays, for many years, they held a service and had even discussed building an outdoor pavilion for their growing numbers. Now those numbers have grown so much they’re reevaluating its size, even after distancing guidelines are relaxed.

Giles estimates that during the past year, between volunteer hours and resources distributed, “It would be nice at some Gateway to Hope has point to be able to get back impacted the Ocala to some semblance of a community with a value service,” Giles said. “But of more than $500,000.

Keisha Smith (left) and Caesar Alemao (right) volunteer at Gateway to Hope. on some levels, we’ve kind of grown past that. We “On some level, we’re even talked about trying to raise funds to build a big, open trying to bring some hope and some stability in the midst of pavilion, where we can expand that to an outdoor situation. a crisis where people really feel alone,” he said.

We were outgrowing it even before COVID. Since all of this One recent success story is a young couple in their 30s who happened, it’s unimaginable how we would do that.” sought out help. Both were veterans, both had struggled through drug addiction, and they had an autistic son. The ministry helped them get on their feet, find employment and connected them to other nearby ministries for assistance with insurance and additional needs.

Another older woman spent most of her life in the Peace Corps on an island in South America until a volcano claimed her home and everything in it. Although she was very independent and did not want to request help, Gateway to Hope found it a privilege to come to her aid.

FINISHING WELL In addition to the army of volunteers and its full-time CEO, Gateway to Hope employs three young men on a part-time

The ministry is always seeking more donors and partners and makes itself available to show others how to start a similar ministry in their own areas. Recently, two ministries have done this, beginning their own food pantries that are growing and expanding.

“We would love to network with more people, to be a jumping spot for people to learn how they can take on those types of mentors in their own location,” Giles said. “We love to replicate what we’re doing in other communities.”

For more information on Gateway to Hope, visit GatewayToHopeMinistries.com.

CFE Easter 2021

9

C H IL DRE N & YOUTH

Robert and Jevona volunteer at The Child Hunger Project as part of LiftUp's service requirement (flanked by LiftUp Director Lisa Soloway and Pete Soloway).

10

Easter 2021 CFE

cfdiocese.org

CH IL DRE N & YOUTH

LiftUp students Robert, Jevona and Keira (K in the screenshot), instructional team members and Holy Trinity leadership met online for Level 2 and part of Level 1.

Photos courtesy of LiftUp Young Lives

CFE Easter 2021

11

DIOC E SAN FAM ILY

Virtual Diocesan Convention Goes

Weaker, Deeper, Stronger

BY C F E STA F F

The 52nd Annual Diocesan Convention is in the books—or more accurately, on the screens. The first-ever virtual Convention streamed live from Canterbury Retreat and Conference Center from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. on Feb. 6, 2021. Both planners and participants agree: Despite the challenges, the virtual format served the Diocese of Central Florida extremely well.

Convention participants attended via a Zoom webinar intended exclusively for delegates, diocesan staff and crew.

Others could view the proceedings simultaneously via YouTube at CFDiocese.org/2021DioCon, where the live video was embedded for easy access.

There were no in-person attendees at Canterbury, which was transformed

into a “broadcast” set complete with an LED wall, lighting and stage design for the two-camera shoot.

“Our ‘studio’ was the main dining room of the Canterbury Retreat and Conference Center,” The Rt. Rev. Gregory O. Brewer, diocesan bishop, explained.

“The team that did all of the video and audio was CommCo, under the direction of our director of communications, Mr. Erik Guzman. And I will tell you that, because of the fantastic tech team we had under Erik’s very capable direction, as well as a tremendous number of hours of preparation by our diocesan staff, it went off virtually without a hitch,” Brewer said. “Canterbury couldn’t have been finer hosts,” he added.

The gathering began with an opening video montage that showcased diocesan ministry both inside and outside church buildings, visually unfolding the Convention theme of “Weaker. Deeper.

Stronger.” Brewer then called the meeting to order, welcomed participants and led in prayer.

Erik Guzman directing the diocesan staff during the livestreamed Convention.

12

Easter 2021 CFE

A nontraditional introduction of delegates and their churches followed via their submitted videos displaying a wide range of creativity and uniqueness.

After this virtual roll call, further videos, interspersed with elections and other Convention business, highlighted multiple ministries on local, national and international fronts.

Diocesan Election

The use of the ElectionBuddy platform for voting went off with few delays and even fewer glitches following a test vote conducted by The Rev. Canon Scott Holcombe, canon to the ordinary. The Rev. Jason Murbarger, chair of the Nominations/Elections Committee, introduced the various nominees and gave instructions for each vote.

Those elected to the various positions, announced near the close of the Convention, are as follows: Standing Committee: The Rev. Tom Rutherford (clerical order, four-year term); Monique Myers (lay order, threeyear term); Monica Taffinder Tyedmers (lay order, one-year term).

Diocesan Board: The Rev. Phyllis Bartle (clerical order, three-year term); Leslie Andreae (lay order, three-year term); Todd Pittenger (lay order, threeyear term); Tricia Powell (lay order, one-year term).

Trustee, University of the South: James “Trippe” Cheek III (lay order, three-year term). cfdiocese.org

CFO Earl Pickett presented the diocesan operating budget for 2021, which was adopted.

Bishop Brewer’s Address

In this year’s shorter, virtual Convention, Brewer’s address was the sole message of the day. After expressing thanks to the diocesan staff and to his wife, Laura Lee, the bishop summarized his own busy schedule alongside the many diocesan achievements and accomplishments, all of which happened despite COVID-19 restrictions instituted on March 3, 2020.

Brewer emphasized the way churches have remained proactive in connection and ministry. He said financial giving remains strong, including relief for the Diocese of Honduras, Central Florida’s companion diocese, where COVID-19 and two hurricanes have devastated both land and people.

A video message from The Rt. Rev. Lloyd Allen highlighted the Honduran bishop’s gratitude for the partnership of the Diocese of Central Florida amidst a sobering time.

Brewer also challenged his hearers with the Convention theme, encouraging them that despite the losses that have made them weaker, God desires to use those to drive them into a deeper exploration and living out of the life of Jesus.

Such pursuit will, through the power of the Holy Spirit, shape, change and restructure the diocese, making it stronger and better prepared for what Brewer called a “new missionary opportunity.”

After Brewer’s message and a brief break, remaining diocesan business was conducted, including the introduction of new deanery deans, seminarians and prospective ordinands as well as newly ordained clergy. The Rev. Jennifer Grady led in a video memorial for deceased clergy members, followed by silent prayer, and Brewer thanked various members for service on diocesan committees and boards.

Final Moments

Next came a humorous video invitation to next year’s Convention at the Daytona Beach Ocean Center, Jan. 28-29, 2022, along with Murbarger’s announcement of election results and the commissioning of all elected persons.

Following that, a virtual choir made up of 28 singers from throughout the diocese under the direction of Andrew

Walker, director of music at St. Michael’s, Orlando, presented the closing anthem, an arrangement of “The Lord Bless You and Keep You.” The virtual choir video featured scenes from the work of the diocese throughout the preceding year, and the 2021 Convention ended with a closing prayer and blessing.

DIOCE SAN FAM ILY

In addition, the following will serve on the Diocesan Board by virtue of their election within deaneries: The Very Rev. Stuart Shelby (dean, Central Deanery, three-year term); The Very Rev. Lisa Wimmer (dean, Northwest Deanery, one-year term); Dr. Virginia Cummings-Lang (president, Southwest Deanery, three-year term); Fran Dunn (president, Northeast Deanery, threeyear term). The Rev. Chris Rodriguez will also serve as an ex officio member of the Diocesan Board this year in his capacity as president of the Standing Committee.

Weaker. Deeper. Stronger.

“Overall, we’re extremely pleased with how the virtual Diocesan Convention turned out,” Guzman said. “There were a lot of moving parts that had to come together, and I’m thankful for the hard work of so many who made it a success.”

The virtual Convention itself was an illustration of Brewer’s Convention theme.

Because of the challenges presented by hosting a Convention during the pandemic, the diocesan staff had to more deeply rely on God and each other. The diocese has now emerged stronger with new capabilities and opportunities.

“We are already talking about things we learned this year that we can carry over to help make a smoother Convention in person next year at the Daytona Beach Convention Center, like the election process and video segments highlighting the things that happen in 2021,” Brewer said.

“I can’t tell you how grateful I am.”

During their appointments, Secretary of Convention Sarah Caprani, Chancellor Wooten and Vice Chancellor Grimm add levity with props that fit their roles. cfdiocese.org

CFE Easter 2021

13

DIOC E SAN FAM ILY

La Convención Diocesana virtual se vuelve

más débil, más profunda, más fuerte E L EQUIPO DE CF E

La 52a Convención Diocesana Anual ya está registrada en nuestros historiales, o más exactamente, en las pantallas. La primera convención virtual transmitida en vivo desde Canterbury Retreat and Conference Center, de 9 a.m. a 1 p.m. el 6 de febrero de 2021. Tanto los organizadores como los participantes están de acuerdo: A pesar de los desafíos, el formato virtual sirvió a la Diócesis de la Florida Central extremadamente bien.

Los participantes de la convención asistieron a través de un seminario web vía Zoom, destinado exclusivamente para delegados, personal y equipo diocesano.

Otros pudieron ver los procedimientos simultáneamente a través de YouTube en CFDiocese.org/2021DioCon, donde el video en vivo estaba integrado para un fácil acceso. No hubo asistentes en persona en Canterbury, que se trans-

formó en un set de “transmisión” completo con una pared LED, iluminación y diseño de escenario para el rodaje de dos cámaras.

“Nuestro ‘estudio’ era el comedor principal de Canterbury Retreat and Conference Center”, explicó el obispo diocesano El Rvdmo. Gregory O. Brewer.

“El equipo que hizo todo el video y audio fue CommCo, bajo la dirección de nuestro director de comunicaciones, el Sr. Erik Guzmán. Y les diré que, debido al fantástico equipo de tecnología que tuvimos bajo la muy capaz dirección de Erik, así como a la tremenda cantidad de horas de preparación por parte de nuestro personal diocesano, todo se desarrolló prácticamente sin problemas”, dijo Brewer. “Canterbury no pudo haber sido un mejor anfitrión”, agregó.

La reunión comenzó con un montaje de video de apertura que mostró el ministerio diocesano tanto dentro como fuera de los edificios de la iglesia, desplegando visualmente el tema de la Convención de “Más débil. Más profundo. Más fuerte.” Luego, Brewer abrió la reunión, dio la bienvenida a los participantes y dirigió la oración.

Una presentación no tradicional de los delegados y sus iglesias siguió a

14

Easter 2021 CFE

través de los videos enviados, lo que mostró una amplia gama de creatividad y singularidad. Después de este pase de lista virtual, más videos, intercalados con elecciones y otros asuntos de la Convención, destacaron múltiples ministerios en los frentes local, nacional e internacional.

Elección diocesana El uso de la plataforma ElectionBuddy para votar se realizó con pocas demoras y aún menos fallas después de una votación de prueba realizada por El Rev. Canónigo Scott Holcombe, Canónigo del Ordinario. El Rev. Jason Murbarger, presidente del Comité de Nominaciones / Elecciones, presentó a los diversos nominados y dio instrucciones para cada voto. Los elegidos para los distintos cargos, anunciados cerca de la clausura de la Convención, son los siguientes: Comité Permanente: El Rev. Tom Rutherford (orden clerical, mandato de cuatro años); Monique Myers (orden laica, mandato de tres años); Monica Taffinder Tyedmers (orden laica, mandato de un año).

Junta Diocesana: Rev. Phyllis Bartle (orden clerical, término de tres años); cfdiocese.org

Miembro del Consejo, Universidad del Sur: James “Trippe” Cheek III (orden laica, término de tres años).

Además, las siguientes personas integrarán la Junta Diocesana en virtud de su elección dentro de los decanatos: El Rev. Stuart Shelby (decano, Decanato Central, mandato de tres años); La Reverenda Lisa Wimmer (decana, Decanato del Noroeste, mandato de un año); Dra. Virginia Cummings-Lang (presidenta, Decanato del Sudoeste, mandato de tres años); Fran Dunn (presidente, Decanato del Noreste, mandato de tres años). El Rev. Chris Rodríguez también servirá como miembro ex officio de la Junta Diocesana este año en su capacidad como presidente del Comité Permanente.

El Oficial Principal de Finanzas Earl Pickett presentó el presupuesto diocesano para 2021, el cual fue adoptado.

Discurso del Obispo Brewer

En la breve Convención virtual, el discurso de Brewer fue el único mensaje del día. Después de expresar su agradecimiento al personal diocesano y a su esposa, Laura Lee, el obispo resumió su apretada agenda junto con los muchos logros y hazañas diocesanas, todo lo cual sucedió a pesar de las restricciones por el COVID-19 instituidas el 3 de marzo de 2020.

Central en medio de un momento aleccionador.

Brewer también desafió a sus oyentes con el tema de la Convención, animándolos a que a pesar de las pérdidas que los han debilitado, Dios desea usarlos para llevarlos a una exploración más profunda y a vivir la vida de Jesús.

Tal búsqueda, a través del poder del Espíritu Santo, moldeará, cambiará y reestructurará la diócesis, haciéndola más fuerte y mejor preparada para lo que Brewer llamó una “nueva oportunidad misionera”.

Después del mensaje de Brewer y un breve descanso, se llevaron a cabo los asuntos diocesanos restantes, incluyendo la presentación de nuevos decanos de los decanatos, seminaristas y posibles ordenados, así como clérigos recién ordenados. La Reverenda Jennifer Grady dirigió un video conmemorativo para los miembros del clero fallecido, seguido de una oración en silencio, y Brewer agradeció a varios miembros por su servicio en los comités y juntas diocesanos.

Momentos finales

Luego vino una divertida invitación en video a la Convención del próximo año en el Daytona Beach Ocean Center, del 28 al 29 de enero de 2022, junto con el anuncio de Murbarger de los resultados de las elecciones y el nombramiento de todas las personas electas.

Después un coro virtual compuesto por 28 cantantes de toda la diócesis bajo la

dirección de Andrew Walker, Director de Música de St. Michael’s, Orlando, presentó el himno de cierre, un arreglo de “El Señor te bendiga y te guarde”. El video del coro virtual presentó escenas del trabajo de la diócesis durante el año anterior, y la Convención de 2021 terminó con una oración de clausura y una bendición.

DIOCE SAN FAM ILY

Leslie Andreae (orden laica, mandato de tres años); Todd Pittenger (orden laica, mandato de tres años); Tricia Powell (orden laica, mandato de un año).

Más débil. Más profundo. Más fuerte.

“En general, estamos muy contentos con el resultado de la Convención Diocesana virtual”, dijo Guzmán. “Hubo muchas partes móviles que tuvieron que unirse, y estoy agradecido por el arduo trabajo de tantos que hicieron que fuera un éxito”.

La convención virtual en sí misma fue una ilustración del tema de la convención de Brewer. Debido a los desafíos presentados por ser anfitrión de una Convención durante la pandemia, el personal diocesano tuvo que confiar más profundamente en Dios y en los demás. La diócesis ahora ha emergido más fuerte con nuevas capacidades y oportunidades.

“Ya estamos hablando de cosas que aprendimos este año que podemos transmitir para ayudar a que la Convención sea más fluida en persona el próximo año en el Centro de Convenciones de Daytona Beach, como el proceso electoral y segmentos de videos que destacan las cosas que suceden en 2021”, dijo Brewer. “No puedo decirte lo agradecido que estoy”.

Brewer enfatizó la forma en que las iglesias se han mantenido proactivas en la conexión y el ministerio.

Dijo que las donaciones financieras siguen siendo sólidas, incluido el alivio para la Diócesis de Honduras, la diócesis compañera de la Florida Central, donde el COVID-19 y dos huracanes han devastado tanto tierra como personas. Un mensaje de video del Rvdmo. Lloyd Allen destacó la gratitud del obispo hondureño por la asociación de la Diócesis de la Florida cfdiocese.org

CFE Easter 2021

15

DIOC E SAN FAM ILY

Andrew Walker Leads First Diocese of Central Florida

Virtual Choir

BY ERIK G UZ M A N

Those resources were delivered to Walker as quickly as possible – on Dec. 22. The deadline for vocalist submissions was Jan. 6. But an additional concern remained: How many would be available to volunteer their time over the holidays?

It was early December of 2020. COVID cases were surging.

Months earlier, the decision was made that the 52nd Annual Diocesan Convention would be all virtual.

In addition to remote attendance and voting, The Rt. Rev. Gregory O. Brewer's vision for the canonically required meeting went beyond protecting hundreds of delegates from a superspreader event. The Convention would have production value and showcase the parishes, ministries and members of the Diocese of Central Florida. A simple Zoom meeting wasn’t going to cut it.

Since the cost of the project was directly tied to the number of vocalists, the budget itself limited Walker and the diocesan staff when identifying singers to invite. Emails flew. Calls were made. In the end, 28 vocalists participated.

With only two months until the event on Feb. 6, 2021, planning and preproduction were underway, but there were still a lot of unknowns. One particularly challenging task yet to be tackled was the bishop’s directive to form a virtual choir featuring vocalists from across the diocese singing the closing anthem, John Rutter’s “The Lord Bless You and Keep You.”

Singers could record their audio and video on cell phones, tablets or laptops, then upload the files for Walker’s review. He said, “There was not a single person amongst them about whom I had to say anything other than ‘Great voice!’ or ‘Wonderful voice!’ or ‘Oh my goodness, she’s only 12 years old!’ It was a very good selection of voices from the diocese.”

Andrew Walker, director of music at St. Michael’s Episcopal Church in Orlando, rose to the challenge. After being commissioned by the bishop, Walker adjusted his schedule and made the virtual choir his top priority. “It absolutely required some immediate action,” Walker recalled. “I knew I could take care of the organ accompaniment and provide for the guide tracks without involving anybody else, which would halve the time. I could do the bass part and the alto part myself.”

While Walker worked with Arts Laureate on the audio and video, the diocesan staff collected photos to be incorporated into the final virtual choir video.

Andrew Walker

After finding a soprano and a tenor, Walker worked in his backyard studio to complete the guide tracks that remote vocalists would use to record their parts. Walker added video of himself conducting and sent the guide tracks to Arts Laureate, a team specializing in producing virtual ensemble videos at VirtualChoir.net.

Arts Laureate then prepared everything Walker needed to invite singers and facilitate their video submissions, including recording instructions, guide videos and a link to upload recordings.

16

Easter 2021 CFE

Art Laureate delivered the first draft of the video on Jan. 28, and after a few minor edits, it was presented to Brewer for his approval on Feb. 2. The team incorporated the bishop’s input, and the first Diocese of Central Florida Virtual Choir was ready for the Convention with three days to spare!

Since the Convention, Walker has received a number of compliments on his work. “I try and back them up,” Walker explained. “I say, ‘Hey, listen, all I did was the guide tracks.

The final manipulation of all the various video elements – that was done by a professional company.’”

Walker may not have personally edited the final video, but his role in making it a success (and hitting the deadline) is indisputable.

View the virtual choir video at CFDiocese.org/2021DioCon. cfdiocese.org

DIOCE SAN FAM ILY

‘Alleluia’

Mornings in Easter

BY T H E V ERY R EV. D R . R EG G I E M. KIDD, DEA N, CAT H EDR A L CH URCH OF ST. LUKE

Our bodies sustain life by a rhythm of breathing in and breathing out. The Daily Office provides a parallel rhythm by which our inner being may sustain life as well. Reading scripture is the way we breathe in. The combination of worshipping and praying is the way we breathe out.

Breathing back praise is as important as breathing in knowledge. During the season of Easter, the Daily Office commends the song “Pascha nostrum” (“Christ Our Passover”), a collection of verses from Paul’s letters that Thomas Cranmer pieced together in the 1540s. And throughout the Easter season, the Daily Office commends reading or singing it at the beginning of morning devotions.

“Pascha nostrum” is three stanzas long, each stanza focusing on a different aspect of our Easter hope.

The first stanza consists of 2 Corinthians 5:7-8, bracketed by alleluias: Alleluia/ Christ our Passover has been sacrificed for us/ therefore let us keep the feast/ Not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil/ but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. Alleluia. cfdiocese.org

As blood from the slain Passover lambs led the angel of death to pass over the houses of the Israelites, so Christ’s shed blood rescues his people from sin and death. In Paul’s writing, the unleavened bread of the Jewish Passover comes into sharp focus for those experiencing Christ as their Passover. They start a new life characterized by sincerity and truth, leaving behind an old life marked by slavery to malice and evil.

That’s worth at least a couple alleluias.

The second stanza consists of Romans 6:9-11and concludes with alleluia: Christ being raised from the dead will never die again/ death no longer has dominion over him/ The death that he died, he died to sin, once for all/ but the life he lives, he lives to God/ So also consider yourselves dead to sin/ and alive to God in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Alleluia.

There is a staggering likeness between Christ’s death and ours. Because he died once, he can never die again.

Because in our baptism we too “die,” death no longer has any claim on us.

That’s not just a promise that we are going to heaven. It means that in the

very present, we can say to the walking death of a sinful life: “That’s not me anymore.” We can walk – we really can – “alive to God in Jesus Christ.”

And, yes, of course: alleluia.

The third stanza consists of 1 Corinthians 15:20-22, and rounds out the whole song with a final alleluia.

Christ has been raised from the dead/ the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep/ For since by a man came death/ by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead/ For as in Adam all die/ so also in Christ shall all be made alive.

Alleluia.

Christ’s followers do not share the world’s despair over there being “no justice in the world.” We believe that when all the chips are called in, the whole problem of human suffering – death, disease, decay, destruction, depression – all of it will have found resolution in the suffering unto death and victory over death of one man, Jesus Christ. The one necessary thing, in the end, is to be found to be in him.

Alleluia.

Alleluia.

Alleluia.

CFE Easter 2021

17

M INISTRIE S

at

CAMP WINGMANN

R einvented

BY G LEN N H AG ER

An awkward, anxious seventh grader found himself at a church camp for the very first time. He wasn’t exactly happy about being there. He didn’t really know who he was and was deathly afraid to drop his mask of adequacy for even a moment. Nobody knew him either — at least not who he really was. It felt safer to keep it that way.

But somehow during that weekend, the walls came down. He received the opportunity to be honest and know he would still be loved. It caught him completely off guard, but camp became his church.

For this young man, it was the beginning of something miraculous: an encounter with God, with his love and with the love of his people.

It changed the entire trajectory of his life.

With its spring-fed lake, live oaks draped in Spanish moss, historic Yates Hall and renovated facilities, Camp Wingmann is a place devoted to the glory of God. “New Beginnings is designed to be a safe place for campers to be honest about their relationships with themselves, friends, siblings, parents, God, Jesus and

18

Easter 2021 CFE

Yes, camp will be a little different this year, but these necessary changes have no power to hamper God’s work through this life-changing event.

NEW BEGINNINGS will take place Saturday, April 10, at Camp Wingmann.

For more, visit: TinyURL.com/NB041021

The Rev. Phyllis Bartle, the other coorganizer of New Beginnings, is the one who pulls the program together. She said, “One of my greatest joys has been the privilege of seeing what happens in the lives of the campers as they go on to become leaders in the church and the community.”

This year the organizers had a real challenge: How do we keep doing something this important in the age of COVID? Teenagers need community as much as the rest of us, probably more so. Concerned, the high school team members contacted the staff to discuss ways they and the campers could safely get together.

Other Camp Wingmann Dates

The innovative result is a daylong Saturday camp that follows the mask, distancing and sanitizing guidelines set forth by the CDC and the American Camp Association. Fortunately, another group observing these guidelines rented out Camp Wingmann a few months ago.

This gave Camp Director Joshua Joseph the opportunity to observe how a camp could safely be conducted. That camp went very well, and Joseph learned a lot.

INCOMING 6th-8th GRADERS

INCOMING 9th-12th GRADERS Camp St. Mark, Session 1 JUNE 6-11 Camp St. Peter, Session 2 JUNE 27-JULY 2 Camp St. Barnabas, Session 1 JUNE 13-18 Camp St. Francis, Session 2 JULY 4-9

INCOMING 3rd-5th GRADERS Camp St. Mary, Session 1 JUNE 20-25 cfdiocese.org

Images Provided by Canterbury Conference Center

Though that story could be repeated many times by the campers at New Beginnings, these particular details come from the life of The Rev. Kevin Bartle, co-organizer of New Beginnings at Camp Wingmann. And Bartle, who is now 41, has never missed a New Beginnings camp since his very first experience. To this day, his closest friends are those he has made at Camp Wingmann.

the church,” Bartle said. High schoolers form the ministry team, serving as small group leaders, the worship team and the prayer, share and care team. Music, skits, talks, breaking bread together and, of course, plain old fun are all part of the program. The conversations that ensue and the relationships that are formed are all part of the process God uses for these middle schoolers to develop a real relationship with him.

M INISTRIE S

Sacred Space and Service

BY CF E STA F F

For nearly 40 years, Canterbury Retreat and Conference Center has provided hospitality in a sacred space for the Diocese of Central Florida, those seeking spiritual restoration and the community at large. Nestled on 48 wooded acres encircling picturesque Lake Gem, just minutes from the University of Central Florida, Canterbury is a secluded oasis for anyone who hears the Lord calling them to “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while” (Mark 6:31a).

As featured in the 2020 Advent edition of the Central Florida Episcopalian, during the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting lack of demand for retreats and conferences, Canterbury kept its staff employed via a major renovation to its facilities. In fact, the disruption to normal operations turned into an opportunity for renewal.

The shutdown also provided an unprecedented opportunity to serve the community. In March of 2020, Canterbury began providing sanctuary in its guest rooms for first

responders who needed to quarantine and families who had lost their homes. The center also made its conference rooms available to small churches who could no longer meet in public schools.

“It’s not a lucrative thing for us, but something we’re called to do,” said Chalmers Morse, executive director of Canterbury.

“This has created a different opportunity for us to minister.”

Morse is looking forward to offering retreats and conferences for clergy, churches, laypeople, organizations and corporate groups – as well as a beautiful venue for weddings – for years to come. To do so, Canterbury will need your support and patronage. Rates are more affordable than you may think, and parishioners in the Diocese of Central Florida receive a 20% discount.

Canterbury’s vision is to “support purposeful work in this sacred space, so that those who come here will return to their own communities rejuvenated, inspired and better equipped to serve others and extend God’s love.”

Enriching Lives Through

Hospitality, Learning, Reflection and Renewal • Modern meeting spaces • Nature walk • Fully renovated guest rooms • Stations of the Cross • Lakeview dining at the Overlook • Challenge (ropes) course

CanterburyRetreat.org | 407-365-5571

cfdiocese.org

CFE Easter 2021

19

M INISTRIE S

Student, Celebrant, Redemption Flows Through Bishop Brewer’s Cursillo Experience

BY M A RT I PI EPER

That Cursillo happened to be the first one ever held in the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia, Brewer said. It was an all-male event, with men “of every age, probably 18 or so up until post-retirement.”

“What I did not expect and thoroughly enjoyed was a wonderful sense of celebration that pervaded the whole weekend,” Brewer said. “Everything was fiesta, laughter, lots of food.”

But although he enjoyed the celebratory atmosphere, what caught him off guard was what he calls the “extraordinary level of prayer support and volunteers that it took to put on a Cursillo.”

Gregory O. Brewer with Bishop William H. Folwell circa 1976

For then-seminary student Gregory O. Brewer, Cursillo began as a learning experience, just short of a duty. But God redeemed it into so much more.

“I was a senior at Virginia Theological Seminary in 1976, and I was 24 years of age at the time,” The Rt. Rev. Gregory O. Brewer said. “And I heard about Cursillo because a team from Cursillo came to the seminary and made a presentation.

“I liked what I heard,” he said. “I liked the emphasis on Christian community and about being with a group of people that pray together, and the testimonies that I’d heard from them about how God had changed their lives held real interest. And my thought was, ‘I should do this because I’m interested in the renewal of the church. This is something that I should understand and experience.’”

‘Tender, Sacrificial Love’ “I actually went with no expectation of any personal change happening to me whatsoever,” he confessed. “I just thought I needed to go because Cursillo was obviously a burgeoning movement, and it was something about which I ought to be informed. So I applied, and I was accepted.”

20

Easter 2021 CFE

Brewer said every Cursillo candidate had a volunteer who watched out for his needs.

Not only that, but “huge groups of people” kept showing up every now and again to pray or sing.

“We were serenaded at the crack of dawn on Sunday morning,” he said. “This is way out in the country at their retreat center.

And there were several hundred people who were there by 7 o’clock. That just astonished me, and it really moved me.

“I was deeply touched by the love and the sacrifice of the people who served and did all sorts of things,” Brewer said. “That really changed me. And that weekend became a wonderful experience of the tender, sacrificial love of God really demonstrated through all of the people who came to love and to serve me.”

And that demonstration of redeemed weakness touched his heart, he said. “I really was deeply affected by Cursillo — to my complete surprise because I didn’t anticipate anything happening to me at all.

And I loved it.” cfdiocese.org

Spring Cursillo Weekends have been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Coed Cursillo Weekend, scheduled for Oct. 1-3, 2021, has not been canceled at this time.

The Cursillo Commission is working on the changes that would be necessary to have a successful coed weekend.

For more information about Cursillo, join the Central Florida Cursillo Group on Facebook; visit the Cursillo website, CFEpiscopalCursillo.org; or contact Phil Phillips, strumminguy55@yahoo.com; Kim McMaster, kmcmaster1@cfl.rr.com; or Karen Stout, 4karenjs@gmail.com.

‘Deeply Moving Celebrations’ Only a few months after his Cursillo experience, Brewer found himself serving at All Saints in Winter Park. “Cursillo was happening here in the diocese,” he said. “Bill Folwell, the bishop at the time, was a real champion, of course, encouraging his clergy and lay leaders to go.

Brewer added that he was “very active in Cursillo” for all of his 16 years in Central Florida. But when he left the diocese and went to serve in Pennsylvania, he said “there was not the same involvement with Cursillo, either in the Pittsburgh Diocese or the Philadelphia Diocese.” And when he later served in New York, the diocese there had even less diocesan involvement with Cursillo.

But since his election as bishop and return to the Diocese of Central Florida, Brewer said, “I’ve tried to champion Cursillo wherever I’ve been. Cursillo here is very active, and I’m really doing what I can to support them. And I’ve really helped them try to think about particularly how they can reach out to more young adult parishioners.”

‘Genuinely Loving Christian Community’ Cursillo promotes itself as “a short course in Christianity,” Brewer said.

This means “all the talks are geared toward passing on information about what does it mean to be a follower of Jesus. And in some ways, Cursillo is designed not just to teach Christian community, but to be a demonstration of Christian community and the high level of sacrifice and servanthood involved.”

“And so if you want to participate in an immersive experience of genuine loving Christian community, and hear through a variety of talks what it really means to be a follower of Jesus, Cursillo’s for you,” he added. “And you can fully expect God to use that in your life.”

“Cursillo goes back to the early days of the renewal movement in Spain in the 1940s,” he added. “And over time, it has continued to evolve, and in some ways, renew itself. And I would say that my hope would be that that process of renewal would continue, and that God would use Cursillo to reach out to the Episcopalians in Central Florida – because I think it has quite a lot to offer.”

Photo: The Rev. Tom Seitz

“And like the Diocese of Virginia, the Cursillos that happened then involved several hundred people in various roles and were just as fun, very tender, deeply moving celebrations, just like I experienced up in Virginia,” Brewer said. “And I wound up actually participating in quite a few Cursillo weekends over the course of that next year, because I was the fourth clergyperson on the staff at the time. So I could be free to miss from time to time and give talks on Sunday morning in a way that some of the clergy who were rectors could not.

“And so I wound up being very involved, both on the speaking side as well as on the prayer side,” he said.

“And as a result, got to meet the clergy and lay leaders of the diocese, even though it was my first year in Central Florida, through my involvement with Cursillo.”

Gregory O. Brewer (far right) with fellow seminarians at Virginia Theological Seminary circa 1974 cfdiocese.org

M INISTRIE S

Champion

CFE Easter 2021

21

L AST WORD

Go Fishing

At the 52nd Annual Diocesan Convention, Bishop Brewer offered a redemptive perspective as he surveyed the upheaval we are experiencing in the world. “I believe with all my heart that God is shaping us, changing us, restructuring us for a new missionary opportunity,” he said. “Let us receive in fresh ways the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. Let us look with new eyes on the communities where God has placed us. He wants to invite us into the privilege of being, in a new way, a channel for his healing, his life and his power. Let us, sisters and brothers in Christ, in 2021, prepare for the harvest.”

This page is dedicated to that missionary vision for the diocese.

This image of the oil painting titled "Go Fishing" by Jeanne Harris Weaver, parishioner at St. David's by-the-Sea in Cocoa Beach, is an inspiration to leave behind our “boats and nets” to share the good news of God’s redeeming love in fresh, creative ways.

22

Easter 2021 CFE

cfdiocese.org

STAY CONNECTED

F LO R I DA

WITH BISHOP BREWER

EPISCOPALIAN

Watch Bishop Brewer's Video Reflections: www.TinyURL.com/BishopBrewerReflections

THE RT. REV. GREGORY O. BREWER Bishop

Read blog posts: www.CFDiocese.org/BishopsBlog

Follow Bishop Brewer on social media:

THE RT. REV. JOHN W. HOWE Retired

DIOCE SAN CAL E NDAR

CENTRAL

@revgregbrewer

THE RT. REV. WILLIAM H. FOLWELL Retired THE REV. CANON SCOTT HOLCOMBE Canon to the Ordinary THE REV. CANON DR. JUSTIN HOLCOMB Canon for Vocations THE VEN. KRISTI ALDAY Archdeacon MR. EARL PICKETT Diocesan Administrator MR. ERIK GUZMAN Director of Communications MR. ERICK PEREZ Subscription Manager CENTRAL FLORIDA EPISCOPALIAN is published by the Episcopal Diocese of Central Florida. Submissions are welcome, but are subject to editing and use at the discretion of the Central Florida Episcopalian.

G O O D S H E P H E R D S U N DAY – 0 4 . 2 5 . 2 1 In the Diocese of Central Florida, the fourth Sunday of Easter is “Good Shepherd Sunday.” Churches are encouraged to earmark their loose change offerings for the Bishop’s Discretionary Fund. Bishop Brewer uses this fund to financially assist diocesan clergy and ministries Make checks payable to “Diocese of Central Florida” with the memo line, “Good Shepherd Sunday,” and mail them to Diocese of Central Florida, 1017 East Robinson Street, Orlando, FL 32801.

V I S I TAT I O N S View Bishop Brewer’s current visitation schedule: www.CFDiocese.org/Visitations

O R D I N AT I O N S PRIESTHOOD: The Rev. Angel Lopez

Sunday

04.25.21

11:00 a.m.

St. John’s Episcopal Church, Kissimmee FL

Please submit event notices three months prior to the event to:

Central Florida Episcopalian 1017 E. Robinson St. Orlando, FL 32801-2023

ERIK GUZMAN: eguzman@cfdiocese.org ERICK PEREZ: eperez@cfdiocese.org

Connect with us on social media: @cfdiocese

DIACONATE: Ordinands to be Announced Saturday

10.09.21

11:00 a.m.

Cathedral Church of St. Luke, Orlando FL

Livestream: www.Facebook.com/CCSLOrlando

S U B S C R I PT I O N S CFE DIGITAL DIGEST EMAIL NEWSLETTER

Subscribe for monthly diocesan news and articles between issues of the Central Florida Episcopalian magazine:

www.CFDiocese.org/CFEDigtialDigest

CENTRAL FLORIDA EPISCOPALIAN MAGAZINE Subscribe to this magazine:

www.CFDioces.org/CFEMagazine cfdiocese.org

CFE Easter 2021

23

CENTRAL

F LO R I DA

EPISCOPALIAN 1017 E. Robinson Street Orlando, FL 32801-2023

Non-Profit Organization

U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT NO. 4111 ORLANDO, FLORIDA

EASTER 2021 / ISSUE 1 / VOL 124

ARE YOU CALLED? C ONFERENCE O N M INISTRY

For anyone considering ordained or lay ministry!

Saturday, August 28, 2021 10 A.M. - 3 P.M. (subject to change) CHURCH OF THE MESSIAH, 241 North Main Street, Winter Garden COST: $10 /person TO REGISTER: email eceely@CFDiocese.org or call (407) 423-3567 x317