2021 Easter Southern Cross

VOLUME 52 | ISSUE 1

EASTER 2021

Southern Cross MAGAZINE OF THE DIOCESE OF SOUTHWEST FLORIDA

THE MARVELOUS MACKLES

•

ST. PAUL’S LAUNCH

ELECTION OF A BISHOP COADJUTOR PROCESS • PUNTA GORDA AT 125 • YOUTH MISSION

SacredSpace A

an d e f a S

Mental Health First Aid is a skills-based training course that teaches participants about mental health and substance-use issues. The training gives you the skills you need to reach out and provide initial help and support to someone who may be developing a mental health or substance use problem or experiencing a crisis.

Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training is similar to CPR for physical first aid, and the national certification through the National Council for Behavioral Health is earned via the 8-hour training course. Classes can be as large as 30 students with certified instructors. Group sessions and individual registrations are available.

DaySpring is the perfect setting for the one-day training, with our state-of-the-art facilities and access to 97 acres of natural resources and contemplative spaces for walking and quiet reflection. Lodging is available for overnight stays with an advance reservation. With referrals to our certified MHFA instructors, group planners can easily add on a day of MHFA training to enhance their experience at DaySpring.

As our communities recover from the challenges of a pandemic and build resiliency within ourselves and our teams, DaySpring is committed to hosting both private group and monthly openregistration classes for individuals at our safe and sacred place. Join us in this important initiative.

UPCOMING COURSES: • FRIDAY, APRIL 23, 2021 • THURSDAY, MAY 13, 2021 • THURSDAY, JUNE 10, 2021 • FRIDAY, JULY 16, 2021

Interested? Go to

www.dayspringfla.org/mentalhealth for more information

DAYSPRING EPISCOPAL CENTER | 8411 25th St E | Parrish, FL 34219 | 941-776-1018

From the Bishop IN THIS LIFE, AND THE LIFE TO COME My dear friends, I was flipping through the pages of a recent March publication of The Living Church magazine when I read that an old friend of mine had died. M. Fred Himmerich was a priest who taught me many things about Liturgics during my three seminary years at Nashotah House. That was unofficial teaching at St. Paul’s in Watertown, Wisconsin.

Officially, he taught me New Testament Greek for a passing grade of an undeserved “A.” Fr. Himmerich was a loving parish priest and a real scholar and died at the age of 90 years old.

I was reminded of how thrilled my parents were when they came to visit and my father had the opportunity to preside at the altar at St. Paul’s. I got to assist him, and my daughter Ashton who was five or six years old, got to be the acolyte. My mother could barely contain herself. Now my daughter Ashton is a priest of the Church serving at Christ Church, St. Simons Island, Georgia, and I can barely contain myself!

During the time of immunity uncertainty and pre-vaccinations, Mary and I would watch the services at Christ Church on occasion to see Ashton preaching or presiding and enjoyed a lot of pride in her. This time of COVID-19 did offer some silver linings. Of course, now that we have received the vaccinations it is so great to enjoy some limited congregational visitations. I am so proud of the clergy of this Diocese as they continue to make healthy and beneficial decisions to create safe environments for the people during these uncertain times.

So, I first met Fr. Himmerich at St. Paul’s 37 years ago and he began to shape and form my life for the priesthood.

I offer him gratitude through the boundaries of eternity. It is truly amazing at how much can emerge from memories through the sudden glimpse of an unknown obituary. Life is a powerful statement!

I wish you a blessed Easter… in this life, and the life to come!

Bishop Dabney Smith Fifth Bishop of Southwest Florida

SOUTHERN CROSS

YEAR 52 | ISSUE 1 | EASTER 2021 FIRST PUBLISHED AD 1970

Matthew Bowers | Director of Youth Ministry & Programming mbowers@episcopalswfl.org Geraldine “Jerry” Buss | Bookkeeper jbuss@episcopalswfl.org The Rev. Martha Goodwill | Director of Congregation Support mgoodwill@episcopalswfl.org The Rev. Christopher Gray | Canon for Stewardship cgray@episcopalswfl.org Wendy Martucci | Assistant to the Bishop wmartucci@episcopalswfl.org Michelle Mercurio | Administrative Assistant mmercurio@episcopalswfl.org The Ven. Dr. Kathleen Moore | Archdeacon; Dean, School for Ministry kmoore@episcopalswfl.org The Rev. Richard H. Norman | Canon to the Ordinary rnorman@episcopalswfl.org Carla Odell | Executive Director - DaySpring execdirector@dayspringfla.org Garland Pollard | Director of Communications gpollard@episcopalswfl.org Tana Sembiante | Administrative Assistant to Canon Norman tsembiante@episcopalswfl.org Anne Vickers | Canon for Finance & Administration | CFO avickers@episcopalswfl.org ADJUNCT CLERGY The Rev. Ann Dieterle | DaySpring Program Coordinator adierterle@episcopalswfl.org The Rev. Carol Fleming | Diocesan Missioner, Parrish cfleming@episcopalswfl.org The Rev. Scott Nonken | USF Chaplain snonken@episcopalswfl.org The Rev. Michael Todd | State College of Florida Chaplain mtodd@chsosprey.org

Bishop | The Diocese of Southwest Florida The Rt. Rev. Dabney T. Smith Assisting Bishops The Rt. Rev. J. Michael Garrison, The Rt. Rev. Barry R. Howe Canon to the Ordinary The Rev. Canon Richard H. Norman Canon for Finance & Administration | CFO Anne Vickers SOUTHERN CROSS Editor & Director of Communications Garland Pollard Managing Editor & Creative Director Shannon Weber Contributing Writers Marguerite Albro and Chester Baum, Morgan Brownlee, The Rev. Dave Marshall, Martha F. Bell McKenzie, Judy Bennett, Garland Pollard, Shannon Weber Advertising Inquiries Garland Pollard | 941-556-0315 | gpollard@episcopalswfl.org Subscriptions | The Southern Cross is mailed free of charge to parishioners of the Diocese of Southwest Florida from member parish lists. Contact merfourth@episcopalswfl.org to subscribe or update delivery preferences.

Editorial Submissions | The editors welcome submission of articles for every section of the magazine, including features, news and departments. Please submit articles to gpollard@episcopalswfl.org 2021 Submission Deadlines Pentecost Issue: May 1 Advent Issue: October 15 On the cover:

The window behind the altar at Christ Episcopal Church, Bradenton. The Lamb of God, Agnes Dei, carries the Christian cross, victorious. In the outer windows, not pictured, are the four Gospels. The window was given in 1957 in memory of Frank E. and Winifred H. Greene by Mr. and Mrs. Frederick E. Schaefer. Frederick Schaefer (1892-1976) was the grandson of the founder of Schaefer Beer, and served as the company’s president. His wife, Helene Hollis Goldsmith Schaefer (1899-2001) was the sister of Winifred Greene.

FEATURES

22 MARVELOUS MACKLE BROTHERS

We go back to the 1960s and 70s, when the diocese was rapidly expanding thanks in large part to the Mackles, the Miami family who remains one of the largest land donors for churches in the area.

28 A HOME FOR ST. PAUL'S

What started as Wesley Chapel Episcopal Church is now St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Wesley Chapel. Their lay leadership discusses how the church plant is growing and thriving.

32 ELECTION OF A BISHOP

The search for a Bishop Coadjutor has officially begun. We look at the newly-formed Bishop Coadjutor Search Committee, that will lead this election process from start to finish.

DEPARTMENTS Youth | Winter Mission Summer Camp Preview | A Full 2021 Schedule Meet the Priest | The Rev. Mike Rau Vestry Profiles Communications | Make the Most Out of Your Mail Around the Diocese

PARISH PROFILE | CHURCH OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD PUNTA GORDA Art | Art Sale Helps Fund Organ Replacement Briefly | Union of Black Episcopalians Garden | The Annunciation Memorial Garden Beloved Community | The Power of Christianity Church Cookbook Love | An Easter Classic Transitions In Memoriam Looking Back

6 7 8 10 12 16

14 18 19 21 22 38 39 40 42

Youth

WINTER MISSION DAYS

By Morgan Brownlee, Minister of Youth & Family, Holy Innocents'

S

ince the start of the pandemic, our youth have had to face challenges and disappointments – events being canceled, school being moved to online, not seeing friends or loved ones, to name a few. When our youth ministry program started back in-person, it was our goal to follow the motto to “modify rather than cancel.” We wanted to reduce the number of disappointments our youth were having to face, but still face the reality that things would look different this year.

Our youth group began setting a pattern of a youth mission trip during winter break last year. With the pandemic, we knew that traveling and sleeping in close quarters was going to be impossible. So we modified rather than canceled and came up with the idea to host local daytime mission projects to do as a group. We have made a great missionary partnership in our neighbors, St. John the Divine, and they gladly jumped on board with this plan. We set aside four days during the youth’s winter break to serve those in need in our own backyard, and the experience was more than we could have imagined.

During our four days together, we reserved one day to perform team-building with our group, and three days to various mission sites/organizations. Our team-building day was spent at DaySpring, where the group participated in several obstacles that they had to conquer as a group through the low ropes and high ropes courses on the property. We ended our day with preparing 300 PB&J sandwiches that would be used in lunch sacks for the following feeding ministry day. The three mission organizations we support are THORN Feeding Ministries, Benison Farm, and Bikes for Christ.

THORN Ministries is a feeding ministry run by several local volunteers in the Brandon/Tampa area that work to feed around 300 homeless and those in need every Sunday of the year, rain or shine. Our group was able to prep, provide, and serve a meal of pulled pork sandwiches and sides for all four of the sites on that day, in addition to packing the 300 lunch sacks that were passed out to everyone being served.

We visited Benison Farm in St. Petersburg the following day, where the youth were able to learn more about living in a food desert and how the ministry works to provide fresh, healthy food to those in need. We helped harvest & tend to a few crops, clear land for the ministry’s future projects, and assisted in a handful of other small but helpful tasks that the volunteers needed a hand with. The youth worked diligently through the entire day and were able to complete all the work in one day that the ministry said would’ve taken them weeks on their own.

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On our final mission day, we visited Bikes for Christ of Brandon, a ministry that works to restore and provide bicycles to individuals who are working to take back their lives after overcoming hardships, including homelessness. The youth worked specifically in clearing a piece of property that was covered in dozens of donated bikes, and then salvaging the parts of each bike that could be reused on another bike. They all learned an immensely helpful skill, as well – lefty loosey, righty tighty! This ministry typically runs with the help of four individuals on a volunteer schedule, so with our youth’s helping hands we were able to tackle a rather daunting task that would have taken them weeks to accomplish.

The most important lesson that our youth took from this 4-day event was the importance of local mission work. We didn’t have to travel to another state or country to serve God’s people and proclaim the Gospel to others. The need is here, the need is now, and the work can be done by anyone who feels the call to serve – including the young.

Top: At Bikes for Christ in Brandon; center and bottom, at Benison Farm in St. Petersburg.

We're Back!

FULL SUMMER CAMP SCHEDULE SLATED FOR 2021 It's nearly summer camp season, and 2021 will see the return of a full calendar. Take a peek at what DaySpring has in store for all 6 upcoming sessions.

June 8 – 11 | Session 1 | Half Session Elementary Camp

June 27 – July 2| Session 4 | High School Mission Camp

For our youngest campers who might be attending sleepaway camp beginning in 3rd grade, our half session is the chance for both parents and youth to adjust to sleepaway camp and still have a positive camp experience. With a focus on fun and staying active, campers will participate in arts & crafts, games, swimming, and more to make sure that their first experience at DaySpring is filled with fun memories to build on in the coming years.

For this session, we partner with grassroots and local organizations which allows youth to spend a week at Camp while doing the same kind of work they would do on a mission trip. This week is perfect for those who attend churches that might not have a summer mission trip planned, and it is open to any youth looking to help their local community and expand their view of the world. Campers work on projects that range from sorting food for a local food bank, fixing bikes for the homeless population, cleaning up a section of beach, and much more.

June 13 – 18 | Session 2 | High School Camp Many of the campers at this session either attended camp for many years or participate in our retreats throughout the year: however, both new and old campers are welcome to attend, and we love seeing new faces each year. Campers can expect more advanced high ropes elements, deeper discussions of faith, and fun nightly events and activities. This sessions activities include a carnival, Olympic games, and a Hootenanny on the last night.

Youth who attend this session have the ability to apply to be a Junior Counselor and attend another session to develop their leadership skills and learn about how summer camp operates.

July 11 – 16 | Session 5 | Full Elementary Camp

June 20 – 25 | Session 3 | Middle School Camp

Though local mission work for Middle Schoolers can be tough to find, this session hopes to offer missional experiences for our campers to give them a chance to experience working in their local communities through outreach. Campers will spend the mornings serving the needs in the community and then return to camp in the afternoon for traditional camp activities.

This session is always one of our most well-attended, packed with energy and spirit! Our Middle School Camp is highenergy with outdoor activities, games, music, and worship. This session is focused on building community within our middle schoolers, exploring their faith, and connecting them to the beauty of God through nature.

For those who are comfortable with a whole week at DaySpring, our full Elementary Camp session offers a full week of fun, faith and friends. This session is separated out from the half session to give our youngest campers the chance to attend the half session before making the commitment to come for a full week, though attendance at one is not required for the other. With a full week at DaySpring, there is plenty more campers can do including the waterfront, low ropes, and relays.

July 18th – 23 | Session 6 | Middle School Mission Camp

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Meet the Priest THE REV. MIKE RAU, ST. MARK'S, VENICE Q: When did you make your decision to join the priesthood?

The Rev. Mike Rau joined St. Mark’s this January. He arrived at St. Mark’s with extensive experience and training in youth ministry as well as five years of experience as rector of Holy Nativity Episcopal Church in Pennsylvania. Previously, he also served as associate rector at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in New Canaan, Connecticut.

He is a graduate of General Seminary in New York City. During the decade prior to entering seminary he worked in various positions of increasing responsibility in the Montgomery County Office of Domestic Relations in Pennsylvania. Fr. Michael’s wife, Melissa, works as a consultant to various churches around the country.

The Raus have three children – Talie, a sophomore at Boston Conservatory of Music (far right); Kiersten, a tenth grade student; and Peyton (at top), an eighth grade student.

Q: What is your earliest Episcopal Church memory?

A: I was at the ripe young age of 28 when I began working for an Episcopal church as their youth minister. I had grown up in the United Methodist tradition and had worked as the youth director at the church in which I was raised. I was ready for the challenge of helping a church build a youth ministry from the ground up. My first impression of our Episcopal church one that has stuck with me to this day - is that our church is a place where we're free to be our authentic selves.

Q: You made a career switch to enter the priesthood.

What did you do before?

A: In addition to serving as a part-time youth minister, my full-time gig was working as the Assistant Director of Domestic Relations, which existed to support families navigating child and spousal support. It wasn't fun or sexy, but it was important justice-related work, and I felt good about doing it.

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A: After working in youth ministry for nearly 15 years and loving vocational ministry while at the same time navigating the daily demands of my secular work, I began feeling an itch for more generalized ministry. I love youth, without question; yet I felt convicted that my call was to be present and pastoral for all ages. It was in 2007 when I really started to feel the push to pursue my call to the priesthood, and in 2010, our family ventured to the Big Apple so I could attend General Theological Seminary.

Q: Your wife, Melissa, is active in helping consult with churches, particularly small churches, with the Episcopal Church Foundation. What sort of advice do you see as most positive?

A: Melissa recently transitioned out of her role with ECF to accept the position of Chief of Staff at Bexley Seabury Seminary and has since become the Director of Institutional Advancement. She's been a consultant with Ministry Architects for nearly ten years, and continues helping churches with strategic visioning and formation planning.

Melissa's a passionate person with a profoundly strong faith, and is an optimist who isn't afraid to name hard things. She avoids giving advice, choosing instead to ask the really deep questions which help communities uncover their hidden potential: when she does lend guidance, she's already established a strong foundation of trust with whom she's working. She's pretty good at what she does.

Q: You have served newer churches in Connecticut and led an historic church in Pennsylvania. What experience or lesson do you see as most useful?

A: Wow! This is a big question. My time in Connecticut and Pennsylvania taught me that though every church has its own charisma, no church is wholly unique. The church in Connecticut was large and the church in Pennsylvania was smaller, yet many of their challenges were similar. We are bound together by our faith and love of Christ, and we're all on a path to seek deeper understanding and awareness of the Divine.

Sometimes we're better at it than other times, yet the strength and health of the church community makes all the difference in the world. I've seen the best and worst of community, and I'm convinced discipleship isn't a solo sport. I've learned a lot, and I'll continue learning; the healthier a community is, the deeper the learning can go. That's my most useful lesson to date.

MEET THE PRIEST

(continued from page 8)

Q: You have two children still at home. How have they adapted to Venice, mid year?

A: At present, that’s partially true. Our eldest daughter is in college and away from home, and we decided to let our middle child finish high school in PA, so she's currently living “at home” with her grandma—my mom. She will visit for a week at a time and plans to spend the entire summer with us in Venice. Our youngest is loving Florida; he enjoys riding the golf cart, likes his new middle school friends and teachers, and is playing baseball. The move wasn't easy, but all things considered, it went better than we expected.

Everyone feels supported, and we look forward to being together. Zoom and FaceTime are certainly gifts!

Q: What initially attracted you to St. Mark's and the diocese?

A: Serendipity, really. A parishioner from St. Mark's who used to attend the church I served as youth minister before going to seminary called me to tell me about the position.

My intrigue quickly turned to delight after reading the parish profile and watching the video. I felt an instant connection and enjoyed every single conversation I had with individuals and the search committee. Authenticity matters a great deal to me, and these people are authentic and care about putting their faith into action. After our initial visit to St. Mark's and meeting with Bishop Smith, I couldn't have felt more affirmed in the decision to accept this call. The Diocese of Southwest Florida is filled with tremendously talented lay leaders and clerics who are making a real difference in their communities. I'm really looking forward to collaborating.

Q: Do you have a favorite Episcopal hymn, and if so, why is it your favorite?

A: I love our hymns, so this is a hard one. Though it's tough to nail down a favorite, the song that's popping into my head right now is Great Is Thy Faithfulness. Perhaps the line, "Morning by morning new mercies I see," is the most relevant to me right now. This pandemic has been so disruptive and devastating to too many, yet God still shows up in the small yet glorious mercies. Creation is messy yet ordered, and isn't it wonderful that we've been invited into the unfolding story? God is near all the time, if only we adjust our lenses to see God more clearly or hear God's persistent voice calling us, nudging us, reminding us of God's love and light all the time...morning by morning by morning.

BEST. SUMMER. EVER.

SUMMER CAMP IS BACK FOR 2021!

DaySpring Summer Camp is back in session this year, and we can't wait to see you! For details about the six sessions we'll be offering this year, see page 7, or visit

dayspringfla.org for more information.

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Vestry Profiles

NEW MEMBERS OF VESTRY

A

t the beginning of each year, parishes hold annual elections at a series of Annual Meetings across the diocese. These annual elections are the true grassroots governments of our congregations. While many offer to serve, and in multiple terms, each year we have a large number of new faces that have heeded the call to run for election.

In 2021, elections were held differently. Some were held online; others voted ahead of the annual meeting. Below are a few of these new faces. our son Everett was baptized. In recent years, I have volunteered to be “The Bread Getter”, delivering one hundred loaves of bread each month for the Sandwich Sunday ministry. In 2020, she completed a refurbishment of the Day Founder’s Room, where she not only got to use her professional skills as an interior designer, she learned the church’s history and her family’s early involvement. She is especially looking forward to getting back to “normal” life post pandemic and seeing everyone on Wednesdays for Supper Song and Prayer as well as Sundays for church services.

WHY SHE JOINED | I have a lifelong association with the church, as my family was one of the founders back in the 1950's.

MICHELLE JENNINGS ST. THOMAS, ST. PETERSBURG Michelle Jennings has been a member of St. Thomas Church since 1978. As a young child and teenager, she attended Sunday School, was a member of the children’s choir, played handbells and assisted with Vacation Bible School. She was also an active member of EYC, and was confirmed in the Episcopal church at the age of 13.

WHY SHE SERVES | After returning to St. Petersburg when I graduated from University of Florida, I was married at St. Thomas and in 2008, 10

HOPES FOR 2021 | That the vaccine can reach everyone quickly and safely. I am looking forward to seeing smiling mouths again, the ones that have been covered by masks for so long.

DAWN KITA ST. MARK, TAMPA Dawn Kita began attending St. Mark's around 2010, and her daughter was baptized there in 2012. They then moved to Pinellas County - too far to travel - so they attended Holy Trinity until they moved to Carollwood in 2016. Upon the family’s return, she found that the members were gracious and welcoming again.

WHY SHE SERVES | I am a single mom and I have worked for the YMCA for 15 years. I grew up watching my grandfather serve his church

community in various roles. To me, it is what is right. When asked to join the vestry, I hesitated, what makes me worthy of this service? I prayed on it.

What I hope to bring is a viewpoint of a parent of a "younger" child (she's 8 already). The hope is to bring more families to St. Mark's, to help the future of St. Marks be one of growth.

I have served in many capacities both in churches and the community throughout my life, including Keiser University Advisory Board, Parkinson's Move Day event planning board, Sunday school teacher, lector at my churches over time, and currently Treasurer of my daughter's school PTA .

WHY SHE JOINED | Originally a co-worker attended St. Mark’s, and subsequently mentioned it to me. I liked the traditional service. After moving back to Carollwood, I returned to St. Marks because my daughter had been baptized here, they offered a Montessori format Sunday School, and I enjoyed the service and the parishioners.

HOPES FOR 2021 | I am hoping that COVID can be more contained and controlled via the vaccine and safe practices and would like to see a return of everyone. I would like to see growth in the amount of families with young children. See a robust offering for growth, learning, community and fun activities for children and adults. While I am not sure it is possible, I think that with the virtual world that has opened up, the various churches in the diocese could coordinate virtual offerings and list them on their websites to connect across churches, allowing more opportunities to members throughout the diocese without exhausting a few leaders to try to do everything for their own churches.

PAM CURRY ST. ANDREW, TAMPA Pam Curry is originally from northwestern Pennsylvania, where she was baptized, confirmed and married at Trinity Memorial Episcopal Church in Warren. My husband, Piers, and I were married in 2001 and we have two children, Stella, 17, and Ian, 15.

WHY SHE SERVES | I’ve been blessed to be a part of various ministries at St. Andrew’s including Parish Life, teaching Sunday school, helping in Children’s Chapel, volunteering for VBS and helping with youth group activities. In 2019, I was inducted into The Order of the Daughters of the King. I am a graduate of Point Park University in Pittsburgh, PA. I taught elementary school and have been an active volunteer in my children’s schools and my community

for many years. I am passionate about the arts and enjoy theater and dance, especially if Stella is performing. I love to cheer for Ian’s games and serve as the “Football Mom” for his team. I also have two senior dogs I adore, and look forward to traveling again and spending time with family and friends.

WHY SHE JOINED | My family and I attended other churches throughout the years, but it wasn’t until we discovered St. Andrew’s that we knew we had found our church home. The warm welcome we received let us know that God put us in the right place. Our St. Andrew’s family has been a great source of joy and comfort to us.

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DIOCESAN VESTRY RETREAT

Seeking God Together: Prayerfully Guiding the Church Br. David Vryhof, SSJE

Clergy and vestry members are charged with the responsibility of guiding the church in its quest to discern and fulfill God’s call. How can we listen together for God’s voice? How can we together discern the movements of God’s Spirit in our discussions and decision-making?

How will we make wise and godly choices together – as leaders, and with our congregations – as we follow Jesus on the Way? This workshop, offered via Zoom, will introduce principles and practices of spiritual direction in group settings, and will help us learn to listen to God, to one another, and to our deepest and truest selves.

Br. David Vryhof, SSJE is an Episcopal priest and a Brother in the Society of Saint John the Evangelist, the oldest religious order for men in the Anglican Communion. Founded in 1866, the Society has for over 150 years offered the ministries of teaching and preaching, of leading retreats and workshops, and of offering hospitality.

Saturday, May 8 Register at episcopalswfl.org/retreat.html 11

Communications

RECONSIDERING THE MAIL Dubbed "snail mail" in recent years, our old standby is still a good standby: here's why you should use it

O

ther than in person communication, there is one form of information sharing that was well known, even in the Old Testament, and still highly effective today: the mail. The Bible is full of references to “Letters,” but many of them are simply that: letters, sent by people like Paul, by hand, to a recipient.

However, there are plenty of references to the bulk mailing of letters.

At the end of The Book of Esther, Mordecai declares the feast of Purim.

“And Mordecai wrote these things, and sent letters unto all the Jews that were in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus, but nigh and far, to stablish this among them that they should keep...the days wherein Jews rested from their enemies.”

Following that, Esther wrote a second letter about Purim; Esther 9:30 (KJV) reads, “And he sent the letters unto all the Jews, to the hundred 20 and seven provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, with words of peace and truth.”

By the time of Christ, the Romans had the Roman Imperial Post. Caesar Augustus, who reigned from 27 B.C. to A.D. 14, is credited with developing this service, which had been found in the Persian Empire. That mail was all about consistency of delivery; a “cursus publicus” speedy mail was said to be reserved for official documents.

MAILING OPTIONS

Today, some disregard mail, relying instead on social media and email to communicate. But if you happen to be reading this story, it is an indication that in some ways, mailing something to a home also is a powerful communication tool. This is especially important in a world where some are reluctant to attend in-person church services, and reaching parishioners by mail is the only option.

To that end, most parishes offer some sort of physical, mailed communication, either a monthly newsletter, birthday card or reminder of upcoming events or dates. Today, its an all-of-the-above strategy, where people expect to be reached in multiple ways, and in the manner of their choosing.

There are other reasons to use bulk mail, at least occasionally. First, mailing validates addresses and households, which is essential to a parish. Second, there are many who do not pay close attention to social media, or email blasts.

Third, bulk mail is inexpensive, with costs as low as 13 cents per household.

Lastly, the mail reinforces other modes of sharing information.

Reaching people at home can be done a number of different ways. Some mail pieces can be accomplished inhouse without any outside help; larger or more detailed pieces might need the cooperation of your local print or mailing house, of which there are many.

Enlist your local printers.

Sorting bins of mail and postal forms can be an unnecessary hassle. The diocese works with three different companies for mailings; a larger mailing house for mass mailings, a commercial printer for pieces like our annual DaySpring Episcopal Center catalog, and a local Minuteman shop for smaller batches of promotional postcard mailings for clergy, camp and DaySpring events.

Consider an internal promotion.

It can be daunting to try a big mailing; consider trying to promote the church in general by sending something to your own parish mailing list. Working with USPS bulk mail will allow you to improve the mailing list through the post office, and re-establish contact with your core supporters.

Try an online service.

There are online printers that allow you to upload a mailing list via excel, and mail out a card to the list with preprinted information.

Mail to yourself.

At pennies a piece, it's well worth it to send your staff the mailing piece, so you can see how it travels through the mail and to different areas.

First Class Mail

smaller-batch standard or personalized mailings like birthday cards, personal notes

55 cents for envelopes, 36 cents for postcards

Standard Nonprofit

200+ piece mailings, sorted in house - giving statements and letters

Average 17 cents

Presorted Nonprofit

200+ piece presorted mailings run through both NCOA and CASS processes

Average 13 cents

Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM)

targeted zip code / zip + 4 mailings - community events and promotions

Average 19 cents

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Around the Diocese VACCINES, BOOKS, AND HOT MEALS See what's been happening around our diocese over the past few months.

VACCINE HELPER AT ST. MARTIN’S HUDSON – St. Martin's has an angel in its midst, in the form of Jane Guinn. This wonderful and generous lady stepped up during the early COVID pandemic and made by hand over 700 masks that she gave to friends, family and to Gulfside Hospice, where she volunteers. She has raised over $600 in donations. Now that a vaccine is available and being given out by appointment, Guinn adapted and has become a "Vaccine Angel" by using her time and computer skills to help parishioners and other seniors in the community get appointments. She even makes house-calls; taking her laptop to homes to help people get registered.

HOLY INNOCENTS', VALRICO VALRICO – On the second and fourth Saturdays of the month, volunteers come together to prepare, cook, package and distribute free hot meals to anyone coming to Holy Innocents'.

In addition, on the 2nd Saturday they also distribute hot meals at Catholic Charities San Jose mission in Dover, where there are mostly immigrant farm workers and their families.

On the fourth Saturday they also distribute hot meals at the IGA in Dover, serving needy families in the Hispanic community surrounding the strawberry fields. This effort has progressed from Holy Innocents' ministry of participating in KidsPack, where volunteers pack food for children at Dover Elementary that the children can take home on weekends. Holy Innocents’ is focused on serving the community and bringing the love and concern of Christ to everyone in the area.

One of the remarkable stories coming out of this work was from a

woman who drove to Holy Innocents' from New Port Richey, asking for 50 meals to feed older residents in a senior citizen trailer park, many who aren't able to get around very easily. She found out about Holy Innocents' because of marketing the effort on Facebook.

“When people come to Holy Innocents' for the meals we welcome them, thank them for coming, ask them how their family is doing during these difficult days and ask them if they had anything that they wished us to pray for with them,” said the Rev. Gary Cartwright. “So we are feeding their souls while helping to feed their bodies” On their most recent Saturday, they served 195 meals at Holy Innocents', and 160 at the IGA. HOLY TRINITY CELEBRATION OF NEW MINISTRY

ST. ALFRED'S ASSISTS FOOD PANTRY PALM HARBOR - Together with the Alice Pendleton Stevens Foundation, St. Alfred’s has been blessed to be able to make two needs come to fruition for two wonderful and hard-working Pinellas County non-profit organizations, namely FEAST Food Pantry in Palm Harbor and DayStar Life Center in St. Petersburg.

DayStar Life Center has an amazing community garden on the grounds of their new facility in South St. Petersburg and has had to leave their gardening tools outside. They were having problems with the tools disappearing. DayStar has been needing a shed to store and protect their tools for a while. On Ash Wednesday their beautiful new shed was delivered.

FEAST is frequently asked to leave their van on site when a large food drive is being run for them. The van is their only vehicle and is therefore out of commission for the duration of the food drive. FEAST had wanted an enclosed trailer to leave on the grounds instead of their van. The check was delivered to FEAST on Ash Wednesday. The trailer has been ordered and it will be ready in about eight weeks. St. Alfred’s will be hosting the inaugural food drive in May as soon as the trailer becomes available.

ECW HISTORY SPEAKER LIZ COURSEN

At the Celebration of New Ministry of the Rev. Daniel Lemley at Holy Trinity Clearwater. From left, the Rev. Martha Goodwill, deacon, and the Rev. Canon Richard Norman with Lemley, who is reading.

SARASOTA - On Saturday, February 27 the Episcopal Church Women chapter of Church of the Nativity, led by Debi Frock, invited award winning Sarasota author and publisher Liz Coursen to present her program “Shades of Sunshine: A History of Segregation in Florida.”

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Punta Gorda at 125

A SAILING SCION IN A WATERFRONT PARADISE Our Punta Gorda church had a storied beginning as the philanthropic project of a grieving mother, Elizabeth Hart Jarvis Colt, wife of Colt revolver inventor Samuel Colt.

Editor’s Note: In 1996, at the centennial of Church of the Good Shepherd, two parishioners, now deceased, published a scholarly history of the parish. Chester Baum and Marguerite Albro detail the years of the founding of the church in the exerpt below, along with its early transformation.

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n the 1880’s, the Robber Barons were still being baronial, and fortunately for the churches, especially The Episcopal Church, many of them (often at the behest of their wives) returned some of their pelf to the community by building imposing Gothic-revival churches.

Col. Isaac Trabue, founder of the city of Trabue (later to become Punta Gorda) was no Jay Gould, but he was the most substantial landowner in the Peace River/Charlotte Harbor area. His wife, Virginia Taylor Trabue, a native of Savannah, Georgia, had gone to school on the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea during the Civil War when the Union blockade of the Confederacy prevented her returning home from Great Britain. There, where she is said to have been granted an audience with Queen Victoria, she evidently formed a strong affection for the Anglican Church. It was at her behest that Missionary Bishop William Crane Gray established a mission to be named for St. James, in Punta Gorda.

In the published proceedings of a convocation held February 21, 1893 to organize the Missionary Jurisdiction of South Florida, Punta Gorda is listed as a “mission station,” the term for a new church. St. Luke’s Ft. Myers and St. Edmund’s, Arcadia, are listed as organized missions.

Services, held at first in a community church building provided by Isaac Trabue for all denominations, were probably attended chiefly by wealthy winter visitors. The advent of the railroad in 1886 had brought vacationers and sportsmen like financier Andrew Mellon and then-sportsman Teddy Roosevelt to the Peace River/Charlotte Harbor area in such numbers as to justify the 1887 construction of the Punta Gorda Hotel, then the largest hotel in southern Florida.

Isaac Trabue was a native of Kentucky. He claimed to have raised the first company of Union volunteers in that state during the Civil War, and had probably gained considerable wealth from selling coal to Gen. U.S. Grant’s forces during their Mississippi river campaigns. Although there is no indication that he contributed significant funds to the St. James Mission, he did contribute the land, and a building for a community church to be used by all denominations.

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Another much larger fortune made during the Civil War was the chief source of funds for a carpenter-Gothic wooden church that was to house the Church of the Good Shepherd for 85 years. Col. Samuel Colt, founder of the famous Colt’s Fire Arm’s Co. in Hartford, Connecticut, had died in 1862.

Although he had nothing to do directly with the founding of the Church of the Good Shepherd in Punta Gorda, his widow, Elizabeth Hart Jarvis Colt, mother of his only acknowledged surviving child (he was rumored to have had some out of wedlock issue), certainly did.

In 1869 Mrs. Colt donated $200,000 for the construction in Hartford, Connecticut, of a Victorian-Gothic church as a memorial to the Colonel and their three deceased children. Mrs. Colt’s spectacular memorial to the departed members of her family foreshadowed the affection she then lavished on her only surviving child, Caldwell Hart Colt.

Whether he reciprocated this love is impossible to determine from the legend of his life that has been passed down through the oral tradition in Punta Gorda: a legend that sums up his three loves as “wine, women, and yachting.” His obituary, which appeared in the Hartford Courant of January 22, 1894, said merely that Caldwell Colt, the only heir to the multimillion dollar arms fortune, had “never identified with the industry, preferring the outdoor life of the traveler.”

Much of Caldwell’s Colt’s traveling was done at the sea in his own yachts, most spectacularly in his 124-foot schooner Dauntless, which was old and leaky when he bought her in 1881 from James Gordon Bennett, the flamboyant owner of the New York Herald-Tribune. Bennett raced her in an 1870 transatlantic from Gaunt Head, Ireland, to Sandy Hook, losing by less than an hour and a half to the British America’s Cup challenger, Cambria. Colt responded to a transatlanticrace-challenge in 1887, only to have Dauntless defeated by 30 hours in a race from Sand Hook to Cork, Ireland, by a new schooner Coronet. A professional captain, the legendary packet-ship master “Bully” Samuels was in command of Colt’s Dauntless, as was customary in those days.

But as was not customary in those days, the owner, 29-year-old Caldwell Colt, was also aboard. The New York Yacht Club, founded in 1844, was the foremost institution in American yachting. Colt’s importance in the yachting world was attested by his having been vice-commodore of that club in 1881. The owner of Coronet, Rufus T. Bush, a rich merchant (whose son built the Bush Terminal Building

in Brooklyn) and a fellow member of the New York Yacht Club issued the general challenge apparently offering to wager $10,000 on the outcome. Colt, described by the contemporary sources as a “dashing sort,” took up the gauntlet and stipulated that the race take place in March rather than May, thus assuring that the weather conditions would be stormy. When Bush, a pious fellow, insisted that the start of the race be postponed until after the funeral of Henry Ward Beecher, and eminent divine who had died just before the scheduled start of the race, Caldwell Colt, according to the press, spent the postponement time at Delmonico’s bar with friends.

In volume I, Number I, February 7, 1893, issue of the Punta Gorda Herald, the following news item appeared, “Commodore C. H. Holt’s new yacht, the Oriole, has arrived in the harbor. His old yacht the Atala, has been sold.” On January 24, 1894, the Courier-Informant of Bartow (Florida) reported: ‘Died at Punta Gorda Sunday last: Caldwell Hart Colt. A special train was sent here for undertaker Wirt to prepare the remains for shipment north. The Hartford Courant in January said only that “he died in his hotel” in Punta Gorda. The legend in Hartford attributes his death to his being shot by a jealous husband and in Punta Gorda to his falling overboard drunk from the Oriole into Charlotte Harbor.

Legend, however, is often based on the rumor, and rumor often seeks to demean those who have grasped the laurel held out by the Winged Victory. Some human frailty (perhaps it was acute tonsillitis as his family had averred) killed Caldwell Colt, but worshippers beneath the Good Shepherd window can reflect

Caldwell Hart Colt sailed the Oriole in Punta Gorda when he died. Another of his many famed boats was the schooner Dauntless, seen in this photo from the Library of Congress. Inset, portrait of Caldwell Colt by Charles Nöel Flagg (1848-1916), oil on canvas, 1894, in the collection of the Wadsworth Athenaeum, Hartford, part of the Elizabeth Hart Jarvis Colt Collection.

that the man it memorialized was honored by his peers.

Whatever the proximate cause of his death, his mother’s reaction was to memorialize him as she had memorialized Colonel Samuel Colt and her three dead children a quartercentury before. In Hartford she prevailed upon Edward Tuckerman Potter to come out of retirement in New York and design The Caldwell Hart Colt Memorial Parish House, which was completed in September of 1896.

The “recreation and healthful amusements” of Caldwell Colt as they exist in the legend by which he is known to the parishioners of the Church of the Good Shepherd in Punta Gorda more than a century after his death, (even if they are subsumed under “wine, women, and yachting”) are not different in kind from the “recreation and healthful amusements” that have brought people to Punta Gorda from the days of the Trabues to the establishment of Punta Gorda Isles in the 1960’s. In short, the early “sportsman” and presentday “retiree” are the pleasure seekers, although many of the latter continue to do their duty towards God and their fellow humans within institutions like the Church of the Good Shepherd.

It is fitting then that Elizabeth Hart Jarvis Colt’s funding of the original Church of the Good Shepherd memorialized a son who lived throughout the world, and died in Punta Gorda a hedonist, but a hedonist who delighted in bringing pleasure to others. The parish of the Church of the Good Shepherd in particular and the Episcopal Church in general over the years have been less likely than some of the Christian brethren from sterner sects to cast the first stone at sinners.

Parish Profile

A PERSONAL MEMORY OF PUNTA GORDA Martha F. Bell-McKenzie shares her love for Church of the Good Shepherd

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remember, as a young girl, my mother was looking for a good preschool in Punta Gorda. She was told to go to the Church of the Good Shepherd, where a Parish Day School was run out of the Sandlin Home, then located at 401 West Retta Esplanade. At that time, the school was run by Muriel Goddard and Ann Hartnagel. That school is still here today, and serves children from infancy to 4 years old in the Charlotte County area.

When I was seven, my Girl Scout troop met in the hall there at the church’s old location, on Cross Street and Virginia Avenue in Punta Gorda. I recall that I used to look into the old sanctuary; the beauty of the quaint church mystified me, and held me in awe. The Louis Comfort Tiffany stained glass window, still behind the altar, had sunlight shining through.

To me, as a child, it made it look like God was smiling into the building. I attended some services, and wished that I would one day be able to sing in the choir. Even today, I still remember the “Monk’s Chant” that we were taught, notes that went up and down the scale. I also went to spaghetti dinners in the hall, and later substituted as a Sunday School teacher.

As an adult, I got married in the original sanctuary in 1977. When I came back from overseas, and after my son was born, the church had moved to its present location at 401 West Henry Street. I have since been the EYC youth director; we have had an active youth group over the years, visiting DaySpring, playing volleyball games, attending the Southwest Florida Fair and Summer Youth Challenges at the beach, and singing in a youth choir. Our community service projects have raised funds for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation with walk-athons; bike-a-thons; and rock-a-thons.

My memories are singing in the youth choir with the children of our parish, being a Sunday School Teacher, and working with music in VBS for our next generation. My son and daughter served as acolytes in the new sanctuary, the church’s present home.

Today, I still serve as vestry member and clerk to the vestry. The services here are inspiring; each year I look forward to Christmas, and incense down the aisles. Easter morning is breathtaking, singing Morning Has Broken and alleluias as sunlight shines all around. The beautiful sounds of children and baptisms; The beauty of the Easter Cross.

Many clergy and congregation members have come and gone from our parish, yet memories of their involvement, time and talent remain with those of us who still worship here.

Josie “Mom” Bell would drive the Sunday School Bus to bring 16

children to Sunday School; Seth “Dad” Bell served on the Altar as a Eucharistic Minister for the Priest. The leadership of the late Edna Jane Peeples, our talented Sunday School Director who oversaw our Epiphany Pageants, still inspires us with her dedication to our parish and the children.

We have a purpose, a future, and a mission to continue to bring the Good News to our Community with God’s help, and through The Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd we will strive to serve God and this community in every way we possibly can.

Above: stained glass at Punta Gorda. Facing page, from top left: Dr. Martha Bireda and Jaha Cummings; the Rev. Canon Richard H. Norman; Dick Fillon & Pat Dudley; Olivia Norman, Canon Norman, the Rev. Roy Tuff, Russell and Kaydee Tuff; the Rev. Canon Chris Gray; Betsy and Jerry Bouchard.

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n Saturday, Jan. 23, Church of the Good Shepherd held a Service of Mid-Day Prayer to celebrate their 125th Anniversary. Following the service was a barbeque dinner and raffle. Holding the event during a January of the pandemic held some challenges, but they were fixed by having the outdoor barbeque in a tent, outside the parish hall.

At the service, the Rev. Canon Chris Gray, Canon pastor and Canon for Development for the diocese, spoke about his great grandfather, the Rt. Rev. William Crane Gray, who dedicated the church in 1896. His great grandson read from Bishop Gray’s diary, including a train trip to Punta Gorda from Lakeland, and the consecration of the church on Jan. 25, 1896. The Rev. Chris Gray cited the incredible ministry which continues to this day. Gray looked forward 125 years hence, where he said that the congregation “will still be doing this … because we were here today.”

Also present from the diocese was the Canon to the Ordinary, the Rev. Richard H. Norman. The Rev. Canon Norman pointed out how the church kept the character of the initial carpenter gothic style with the preservation of the original altar and windows. There were many personal points of connection with the diocese and larger church; Bishop Smith even worshipped at the church as a boy, with his father, the Rev. Dorsey Smith.

“Isn’t it interesting how the church pulls us all together and our lives get woven together,” said Norman, citing generations that had come before, and ones in the future. “And it doesn’t stop today,” said Norman. “We don’t know what’s around the corner, but we know there is more to come.”

The parish rector, the Rev. Roy Tuff, preached on the trials and blessings of the parish, including Charley and other hurricanes, economic challenges and a large debt load.

Symbolic is the church’s church bell, which was dedicated on Christmas of 1896, surviving storms, yet still proclaiming “oh come all ye faithful.”

“What we are today is the remnant of the body of Christ,” said the Rev. Tuff. “We are the remnant of the body of Christ. Right here, right now, faithful members of the one body of Christ give their hearts to the work of our Good Shepherd the one who restores our souls, the one who comforts us.”

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Art

ART SALE FUNDS ORGAN REPLACEMENT

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The Rev. Dave Marshall, Rector of All Angels, Longboat Key

have learned that churches, like people, have their own set of gifts; and, when God is speaking through those gifts, it’s best to listen, whether it be with an unconventional art show, or in the process of installing a new organ.

The parish didn’t know if the New to You Art Sale would work. We didn’t know if we would get any art donated, if anyone would be interested in looking at pre-owned art, or, if we would sell any. As it turned out, we have had more than 60 pieces of art donated, we have had a steady stream of people from the community coming to look, and, people are purchasing it. In one surprise, we had a Longboat resident donate a beautiful piece of art. It was the first time Linn or I had met her. She liked what we were doing, and wanted to be a part of it. That act seemed like something I could only have dreamed or imagined. Nevertheless, God is speaking.

Last year, our original-to-the-church Rogers organ started to fail. To many people, inside and outside the church, our music program has become central to finding peace in a tumultuous time, and losing the organ for any period of time was simply unacceptable. As such, the Vestry made the decision to replace it with an Allen. We chose Allen, in part, because we received a substantial discount which was based on the Pennsylvania organ company’s desire to have an organ on Longboat (to help sell them more organs on the barrier islands). Our agreement is that we would have a loaner organ until our new one was installed, and we would be willing to allow other churches, or individuals, to come by and hear our new organ at their request. If you have been watching our services and organ concerts, you’ll hear that Dale loves the loaner organ and makes it absolutely sing. And then God spoke again.

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A couple of weeks ago, our Allen representative asked if a small Lutheran church from Naples could come by to listen to the loaner organ, and we wholeheartedly agreed. As it turns out, their small congregation has an even smaller, quicklyaging organ. One of their dearest parishioners has a terminal condition, and wanted to gift an organ to the church in his memory. Our loaner Allen, a 20-year old organ, was priced just under their budget. When they saw and heard the organ, they fell in love with it. They were told that when our new one is installed, they could buy the Allen and have it installed, which will most likely be the week after Easter. The donor said that it would be in place for his funeral and seemed pleased with it.

But, God was speaking… Having the organ installed in time for his funeral was not good enough for Dale and me.

It is our wish that they have the organ as soon as possible so the whole church, and the donor, could enjoy it prior to his funeral. Soon our loaner will be on its way to its forever home and we will get another loaner that Dale will have to learn. It may not be quite as fancy as this one, but, as Dale pointed out, when God speaks, it’s a good idea to respond.

Whether it is used art, or a used organ, one of the many gifts of All Angels is to bring new life to previously owned/ forgotten about/discarded things. The prayer used at my installation as Rector is this: Look favorably on your whole Church and let the whole world see and know that things which were cast down are being raised up, and things which had grown old are being made new, and that all things are being brought to their perfection by him through whom all things were made.

It appears God is speaking and God is making that prayer a reality for us, and for the whole world, to see.

Above: three pieces of ar t from the sale, which netted $900 for the Longboat Key parish.

Education UNION OF BLACK EPISCOPALIANS Diocese joins support for Historically Black Episcopal Universities

ABOUT VOORHEES

From left: Union of Black Episcopalians President, Georgette “Gigi” Johnson, Bishop Smith and Vice President Arlene Aranha. The Union of Black Episcopalians is leading a new fundraising and awareness effort for historically black Episcopal colleges.

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Voorhees College was founded in 1897

by Elizabeth Evelyn Wright-Menafee, a young Georgia native who studied at Booker T. Washington's famed Tuskegee Institute. She said time at Tuskegee gave her a mission of being “the same type of woman as Mr. Washington was of a man." She moved to Denmark, S.C. and started the first of several schools in the rural area, then returned to Tuskegee to finish her degree before returning to South Carolina to found Denmark Industrial School in 1897, modeling it after Tuskegee. New Jersey philanthropist Ralph Voorhees and his wife donated $5,000 to buy the land and build the first building in 1902. In 1962, it was accredited as the four-year Voorhees College.

he diocese has joined the The Diocese of Southwest Florida Union of Black Episcopalians donated $500 each to Voorhees and St. in supporting the remaining Augustine’s. In addition to raising money, two historically black the UBE hopes to increase the visibility ABOUT ST. AUGUSTINE'S Episcopal colleges, St. Augustine’s of the schools in general, to increase Saint Augustine’s University in Raleigh, University in Raleigh, N.C. and applications. “They have always had an N.C. was chartered as Saint Augustine Voorhees College in Denmark, S.C. opportunity to nurture those that have Normal School and Collegiate Institute Presiding Bishop Michael Curry invited the potential,” said Aranha. on July 19, 1867, by the Reverend Episcopalians this February to deepen In February, four chapters of the J. Brinton Smith, D.D., secretary of their participation in Christ’s ministry Union of Black Episcopalians hosted the Freedman’s Commission of the of reconciliation by dedicating offerings a special online Virtual Absalom Protestant Episcopal Church, and the at observances of the Feast of Absalom Jones Celebration to raise money for Rt Rev. Thomas Atkinson, D.D., Bishop Jones, on Feb. 13. the schools and offer a talk from the of the Diocese of North Carolina, as “There were once many more,” said president of each college. The event was a way to make education accessible to Arlene Aranha, vice president of the Fr. hosted by the Central Florida, Fr. John newly freed slaves. More than one-third John E. Culmer Chapter of the Union E. Culmer (Tampa), Bishop E. Thomas of all black priests in the Episcopal of Black Episcopalians. Originally, there Demby and Atlanta Chapters of the Church, including three Africanwere 11 historically black Episcopal Union of Black Episcopalians. The event American bishops, are graduates of Saint colleges across the United States. But also included a message from the Rev. Augustine’s University. in 2013, when Virginia’s St. Paul’s Victor Thomas of Texas.

College closed, there were only two left. “That’s why there is push of the For more information, or if your parish or diocese would like to Episcopal Church as a whole to support dedicate a collection to the Absalom Jones Offering, contact: these historically black colleges and universities,” said Aranha.

Cecilia Malm | Senior Development Officer cmalm@episcopalchurch.org | 212-716-6062

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Briefly

CLERGY SPOUSE ENDOWMENT GROWS PARRISH – In 2020, the Clergy Spouse Association of the Diocese of Southwest Florida received two large donations to the Mary Ellen Smith Memorial Endowment Fund.

The fund, which supports items that include event scholarships, an Advent gift to residential seminarians, and other needs, was established in 2018 in memory of Bishop Dabney Smith’s late wife, Mary Ellen Krieg Smith.

Last spring, during the COVID-19 shelter at home timeframe,

an anonymous donor surprised the association with a $6,000 endowment gift for the Clergy Spouse Association.

The person noted that it was “to the Glory of God, and to give high honor to the essential role that each Clergy Spouse serves in the Diocese of Southwest Florida."

The anonymous letter cited the children’s songbook “God is a Surprise” by the Very Rev. Harry H. Pritchett, Jr. The donor said that they were moved by the Holy Spirit to “do something

Lecture on Trees in the Bible With Dr. Matthew Sleeth Dr. Matthew Sleeth, an emergency room physician turned writer and lecturer, spoke to a gathering of clergy and laity on Saturday, Jan. 16, 2021 as part of a yearly diocesan event highlighting Creation Care. One of the talks he gave during his visit covered the Trees of the Bible. Dr. Sleeth told an online audience of laity and clergy about his journey from physician to writer and thinker, and how he and his family brought his lifestyle in line with their values. Presented by the Diocese of Southwest Florida and DaySpring Episcopal Center, the talk addressed overriding themes of the Bible and Christianity within the context of creation.

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meaningful for each of you during a difficult period for America and the whole world.”

The most recent addition to the Mary Ellen Smith Memorial Endowment Fund was a $15,000 donation in honor of Mary Wallis Smith, the wife of Bishop Dabney Smith. When the bishop’s former Executive Assistant left the position in March, Mary volunteered to fill the role until such time that the diocese would be able to hire and train a new employee at Diocesan House.

In December, through the consent of the Standing Committee President and Chair of the Finance Committee, the Diocese of Southwest Florida offered a contribution of $15,000 to the memorial fund. The gift will help make possible the Clergy Spouse Association’s tradition of offering support to others a secure and consistent reality for the future.

“Through this time, Mary has graciously carried out the key role offering her services in the spirit of what so many clergy spouses do in their unique ministries,” said the letter signed by Canon Anne Vickers, Canon Richard Norman, The Rev. Carla McCook, and Mr. Kraig Koach. “Now, at the end of an extraordinary year like no other, and with plans in sight for the hire of an Executive Assistant to the Bishop, we wish to honor Mary in a special way.”

Garden A SEASIDE CHURCH GARDEN A history of the Annunciation Memorial Garden

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n 1974, the rector of Church of the Annunciation, the Rev. Gerald Lowe, observed that it was necessary to find additional space for a repository for remains after cremation. At the time, there were 35 urns placed under the altar. Considerable discussion ensued, and all members saw the need for a garden plan.

Through many meetings from 1974-75, including visits to other parishes with memorial gardens or columbaria, the vestry agreed in May of 1975 to proceed with plans for a what is now the Church of the Annunciation Memorial Garden. A local landscape firm, led by Wes and Yolanda Pritchard, designed and built out the plan with arbors, gazebo, bird bath, fountain, cascading pool, and altar. The Memorial Garden was designed to have seasonal gardens in specific locations – clockwise from what is now Lowe Hall, the parish hall, sections were designated for Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Easter, Ascension, Pentecost, and Lent. Work began in 1978 and was completed in 1980.

Later, parishioner Mel Abel chaired a committee that made great improvements on the area fronting Gulf Drive. The group installed a sprinkler system and laid sod, leaving room for plantings around the trees. They shelled the driveway and planted 400 plants, all donated by the Abel family. Meanwhile, the Pritchards oversaw the installation of a waterfall, and statue of St. Dorothea of Caesarea, patron saint of gardens.

In 1984, a group of women put in a total of 1,450 hours to update the garden. They planted the evergreen cross, remarking at the time that they would probably never live long enough to see it mature. Happily, two of those women, Mel Abel and Bettylee Marquis-Kral, indeed lived long enough to see the results of their labors and to enjoy the beautiful cross.

At the same time, they added jasmine to the arbor and the

by Judy Bennett fence, where it screens the view of neighboring carports. The blooming of that jasmine each spring is a much-anticipated event at Annunciation, as its sweet scent fills the garden area.

The Memorial Garden now contains the cremated remains of more than 200 beloved members of our Church of the Annunciation.

Fast forward to 2020 and much has changed in the world, and at Annunciation. During the pandemic, the Rev. Matthew Grunfeld has been offering a Sunday morning service in the garden.

Recently, the Church of the Annunciation has made progress with the landscaping and their new Welcome Walkway Project, as well as the repair of the St. Dorothea fountain and pond. In February, the parish completed the replacement of the pump for the pond and they had a working cascade in time for the Feast of St. Dorothea on February 6, 2021. Their walkway, paid for by sponsored bricks, is now up to 77 out of a goal of 100. The bricks are now stored, awaiting installation.

The entire project has been supported by the Annunciation “Garden Angels” team who have cleaned up muck in the pond and stones, including Sparkie Strickland, Liz Vallez, Carol Carter, Mary Louise Sayles and Leigh Brattain. The bird bath was tackled by Nancy and Darryl Dowty; Carol Carter keeps a regular eye on the water level, to make sure the birds have clean water to bathe in and drink, and Thom Tenny, keeps watch over the garden and the pond, which he has done for many years.

Pictured here: jasmine in bloom with the Annunciation bell tower in background. The island campus is a place of joy for the parish 21 and a destination for the tourists and seasonal visitors of Anna Maria Island.

Beloved Community THE POWER OF CHRISTIANITY

The Rev. Dr. Michael Battle visited DaySpring this winter for our annual Race and Reconciliation series

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he Rev. Dr. Michael Battle, the Herbert Thompson Professor of Church and Society and Director of the Desmond Tutu Center at the General Theological Seminary, led a day-long retreat at DaySpring Episcopal Center in December to discuss Practicing Reconciliation in a Violent World, a skill he learned from Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who ordained him.

The problems of reconciliation, Battle said, are properly looked at through theology, and cannot be solved through sociology. Instead, he believes that the work is about “showing the world the power of Christianity.”

Battle, author of almost a dozen books, has a new book, Revelation in Heaven on Earth: God’s Call to Community in the Book of Revelation. In the book, Battle contends that Revelation is a hopeful call to bring heaven on earth, and not a frightening vision of the end times.

His Dec. 5 presentation began in the Old Testament.

Even Job, who suffered, was not the only one who suffered. The other suffering was God’s. “God is responding to the problem of violence by saying, I am with you even in your humanity,” said Battle, who traveled from New York to address the gathered. “God is saying, I am able to weep, I am able to suffer.”

Today, technology is in some ways taking us out of community. The antidote is the Eucharist, where gathering around the Lord’s table is a powerful way of practicing community. In our personal lives, he asked, do we have friends who help us know ourselves, and shape our identity? And if we do have them, do we cultivate those relationships?

A metaphor for “exemplars in our regular life” was the

baby duck, who has to mirror behind a mother to learn how to wander. People like Nelson Mandela gave an example of restorative justice. In that regard, Battle believes that reconciliation has to be practiced, as we are constantly changing the way we behave in the world as we “let God manifest."

Becoming more aware of what is going on in the world means that we not only pray, but to do those things that come out of our character when we do pray.

“The work for us I think in the contemplative life is to do the actions that come from our prayers,” said Battle.

Battle, who had been booked to come last year, elected to come in person, with a limited capacity, distanced audience in DaySpring's Main Program Center, and with group breakouts outside. Two key sessions from the day were recorded, and are available online, along with other talks and events.

UPCOMING EVENT | SEPTEMBER 21, 2021 DR. CATHERINE MEEKS "WHERE ARE WE NOW, AND WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?" The diocese has arranged for Catherine Meeks PhD. of the Diocese of Atlanta to return on Sat., Sept. 28, 2021 for a Racial Reconciliation Series event entitled “Where Are We Now, and Where Do We Go from Here.” It’s one of many events tackling issues of race in the United States in the diocese. Prior diocesan conventions have welcomed the Rev. Jabriel Ballentine, who spoke about getting beyond established racial doctrines; the Rev. Angela S. Ifill, former missioner for black ministries at the Episcopal Church Center; the film Traces of the Trade; and Meeks, who had introduced the diocese to the idea of the Beloved Community in 2017.

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ONLINE RECONCILIATION RESOURCES In the fall of 2019, DaySpring inaugurated the fall Race & Reconciliation Series conference with Katrina Browne, producer/ director of the documentary Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North. The discussions and groups from that event morphed into a series of Sacred Ground groups, of which there are eight in the diocese. Additional groups including the Episcopal Church Women and parishes have offered talks and gatherings. Some of these have been recorded, and are available online. Prior video of events includes:

UNION OF BLACK EPISCOPALIANS

AMBASSADOR ANDREW YOUNG: The famed Civil Rights pioneer and United Nations ambassador spoke in 2020, before the pandemic, at Church of the Redeemer. His January talk told the story of his civil rights journey and attempts at racial justice and healing.

The Episcopal Church Women’s 50th Anniversary Annual Meeting, held at DaySpring on Nov. 12 and led by outgoing president Leila Mizer, featured a specially delivered message from the Very Rev. Kim Coleman, president of The Union of Black Episcopalians.

GRACE IN A YEAR OF TRIALS EFFECTS OF COVID-19 A conversation with Dr. Kanika Tomalin, Deputy Mayor of St. Petersburg, and Randy Russell, president/CEO of the Center for Health Equity, about the many aspects of COVID-19. Moderated by the Rev. Martha Goodwill.

Visit episcopalswfl.org/reconciliation.html

A two-night discussion on race, pandemic and election in 2020. Part 1 is Reckoning with the Two Pandemics with the Rt. Rev. Robert C. Wright, Bishop of the Diocese of Atlanta. Part 2 is The Intersection of Faith and Civic Life, a panel discussion featuring Bishop Wright, the Very Rev. Randolph M. Hollerith, Dean of Washington National Cathedral; the Rev. Winnie Varghese, Priest at Trinity Wall Street and author of Church Meets World; moderated by the Rev. Ann Dieterle.

for more information and to view recordings of our past events.

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s r e h t o r B e l k c a M

s u o l e v r a M e h T

, S D IN M S U M O O I O R B T S G U N D I S N I U O W E H F A A E D S N W E A O , C H D O I N D LA A E D E L I R F U B D E P L HE

Above, the earliest photo of St. Andrew, Spring Hill, in a photo from their archives.

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d r a l l o P d n a l r a G by

I

n the 1950s and 60s, the state of Florida was exploding, and the Episcopal Church was struggling to keep up.

Bishop Henry I. Louttit, in his 38th annual convention address on May 17, 1960 to the Diocese of South Florida, stressed the need to acquire new lands for the new churches, but there were few funds available, with literally thousands moving to Florida every day.

“Your trustees, of course, should be buying land now in areas that are to have housing developments in the future, or even in areas now being developed for future church use,” Louttit said to a convention gathered at Miami Municipal Auditorium. “For this purpose, we have at the moment most insufficient funds.”

By 1968, the convention wish had not only been answered, but was part of the marketing for Marco Island, the home of our under-construction southernmost church, St. Mark’s. In a promotional film, retired NBC Tonight Show host Jack Paar spoke eloquently about the features of Marco Island.

To lure the wealthy to come to Marco Island, the first church would be a most respectable one.

“The Episcopal Church is the first of several houses of worship planned for construction on land donated by the Mackle Brothers,” said Paar in the travelogue, while jazz music played in the background. “Nothing has been overlooked in the planning of this community.” Paar, in between shots of comedian Jackie Gleason and golfer Gene Sarazen (later buried on Marco Island), extolled the effort to create a multigenerational community on what was one of the last unspoiled islands of Florida. “Not just old people,” Paar noted, “but a swinging place that I am sure you would enjoy.” This all thanks to the Mackle Brothers, of the Mackle Company, Inc. There would be no bigger donor of properties to the diocese than the Mackle Brothers, sometimes known as Florida’s Famous Mackle Brothers, namely Frank Jr, Elliott and Robert Mackle. The Mackle Brothers were the sons of an English immigrant who in 1908 began building houses in Jacksonville. Thanks to the donations, the Diocese of Southwest Florida has four churches in Mackle developments.

They are St. James Port Charlotte (1962), St. Nathaniel North Port (1963), St. Mark, Marco Island (1967) and St. Andrew Spring Hill (1971). 1 The most famous development of the Mackles was Key Biscayne, site of the post-election meeting of Kennedy and Nixon and home to President Richard Nixon’s “Winter White House.” Including the later Mackle-created entities Deltona Corp and General Development Corp, the family had a hand building, out of scrubland, the cities of Port Charlotte, North Port, Deltona, Port St. Lucie, Spring Hill and Marco Island.

1

Today, their son Frank Mackle III remembers well working with his father and uncles on these developments - including as a child of only aged 6 or 7 - on Key Biscayne.

From his office in Miami, he recalled that before Key Biscayne, Florida developments had been mostly subdivisions. To build a community, they needed to have space for schools, government buildings, community centers and, of course, churches. Lots of them.

“It hadn’t been done much in the prior years,” said Mackle.

“They were building entire cities.”

Mackle developments began, almost unbelievably, with $10 down payments. Prospects would subsequently pay $10 per month, all interest charges included, which would allow an individual to have a 10,000 square feet lot of land, with free use of a private bathing beach and fishing pier. Applicants would send in a “Reservation Coupon” to reserve the homesite, and when the deposit was received, you would be sent a contract and a map showing the exact location. After that, “you would have 30 days to decide.”

At the time GDC gave the land for St. Nathaniel’s, the late Charles H. Kellstadt, the former Chairman and CEO of Sears, was chairman. Kellstadt’s name, which lives on as the name for the DePaul School of Business in Chicago, is on the St. Nathaniel warranty deed. Kellstadt is credited with instituting the idea of refundability, trying to bring a feeling of trust into the up-and-down nature of Florida real estate.

The Rev. Canon Michael P. Durning, who served as rector of St. Mark’s Marco Island from 1992-97 and is Canon to the Ordinary Emeritus in the Diocese of Southwest Florida, said that the placement of churches serves the vision of the development, and the self-interest of the developer. But there is another reason, as well.

“Often, they do this because they love the work of the church” said Durning. This would be the case with the Mackles.

But there was another denominator that set them apart from many developers: the family tended to donate multiple lots to every denomination. In some cases, almost a dozen different denominations, but in most cases, donations went to Catholic, Episcopal, Baptist, Methodist and Congregational Churches.

Mackle admits that in the 1950s and 60s, much of the development was “very remote land,” therefore the cost to them was not great.

“It’s what made a good community,” said Mackle. “I marvel at what the people have done with those communities as the years have passed.”

FROM ADVENTIST TO UKRAINIAN In North Port today, the boulevard of churches just off Tamiami Trail that the Mackles developed in Sarasota County is actually Biscayne Drive, named for Miami’s Key Biscayne. The word so evoked a tropical paradise that the Chevy Biscayne, sold from 1958-72, was a best-selling General

It’s important to note that although the largest, the Mackles are not the only land donors; see sidebar on page 27 for more details.

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Motors automobile. The General Development Company gave the three-acre Sarasota County campus to the Trustees of the Diocese of Southwest Florida on Sept 26, 1966.

“People call it Church Row,” said the Rev. Andrea Rose Hayden, the congregation’s priest-in-charge. Hayden had served in churches in Brooklyn and Washington, D.C., and most recently Asbury Park, N.J., before coming to Florida.

She was introduced to the area by her parents, who were flown down to Florida on a junket, and ended up “landing” permanently. “General Development would do these weekend trips,” said Hayden.

The area became a hit with many of the West Indians who grew up in the British Caribbean and emigrated to New York. Retired, well-educated, and with civil service pensions, these arrivals became the backbone of the church. “You are in Jamaica, but you are also in the United States,” said Hayden. “I don’t know where else to go on vacation.”

In recent decades, waves of arrivals of new immigrants have made North Port’s Church Row even more interesting than when it began. There is New Hope Community Church sharing spaces with First Presbyterian Church; North Port Seventh-Day Adventist Church; St. Andrew's Ukrainian Church; Ukrainian Bible Church; and North Port Community United Church of Christ. Just a block away is Trinity United

Methodist Church. The row also includes apartments, many of which are occupied by new immigrants from the Ukraine, who are helped by the food pantry at St. Nathaniel’s. Each church has a niche, and they do not overlap; the Adventists, for instance, offer excellent travelogue programs.

St. Nathaniel’s is a mix of demographics and regions.

Many Episcopalians hail from Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New York. The arrivals from New York City grew up attending Church of England parishes in the British islands. Stalwart Anglicans, they have upheld Episcopal worship as a first generation of church-builders died off.

“The parish is young, old, black, white and Asian,” said Hayden. “We have it all.”

St. Nathaniel’s is truly living out the idea of being a church home to their neighbors, which now include an increasing number of young families, as nearby houses get sold and renovated. They are also a true community center, hosting 14 different Alcoholics Anonymous groups, one of which meets there twice a day, seven days a week. The church is also a Sarasota County poll location. Before COVID, the church offered weekly food distribution for 125 to 150 families. Today, they have distribution every other week.

“If you build them,” said Hayden, “God will send them.”

From top left, an undated photo at St. Andrew, Spring Hill, with the Rt. Rev. Paul Haynes. At right, the Mackle brothers with their trainer Raymond Metcalf (far right) at Hialeah Racetrack, in a photo by Bert Morgan from the Florida Memory project of the State Library and Archives. Inset, the current St. Andrew, Spring Hill. Bottom left, clergy at the Spring Hill dedication.

THE ALLURE OF THE TROPICS Florida real estate land historian and appraiser Bruce Cummings Jr., in his Brief Florida Real Estate History, labeled the mid ‘50s to the mid ‘70s the era of the Great Florida Land Companies, when one third of Florida’s farmland was developed. Americans, lured by weather and cheap financing, flocked south, thanks to air conditioning, rising affluence, good climate, and increased leisure time. World War II vets came back to Florida after the war, having enjoyed the beaches and weather. The 1956 creation of the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways made Florida within reach.

Charlotte County Library Historian and Archivist Dr. Jennifer Zoebelein has studied the history of the area, and helps the county preserve artifacts from pre-history to today. Florida, she says, has seen growth through boom and bust, and those changes continue. Transportation has always been at the center.

“It cannot be understated how important was the arrival of the railroad,” said Zoebelien. Early on, fishing, phosphate and turpentine helped to spur economic activity. It wasn’t until the 1920s that tourism arrived on a mass scale. The pivotal event in 1954 in Sarasota and Charlotte County was the sale of 80,000 acres in the area by A.C. Frizzell to the Mackles. “It completely transformed this area,” said Zoebelien.

Early Episcopal churches in the 18th century were located in ports; in the 19th century, in railroad towns. Into the 20th century, churches were located in suburbs. The Rev. Canon Durning, who served as interim at Good Shepherd, Dunedin, reminds that the circa 1886 parish is just off the Pinellas Trail, the former Plant Railway.

With his former parish Marco Island, Durning said that the location had a number of advantages. Not only was it in the center of a new, wealthy development, the land was fully paid for to begin with. And because the churches of the Naples Deanery had been supported by Trinity-by-the-Cove, it began its life without having to pay for their initial building.

The Mackle history was always present. It was a point of interest that St. Mark’s Marco, Durning noted, is located on Elkcam Circle - “Mackle” spelled backwards, and a trademark feature of each development. Some of the initial vision of Marco Island never materialized, even as St. Mark’s flourishes. The original design for Marco Island was a more “Hawaiian island” theme: prospects were taken around in a Deltona tiki boat, with a bow that looked right out of the Polynesian Hotel.

But there were larger changes in the water. Many of the developments in Florida, including Port Charlotte and Marco Island, featured rapidly dug canals with access to the gulf.

These canals made hundreds of waterfront lots possible, and each lot, far more valuable. The 1962 publication of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, coupled with the work of Marjory Stoneman Douglas, in creating awareness around the fragility of the Everglades in the book River of Grass, helped create the Environmental Protection Agency in 1970.

Free land churches MORE DEVELOPER-DONATED CONGREGATIONS IN THE DIOCESE

Generous donors have, through the last century, helped build all of the Episcopal churches of Southwest Florida. The churches of the ‘50s and ‘60s benefited from the particular practice of a land donation in the midst of the subdivision. The Mackle developments happened to be the largest of these developers in Southwest Florida, but other post war developer-donor churches include: 1950 | TRINITY-BY-THE-COVE, NAPLES Developer John Glen Sample began developing the Jamaican pirate themed Port Royal development in 1948. Sample was convinced to give the diocese the land for a church by Beatrice Briggs, wife of the Briggs & Stratton engine founder Stephen Briggs. (Briggs also founded Outboard Motor Company, owner Evinrude and Johnson). The oft-told legend is that Mrs. Briggs was a “Christian that he knew.”

1961 | ST. ANSELM, LEHIGH ACRES Gerald H. Gould, president of Lehigh Acres Development Corporation, gave the land in 1964. Lehigh Acres, west of Ft. Myers, was massively undersold, with many empty lots, beginning in 1954. Only now is the development catching up to the plan.

1963 | EPIPHANY, CAPE CORAL The parish, situated amongst the hundreds of Venice-style canals of Cape Coral, sits on land from the Gulf American Land Corporation, founded by Leonard and Julius Rosen. The company owned private planes that brought Northerners south, wining and dining them them with steak dinners to sell them on Florida living.

1970 | ST. JOHN, NAPLES Raymond Lutgert, developer of the Park Shore neighborhood in Naples, gave the diocese the 3.5 acres of property that is now St. John.

1986 | ST. MARGARET OF SCOTLAND, SARASOTA The five-acre lot that the church sits on was donated by the Turner family of the Hi Hat Ranch. The Turner family still leads development in the area, as part of the Forest at Hi Hat Ranch.

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The advent of the EPA, along with an appreciation for the importance of wetlands, altered these practices. By 1982, Deltona had settled with the State of Florida and stopped development on 15,000 acres of Marco Island area wetlands.

The awareness about the value of wetlands was seen statewide, as well. This, along with inflation and the energy crisis, put a halt to the explosive Florida development boom, until later.

LEGACY FOR TODAY Today, the relationships between the original developers of the neighborhoods surrounding our churches are mostly forgotten. This is not so everywhere: the late developer Raymond Lutgert, who created the Park Shore neighborhood in Naples, gave the diocese the 3.5 acres of property that is now St. John’s. The 1970 church, which just celebrated 50 years, still has a working relationship with the family, said the Rev. Joe Maiocco, the parish rector.

“He [Raymond Lutgert] believed the community needed a spiritual center,” said the Rev. Maiocco.

A half-century after donating the property to the church, the Lutgerts still rent out parking spaces, and run a shuttle bus from the church to their Venetian Shops on Venetian Bay, across the canal. In return, The Lutgert Company, which is still a major player in Naples real estate, also has a standing invitation to have meetings at St. John’s.

In the files of the diocese is a June 17, 1970 memorandum from the Rev. Canon Herbert E. Beck, the then diocesan archdeacon, on the prospects for a new church in the 15,000 acre Deltona development Spring Hill, which is the northernmost parish of the diocese near Weeki Wachee Springs.

At the time, Spring Hill was not known, but Weeki Wachee, just a few minutes north (and downhill, hence Spring Hill), were world famous for their underwater mermaids.

Beck, who amusingly spelled the springs “Weekiwachie???”, wrote the four-page, single-spaced typed memo to Bishop William Loftin Hargrave, to help the diocese assess the future of Spring Hill, and discern how a new congregation might work. It explains that the Mackle Bros. had made available to churches “4 or 5-acre tracts in good locations, generally near shopping centers.” The idea was that within six months of accepting the property, the diocese would commence building a church, or lose the opportunity.

The archdeacon reported that the Mackles, “being Catholic” had provided for churches, the first being a Catholic parish. Beck reported to Bishop Hargrave that the area was “fully operational” with beach, sewer lines, golf course and civic organizations. There were already Episcopal “pioneers” in the area, interested in starting a new church.

To scout out the location, Beck went to visit a “Mrs. Greene,” then a member of St. Stephens New Port Richey, where he was “introduced to several very fine people who either belong to the Presbyterian Church who now attend services there or go to St. John’s Brooksville.” He suggested that they 28

form an Episcopal Club, and have either of the neighboring priests come down to have a communion service followed by a cook-out.

“I went to Spring Hill thinking I was going to another Port Charlotte or Sun City, but what I found instead was a very well-organized, well-ordered, well-planned and well-developed community,” Beck wrote.

Mrs. Greene, and the diocese, began building a church by 1972, which was completed in 1979. Today, the church is healthy, with 225 on an average Sunday, prior to coronavirus.

The campus is a large parcel, five acres, with seven separate buildings. “It’s been a Godsend and a blessing,” said the parish’s rector, Rev. Lance Wallace, of the original donation of the land.

“We feel very blessed to have this property.”

A challenge not unique to the Mackle developments is that they, as suburbs, struggle to find a sense of place, as they have no town center. “They didn’t build it like that,” said Wallace. Instead, the nearest town with a defined center is Brooksville, even though there are seven times as many people in Spring Hill. One other challenge is the sheer number of churches; the Mackles were generous with land, and each denomination was eager to build, which means today, there are at least 17 churches in the immediate area surrounding St. Andrew’s.

Here, the back of one of the Mackle Company/General Development Corp brochures of Por t Charlotte. The pictured church is unidentified.

Through the years, St. Andrew’s has responded to changing demographics. It was the first in the area to have a preschool, still part of the campus. Today, a third generation is living in Spring Hill, the grandchildren of the earlier residents now in their 20s. That same sense of opportunity still exists today. Mackle houses were built in different decades, with different building styles and materials, but there is a common denominator: while unglamorous, they were made to withstand rot and hurricane, and are good candidates for flipping. “Houses are the old, concrete block, low ceiling types,” said Wallace.

“Those houses are like bunkers.”

SPRINGS AND YOUTH Ten miles from North Port is St. James Port Charlotte, the earliest of the diocesan Mackle churches. A modern community has grown up in Port Charlotte and North Port. Today, the area has an unexpected resident: John Mackle, grandson of Frank Mackle Jr. and son of Frank III. John moved to the area for his growing payroll and employee leasing business, Worksite Employment Leasing: his customers include many churches in North Port and Charlotte County. Mackle’s business partner proposed the area to him, saying that it was an “ideal spot to start a business.” That his grandfather literally brought this area into being, and laid out its streets and features, is still an odd feeling, especially as he drives across Elkcam Boulevard, or heads anywhere else in the 80,000-acre parcel.

“It’s all coming full circle,” said John Mackle.

The Rev. Cesar Olivero is the current rector of St. James Port Charlotte, which was founded in 1962 on land given by the Mackles. The church itself was a plant of Church of the Good Shepherd, Punta Gorda. When Olivero first came in 2003, he had a few connections to some of the original members of the church; they have had new influxes each generation, as the houses have been sold.

Even with the pandemic, they are still averaging 70 on a Sunday. Their food pantry is busy, and still helping neighbors with their electric bills, and basic needs. With the next-door Methodist Church, they hold outdoor services, and share upkeep on a playground and New Beginnings Park. COVID has been hard: they have lost a half dozen members in the last year, and others have not had the Internet equipment to watch at home.

“We still support the needs of the community,” said Olivero. Before the pandemic, attendance was about 70. They have survived much, including Hurricane Charley, which elicited a visit from the Presiding Bishop after the repairs.

But there is great longevity at the parish, Olivero says, as one of their most recent parishioners, lived to be 102. The average age of the congregation is a very active 75. “We call this the Fountain of Youth,” jokes Olivero. “The people live forever.”

At right, a brochure from Spring Hill, which advertises the “Mackle Brothers!” with new, exciting potential. On the brochure, the Spring Hill fountain, and its sixties style lettering, became a landmark for the area and was recently restored. Below, postcard with an aerial view of Port Charlotte, looking toward Alligator Bay and the Peace River. It is the same view that appeared in a 1963 National Geographic article on Florida’s Space Age boom.

FINANCIAL LITERACY JUDGE / POET SUMS UP DEMISE

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hile the donations of land for our churches have been generous, Florida real estate can be a messy business, and quite worldly. Long after the Mackle donations of property to the diocese, the family left General Development Corporation. Even later, the company went bankrupt, under a new set of executives. Bankruptcy courts had to finally sort out the remains in 1990. Even today, there are vast areas of undeveloped land, with empty lots and no utilities, across Florida. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge A. Jay Cristol, in his filing, wrote a poem about sorting it all out. The poem actually appears in an official court document: There are strange things done in the Florida Sun By the men who moil for gold GDC sales had their secret tales That would make your blood run cold Bankruptcy fans have seen big plans but one of the biggest they ever did see Was at the end of the second year, when hope did appear And we reorganized GDC 29

A home for

St. Paul in Wesley Chapel

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W

hen St. Paul’s Episcopal Church Senior Warden Dr. Jeanette Rollins drove by a small sign advertising a “Wesley Chapel Episcopal Church” start-up on Route 301 in rapidlydeveloping Pasco County, she was sure that she needed to do something.

“I had a calling and a desire in my heart to reach out, and say yes; this is something my body needs to do,” said Rollins.

What Rollins didn’t realize was that three years later, she would ultimately be saying yes to a position as senior warden of the newly elected bishop’s committee of an Episcopal Church start up. Not only would it be a part of only a handful of new church starts across the Episcopal Church, but it was groundbreaking in that the last new church in the Diocese of Southwest Florida was in 1999, with the founding of IonaHope in Ft. Myers.

“I don’t consider myself a procrastinator,” said Rollins, who is by day, a nurse practitioner. In the past, she admits, had not always been able to respond so completely. She had attended other Episcopal churches in the area, but because of her life, she had not always had the time, or energy to lead. In the past, she said she was always willing to go, but instead preferred just to do like so many and “go in and get my spiritual food, and leave.”

Over the months, and through a move, expansion, and coronavirus, she has taken on more responsibility, along with the dozens of other members that now call St. Paul’s their church home. “Our body tells us everything we need, whether spiritual, physical or psychological,” said Rollins, who grew up attending Grace Episcopal Church in Jamaica, N.Y., until she left New York City. At Grace, she had been involved through her childhood, as an acolyte, and youth.

“The Episcopal Church is what I know,” said Rollins. “It’s a part of who I am.”

The sandstone steeple of her childhood church on Long Island is among the oldest on Long Island, founded in 1702.

Although there was no long history, old building, or historic organ in the service she first encountered in the Wesley Chapel Savannah office park, there was a familiar liturgy and hymns, and a traditional way of worship that spoke to Rollins in the present.

The church is located in a fairly new suburban office court; their next-door neighbor, until they leased the space, was a noisy dance studio. As the church has grown, they have added gothic wooden decor to the interior, and have used altar, candles and liturgical items gifted from local parishes.

Currently, during coronavirus, they are averaging about 30 attendees each Sunday. They returned to in-person worship in summer. Before coronavirus, they were at 60 each Sunday, which is better attendance than many older churches. The church recently expanded into the remaining space of the building (see sidebar), which will be used for a parish hall for fellowship and teaching.

WEATHERING COVID-19 "In the midst of a pandemic St. Paul's is an outward and visible sign in the Wesley Chapel community that God is present and can always be glorified,” said the Rev. Adrienne Hymes, the original church planter and now their vicar, the title for mission congregations of the diocese.

“We have been empowered by the Holy Spirit to boldly risk walking by faith and jumping into God's mission already at work which are definitely not for the faint of heart or the weak in stomach."

The St. Paul start up is one of only a handful in the Diocese of Southwest Florida in recent decades, the most recent launches being St. Margaret of Scotland in 1986 in Sarasota, Grace Episcopal in 1992 in Tampa Palms, St. Mary Magdalene in Lakewood Ranch in 1996, and Iona-Hope in Ft. Myers in 1999. That there was a 20-year period in between new congregations meant that many of the skills for launching a congregation had been out of use, or lost.

In the 1950s and 60s, there were some years that the diocese launched multiple churches, and because of that,

Facing page, outdoor building dedication. Top, ribbon cutting with the Rev. Canon Richard H. Norman, the Rev. Adrienne Hymes, the Rt. Rev Dabney Smith and the Hon. Mike Moore.

Bottom, Dr. Jeanette Rollins, The Rev. Hymes, Bishop Smith. 31

Clockwise from top left; ribbon cutting; the new parish hall, in an old dance studio; the sanctuary; the Rev. John Reese of St. Andrew's, Tampa, with the Rev. Hymes; Mary Wallis Smith and the Rev. Canon Norman. Center, a group gathered after worship.

there was an overall process for launches. In the case of Wesley Chapel, the Diocese of Southwest Florida began with an idea to plant a church by Bishop Smith, with seed money from the Episcopal Church. To help, the diocese worked with the now Bishop of Georgia, then the Rev. Frank Logue, who had launched churches in Georgia before he was elected bishop.

Logue, along with Bishop Smith and the Rev. Hymes, found possible locations, and made the strategic decision that Wesley Chapel was the most promising area to start a parish.

(See Southern Cross, Planting the Seed, Pentecost 2019.)

It has been the right location. The Wesley Chapel area is growing with every demographic, including young families and recent retirees. As part of its new members, the church is attracting a wide age group, but has not watered down its worship or liturgy to try to “attract” a segment. Instead, it has found a wide variety of demographics, and sought members from all faith traditions, as it carefully presents a traditional liturgy.

“I don’t know what we would do differently,” said Rollins.

SECOND START Le Grand Jones and his wife Dianne are some of the pioneers of the Wesley Chapel start. They were among the earliest residents of Tampa Palms, and attended Grace Episcopal, where the Joneses worshipped at an elementary school before they were able to buy land to build. While there, he helped put together the business plan for the purchase of the Grace Episcopal campus.

Early on Jones had heard of the possibility of a launch in Wesley Chapel, where they wanted to move to downsize.

He called the diocese, where he talked with the Rev. Canon 32

Michael Durning, then Canon to the Ordinary. When the Rev. Adrienne Hymes was hired, he met with her for a two-hour lunch at Bonefish Grill, talking over ideas. He also met with the Grace Episcopal rector, the Rev. Benjamin Twinamaani, who encouraged a few of the congregation to help with the launch, which was about ten miles away. Currently, Dianne serves on the vestry, and Le Grand is on the hunt for a permanent location.

Junior Warden Christine O’Donnell had lived in the Wesley Chapel area in 1998, with her husband. She grew up Catholic, but had married her late husband at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Newport, Rhode Island, before they came south. She had attended St. Clement's, but jumped in when she found that there would be a neighborhood church. Since then, she has found much more, and none of the stress that might seem to have been associated with building a new church.

“I found a group of people with whom I could share things and be safe with,” said O’Donnell.

O’Donnell is one of four nurses in the parish, and came to the Tampa Bay area to work with the Veterans Administration.

Her specialty, for which she teaches, is infectious disease. It was a coincidence, but it has been helpful in 2020 as the new church attempted to cope with coronavirus. Their challenge was different than other parishes, as they had a full room on Sunday, but not a lot of extra space because the church was in an office park. As the church opened up, they have gained a few new regular attendees that “appreciate that the congregation “makes sure everything is done in a proper way.”

Currently, as junior warden, her work has been practical, and not at all connected with teaching. She leads the Altar Guild, and she is also volunteering with setting up bookkeeping, trying to set up the office operations so that they go

easily. They are also preparing for growth again, as people come back to worship. “We are picking up,” said O’Donnell. “Since the new year, before we were under 20, and now we are close to 30.

As a new launch, there is plenty to do with the congregation for a junior warden, but there are enough who have come, and expressed interest, that the task is not overwhelming. “We give God our thanks and praise for His holy leading of faithful servants,” said the Rev. Hymes, “for leading us to our church home; and for hearts on fire for Jesus.”

The parish, off to a solid start during a rocky pandemic, will inevitably grow. As it grows, Rollins believes that it can remain open and welcoming, and stay away from negative attitudes. That it feels apolitical, and provides a warm welcome for all is critical.

And as a congregation, they need to be willing to listen.

“We are small, and we are new,” said Rollins. “We have this comfy, cozy new family.”

Launch Sequence AUGUST 2016 | The Rev. Adrienne Hymes named Missioner for Church Extension, working on both a new church plant, and the revitalization of the St. Anselm’s USF Chapel Center.

OCTOBER 2016 | The Episcopal Church approves $100,000 grant for Southwest Florida Church Plant start in Diocese of Southwest Florida. It is one of 68 applications, 34 approved and 34 declined.

SEPTEMBER 2017 | Bible studies begin in Wesley Chapel area at Mercedes-Benz of Wesley Chapel FEB. 1, 2018 | Church leases office park worship space at 3758 Maryweather Lane, Seven Oaks, Wesley Chapel.

MAY 8, 2018 | The Rev. Adrienne Hymes ordained as priest.

MAY 9, 2018 | First Holy Eucharist with gathered group.

APRIL 30, 2019 | Church leases new office space at 3836 Flatiron Loop, its current location.

JUNE 1, 2019 | First visit by Bishop Dabney Smith.

JULY 28, 2019 | Baptismal font dedicated by the Rt. Rev. Michael Garrison, Assisting Bishop.

Dedication & Ribbon Cutting

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he new Episcopal Church congregation of St. Paul's held its ribbon cutting and dedication on Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021.

"There is a new place, dedicated to God's service that is set apart for worship," said Bishop Dabney Smith, in his remarks to the gathered. The church plant is the first in the diocese since 1999, when Iona-Hope was established in Ft. Myers. The congregation is led by the Rev. Adrienne Hymes, the vicar-in-charge.

In its short time residing in rented space at Renaissance Professional Park, St. Paul's has already expanded from one office unit into a second rental, a former dance studio, which has been transformed into a fellowship hall and Sunday School.

Located off of Bruce B. Downs Boulevard in Pasco County in the Seven Oaks area, it is situated amidst one of the fastest growing areas of Southwest Florida. Past events have included a socially-distanced indoor dedication service and an outdoor ribbon cutting. Pasco County Commissioner Mike Moore attended the dedication: a nearby resident, he heralded the "tremendous occasion" of the opening. "The Lord is looking upon us to have this beautiful day," said Moore.

SEPTEMBER 1, 2020 | Church begins renovations on new fellowship hall in former dance studio.

OCTOBER 12, 2019 | Church becomes Associated Worshipping Community at 51st Convention.

OCTOBER 17, 2020 | 52nd Annual Convention affirms mission status.

JANUARY 28, 2021 | Ribbon cutting and dedication of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church.

Top, Commissioner Mike Moore; inset guests at the dedication.

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Election of a

Bishop UNDERSTANDING THE COADJUTOR PROCESS 34

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he election of a bishop is a landmark event in the life of a diocese. In Southwest Florida, in April 2022, the diocese will elect a Bishop Coadjutor, which is bishop with the right of succession.

After the election, the bishop will first be coadjutor, and then would be set to become the Sixth Bishop of Southwest Florida, pending approval by the wider Episcopal Church, and after serving a time alongside Bishop Dabney Smith.

Getting there is not a fast process. In the life of the Diocese of Southwest Florida, we have only gone through this process four times; the first election of a Bishop Suffragan was Bishop William Hargrave, elected in 1961 before the 1969 creation of the Diocese of Southwest Florida. The last election held in the diocese was for Bishop Dabney Smith, in December of 2006.

The overall process began in Oct. 17, 2020, when Bishop Dabney Smith called for the election of a Bishop Coadjutor in his annual convention address. After the address, the convention voted to accept the call for an election, a task which always falls on the Standing Committee, which is the elected body of the diocese that can act as the head of the diocese in the event that there is no bishop.

The next step was having an open process for nominating people for the committee that will run the election. On Dec. 4, 2020, the Standing Committee opened up an application process for members of the Bishop Coadjutor Search Committee. The letter to the diocese from Standing Committee President the Rev. Carla McCook, posted to the diocesan website and sent to the 4,000 members of the diocesan email mailing list, sought a new slate of applicants that had never served before on a bishop search committee. It read, in part: “It is the Standing Committee’s desire that nominees for the Bishop Coadjutor Search Committee will be people grounded in the spiritual work of discernment, that a nominee has 95% or more of the gifts and skills outlined and can fulfill 100 percent of the listed expectations on the BCSC Position Description, and that the BCSC will be composed of a broadly diversified group of people from across this great diocese in gender, age, ethnicities, time resident, and the like.”

After receiving nominations from across the diocese, each deanery (there are seven) met throughout January, separately, to elect from the nominees that applied.

The deanery elections were held with the exact same convention members that attended the most recent diocesan convention, including clergy and laity. On February 9, 2021, the Standing Committee announced the committee (see sidebar). In addition to the two elected members from each deanery, and two alternates, the current bishop, according to diocesan canon, picks a slate of seven committee members, and three alternates.

There are a number of goals of the search committee.

First, they are charged with overseeing the election process, from accepting nominees for bishop, to figuring out the details of exactly how the election will be run. Secondly, they will create a profile of the diocese, in a listening process with the entire church body. The profile will establish the

E S E LIN T E A TIM D N Y TIO E C K ELE OCTOBER 17, 2020 | Bishop Dabney Smith calls for election of a Bishop Coadjutor. In consultation with the office of the Presiding Bishop, the Standing Committee began to organize the search process, including the selection of a Search Committee, preparation of diocesan profile and other duties appropriate and necessary to enable the search.

SEPTEMBER 2021 | The Search Committee begins accepting nominations. Review of nominations, background work and interviews to follow through January 2022.

SPRING 2022 | “Walkabout” opportunity for delegates to meet final nominees.

APRIL 2, 2022 | Convention and election of Bishop Coadjutor.

SEPTEMBER 24, 2022 | Pending Presiding Bishop approval, Bishop Coadjutor will be consecrated and commence ministry with Bishop Dabney Smith.

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document, a diocesan profile, that will help the diocese understand its needs, and assist candidates as they apply.

They also will need to supervise a budget for the whole process, so that by April of 2022, the diocese will be fully ready for an election. Complicating it all this year is the coronavirus, which makes in person meetings difficult, but also facilitates electronic meetings.

So far the group has had two meetings, both via Zoom.

The first meeting was to introduce each other; the second to elect co-chairs, and to create committees. Elected this March 13, were lay co-chair Trevor Whitley of St. Hilary, Ft. Myers; and the Rev. Jessica Harris Babcock, clergy co-chair and rector of St. Mark’s, Marco Island.

“I feel a large sense of responsibility, because the job that we are tasked with is very important for the life of the diocese,” said Trevor Whitley, co-chair of the Bishop Coadjutor Search Committee, and a partner at Marquis Wealth Management Group in Ft. Myers. Whitley said that the group is working backwards from the April election date.

The group is entirely new to the process, and there are no members of the current committee who served on the nominating committee during the last search process, which

began in 2004. Whitley said that many on the committee had either served on rector search committees or had been a candidate in a rector search.

Through the process, there is a consultant, to ensure that the election can be run independently from the diocesan staff, except where needed. In December and early January, the Standing Committee received resumes and references for three candidates for this shepherd of shepherds. The Standing Committee announced Jan. 12, 2021 that the Very Rev. Ron Clingenpeel would be the consultant for the election. The Rev. Clingenpeel, a resident of New Orleans, is a consultant in the Episcopal Church for leadership training, organizational and congregational development. He is also one a handful of consultants in the church that assists with the election of bishops.

After its second meeting, the search committee split into working committees that would work on the budget for the process, communications from the committee, the creation of the diocesan profile and congregational education. These groups will meet monthly, according to the Rev. Babcock; one particular need is to agree on tools for sharing information. In the past, the process had happened

SE A CLEARWATER Electors | The Rev. Janet Tunnell, Mr. Phil Beauchamp Alternates | The Rev. Jamie Samilio, Mr. Harry Smith FT. MYERS Electors | The Rev. Christian Maxfield, Mr. Trevor Whitley Alternates | Mr. Jim Johnson, no presbyter alternate MANASOTA Electors | The Rev. David Marshall, Ms. Jackie Overton Alternates – The Rev. Charleston Wilson, Ms. Peg Davant NAPLES Electors | The Rev. Jessica Babcock, Mr. Michael Moore, Jr. Alternates | The Rev. Nicholas Caccese, Ms. Betty Gamel ST. PETERSBURG Electors | The Rev. Ann Dieterle, Ms. Hazel Hudson-Allen Alternates | The Rev. Thomas Williams, Ms. Molly Goodwill

RCH

CO M

MIT

TAMPA Electors | The Rev. David Wyly, Ms. Katie Arp Alternates | The Rev. Robert Douglas, Ms. Leila Mizer VENICE Electors | The Rev. Roy Tuff, Ms. Kathy Silverberg Alternates | The Rev. Joe Hudson, Mr. Bruce Birgbauer

TS TMEN N I O P P AP BISHO The Rev. Dr. Lynn Grinnell, Deacon Mr. Gregory Hearing | The Rev. Adrienne Hymes Mrs. Ning Bonoan | The Rev. Michael Kitt, Deacon Mr. Steve Salvo | Mr. Kraig Koach ALTERNATES

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TEE

BY DE AN ERY

Mrs. Hillary Peete | Mr. Andrew Walker The Rev. Elizabeth Nelson

through actual meetings. The consultant, said Babcock, has been with the group in its first two meetings, and will work with all the committees to keep the schedule. Part of the housekeeping is also the creation of a budget for the search process, which is presented to Diocesan Council and Finance Committee.

As part of the process, the profile will include a selfstudy of the diocese. The profile information will be used to create a description of the diocese and set of criteria, so that potential candidates will understand better the needs of the diocese. The listening process, according to Babcock, will help the diocese see what sort of bishop the diocese wants, and also talk about what the future of the diocese might look like.

After the creation and publication of the diocesan profile, the application process can begin. The process of going through the submitted nominations can be lengthy; for instance in 1995, there were 172 names submitted for consideration. Information on those nominees must be gathered and presented, so that a slate for the election can be considered.

In past elections, and in most dioceses, there is a second publication for the election itself. This is a booklet a that includes includes nominee profiles, and information about a Every part of the process of electing a bishop involves ensuring walkabout, a meeting that will help representation from across the diocese, including our congregations and clergy. people learn as much as possible about This necessarily includes elections for the people who will set up the election, potential nominees. In the previous namely the Bishop Coadjutor Search Committee. election, the diocese held a walkabout On Tuesday, Feb. 9, the Standing Committee announced the members at Venice Community Center, and of that committee, which includes elected presbyters, laity and alternates the election at the Cathedral Church according to deanery, as well as seven appointed members and three alternates of St. Peter. How this will happen for selected by Bishop Smith. The method of selection, derived from rules in this election has yet to be determined.

Canon XVIII, Episcopal Election Committee, provides that elected convention “We will run a fair and unbiased and as delegates elect these committee members. transparent a process as possible,” said When the election of a coadjutor was announced last fall, the Standing Whitley.

Committee took names from across the diocese for people who would serve on the Bishop Coadjutor Search Committee. Each deanery, meanwhile, gathered its delegates to the 51st Convention. Those delegates voted, nominating to represent each deanery with one presbyter, one lay member, and alternates for each. Added to those nominees were seven appointed members and three alternates named by the bishop. Should any elected member not be able to complete their service, then their elected alternate would take the role on the committee. The search committee will not pick the bishop; the diocese will gather as a convention to hold that election on April 2, 2022. At left are the members of the Bishop Coadjutor Election Committee.

A E BR

N I K

IT D O W N G

COADJUTOR ELECTION COMMITTEE

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Church Cookbook Love AN EASTER CLASSIC

CARROT CAKE

By Sheryl Polese From the "Cooking with Friends" Cookbook ECW Good Samaritan, Clearwater, 2011 I'm prone to lemon tarts and cookies at Easter, but when I go cake, it's always a fan-favorite carrot cake. This one is perfectly balanced by pineapple and cinnamon, and it's a snap to make: If you don't have a 9x9 pan, use an 8x8, but expect to add about 10 miutes to your cook time.

PREP STEPS Preheat oven to 350˚F. Butter and lightly flour a 9 x 9 x 2 inch glass or metal baking pan, tapping out excess flour.

For carrot cake: 3/4 cups all purpose flour 3/4 cup whole wheat flour 1 cup granulated sugar (or reduce to 3/4 cup if you want) 1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp baking soda 1 tsp ground cinnamon 1/2 tsp salt 1/3 cup vegetable or grapeseed oil (flavorless) 4 oz (1/2 cup) no sugar added applesauce 2 large eggs 1 cup finely shredded carrots 1/2 cup crushed pineapple 1 tsp vanilla extract For cream cheese frosting: 1 3oz package cream cheese, at room temperature 1 Tbsp butter, at room temperature 1 tsp vanilla 2 cups confectioners sugar Sift together the first 7 ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Whisk remaining ingredients in a seperate bowl until combined, then add to dry mixture; beat for 2 minutes by hand until combined. Bake for 35 minutes until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool completely and frost with cream cheese frosting.

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For frosting, beat together cream cheese, butter and vanilla until smooth. Slowly add sugar and continue to beat, beating until fluffy.

If frosting is too thick, add in a little milk until spreadable. Frost carrot cake and serve.

Transitions

RECENT STAFF AND CLERGY CHANGES

NEW ASSISTANT TO THE BISHOP WENDY MARTUCCI

She has attended the Episcopal Church throughout her life. After a B.A. in International Affairs from Florida State and an M.S. in International Management from Boston University, she worked from 1993-97 for the Defense Intelligence Agency at the U.S. Embassy in Rome, where she represented the U.S. in public relations. She later worked for Husqvarna Viking Sewing Machines in Torino, where she was a product and education manager, and the Istituto Tecnico Orion, where she designed and implemented training courses for the Italian Air Force and Italian Navy. While in Italy, she attended the St. Paul's Within the Walls Episcopal Church.

PARRISH - Wendy Whitman Martucci has joined Diocesan House as the executive assistant to the Office of Bishop Dabney Smith at Diocesan House. Most recently, she was Administrative Assistant to the Director of Safety, Security & Emergency Management and Chief of Police for the Sarasota County School Board. In her role at Diocesan House, she handles Bishop Dabney Smith's appointments and scheduling, parish visitation, congregational meetings, diocesan liturgical events and diocesan and retired clergy events.

She is a native of Sarasota, and grew up attending the Church of the Redeemer, where her parents were married and where she was baptized and confirmed.

She currently attends St. Margaret of Scotland, where she is a verger, copresident of the parish’s Daughter of the King chapter, and vice-president of the DOK Diocesan Assembly. She has also served as clerk on vestry and was previously volunteer coordinator and church school director.

married for 32 years. They have two adult sons, Jim Jr. and Michael, as well as a 5-year-old grandson, Cooper.

After graduating from the University of Central Florida in 1987, the Rev. Sorvillo began his professional life in clinical psychology working in two clinics in the Orlando area. God eventually led him into ministry as a lay youth minister at St. James Episcopal Church in Ormond Beach until the Holy Spirit led him to discern a call to the priesthood. He was hired out of seminary to serve as the assistant and school chaplain at Holy Trinity Church in Melbourne under the leadership of the then parish rector, the Rev. Dabney Smith. Following three years of ministry in Melbourne, God called him to serve at Ascension, Orlando in 2003.

NEW ORGANIST AT ST. GEORGE, BRADENTON

THE REV. JIM SORVILLO JOINS CHURCH OF THE ASCENSION CLEARWATER - The Rev. Jim Sorvillo joined Church of the Ascension as their next rector, beginning Feb. 1, 2021. A second-generation Episcopal priest, Sorvillo is a Florida native who was raised along the Atlantic coast of the state. He and his wife Debbie have been

BRADENTON - Roger Roszell is the new organist at St. George’s. Roszell is from Illinois, but lived much of his professional life in New York and Washington, DC. He holds a master’s degree from Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois. The International Organ Institute in Haarlem, The Netherlands, where he earned a certificate in performance, was the organ on which Mozart played as a child in 1760. He has led choirs in Chicago and later in Washington that were invited to sing at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. In 1992 on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of Columbus' discovery of America, his choir sang at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York.

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In Memoriam "For this God is our God for ever and ever: He will be our guide even unto death." -Psalm 48:14

The Rev. Natalia "Tonya" Vonnegut Beck, 1932-2020 INDIANAPOLIS - The Rev. Natalia "Tanya" Vonnegut Beck, the first female priest serving in the Diocese of Southwest Florida, died Dec. 14, 2020. Born March 4, 1932, she was the only child of Margaret Spaulding Beck and Robert Beck. She was born and raised in Anderson, Indiana. She married Ralph Vonnegut, Jr., October 29, 1955. Together, they had four children and, although they divorced, Tanya and Ralph remained good friends until his death in 2000.

She worked in the Episcopal Church before her ordination. At St. John’s Episcopal Church in Crawfordsville, where she attended church as a young wife and mother, she created “the Coffee House,” a space for Wabash College students to gather, eat spaghetti and feed their souls.

In 1975, as a new deacon in The Episcopal Church, she started the Julian Mission (now Julian Center). It offered "crisis help for battered women, rape victims, depressed housewives and worried adolescents.”

In 1977, she became the second woman to be ordained regularly in the Episcopal Church and has served many congregations throughout Indiana and in the Diocese of Southwest Florida, where she served at Church of the Holy Spirit, Safety Harbor.

The Rev. Paul C. Johansen, 1933-2021 DADE CITY – The Rev. Paul C. Johansen, a priest in the Diocese of Southwest Florida who served at five congregations over his five decades of ministry here, died Jan. 31, 2021. Born On Oct. 11, 1933 in Cambridge, Mass., he was baptized in a Congregational Church in Belmont. After receiving a degree in chemical engineering at the Lowell Textile Institute from 1951-52, he enlisted in the Navy, where he served aboard the U.S.S. Isbell and U.S.S. Bashaw.

After the Navy, he went back to school for an education degree, working as a schoolteacher in the Dade County School System. He later attended Berkeley Divinity School at Yale, where he received Master of Divinity in 1964. He became involved in the Episcopal Church through Canterbury House, and a mentor priest in the Miami area.

He was ordained deacon on June 24, 1964 by Bishop William Loftin Hargrave, and ordained priest by Bishop James Loughlin Duncan on Dec. 28, 1964. He served as curate at the Cathedral Church of St. Peter from 1964-66; vicar at St. Catherine, Temple Terrace from 1966-69; rector of St. Bede from 1969-82; rector of St. Mary’s Dade City from 1982-85; and rector of St. Stephens New Port Richey from 1985-95, when he retired from active service.

He is survived by his wife, Barbara Jayne Johansen, and daughters Aubrey Johansen, Jill Tao, and Bobbi Montgomery.

The Johansens lost a son, Jay, 47, last year to cancer.

The Rev. Grayson Garvin, 1937-2020 DELRAY - The Rev. Grayson Garvin, the former rector of St. Peter's in Plant City, died on Friday, Nov. 6, 2020, in Delray. Born August 26, 1937 in Greenwood, SC, he was a priest canonically resident in the Diocese of Central Florida. He served at St. Peter's from 1975-89. His time as rector included the construction of a new rectory, bell tower and balcony, and a Zimmer pipe organ was custom built.

The Rev. John Donald Limpitlaw, 1935-2021 NAPLES - The Rev. John Donald Limpitlaw, a priest in the Diocese of Connecticut who served in Southwest Florida after his retirement, died on January 18, 2021. He was 86 years old.

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The Rev. Paul Dillon Goddard, 1939-2020 FT. MYERS - The Rev. Paul Dillon Goddard, a priest who assisted at St. Michael and All Angels, Sanibel, died on Dec. 29, 2020. The Rev. Goddard was canonically resident in the Diocese of Chicago, retiring from active ministry in 1988. He served churches that included St. Jude's Episcopal Church in Rochelle, Illinois and Grace Episcopal Church in Galena, Illinois.

David Lyttleton Smith, 1946-2020 VALLEY STREAM, N.Y. – Portrait and landscape painter David Lyttleton Smith, brother of Bishop Dabney Smith and a painter of two official portraits at the Diocese of Southwest Florida, died Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020.

Born Feb. 9, 1946 in Richmond, Va., David Smith was the son of the late Dorothy Leach Smith and the Rev. Dorsey Smith, who served as rector of St. John's Episcopal Church in Tampa. He began painting in first grade, where he wrote that he “drew a detailed mural of life on a farm on a long sheet of wrapping paper. The principal was so impressed that it was sent around to all the other schools in the district. The best thing about it was they left me alone to draw whenever I wanted to after that.”

He attended Tampa’s St John’s Episcopal Church while his father, the Rev. Dorsey Smith, was rector. After graduation from Henry B. Plant High School, he took courses at Florida State University before he attended Tulane University in New Orleans, where he received a Masters of Fine Arts in Painting. There, he studied under abstractionist and teacher Pat Trivigno, who himself had studied under New York School artist Phil Guston and American regionalist Thomas Hart Benton. He resided on Long Island for the past forty-years, where his current work includes marine seascapes and portrait paintings.

The Diocese of Southwest Florida holds two of his paintings, both residing at Diocesan House at DaySpring Episcopal Center. He painted the official portrait of Bishop Dabney Smith, dedicated in 2008, and the portrait of Bishop Smith’s late wife, the Mary Ellen Krieg Smith, for Diocesan House at DaySpring Episcopal Center. The painting of Mary Ellen Smith was dedicated in 2015.

He is survived by his wife, Allison, and sons Joshua and Samuel and daughter-in-law, Tania Smith, all of New York.

He is also survived by brothers the Rt. Rev. Dabney T. Smith and Dorsey Smith III of Williamsburg, Va., and two sisters, Debbie Smith Ryniker and Donna Smith Hille of San Antonio Texas.

Deborah H. Tripp, 1948-2021 FT. MYERS - Deborah H. Tripp was born in Erie, Pennsylvania in 1948. She passed to a better life at peace, and with grace, on March 23, 2021.

Deborah moved to Bradenton, Florida in 1963, where she attended Manatee High School. There she met, and ultimately married, her husband of 52 years, Ted Tripp.

A graduate of Florida International University, Deborah worked in the Trust Departments of the First National Bank of Bradenton and later the Coconut Grove Bank. She worked for several years with the Florida House of Representatives. Deborah and Ted raised two strong daughters, Dr. Lauren Tripp Barlis ( Jeff) and Hillary Tripp Barton (Mike). They were blessed with four grandchildren, Lawton Barton, Jocelyn Barlis, Benjamin Barlis and Luke Barton.

Deborah was an active member and leader at St. Hilary’s Episcopal Church for forty years. She shared the joy of a faith-based life by teaching Sunday school, working with the youth group, and serving on Search Committees and the Vestry. She was active in a prayer ministry at St. Hilary’s and took studies from the General Theological Seminary. She was a committed member of the Cursillo community in Southwest Florida, having led a weekend, sponsored many participants, worked on numerous Cursillo teams and served on the governing Board of the Cursillo community within the Episcopal Diocese of Southwest Florida.

Deborah spread the joy of Christian healing as a missionary to Africa. Deborah’s passion for ministry led her to become a part of the formation of REACH Rwanda, a not-for-profit which provides a ministry of healing and reconciliation in Rwanda following the genocide. Her ministry took her to Rwanda twice to personally participate in this important work and bring joy to those involved.

Mother, wife, prayer warrior, spiritual guide, mentor, great and generous friend, and cheerleader for Christ. Her laughter, joy and love for all will be missed. She touched the lives of many, and all were blessed for having known her.

“Well done, thou good and faithful servant.” May Deborah rest in peace and rise in Glory.

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L O O K I N G

NOTED AMERICAN PHOTOGRAPHER JOSEPH JANNEY STEINMETZ DOCUMENTED FLORIDA, AND EPISCOPAL LIFE

S

eventy years ago, On March 25, 1951, the noted commercial photographer Joseph Janney Steinmetz came to Church of the Redeemer to take Easter pictures, one of his many visits to Church of the Redeemer and St. Boniface.

Born in Philadelphia in 1905, Steinmetz became widely known for capturing society events. During World War II, he came to Florida to serve in the Navy and ultimately settled here, where he worked in a studio alongside his wife, Lois, who was also a photographer.

Steinmetz took photos for the great magazines of the day, including Life, Look and Collier’s, along with commercial and architectural work.

At the time, Sarasota was a sleepy city best known worldwide as the home of the Ringling Brothers Circus, one of Steinmetz’ favorite subjects. Redeemer had a close relationship with the Ringling empire, as the circus held a benefit performance that helped launch the 1948 construction of the current church.

The photos were donated to the state of Florida and are online in the Florida Memory project.

They were a donation of Brett Arquette, Steinmetz’s grandson, who decided in 2012 to give the Steinmetz collection so that the world could share and enjoy his grandfather's work.

Above, from left: Baptism of Steven Travis Shepard at the Church of the Redeemer in Sarasota, Florida, 1966; an undated photo of Ringling clowns with children during a St. Boniface Episcopal Church fair on Siesta Key; the chalice in 1948, at Redeemer.

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BACK

2021 ASSIST EPISCOPAL CHARITIES OF SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Episcopal Charities is the funding support organization for congregation-based community outreach and special needs throughout southwest Florida.

ASSIST DAYSPRING ENDOWMENT DaySpring is a sacred place that seeks to enrich and empower its visitors in Christ through prayer, worship and fellowship. Your gift protects the legacy and ensures the permanent viability of DaySpring.

TEAR HERE AND RETURN

BE A PART OF THE 2021 BISHOP’S APPEAL GIVING LEVELS

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USE MY GIFT

For the Episcopal Charities Endowment Fund For the DaySpring Endowment Fund Both! Share my donation equally between the two funds

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Please make check payable to: The Diocese of Southwest Florida, 8005 25th St. East, Parrish, FL 34219

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The Diocese of Southwest Florida has a safe, secure online donation page at episcopalswfl.org/appeal.html

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Youth at prayer at Holy Innocents’, Valrico. That parish, and St. John the Divine of Sun City Center, spent four days in volunteer work in the Tampa Bay area. As part of the gathering, they also had quiet time inside Holy Innocents’, in distanced prayer and study. Photo by Morgan Brownlee.