5-Week Preaching Cycle to Mark the Public Phase of Our “Strong Roots, Building The Future” Capital Campaign

by The Reverend Dr. Roman D. Roldan on April 30, 2025

TLDR: Beginning on Sunday, May 4, we will start a five-week series of sermons to coincide with the public phase of our Capital Campaign. Please read on for more.

Beginning on Sunday, May 4, we will start a five-week series of sermons to coincide with the public phase of our Capital Campaign. This cycle will lead us directly to the Campaign Commitment Sunday on June 1, 2025. The best part of knowing in advance what you will hear on Sunday morning is that you will have the ability to prepare for church by reading one of the chapters of Innamoramento, the book Bonnie and I wrote to coincide with the next five weeks of services. Each chapter represents one of the cycle’s five weeks. For now, let us review the cycle:

Week Theme	Scripture Readings	Scripture Highlights	Innamoramento Highlights
ONE: Vision	Acts 9:1-6, (7-20) Revelation 5:11-14 John 21:1-19 Psalm 30	-Acts: Paul’s Conversion on the road to Damascus. -Revelation: The righteous stand in God’s heavenly throne. -John: The risen Christ appears to his disciples on the Sea of Tiberias.	-A Vision is an aspirational focus point that helps us clarify the future. -There is great danger in solitary ministry. -We walk on the shoulders of giants. -We are called to small acts done in love. -We are in a Kairos moment -We have the ability to pivot -It is hard to be a Christian in the midst of adversity.

TWO: Gratitude	Acts 9:36-43 Revelation 7:9-17 John 10:22-30 Psalm 23	-Acts: Peter prays for a girl (Tabitha,) who rises from the dead. -Revelation: The righteous worship before the Lamb in loud voices. -John: The Jews ask, “Are you the Messiah?” Jesus answers, “The Father and I are one.”	-Gratitude expressed in Praise -Gratitude expressed in Lament. -Gratitude as openness to moments of intense delight. -Gratitude even in the midst of suffering. -Gratitude expressed in sacrificial acts of love. -Gratitude as invitation to a deeper relationship with God. -Gratitude as fight against the dying o the light.

THREE: Prayer	Acts 11:1-18 Revelation 21:1-6 John 13:31-35 Psalm 148	-Acts: Peter defends his decision to baptize a Gentile household. -Revelation: John sees the new heavens and the new earth. The Lamb says, “See, I am making all things new.” -John: Jesus announces his death and gives a commandment to his disciples to love one another.	-Prayer is Adoration -Prayer is Confession -Prayer is Thanksgiving -Prayer is Supplication -Prayer is Rejoicing -Mary as an example of Prayer. -Prayer for our enemies as the hardest type of prayer to practice.

FOUR: Faith	Acts 16:9-15 Revelation 21:10, 22-22:5 John 14:23-29 or John 5:1-9 Psalm 67	-Acts: Paul baptizes Lydia’s household in Macedonia. -Revelation: John sees the New Jerusalem coming down from heaven like a bride. -John: Jesus promises the coming of the Holy Spirit to “teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you.”	-A faith big enough to allow doubt. -Faith expressed through confessional statements. -Faith as trust in God. -Christian faith as resurrection faith. -A Christian faith has ethical mandates for our lives and church. -The Christian faith is based on God’s self-revelation in Holy Scripture. -Christian faith goes beyond theological constructs to include our servant ministry.

FIVE: Generosity	Acts 16:16-34 Revelation 22:12-14,16-17,20-21 John 17:20-26 Psalm 97	-Acts: Paul and his disciples plant the church at Philippi. -Revelation: John sees the last revelation of the book. Jesus says, “I am the root and the descendant of David.” -John: Jesus prays in the upper room for the unity of the Church, “That they may all be one.”	-Abundance Vs. Deficit mindsets. -Sacrificial giving as a fruit of our faith. -We have all been gifted with the necessary talents to produce good fruit. -Radical generosity is a pattern of life well-set in Scripture. -The purpose and right use of a gift is determined by the receiver, sometimes contrary to the giver. -Radical Generosity takes the initiative in the act of loving. -Sacrificial giving and the purpose of life.

If you have not yet started reading the book, we strongly encourage you to start this coming Sunday. The 35 days from May 4 to June 1 will give you an opportunity to reflect on God’s blessings for your life, to pray for your family and the church, to commit to the sacred work of Kingdom building at Saint Dunstan’s, and to encourage each other in generosity and love.

Please call me if you have any questions about this blog, the book, or the campaign itself. Please know that you and yours remain in our prayers. May our Lord continue to bless you,

Fr. Roman+

About the Author

The Reverend Dr. Roman D. Roldan

The Rev. Dr. Roman D. Roldan is originally from Colombia, South America, where he lived until he migrated to the United States for College in Southwest Miami in the late 1980s. He attended the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium for graduate school in theology, followed by a master’s degree in social work at Rutgers University in New Jersey in the early 1990s. From 1995 to 2005, he worked as a bilingual psychotherapist, administrator, and Chief Deputy Officer for a national behavioral healthcare company in Florida. He became an Episcopalian in the year 2000 at Grace Episcopal Church, Ocala, Florida. In 2005, he attended Trinity School for Ministry, graduating in 2007 with his master’s degree in divinity and in 2016 with his doctorate in divinity with a concentration in preaching.

Fr. Roldan has been an Associate Dean at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Davenport, Iowa, the Rector of Grace Church of West Feliciana Parish in Saint Francisville, Louisiana, for eleven years, and the Rector of Saint Dunstan’s Episcopal Church in Houston, Texas, for nearly five years. From 2017 to 2020, Fr. Roldan served as a seminary professor at Trinity School for Ministry’s Spanish online program. He also served from 2015-2019 as the Episcopal Chaplain at Louisiana State Penitentiary, commonly known as “Angola Prison.” He was the Dean of the Baton Rouge Deanery in the Dioceses of Louisiana from 2016-2020. From 2010 to 2020, Fr. Roldan served as a short-term missionary in the Episcopal Diocese of Honduras and built the Episcopal Church in El Carmen, San Nicolas. He has served on the Board of Trustees of the Seminary of the Southwest since 2021. He has been a chaplain to 3 Cursillo and two Happening teams since his ordination. He is passionate about the supervision of curates and raising vocations to the diaconate and the priesthood.

Fr. Roldan has been married to Chris Anna Roldan for 31 years and has four children ages 30, 27, 22, and 20. He is an avid reader, traveler, and amateur writer. He is the author of A Blind Man and his Monkey and is currently working on his second novel, The Ghost and his Baby.

Email: frroman@saintdunstans.org

return to Fr. Roman's Blog