This Weekend at St. Dunstan's

by The Reverend Dr. Roman D. Roldan on September 16, 2025

TLDR: There are important events planned for the next couple of days, but unforeseen circumstances necessitate that we make several changes. Please read on for more.

A wise person once said that “If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans.” In other words, sometimes life conspires against you, and your carefully crafted plans need to be scrapped or changed at a moment’s notice. This is the case with the events planned for this coming Sunday, September 21, 2025. Please read carefully, in case any of our changes affects your ministry directly or indirectly. Also help us spread the word about this blog, in case someone is scheduled to do something that will be rendered unnecessary by any of these changes.

First, let me give you a bit of context. As you all know, Fr. Steve Ferguson is recovering from hip surgery. This recovery will end on October 5^th, although he will be here for his “Israel Pilgrimage” meeting on September 28^th at 10:10 in the Mace room. Second, at an eye doctor’s visit this last week, Fr. Naty was found to have a detached retina on his right eye, and he was scheduled for emergency surgery on Monday, September 15^th. The surgery was a bit more complicated than originally expected and Fr. Naty will have to be in strict recovery for at least two full weeks. He might be able to return on October 5^th. Third, I (Fr. Roldan) was appointed as the Chaplain to Cursillo almost 9 months ago and am due to be at Camp Allen from Thursday, September 18^th at 12:00 Noon to Sunday, September 21^st at 6:00 P.M.

With all three priests gone, there are a number of questions I will list and then answer one by one: 1. Who will do 7:45 service on Sunday? 2. Who will do 9:00 and 11:15 services? 3. Who will teach my “Bible Musings” class at 10:10? 4. Who will celebrate 11:15 Spanish? 5. Will the International Food Festival still take place at 12:30 in the Price Fellowship Hall? 6. Who will coordinate it? 7. Who is on-call for any pastoral emergencies? 8. Other.

Who will do 7:45 service on Sunday? We had asked Fr. Naty to preach and celebrate this service. Unfortunately, this cannot happen. We have planned a service of Morning Prayer led by one of the members of this service. If the 7:45am is your service of choice, please still plan to attend.
Who will do 9:00 and 11:15am services? We had already asked Fr. Mark Crawford to celebrate these two services, and he is scheduled to be here for both of them. Please extend our gratitude to Mark when you see him on Sunday.
Who will teach “Bible Musings” class (Fr. Roldan’s class) at 10:10am? Sadly, we have to cancel this class for the 21^st. I highly encourage all of you to visit Richard Leach’s Lectionary Bible Study. Richard is a phenomenal teacher, and you will be very blessed. I will see you all again on the 28^th. I will miss you, but I am also looking forward to participating in Cursillo this weekend.
Who will celebrate 11:15 Spanish? Finding a Supply clergy who speaks Spanish and is available on short notice is almost impossible right now. I have spoken to the Rector for Cursillo and we have agreed on the following plan: I will celebrate the 7:45am Service at Cursillo, spend a few minutes at breakfast with the group, and drive to Saint Dunstan’s to celebrate and preach in Spanish at 11:15am. After that service, I will drive back to Camp Allen to be at the Clausura (closing ceremony) at 4:00pm.
Will the International Food Festival still take place at 12:30pm in the Price Fellowship Hall? YES!!! We have nine teams who have already created a menu, will spend all day cooking on Saturday, and will be decorating tables and setting up their food on Sunday morning in the Parish Hall. Additionally, we have several folkloric dance groups who have already agreed to dance and sing on this day. This event is a big celebration of Hispanic Heritage month, and the Spanish congregation is inviting members from all the English-speaking services to attend to sample the great food and experience the dances. You do not need to bring anything. All that is required is your presence. Please plan to attend even if it is for ten to fifteen minutes.
Who will coordinate the International Food Festival? I will be here for the initial blessing and to welcome invited guests and dance groups. After this, Jaime Munoz, our seminarian, and Dede Johnson, my Executive Assistant, will be in charge of the event. I have complete trust in the two of them to do a phenomenal job. Please support them with your attendance and take some pictures for me.
Who is on-call for any pastoral emergencies? I am. I will only be an hour away at Camp Allen. If you are in need of an emergency telephone call or visit please call the church at 281-440-1600 and leave a message. We have a system that converts all messages left on this number to e-mails that go directly to Dede’s phone. Dede will then call me and give me whatever information I need to respond to the emergency. This is the procedure for all after hour emergencies, what will change for this weekend is that Dede will call me directly, rather than contacting whichever clergy is on-call for that particular day. If a visit is required, I beg you to give me ample time to travel from Camp Allen, but please rest assured that I will be with you as soon as I can.
Other Questions. If this blog has left anything out, or you have any questions, please call me between now and early Thursday morning, or send me a text via Dede after that.

Please continue to keep Fr. Steve’s and Fr. Naty’s recovery in your prayers for the next few weeks. Also pray for the success of our events this Sunday and for a Spirit-filled Cursillo weekend at Camp Allen.

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

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