TLDR: As ordination season is in full swing, I am sentimentally remembering my ordination and celebrating with colleagues.
It is the beginning of the season of Epiphany, where we celebrate Christ’s light in the world. With the season, we have a new class of transitional deacons being ordained to the priesthood in the Episcopal Diocese of Texas. It has been a great blessing to me that I have gotten to know, even tangentially, the new class of deacons at Camp Allen through the formation known as First Time in Charge (their class is the Curate Cohort). Each brings a special gift. In truth, the first of their class ordained was Joanna and Kurt Unangst in November. This is because the two of them were ordained as Deacons in the Diocese of Western Michigan. Those who were ordained as transitional deacons in June 2021 will be ordained priests.
Last year, almost exactly a year ago, I had the great blessing to be ordained as a priest at St. Dunstan’s Episcopal Church. The generosity and kindness of this church will always be something that I remember. Each time that I attend an ordination, it reminds me of the vows I made to God and God’s church on that special day: to be guided by the pastoral direction of the Bishop, be diligent in the reading and study of the Holy Scriptures, and in seeking the knowledge of such things as may make you a stronger and more able minister of Christ, to endeavor so to minister the Word of God and the sacraments of the New Covenant, that the reconciling love of Christ may be known and received, undertake to be a faithful pastor to all whom you are called to serve, laboring together with them and with my fellow ministers to build up the family of God, do my best to pattern my life and that of my family, in accordance with the teachings of Christ, so that I may be a wholesome example to my people, to persevere in prayer, both in public and in private, asking God's grace, both for myself and for others, offering all my labors to God, through the mediation of Jesus Christ, and in the sanctification of the Holy Spirit. I sometimes fall short of these promises, however, I always endeavor to fulfill them.
It is with this new class of ordained priests that I am able to celebrate with the church, as a presbyter of the church, the way that people are being properly ordered. It is a good time to remember that we clergy are not better or worse than laity, it is simply that our call is manifest in a different way. Being part of St. Dunstan’s, which has a strong tradition of people who have taken vows, such as Brother Allen, we know that God can be served in many ways. The past year as a priest, I have had the great blessing to participate in all of the Sacraments (Baptism and Eucharist) and most of the sacramental rites in one way or another. There will be few future years where I will have such great blessings. I continue to learn a great deal from all of you and will talk more about our ordinations and consecrations in the coming weeks. You will likely hear about the transitional deacons in conversations with me at church. Please know that I continue to lift up St. Dunstan’s as a place where loving Christ and learning to follow him is lifted up.
My prayer for you is that you find ways in which God has lifted you into his ministry.
For His Sake,
Mtr. Beth Anne +
