My first Ordination Sermon!
Sermon: Ordination to the Priesthood of Duane Andre Smith St. Thomas Episcopal Church August 19, 2009 This is a joyful occasion tonight as our Diocese and shared communities gather together in Beattyville to celebrate Duane’s Ordination to the Priesthood. It is also a joyful occasion because Duane is the very first priest to be ordained to the Small Church Ministry Consortium (or the SCMC) as a whole unit. When I was ordained at St, Mark’s in Hazard, it was to serve as the Small Church Missioner, but we were still developing the concept of the team that serves our smallest churches now. Duane’s ministry is the prototype of the future as our Diocese seeks to provide pastoral care and a sacramental life for all of its churches. It is not insignificant that Duane has selected people from each of the small churches in the Consortium to be participants in this service. His calling to this special ministry is both passionate and certain. In fact, when I first read the Gospel passage sele