The Rev. Miguel Rosada read the gospel in both English and Spanish to about 350 worshipers during an unusual service Wednesday night at St. John’s Cathedral in Jacksonville.
The bilingual reading from Luke, in which Jesus commands his disciples to cast their nets wide and deep, marked a new reality for Rosada, his congregation and the Episcopal Diocese of Florida.
“You’ve cast your nets down and taken us up,” Bishop John Howard said to Rosada in welcoming him and his Spanish-speaking flock into the diocese.
The CEC has experineced some division. Its claim to historic succession comes through a liberal Roman Catholic bishop in Brazil. It will be interesting to see what provisions the Diocese of Florida makes for this new ministry. My guess is that the relationship will not be an easy one.
[blockquote]Rosada said neither he nor his congregation are concerned about that issue [Robinson’s consecration] because it pales compared with the social, spiritual and material needs of Hispanics in the region.[/blockquote]
Looks like a good match for the Diocese of Florida
A couple of comments:
1. The Episcopal Church, with all its warts, still has more resources and institutional stability than many of the more recent Anglican jurisdictions. That is very attractive to many people. Not all who value such stability have “caved in.”
2. I agree with Tom Rightmyer, which I usually do, that the road ahead may be rocky. The news article certainly will not go into all the details involved in combining two congregations. The normal difficulties of combining two congregations may be ameliorated by the fact that the Latino congregation has been renting from them for two years. However, many people discover that living together is much easier on a relationship than actually being married.
Let’s not rain on this parade. Instead, let us pray that much good ministry will result from this new congregation that is emerging.