View as Webpage

If you're having trouble viewing the full newsletter below, please visit our Diocesan Digest newsletter archives on the website to read it in its entirety.

What a joy it was to gather together on May 2 for our Delegates Retreat! The retreat was designed as a time for delegates to abide in the Holy Spirit and prepare their hearts to call the ninth bishop of our diocese. 

As we look ahead toward the bishop election this September, we ask you to join us in prayer. Please pray for wisdom and discernment for the Bishop Search and Transition Committees, as well as for all our clergy and lay delegates. 

For the latest updates on the election process, visit DioceseFL.org/Bishop-Election.

St. Paul's, Quincy has been increasingly successful in the last few years in identifying unmet needs in the Quincy community and then seeking the right partners to maximize their resources and provide expertise. No outreach program is more emblematic of this than their partnership with OneBlood's Big Red Bus and the ongoing blood drive—the largest in Gadsden County.

After a year of prayer and outreach in search for a service partner, St. Paul's is excited to announce that on Sunday, May 17, The FSU College of Medicine and their HOME Street Medicine Program made their first house call with a pop-up on the lawn at St. Paul's. The medical students, under the supervision of Dr. Wendy Doyle Langley, offered free health screenings, wellness information, and other services along with providing case-appropriate hygiene supplies. 

St. Paul's celebrated the kickoff with a potluck lunch and neighborhood fellowship and was joined by the Gadsden County Health Department staff.

This partnership will expand in the months to come, demonstrating God's love and compassion to any and all of our neighbors. We ask your prayers that the Lord richly blesses this ministry and the community responds with their full trust and support. 

After serving as rector of Church of Our Saviour, Jacksonville, The Rev. Dr. Robert V. Lee III established FreshMinistries—an outreach organization working to eliminate extreme poverty. The organization is headquartered in Jacksonville and is a Jubilee Ministry of The Episcopal Church.

Over the past three decades, FreshMinistries has developed innovative climate-smart agricultural systems designed to create sustainable local food production, agribusiness development, workforce training, and long-term economic opportunity in marginalized communities.

Recently, FreshMinistries held a major gathering at Archbishop Desmond Tutu's Soweto home to mark the expansion of the Desmond Tutu Programme to End Global Hunger. Yinka Babalola, the incoming President of Rotary International, presented FreshMinistries with a $95,000 global grant in support of the initiative. 

The Soweto headquarters site will serve as both a tribute to Archbishop Tutu's enduring legacy of justice, reconciliation, and human dignity, and a living demonstration center for sustainable development, community empowerment, and faith-based humanitarian innovation.

We rejoice in the great work happening across the globe through a ministry closely connected to the Diocese of Florida.

James (Jimmy) Auman

Jimmy Auman, a long-standing member of St. Paul's, Quincy and a committed volunteer of the diocese, passed away at age 94 on May 1.

Jimmy was Senior Warden and vestry member at St. Paul's for many years. He regularly served as an usher and lay reader and led services when the rector was absent. He was a 2009 graduate of The University of the South School of Theology Education for Ministry program. At the diocesan level, he attended Cursillo #1 and later served as Cursillo Director. He was a recipient of the 2010 Bishop’s Cross Award. He was elected to attend many Diocesan Conventions as well as a delegate to General Convention LXIX and LXX.

He lived his life with faithful purpose and unwavering commitment to his family, his church, and his community. Please join us in praying for Jimmy's loved ones.

Read Jimmy's obituary here.



Parish administrators, vestry members, and ministry leaders:

We are excited to be with the Santa Fe Region on Thursday, June 11 at Holy Trinity, Gainesville for our E.P.IC. regional meeting! The meeting time is from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. and lunch will be provided by the diocese.

It’s a great opportunity to build relationships, share ideas, and strengthen our ministries together.

Kindly RSVP to dpeck@diocesefl.org and include any dietary restrictions. In your response, please provide your name, position, church, and region.

Celebrate Camp Weed Sunday at Your Parish

Join us as we celebrate Camp Weed Sunday on May 31! Much is being made new in year 102:



• New roofs
• Renovated cabin bathrooms
• A refreshed conference center and chapel
• Kitchen upgrades
• HVAC improvements
• Road repairs
• A record number of camper scholarships
• And a search for a brand-new Director as Camp Weed steps boldly into its next chapter.

Camp Weed Day of Giving will take place a few days after Camp Weed Sunday on Wednesday, June 3.

Camp Weed has a God-sized goal of raising $12,000 on the Day of Giving. Follow Camp Weed and Cerveny Conference Center on social media as they share updates and good news all day long!

We rejoice in the great work the Lord is doing, and we invite all parishes in the Diocese of Florida to celebrate, pray, and give towards the next 100 years. The good work has just begun!

Summer Camp 2026: There's still time to register!

Summer Camp 2026 has finally arrived, and our staff are already busy with lifeguard training and setting up camp! Our full staff arrives this weekend to begin staff training and kick off the summer of fun! There's still time to register for this summer, so you don't miss out! Click here to view the registration. 

Support Camp Weed Summer Camp 2026:

Summer camp may be the first time campers are introduced to a relationship with Jesus, which is so exciting! Occasionally, a camper will ask "How do I get a Bible?" We would love to be able to say, "Let me get you one!" If you would like to help us be able to do that, please check out the bible we've added to our Amazon Wishlist. There are additional items of all price ranges on this list, and any donation of any amount is deeply appreciated. 

We also ask that you join us in praying for camp throughout the summer:

Heavenly Father, We come before You with hearts full of gratitude and anticipation as we pray for this season of summer camp at Camp Weed, asking for your divine presence in every moment. Prepare the hearts and minds of every camper, leader, and volunteer. May this summer be a time of renewal, transformation, and deepening of their faith as well as fun, laughter, and joy. Fill our staff with wisdom, strength, discernment, and good health as they serve you faithfully. Protect everyone traveling to and from the camp. Finally, make this camp a place of peace, joy, and unity, where your love through Jesus is evident in all that is done. We give You all the glory, honor, and praise, for You alone are worthy. In Jesus’s mighty name, we pray, Amen.

Happening

Our 2026-2027 Happening Steering Committee met for the first time earlier this month at our annual overnight meeting at Camp Weed. The new Steering Committee members are as follows: Averie Bowyer, Amelia Boyle, Margaret Brent, Julia Cline, Addison Escallier, Helen Eyrick, Mary Carol Eyrick, Lee Miniea, Sarah Payne, Lucy Perkins, River Phillips, Olivia Sheftall, Delilah Stephenson, Duncan Tiner, Rowan Zerbe, Charles Chunn, Liz Collins, Dan Dallam, Courtland Eyrick, Penny Snider, Amelia Phillips, Crissy Spicer, & Fr. William Stokes.

Happening #157 will be held September 18-20, 2026 at Camp Weed and will be led by youth rector Olivia Sheftall (St. Mark's, Jacksonville). Team applications and candidate registration are both available now!

If you'd like to support the Happening movement by donating supplies, you can purchase items from our Amazon Wishlist to be sent directly to camp.

Bishop Stokes Visits St. John's Cathedral, Jacksonville

On May 24, St. John's Cathedral, Jacksonville celebrated the baptism of four people, and Bishop Stokes confirmed, received, and reaffirmed the faith of nineteen beautiful souls! It was a wonderful Festival Day and Pentecost Sunday.

Bishop Paul Korir Visits Church of Our Saviour, Jacksonville

The Rev. Joe Gibbes hosted a clergy luncheon at the Church of Our Saviour with Bishop Paul Korir and his wife, Selline, of the Anglican Diocese of Kapsabet, Kenya. Bishop Korir’s diocese has 400 congregations, grouped into 51 parishes—each of which has 8 to 12 congregations. The Diocese has some 40,000 communicants and it is growing.

Our clergy enjoyed learning from Bp. Paul and Selline, and we were grateful to host them in our diocese.

Apalachee Region E.P.I.C. Gathering

The diocesan staff held a wonderful E.P.I.C. gathering for the Apalachee Region at St. John's, Tallahassee. We extend a special thank you to The Rev. Dr. Linda Privitera for joining us and sharing her warm and caring presence.

We are grateful for the parish administrators and volunteers in our diocese and look forward to visiting the Santa Fe region in June.

St. Paul's by the Sea, Jacksonville Rededicates the Restored Pipe Organ

St. Paul's by the Sea celebrated a long-awaited milestone with a special Organ Rededication Concert and Choral Evensong. After years of planning, fundraising, and renovating, the pipe organ has been restored! The evening included beautiful performances from organist James Kealey and the parish's choir.

📸 These images were captured by Tom Schifanella.

Color the Future: Episcopal Children's Services' 60th Anniversary Gala

Several clergy from the diocese attended ECS's 60th anniversary gala to celebrate and support a wonderful organization in our community. ECS4Kids helps underserved children in Northeast and Central Florida succeed in school and beyond. The evening was filled with color, connection, dancing, storytelling, and generosity.

We recently updated the Resources page on the diocesan website to be more organized and user-friendly. All of the same forms, resources, and tools are on the page—just in a new place! If you have trouble finding anything, please let us know, and we are happy to help you.

The Bishop Transition Committee is ramping up their work to educate and equip the diocese for the upcoming bishop election this fall. Their tools and information will be helpful for all members of the diocese as we expectantly pray and prepare for our next bishop.

There are lots of ways to stay connected with the diocese and the bishop election process:

• Follow the Diocese of Florida on Instagram and Facebook.
• Subscribe to the Diocesan Digest to ensure you receive all important emails.
• Visit diocesefl.org/bishop-election as a hub for all election updates and resources.

In the May issue of The Bishop's Institute newsletter, The Rev. Cn. Dr. Douglas Dupree held an interview with The Rev. Dr. Linda Privitera to discuss a theological framework of aging, legacy, and what we leave behind.

The Bishop's Institute distributes a monthly newsletter—sharing ministry resources, book recommendations, interviews with regional partners, seasonal prayers, and spiritual formations. If you are a clergy person, lay leader, or an individual interested in spiritual transformation on the personal and diocesan levels, we encourage you to subscribe to the Bishop's Institute newsletter!

May 31: Camp Weed Sunday

June 3: Camp Weed Day of Giving

June 7: Bp. Stokes visits St. Patrick's, Jacksonville
June 11: E.P.I.C. Regional Meeting (for Parish Office Staff)

June 14: Bp. Stokes visits St. Peter's, Fernandina

June 27: Eucharistic Visitor Training

June 28: Bp. Stokes visits St. Andrew's, Jacksonville

Share a link to this email