In an evening prayer service at the Cathedral of St. Jude the Apostle on June 21, 2022 at 7:00 p.m., Bishop Emeritus Robert N. Lynch presented 11 individuals with a Certificate in Lay Leadership Ministry. Bishop Lynch, substituting for Bishop Gregory Parkes, formally commissioned these students to serve in ministry leadership in parishes throughout the diocese.  To view a recording of the livestream, click here.

The 2022 commissioning class represents 9 parishes from around our diocese. To receive the certificate and be commissioned, the participants completed one year of discernment and three years of academic and spiritual preparation. In addition to the time spent in class, in the second year of formation participants spend 20 hours of Apprenticeship observation in a ministry outside of their parish. In the third year and final year, they initiate or enhance that ministry in their home parish as a Practicum in ministry. Some of the ministries that the Class of 2022 has been involved in include youth ministry, parent and adult faith formation, homeless outreach, Altar Server training and vocations awareness, food pantry services, small faith community sharing and building, and prayer teams.

Those being commissioned and their parishes are:

Robert Birkenstock (St. Mary Our Lady of Grace)

Cynthia Burnette (Sacred Heart, Tampa)

Helen Crowley (Espiritu Santo)

Jill Ferguson (St. Mark the Evangelist)

Joan Johnson (Light of Christ)

Richard Lewis (Espiritu Santo)

Sr. Huong Nguyen (Holy Martyrs of Vietnam)

Frank Pidala (St. Timothy)

Brian Riley (Espiritu Santo)

Katia Bunn Scoz (St. Paul, Tampa)

Denisse Vargas (Incarnation)