October 27, 2023
Luis is a priest! It was such a celebratory occasion. As Bishop Loya put it on his Instagram account: "The joy was deep, the Spirit strong, and the music rocking". It was all of that, and more. There are so many thank yous to offer:
To the Vestry who followed through with all the paperwork
To the Atlar Guild who beautified and made sure we had enough bread and wine
To Jessica Ricardo, for all she did to help coordinate the service
To everyone who served as greeters, ushers, verger, and acolytes
To everyone organized and decorated and brought food
To Tony, Naomi, and the choir who did us all so proud (and got us dancing!)
To all who showed up, watched from home, prayed and sent well wishes
To Mary Holland who made our beautiful matching, stoles!
What's next? With the Bishop's blessing, Luis will now enter a two-year curacy at Saint Anne's. (A curacy is basically an internship that takes place after ordination.) This means that Luis will continue to be a regular presence as part of the worship team on Sundays, and of course Carrie and the kids will continue to be Saint Annians, too. Thanks be! Thanks also to the Church Divinity School of the Pacific for sponsoring Luis in this program.
My prayer for you this week is that you have occasion to feel the presence of Spirit, experience the joy of shared connections, and that you hear music to dance to, whether in body, mind, or spirit. As one of my seminary professors always said, "It takes a community to raise a priest". We're all in this together and the ministry of one is a ministry for all. My prayer for all of us this week is for our joyful shared future together.
Congratulations to the Rev. Dr. Luis Ottley, Carrie, and their family, on his ordination!