Jeff Gardenour and Marilyn Lang write for the Diocese of Central Florida:
Sean David Duncan had the party of a lifetime in March when he was ordained to the priesthood, especially after learning that Bishop Greg Brewer would travel 900 miles to preach and celebrate the occasion.
Duncan was one of three people to recently be ordained into the priesthood by Bishop Brewer, joining Gregory Emanuel Favazza on March 18, and Tom Morgan Phillips on March 25. However, Duncan’s ordination on March 10 was held at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Shreveport, Louisiana — the only one outside of the Diocese of Central Florida.
A former part-time worker at Canterbury Retreat & Conference Center in Oviedo, Duncan was confirmed in the Episcopal Church (TEC) by Bishop Brewer in 2016 and entered the discernment process in the Diocese of Central Florida working toward possible ordination in the TEC. Duncan did additional work in Anglican Studies through Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Jacksonville and completed all of TEC’s canonical requirements for ordination.
“My ordination was wonderful!” said Duncan, who earned his Master of Divinity (MDiv) degree from Covenant Theological Seminary, a Presbyterian seminary, in St. Louis, Missouri, in 2015. “The people of St. Paul’s really know how to put on a party. Having Bishop Brewer come such a long way for it was a real honor for both myself and St. Paul’s. I could not have asked for a better ordination.”
Matthew Townsend is a Halifax-based freelance journalist and volunteer advocate for survivors of sexual misconduct in Anglican settings. He served as editor of the Anglican Journal from 2019 to 2021 and communications missioner for the Anglican Diocese of Quebec from 2019 to 2022. He and his wife recently entered catechism class in the Orthodox Church in America.
