Greetings!
I wanted to share with you a little bit about my move to the Old Catholic Church and give some history to help you understand.
I was raised a Roman Catholic, in Wilmington, DE. After High School, I entered the Religious Life to study for the Priesthood. I taught in our High School and after 14 years of teaching and preparing for ordination, my father passed away and I left to help my mother and be there for her.
I moved to California to work at Wells Fargo Bank in 1995 and been here since. During my time here in San Leandro, I discovered an Episcopal Church and I spoke with the Rector and he invited me to attend church there. I attended the Easter vigil there and felt this is the right place for me right now.
I always knew I had a vocation and decided to explore the Episcopal Church as a Deacon and/or Priest. I spoke with the vocation director and within a month I was at the School for Deacons. I was ordained a Deacon on June, 2011. In the back of my mind, the priesthood was still there.
My Spiritual Director and I explored my becoming a priest. I had prayed and felt that God was still calling me to take another step and become a priest. I was ordained a priest in the Old Catholic Church on February 4, 2017.
Here are some answers to your questions:
- Are you still an Episcopal Deacon? No
- Are you an Episcopal Priest? No, I am an Old Catholic Church International (OCCI) Priest.
- Are you still going to be our Admin? I hope so; I don’t plan on going anywhere soon, I do enjoy working with everyone at St. James’ Community along with the Clergy. My moving over to the Old Catholic Church does not affect my working at St. James’.
- What is going to happen to Sacred Space? My moving over to the Old Catholic Church International has no affect whatsoever on Sacred space. I will still be participating in the services, but the Board of Overseers and Bishop Marc will be looking for a replacement for me. Sacred Space is going strong.
~John Trubina