DEACON ANITA THORSTAD

Sunday, March 10 will be Deacon Anita Thorstad's last Sunday at St. Gregory's. Eighteen years ago, when I arrived as your Rector, Deacon Anita was in the final stages of approval for ordination to the diaconate. One of the joys in my first year as Rector was being invited by Anita to preach at her ordination service. During these past eighteen years, Anita's ministry has modelled for us the true calling of deacon—to live as a servant among us and especially to serve the most vulnerable among us with the compassion of Christ. Her ministry has been inspiring, exemplary, faithful and radiant with the love of Jesus. For many of us, her many years of serving in Haiti was one of the highlights of her ministry. She started a children's home—Kay Timoun in Creole--in Bondeau, Haiti, to care for children who, in one case, were literally left on the roadside. She built and lived in this home and served not only as a deacon of St. Gregory's but as a deacon at Bon Samaritain ("Good Samaritan") Episcopal Church in Bondeau. I had the joy of visiting Deacon Anita many times in Bondeau. The highlight of those visits would be the lovely prayer service she conducted every night with the children, where the children would lead the prayers, the reading of the scriptures and the singing. It was truly heaven on earth in Bondeau, Haiti, among a community materially poor but rich in faith.

But Anita didn't just model Christ-like compassion in her service, she inspired the congregation and many others in our diocese to join in this work. Connecting as deacons do at their best, she brought together the people and resources of the church to serve those in need. The South Florida Haiti Project grew out of the ministry that Anita helped to start at St. Gregory's. This thriving ministry is comprised of children and leaders from around our diocese as we continue our partnership with the people of Bondeau. Through God's grace, Deacon Anita has made a lasting difference in both Boca and Bondeau, 

This Sunday, we will honor Deacon Anita at our Coffee Hour. Please join me in giving thanks for her ministry. We will send her with all our love and blessings as she prepares to move to Jacksonville where she will be living with her daughter and near her grandson.

"Well done, good and faithful servant!"

In Christ,

Andrew+