WESTFIELD-“A gifted preacher.”
That’s how The Rev. Nancy Webb Stroud, Rector of the Episcopal Church of the Atonement, praises The Rev. Patricia M. O’Connell, Deacon, who was ordained June 10 at Chris Church Cathedral in Springfield.
The Rt. Rev. Douglas J. Fisher, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts, ordained Deacon Elizabeth Washburn, Deacon Patricia O’Connell, Deacon Julie Butcher, Deacon Linda Taupier and Deacon Vicki Ix during a Sacred Order of Deacons ceremony June 10. (Submitted photo)
O’Connell, of Wilbraham, was among five women who were ordained to the Sacred Order of Deacons by The Rt. Rev. Douglas J. Fisher, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts. More than 300 people attended the ceremony to witness and celebrate the ancient rite of the Church.
As part of the ceremony, the bishop lays his hands on the head of each ordinand, and the new deacon is vested with a distinctive stole. The stole is placed on the left shoulder so that it is worn over the heart. The deacon has a distinct role to interpret the needs of the world to the Church and to be a bridge between the Church and the world.
The Rev. Patricia M. O’Connell, on left, has joined the Episcopal Church of the Atonement in Westfield as deacon. She is welcomed by The Rev. Nancy Webb Stroud, Rector. Both are standing at the iconic red welcoming door.
The four vocational deacons, including O’Connell, are members of the first class to graduate from the Province/Deacons Formation Program. The deacons are under obedience to the bishop and assigned by the bishop to serve in a specific congregation for an undetermined period of time. O’Connell will serve at the Episcopal Church of the Atonement on Court Street.
Vocational deacons also ordained on June 10 were The Rev. Elizabeth Washburn of Hopedale who has been assigned to St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Westborough, The Rev. Linda Taupier of East Longmeadow, who will serve at Christ Church Cathedral, Springfield, and The Rev. Julie Butcher of Whitinsville who has been assigned to Walking Together: A Ministry of Presence in Worcester. The Rev. Victoria Ix of Florence, a transitional deacon, will serve in an Episcopal congregation for a minimum of six months and then be ordained to the priesthood. She has been assigned to Grace Episcopal Church in Amherst.
“At ordination I was filled with Light and an abiding joy which was very present,” said O’Connell during an interview Thursday afternoon in Webb Stroud’s office. She said Christ the King-Epiphany Church in Wilbraham was the parish that “raised her up” as an Episcopalian and sent her forth to pursue the diaconate.
“You will remain in my heart and in my prayers with great gratitude,” she said in her last blog titled “On the Road to the Diaconate.”
Service to God’s people and preaching the Gospel are key elements of the ministry of the deacon. On June 11, O’Connell presented sermons at 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. at the Episcopal Church of the Atonement.
The Rev. Patricia M. O’Connell, Deacon, is seen at the lectern as The Rev. Nancy Webb Stroud, Rector, looks on inside the Episcopal Church of the Atonement in Westfield. O’Connell was ordained as a deacon June 10.
“I wasn’t nervous during my sermons,” said O’Connell, noting that relatives came from North Carolina to support her, as well as friends and neighbors from Wilbraham.
O’Connell said in her Trinity Sunday sermons she prepared by entertaining thoughts and ideas in her heart.
“I have been very excited and giddy in anticipation of my first Sunday as a deacon – blessed with the task of preaching about the Trinity. Such a wonder!,” she said to the parishioners.
O’Connell began her internship last October with Webb Stroud and spent hours shadowing her, as well as learning the liturgical responsibilities of the parish. As part of her deacon ministry, she will work closely with Webb Stroud on parish affairs, as well as lead prayers, bid the congregation to confession within the Eucharistic service, and be responsible for one Sunday sermon each month.
“Like Jesus who made relationships, Rev. Pat has been meeting people and creating relationships,” said Webb Stroud.
Creating relationships are also second nature to O’Connell, who is a retired school administrator and has worked as a lawyer in the region for 25 years. Now, in “semi-retirement,” O’Connell provides her services as a lawyer to the Holyoke Juvenile Court.
“My lifelong work has been my ministry,” said O’Connell. “For children requiring assistance, I’m their voice. I am an advocate for children.”
In the coming months, Webb Stroud and O’Connell will also discuss future plans they would like to see come to fruition at the church – with input and approval of The Vestry, an executive committee of parishioners who also oversee financial and property management issues.
“I will do due diligence and learn the process for introducing ideas,” said O’Connell, who along with Webb Stroud, would like to be more “open and affirming” to the LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer) community.
Webb Stroud noted she has performed gay marriages and parishioners include gay couples, however, more needs to be done to be more welcoming to others.
“In discussions with parishioners, we need to find ways to publicize that we are open and affirming to all,” said Webb Stroud.
O’Connell concurred.
“When we look at who we are – and all means all – the message can come to life,” said O’Connell.
Since O’Connell has also worked with young people all of her life, she is hoping to work in the city’s neighborhoods with families who are less fortunate to also bring Light to their lives.
“I feel we need to reach out to our neighbors to let them know they are all welcome here,” said O’Connell.
Webb Stroud added that church membership, with approximately 375 members, continues to grow – especially with younger families.
“What we have noticed in the past three to four years is an increase in families with pre-school children joining the church,” said Webb Stroud, noting part of her ministry is providing a “community” of individuals who also contribute their “time and talent.”
“We are very active in the Westfield area, including our Westfield Farmers’ Market on Thursdays, donating funds from our annual Strawberry Festival, participating in Relay for Life, and supporting organizations including Our House and the Westfield Food Pantry,” said Webb Stroud.
Both women are engaged in their respective roles and will continue their missions of nurturing their church community as well as to the community outside its doors.
“The congregation has been very gracious in welcoming me into their midst,” said O’Connell.
As O’Connell embarks on the latest leg of her ongoing journey, she is energetic and enthusiastic about her new role as deacon and with the Light that shines in and around her.
“We are called through our shared life with the Trinity to an interconnectedness and continuity of life,” said O’Connell at the end of her June 11 sermon. “We are called as God’s creation to join in the dance, to fully embrace the relationship with Father, Son and Holy Spirit.”
With Spirit leading her path, O’Connell is ready to embrace her voice and speak out and step up to make a difference in the world – in Westfield and beyond.
