Editor's note: Funmi Ojetayo is currently serving at Incarnation Tallahassee as a part of the diocesan Antioch Residency program. He is the first such resident in our diocese.

My participation in the Antioch Residency is primarily a work of God’s providential guidance, and the magnanimity of the Rector at Incarnation Tallahassee, the Rev. Canon Taylor Bodoh. I initially did a pastoral summer internship at Incarnation in 2019, after which I went back to my home Baptist church. I was privileged to have gotten to know Taylor and Jon and be mentored by them over the summer, and to serve the church through teaching and preaching. Yet, I was still finishing up my seminary degree, working full-time as an attorney, and serving my wife and children and my local church. An Antioch Residency or Fellowship was not on my radar, but Taylor’s persistence, his friendship, mentorship, and pastoral care ultimately won me over. Despite my Baptist background, I was heartily welcomed into the program, and by God’s grace, I am discerning whether God is leading me to pursue ordination in the Anglican Church. 

Three months into the residency, I have had the opportunity to see behind the veil of church administration. Pastors Taylor and Jon have taken me under their wings and shown me what it takes to pastor, beyond preaching and teaching. The administrative work, the pastoral care, counseling, prayer, and the particular love for each congregant, required for effective pastoral ministry, is evident in their ministries and in the church community at Incarnation. This exposure to day-to-day beyond Sundays of what it takes to do church faithfully has been indispensable in my preparation for pastoral ministry, and I am grateful to God, Pastors Taylor and Jon, Incarnation Tallahassee, and the Gulf Atlantic Diocese for this amazing ministry opportunity. I pray to be found worthy of the calling of God upon my life, and the trust, effort, and resources that so many have poured into me.

Soli Deo Gloria,

Funmi