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The Rev. Dr. Robert Moses,
Rector I was born in Lakewood, Ohio (the Cleveland area) in 1971. My father worked for an aerospace/telecommunications company that moved our family to West Melbourne, Florida, in 1978. My mother, an elementary school PE teacher for much of her life, died in 1989. In 1991, my father married Carmela (Camille) Mazzella. I have one brother, a year older, who lives in Chicago, and two step-brothers who live in Detroit and New York City, respectively. My father died in 2005. My stepmother still lives in Melbourne. I graduated from Melbourne High School (Go Bulldogs!) in 1989 and from Florida State University (BS, Economics and International Affairs) in 1992. After university, I entered seminary, training for the priesthood for the Diocese of Orlando (Roman Catholic) at Saint Vincent de Paul Seminary (1992-1995) in Boynton Beach, Florida, and the North American College (1995-2000) in Rome, Italy. While in Rome, I studied at the Jesuit university, La Pontificia Universita Gregoriana ("The Greg"), eventually earning both a Bachelor of Sacred Theology and a License of Sacred Theology, focusing on biblical studies and ancient languages. I was ordained to the Sacred Order of Deacons in 1998 and to the Sacred Order of Priests in 1999, both in the Roman Catholic Church under the authority of Norbert Dorsey, Bishop of Orlando. In 2000, I began full-time ministry as a parish priest, serving at Saint Joseph's Catholic Church and Santa Fe Catholic High School, both in Lakeland. I left ministry as a Roman Catholic priest in January 2003. After leaving the Roman Catholic Church, I met Nancy Murphy Brink. We were married on September 27, 2003. We were both received into the Episcopal Church by Bishop Hugo Pena-Lopez in 2004 at Saint David’s Episcopal Church (Lakeland). Nancy works for the Early Learning Coalition of Polk County. We have two children: Emma and John. I returned to active ministry in 2005 as a chaplain and religion teacher at All Saints’ Academy and as Director of Faith Formation at Saint David’s. In 2008, on the Feast of the Visitation, the Rt. Rev. John W. Howe officially accepted my sacred orders from the Roman Catholic Church and received me as a priest in the Episcopal Church. That year, I took the position of assistant at Saint David’s, a post I held until 2012. After the Rector resigned, I was made Priest-in-Charge and, eventually, Rector. While at Saint David’s, I matriculated as a doctoral candidate at Virginia Theological Seminary, from which I graduated in 2014, with a doctoral thesis titled "Storytelling as a Precursor to Evangelism." In 2018, when Saint David’s made the sad but necessary decision to close, I helped usher the church into a successful merger with Saint Stephen’s, where I had been serving as an assisting priest until 2023. I accepted the position of Priest-in-Charge at Christ the King Episcopal Church in January 2024 and was made Rector in November 2024. As an outward sign of my Christian and pastoral calling, I participate in several multicultural, ecumenical, and interfaith groups that engage in meaningful community-building and the oft-challenging work of peacemaking, justice-seeking, and mercy. I have past and present relationships with the Campaign for Fair Food, the Peace Alliance, PEACE, and Polk Pride, among others. Locally, I currently sit on the Continuum of Care Governance Board (part of the Polk County Homeless Coalition). Within the Diocese of Central Florida, I serve on the board for Camp Wingmann and on the Diocesan Disciplinary Board. For fun, I have a passion for soccer (which I unfortunately can no longer play) and enjoy watching the struggles of my chosen teams – Orlando SC (USA) and AS Roma (Italy). I also love to cook, especially the Italian cuisine which I first learned from my grandfather. |
Staff
Judy Heath - Administrative Assistant [email protected] As the administrative assistant, Judy takes care of parish records, communication, and manages the physical property (including arranging the use of church property and rooms). Carmen Ready - Bookkeeper As the bookkeeper, Carmen keeps the church accounts and records financial contributions to the church. The Vestry & Officers Jessie Beck (2025) - Sr. Warden Phillip Williams (2025) - Jr. Warden Josh Beck (2026) Terri Yearick (2026) Nancy March (2027) JoAnn Tatlian (2027) - Secretary Carmen Ready (non-voting) - Treasurer |