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During
the post war years, the church experienced a period of booming
expansion. Returning GI's sought higher education, and college
ministries grew. In 1950, the Re. Rev. Henry Louttit succeeded
Bishop Wing. In 1951, the largest parish in the diocese was
St. Agnes, the first black Episcopal Church in Miami. At this
time, white church members still had mixed feelings about integration.
It was not until after 1955 that Camp Wingmann was integrated.
A loan fund for expansion was started in the 1950s. This enabled
the establishment of seventy-one congregations, and a movement
towards establishing church schools and pre-schools accelerated
at that time. By 1966, there were thirty-eight day schools.
Cuban
refugees came to Florida in great numbers during the 1960s.
The church in South Florida helped with aid in resettling,
language instruction, emergency food, and clothing. Todos los
Santos became the first mission established for the Spanish-speaking
members of our diocese. In 1969, the Diocese of South Florida
split into three new dioceses. The Rt.
Rev. James L. Duncan became the first Diocesan Bishop of
Southeast Florida. Trinity Church in Miami became the Cathedral.
The new diocese consisted of 75 congregations and slightly
more than 30,000 communicants. Bishop Duncan immediately undertook
a capital funds campaign, which raised over a million dollars,
to restore financial well-being.
During
the 1970s, the contentious items of the entire church were
reflected in Southeast Florida. Major issues of concern in
Southeast Florida, as in the whole country, included: the ordination
of women; Prayer Book revision; abortion; and the providing
of sacraments should the church become schismatic.
On
February 9, 1980, the Rt. Rev. Calvin
Onderdonk Schofield, Jr., succeeded Bishop Duncan and became
the second Bishop of Southeast Florida. Prior to this investiture,
Bishop Schofield had served as Bishop Coadjutor for almost
one year. Among the first crises faced by Bishop Schofield
was the arrival of tens of thousands of Cubans into Southeastern
Florida. Quickly on the heels of that crisis was the riot in
Liberty City. The community had become enraged at the acquittal
of four white police officers who had been charged with beating
an African-American insurance man to death after a traffic
violation, and days of rioting followed. Institutional racism
and improving race relations consumed much of Bishop Schofield's
attention. In the early 1980s, many Haitian immigrants arrived
in Florida and established a Creole-speaking congregation,
St. Paul et Les Martyrs d'Haiti, Miami. The mid-80's saw the
addition of two new missions at opposite ends of the diocese:
St. Francis, Big Pine Key; and Advent, Palm City.
A
devastating natural disaster hit the region in 1992, Hurricane
Andrew. The effect of this monstrous storm is still felt by
many who define things as "before" or "after" Andrew. "Operation
Andrew" was organized to enable the diocese to meet the challenge
of assisting the parishes and communities so seriously effected.
Subsequently, a Disaster Preparedness Task Force was created.
Full-time
episcopal assistance became a priority early in the 90s. The
Rt. Rev. John Lewis Said was consecrated in 1995. In addition
to assisting Bishop Schofield, Bishop Said maintained involvement
in the Cursillo Directorate,
and played a key role in new church development and the Committee
on Ministry.
On
May 6, 2000, the Rt. Rev. Leopold
Frade was elected the third Bishop of Southeast Florida
and then enthroned on September 16. He calls himself a "missionary
bishop", and is challenging the diocese to reach out to
all persons in our communities and to double or triple our
membership in the next decade.
Our
history stops at this point as we move on into the future.
updated
04/07/03
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