The Rt. Rev. J. Scott Mayer ordained Mr. Ayodeji (Ayo) Omoniyi a deacon at St. Martin-in-the-Fields Episcopal Church, Keller, on Monday, December 18, 2017.
Presenters were the Rev. Scot McComas; Ms. Linda Snow, Senior Warden; Mr. Charles Busey, Junior Warden; Ms. Laura Clemmens; Ms. Susan Kleinwechter; Ms. Joy Malmgren; Mr. Joe Panther; Ms. Becky Snell-Bolerjack; Ms. Ruthie Zicha.
The Rev. Henry Penner, deacon at St. Martin-in-the-Fields, preached. You can watch or read Penner’s sermon here.
https://edotn.org/sermons/ayodeji-omoniyi-ordination/
In the consecration, Bishop Mayer prayed and laid hands upon Omoniyi’s head:
O God, most merciful Father, we praise you for sending your Son Jesus Christ, who took on himself the form of a servant, and humbled himself, becoming obedient even to death on the cross. We praise you that you have highly exalted him, and made him Lord of all; and that, through him, we know that whoever would be great must be servant of all. We praise you for the many ministries in your Church, and for calling this your servant to the order of deacons. Therefore, Father, through Jesus Christ your Son, give your Holy Spirit to Ayo; fill him with grace and power, and make him a deacon in your Church.
Bishop Mayer announced that he has appointed Omoniyi to serve at St. Martin’s to continue to work among the people as a vocational deacon.
See photos of the ordination and reception in St. Martin’s Flickr gallery; click and then swipe through the photos below.
Born in Nigeria, Ayo was baptized, and confirmed in the Church of Nigeria, part of the Anglican Communion. He has deep roots with other family members in church ministry. His grandfather was one of the first ordained catechists by the missionaries in Odo-owa, Ekiti State, Nigeria. His brother was ordained as a priest in the Anglican Church of Nigeria at 23 years old.
Ayo came to the United States in May of 1983 to further his educational goals, first in Michigan, and then in Oklahoma. Ayo moved to Texas upon completing a Master of Criminal Justice Administration and secured employment with the Texas Youth Commission. He currently works with the Texas Juvenile Justice Department as a Monitoring and Inspection Specialist (Lead). He and his family moved to Keller from St. Barnabas Episcopal Church in Odessa in April, 2012 and became members of St. Martin’s. He is married to Tope, and they have three beautiful and accomplished children, two in college (a house divided between Texas and Texas A&M) and one in high school.