St. Michael's Episcopal Church sits at the corner of North Westmoreland Drive and Bryn Mawr Street in College Park, one of Orlando's older neighborhoods west of I-4. From that corner the parish offers three Sunday morning services, a long-running meal ministry for the homeless, a preschool that has grown from eight students in 1995 to more than ninety today, and a congregation that Rector Rick Luoni describes as a place to experience God's grace, love, and presence.
Three Sundays, Three Worship Styles
Visitors to St. Michael's can choose among three Sunday morning services, each with a different feel.
At 7:45 am, the earliest gathering of the day follows Rite I from the Book of Common Prayer. Lasting about 40 to 45 minutes and held without music, this reflective service is intended for those who want to start the day in prayer.
At 9:00 am, the Gospel Family Service brings the energy up. The 40 to 45 minute service is spirit-filled and family-friendly, with soul-stirring music and an engaging message, followed by Holy Communion.
At 10:15 am, the Rite II service is traditional but warm, with the Family Choir, a powerful message, a brief children's sermon, and Holy Communion. The prelude begins at 10:00 am, and the service is livestreamed on YouTube.
Wednesday Prayer Online
Two smaller midweek prayer services gather by Zoom: Noonday Prayer at 12:00 pm and Compline at 8:00 pm. Both are open to anyone who would like to join.
Music Across Three Choirs and Two Instrumental Groups
The music program at St. Michael's includes three vocal groups and two instrumental ensembles. Repertoire is drawn from a wide variety of periods, styles, and countries, and the ability to read music is helpful but not required. Newcomers can simply show up at a rehearsal.
The Family Choir
The Family Choir is the backbone of the program. A committed group of singers from first and second grade through adulthood, the choir rehearses on Wednesday evenings for about ninety minutes and sings each Sunday morning from September to May. Singing parents are heartily welcomed to sing alongside their children, and the group's name reflects its multi-generational character. Choral Scholars, college students from the local area, receive a monthly scholarship to sing in the Soprano, Alto, Tenor, or Bass sections.
Chamber Singers
Chamber Singers is a select a cappella group taken from the Family Choir. Entrance requires a more demanding audition, and the repertoire focuses on sixteenth-, seventeenth-, twentieth-, and twenty-first-century works. They sing once or twice a month, rehearsing on Wednesday evenings for about thirty minutes after the Family Choir rehearsal.
The Angels Choir
The Angels Choir gathers children from birth through first grade, with sessions lasting thirty minutes once a week. Once a month, the group sings before the 10:15 Sunday service.
St. Michael's Band and Carillonneurs
St. Michael's Band brings together guitarists, orchestral and band instrumentalists, and keyboard players to accompany hymns and more contemporary pieces at the 10:15 service, generally four to eight times a year. The parish has a bass guitar, drum set, large bongo set, and multiple hand-percussion instruments available. Carillonneurs invite anyone who can read or one-finger a melody on a keyboard.
Acolytes, Lectors, and the Flower Guild
St. Anne's Altar Guild prepares the altar for each service. Lay Eucharistic Ministers, licensed by the bishop, assist with administering Holy Communion and bring the sacrament to those unable to attend due to illness. Intercessors lead the Prayers of the People, and Lectors read the Old Testament and Epistle lessons. The Acolyte Guild ministers at the altar on Sundays and special occasions, with young parishioners from grades 3 through 12 serving as crucifers, torchbearers, bell-ringers, and altar servers. The Alb Ministry launders the white robes worn by acolytes and lay ministers three times a year. Members can also sponsor flowers for the sanctuary, and dedications may be published in the bulletin.
From Crib to Confirmation: Children and Youth
Children are an integral part of the parish. Children giggle, poke, squirm, and swing their legs simply because they are children, the children's ministry writes, but they can also learn to sing, pray, and listen as they are able.
Little Lambs Nursery
Little Lambs Nursery serves children from birth through age 3 and is located downstairs in Rowe Hall. It opens at 9:45 am for the 10:15 service and is staffed by two teachers who share the love of Christ through play, song, and Bible lessons. A separate crib room is available for napping babies, and a small snack is offered to toddlers. The nursery is also open during special services like Christmas Eve, Ash Wednesday, and Maundy Thursday.
Camp Sonshine, Camp R.O.C.K., and Club 412
Camp Sonshine serves ages 3 through kindergarten and meets at 10:00 am upstairs in Rowe Hall, Room 202. Children journey through the Bible, learning key Old and New Testament stories through fun activities, and return to the service for the children's sermon after the Peace. Camp R.O.C.K., Reaching Others in Christ Kingdom, serves first through third graders in the same room at the same time, leading children through a four-part sequence of Discover, Relate, Connect, and Create. Club 412 meets in Fordham Hall at 10:00 am for fourth and fifth graders, engaging preteens in God's big story through videos and Bible exploration. A snack and juice is provided at each program, and parents are asked to share any dietary needs.
EYC and the Youth Program
EYC, the Sunday-night youth gathering, runs from 5:00 to 7:00 pm for sixth through twelfth graders. A typical evening includes games, dinner provided by parents, a lesson and group discussion, and a closing time of praise, prayer, and reflections on the week. Before EYC, Donuts and Discussion meets at 10:15 am in the Youth Room, exploring the Gospel reading in an open space. On Sundays from 4:30 to 5:00 pm and Thursdays from 4:15 to 5:15 pm, students dig deeper in Youth Bible study, with opportunities to help lead discussions.
Throughout the year, the youth participate in three Diocese of Central Florida events: New Beginnings for middle schoolers, Grounded as a conference-style retreat, and Soul in the City as a five-day mission experience. Mission trips in recent summers have gone to the Appalachian Mountains and Jamaica. The year begins with a Back to School Lock-in before Labor Day.
Sunday School and Confirmation
Spiritual education is offered for all ages. Sunday school for children, youth, and young adults meets from 10:15 to 10:45 am on Sundays, while adult education classes are organized studies held periodically at 9:00 am on Sundays. Confirmation classes are held annually for high-schoolers and adults, and the Bishop visits for Confirmation, Reception, or Reaffirmation.
The Preschool at the Heart of the Parish
St. Michael's Preschool opened in 1995 with eight students. Today it serves more than ninety students and eighty families throughout College Park and Orlando. The preschool follows the Learning Without Tears curriculum and incorporates art, music, Spanish, dramatic play, literature, science and discovery, hands-on math, creative cooking, and outdoor recreation, all based on developmentally appropriate practice. Daily prayer, Bible stories, and Christian songs are part of every classroom, and the older children visit the Chapel once a week to learn more about God's love expressed through Jesus Christ. Each fall and spring, children are assessed to ensure they are achieving the skills taught month by month.
The Preschool Director, Melanie Olivier, describes the school's philosophy in a welcome letter to prospective families. Each day, the devoted teachers pour their love for teaching and God into the hearts and minds of students. The school aims to grow little hearts and minds in God's love, developing the whole child through a play-based approach alongside the formal curriculum.
Pastoral Care: Five Subcommittees, One Guild
The Pastoral Care Guild at St. Michael's is organized into five subcommittees. Pastoral Visitors visit shut-ins, the hospitalized, and those in nursing homes. The Pastoral Food Committee provides short-term meals for those temporarily unable to cook. The Funeral Reception Committee supports grieving families by providing funeral receptions at the church when requested. The Transportation Committee drives members to and from services. The Note Card Ministry writes personal notes signed by the staff and congregation to parishioners who are isolated or in immediate need.
Pastoral Care extends beyond the building through the Lay Eucharistic Ministers, who are licensed by the bishop to assist with administering Holy Communion and to bring the sacrament to those unable to attend due to illness. Clergy offer the Funeral Rite of Burial of the Dead for both baptized and non-baptized Christians and provide pastoral support for those encountering loss.
The Gathering: Feeding Orlando's Homeless Since 1972
The parish's most visible outreach is The Gathering, a Tuesday-evening meal ministry that began at St. Michael's in 1972 as the original Meals on Wheels program for Orange County. Two women from the parish started preparing meals in their own kitchen and distributing them from a card table on a street corner. They soon outgrew the home setup and began using the church's kitchen to prepare the food. Since 1990, more than 200,000 meals have been served to homeless men, women, and children through this outreach, which is now sponsored jointly with the Church of the Resurrection in Longwood and delivered to the Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida.
Volunteers meet in the Quigley Hall Kitchen at 8:00 am on Mondays and Tuesdays to prep and cook the Tuesday evening dinner. From 4:00 to 7:00 pm on Tuesdays, others serve the meal at the Coalition. If you can chop up veggies or pick up a serving spoon, you're qualified, the parish notes. No special skills are required.
Good News Garden, Feed My Lambs, and Partner Ministries
Beyond The Gathering, the parish runs a Good News Garden that grows herbs and vegetables for the Tuesday meal, as part of the Episcopal Church's Agrarian Ministries. Feed My Lambs, started by a parishioner who brought the idea home from another church, asks the congregation to fill a Bag Tree with food once a month for families identified by partner schools as food-insecure. Members take a shopping bag and a list home, shop for the week, and return the bag to church the next Sunday. The food is sorted and delivered to the schools for distribution to students.
The parish partners with five Central Florida ministries. The Christian Service Center has provided direct assistance since 1971 across locations in Downtown Orlando, West Orange County, and Winter Park. The Orlando Union Rescue Mission has provided life-transforming services for more than seventy-five years. One Heart for Women and Children, based right around the corner on Rio Grande Avenue, distributes food, clothing, and basic needs. Harbor House of Central Florida provides shelter, a 24-hour crisis hotline, counseling, and legal advocacy for survivors of domestic abuse, and its on-site Paws for Peace Kennel houses the pets of survivors entering the shelter. Samaritan Village offers a safe home and therapeutic program for adult survivors of sex trafficking, with opportunities to volunteer ranging from residential classes to administrative support.
Scouts, AA, and the Daughters of the King
St. Michael's charters Scouts BSA Boy Troop 200, which has helped shape and train young men for sixty years. In 2020, the parish added Scouts BSA Girl Troop 200 as a linked troop, and Cub Scout Pack 207 has been meeting at St. Michael's for the same sixty years, open to boys and girls from kindergarten through fifth grade. The parish also hosts Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and welcomes the Order of the Daughters of the King, a laywomen's order devoted to a Rule of Life of prayer, service, and evangelism. Daughters pray daily for the church staff, the programs of the church, the sick, and many other concerns.
What the Parish Believes: The Core Values
St. Michael's mission is Love God, Love Others, Serve the World, and the parish holds eight values that shape how it lives that out. Open to God's Leading means living with open hands and open hearts, ready for wherever God calls. Outward-Focused reminds the parish that it exists for those who have not yet found a place. Come as You Are invites anyone on any spiritual journey to belong, trusting God to shape each person in His time.
Relationship over Religion frames Christianity as a living, growing relationship with Jesus. Renewed and Transformed describes the pursuit of spiritual renewal so that members can experience God's presence and be changed from the inside out. Faith that Fits Real Life follows Christ's example, letting the Spirit lead members to live and love like Him. Uniquely Us honors the parish's particular calling, learning from others but living out its own mission. Always Growing, Always Changing honors the past without being bound by it, imagining, innovating, and adapting.
Leadership
Rector Rick Luoni came to St. Michael's in September 2015 from St. George's Episcopal Church in Summerville, South Carolina, where he served for more than seven years. Originally from West Virginia, Father Rick earned a Bachelor's degree in Business Management from Concord College and spent many years as a business executive in the advertising, marketing, and television fields before answering a call to ordained ministry. He is a 2005 graduate of San Francisco Theological Seminary with a Master of Divinity degree, and a fifth-degree Black Belt. He often walks the College Park neighborhoods, praying along the way.
The assisting priest is Father Greg Favazza. Mark T. Cole directs youth ministries. Tiffany Stieger leads children's ministry. Melanie Olivier directs the preschool. Mike Robertson serves as outreach coordinator. Omaldo Pérez is the director of music ministry.
St. Michael's Episcopal Church is located at 2499 N. Westmoreland Drive, Orlando, FL 32804, at the corner of Bryn Mawr Street. The church office is open Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm at 407-843-8448. Sunday services are at 7:45 am, 9:00 am, and 10:15 am, with the 10:15 am service livestreamed on YouTube.