CityView Magazine

CityViewNC.com | 23 S ince childhood, Nancee Cekuta could hear the Lord's call. She was always devout in her Roman Catholic faith, but Cekuta just kept putting off the Lord's beckoning voice. "Being female, I spent 40 years figuring out why God was calling me to be something that I could not fulfill," Cekuta says. Or so Cekuta thought until she found herself on what is known as a Cursillo weekend, where Christian laypeople gather to learn about leadership from priests and other laypeople. "Life led my family to the Episcopal Church in 2004," says Cekuta, who is 60. "I was on a Cursillo weekend in 2009 when God whacked me with a 2 by 4. I realized I was in a denomination that ordained women. When I returned home from that retreat, I sat down with my then-teenage daughters and explained I felt called to the priesthood, but it would drastically change our family dynamics." Cekuta and her daughters, Bridget and Kaycee, were gathered around the kitchen table at their home in Lawrenceville, Georgia, when Cekuta broke the news. Cekuta wasn't sure how her daughters would react. "eir response was, 'Mom, we have always known you were called to be a priest. We've been trying to figure out why you didn't know it,'" she recalls. Here was a 9-to-5 working mother with two teenagers to raise, and mom wanted to become a priest. "In the Episcopal Church, however, it is expected that formation for ordination into the priesthood also means quitting your job and moving to a seminary for three years of education," Cekuta says. "So when my youngest was out of high school, I le Atlanta and attended seminary in Sewanee, Tennessee." Cekuta was ordained at the Diocese of Atlanta in the summer of 2015 and headed to St. John's Episcopal Church in Charlotte, where she was associate rector until 2017. She was rector for St. Bartholomew Episcopal Church in North Augusta, South Carolina, from 2017 until 2020. 'A natural fit' Today, Cekuta finds herself presiding and preaching the gospel at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, where she is the first female rector in the Raeford Road church history, replacing the Rev. Jeff ornberg. Time Flies. Fly Fay. Find flights at www.flyfay.com SAFE, FAST FLIGHTS FROM FAYETTEVILLE. Pardon our progress! Experience shorter lines, more accessible parking, and enhanced safety measures when you FlyFAY. We're making improvements to serve you better—our terminal renovations will be complete in the Spring of 2022. 2825 Raeford Rd (910) 485-5865 webbcarpet.net April 1 - May 16

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