Frans was born and raised in the Netherlands, the country of windmills, tulips, and Van Gogh. On his first visit to the USA in 2011, he met a girl from Florida at a wedding and married her thirteen months later. Frans and Erin started their life together in Amsterdam, where their children Estella and Moses were born.

Starting his career as a business consultant, in 2012 Frans felt that God was calling him to the ministry. He became the director of a Dutch ministry for young professionals, discipled young Christian leaders all over Europe, and created a Dutch course about faith and work. During these years, Frans studied at Tyndale Theological Seminary, graduating with an M.Div. in 2020.

Frans and Erin were members of the Anglican Church in Amsterdam and started a discernment process for the priesthood with the Church of England. In the midst of this process and before the world had any inkling of a pandemic, they decided to move their family to Florida and transfer to the Episcopal Church.

Frans is passionate about the beautiful message of the gospel and desires for everyone to know and experience God’s love. He enjoys preaching, good beer, classical music, theological discussions, time with his family, and Ajax soccer matches.

Brian and his wife Dona have three grown sons and two grandchildren. Brian grew up in Northwest Indiana and his favorite place to live has been Denver, although, Florida has become home. Dona was born in Mississippi and moved around the country.

They served in missions in Macedonia and Egypt doing church planting and leadership. More recently, Brian’s missions ministry included missionary care, training, and financial administration. Brian worked in the banking industry and Dona in auto insurance before their ministry years. They joined the Cathedral Church of Saint Luke in Orlando in 2019 and Brian sensed a call to the priesthood in 2021. He feels amazingly blessed to start his Episcopal ordained ministry at Grace as a resident.

Brian likes dark roast coffee, porter beers, red wines, reading theology, writing, basketball, tennis, and soccer. His favorite thing to do is hang out with people and mutually share life.

Mary has been a member of Grace Church since 2009 and was ordained a deacon in December 2012. Mary is Chaplain of our chapter of the Order of the Daughters of the King. Serving in the Philippines, ministering to teenage girls who were victims of human trafficking, has strengthened her resolve to see that all are free from modern day slavery and she continues to work toward that goal. Recently Mary became a Coordinator on the International Justice Mission Central Florida Volunteer Team and looks forward to helping others to get involved in this work.

Mary served as a nurse, educator and administrator with the Veterans Health Administration for 28 years. She loves the arts, especially music, and enjoys singing whenever she can.

Susan graduated with a Bachelor's of Science degree from the University of Florida- College of Ag,  Animal Science Equine Industry.  She is currently employed as Nuclear Medicine Technologist for a large cardiology group. Married to a wonderful husband, George; mother of Holly and Sue-L, and grandmother to eight. A wannabe farmer of vegetables, flowers, and poultry. Susan is a lover of God’s Word and so very privileged to proclaim the Gospel of Christ. Susan was ordained to the Sacred Order of Deacons in September of 2020.

Josh and his wife Caitlin have been here in Florida for 8 years and have a wonderful two-year-old son, Graham, and two dogs, Waffles and Luna. Coming from a family of ministers, Josh has been in ministry for 15 years. He has a Master of Arts in Ministry from Portland Seminary and a Bachelor of Theology from Ozark Christian College.

On a Sunday afternoon you’ll find Josh watching the Jacksonville Jaguars, spending time with friends and family, or talking about Lord of the Rings, Narnia and Star Wars; which somehow always work their way into conversations. Josh’s hope is for all of us to come further up and further in to God’s love, which is greater than we can even imagine. If you want to talk about any of those things, ask Josh to grab a coffee or a beer and the rest will be history!

Sami Burns is the Parish Administrator at Grace Episcopal Church. She graduated from USF in Tampa and has a diverse background that includes working as a financial administrator for a church, as well as teaching middle school math and science. After taking some time off to stay home with her young children, she is excited to return to the church setting and contribute to the dynamic community at Grace. She and her family moved to Ocala last year, where they are happily settling into their new home and church. Sami and her husband, Cayler, have been married for 10 years and have two children, Micah and Arlo. Outside of work, Sami loves camping, gardening, and exploring new cities.

Catie Hourigan has many hats at Grace. She has been working at Grace since 2018 and since then she has been the Aftercare Teacher at Grace VPK, Administration Assistant, Livestream/Media Director, Branding Coordinator and Children's Ministry Coordinator and now Office Manager. She grew up in Ocala, and is married to Brett Hourigan and they have four children. Catie has previously had administration experience as well as Children's ministry experiences for many years at her previous church.

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Catie and her family really enjoy being outside, going on trips and especially love going to Disney and anything Star Wars.