Challenged to help the church remember and renew an apostolic mission which calls for "a radical approach to society and a dramatic change in the lives of people," the Rt. Rev. John Lewis Said was consecrated Feb. 25 as the first Suffragan Bishop of Southeast Florida.

The service of ordination and consecration filled the pews of Trinity Cathedral in Miami with some 900 lay people and clergy representing the parishes of the diocese and the wider church, including visiting bishops, who responded enthusiastically to the spirit of the ceremony's liturgy and music.

Presiding Bishop Edmond L. Browning was the chief consecrator. Co-consecrators were the Rt. Rev. Calvin O. Schofield, Jr., diocesan Bishop of Southeast Florida; his predecessor, the Rt. Rev. James L. Duncan, and the Rt. Rev. Michael H. Eldon, Bishop of the companion Diocese of Nassau and the Bahamas.

In his sermon, the Very Rev. Donald W. Krickbaum, dean of the cathedral, said the purpose of the occasion was not only to celebrate new ministry and reaffirm the church's commitment to its apostolic ministry, but also "to renew our vision of the messianic mission of the body of Christ."

For too long, he said, the church has done too little to address the needs of the oppressed, and also the needs of the poor in spirit, who are "often in greater jeopardy than the financially poor.

"It is time for us and for all faith communities," he said, "to have the courage to step beyond our self-preserving, survival mentality and move into an era of interfaith collaboration for the well-being and spiritual health of the communities in which we live and for which we have significant responsibility."

He called on the church's newest bishop to carry out the "awesome responsibility and wondrous privilege to serve," not by aspiring to perfection, "but in the reality of who you are now."

Bishop Said was rector of St. Kevin's Church in Miami's Opa-Locka community for the past 11 years. He was chosen from among four candidates by delegates to a special convention Oct. 29, following a search and nominating process that began after the 1993 diocesan convention voted to give Bishop Schofield the assistance of a suffragan. He and his wife, Ann, are the parents of four children.

(The Rev.) ANDY TAYLOR