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Our Clergy

 

The Reverend David M Koskela, Rector

Father Koskela has been rector of Saint Raphael Episcopal Church since October 2000. He is a graduate of the University of Texas (Austin) with a bachelor's degree in Philosophy and History. He attended the Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest, and Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio, Texas where he earned a master's degree in Social Work. He is a Vietnam veteran and retired from the United States Army, having served first in the combat arms and later in the Medical Service Corps.

Fr. David and his wife, Jane, were married in 1972 and have three sons. Two of their boys, Andrew and Joshua, currently serve in the United States Army band program, and their oldest son, Aaron, is a graphic artist residing in New York City.

In Fr. David's own words: "I love the Episcopal Church, and as rector, I am privileged to minister in this diverse household of faith. I am committed to our mission of preserving a safe spiritual community where everyone is warmly welcomed, nurtured, and prepared to serve Christ in the Church and our community, and is empowered to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ to the world.

"It is our sense that most people are looking for a place to call home. Perhaps not so much a place of certainty and absolutes but where there is room to discover and live into the truest self that God has created each of us to be. We pray that this is a community where you may find your spiritual home."
 

 

The Reverend Edwina Burdekin, Deacon

The eldest of five children, Deacon Edwina was born and grew up in the Canadian province of Newfoundland.  A lifelong Anglican, she was baptized and confirmed in her ancestral parish, St. Peter's Anglican Church in Twillingate, Notre Dame Bay, Newfoundland.  Today she is the mother of five grown children and eight grandchildren. Until the age of fourteen, she attended St. Peter's Anglican School, later finishing high school in Baltimore, Maryland.  In the late 1970s, after her children had graduated from college, she returned to school and in 1984 received a degree in nursing.  For over ten years, she worked as an RN at Memorial Hospital in Colorado Springs.

In the early 1990s, after a long discernment, Edwina entered the diaconal process in the Diocese of Colorado, and was ordained a deacon at St. John's Cathedral on November 2nd, 1996.  For the next six years, she served as deacon for the Church of St. Michael the Archangel in Colorado Springs.  After a six-month sabbatical in 2002, she accepted a call to be the deacon at the Church of St. Raphael and began serving at the Easter Vigil, 2003.

Since her ordination, she has served on the diocesan Committee for the Diaconate and the Board of Examining Chaplains for the Diaconate.  For four years she was a Liturgics instructor for diaconal students.  In 2002 she was appointed to the Transition Team for the election of a new bishop for this diocese, and was selected to be the chair of the Consecration Committee, which planned and supervised the Service of Consecration for Bishop Rob O'Neill.  She was one of four deacons serving at the altar for the Consecration Eucharist.

At St. Raphael's parish, Deacon Edwina's responsibilities include serving as deacon for all regularly scheduled services, assisting with adult education and confirmation classes, and sharing in the pastoral care. She oversees the outreach ministry of the parish and trains and schedules the Lay Eucharistic Ministers. She is an avid reader and especially appreciates a good mystery. She enjoys gardening, cooking, walking and visits with family and friends.