The Rt. Rev. Lawrence C. Provenzano, Bishop of Long Island, will ordain Miguel Ángel Castilleja Escobar, Casey Jamaal Jones, Amirthaseeli Jeyaseelan Beulah Koila, and Katharine Jane Akerman Schneider to the sacred order of Priests, Saturday September 20th at 11 AM in the Cathedral of the Incarnation.
The ordination is open to the public, and will be live-streamed.
Clergy planning to vest and process are kindly asked to RSVP at the link below. (Cassock, Surplice, and Red Stole)
A light reception will follow
Vesting Clergy Sign Up
Meet the Ordinands
Miguel Escobar is a transitional deacon in the Diocese of Long Island, currently serving a two-year curacy at San Andrés Episcopal Church in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. He earned a Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary in 2007 and has held a variety of leadership roles within the Episcopal Church. He served as communications assistant to Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, managing program director at the Episcopal Church Foundation, and later as director of Anglican Studies and director of operations at Episcopal Divinity School. His ministry focuses on Spanish-language ministry and issues of economic justice and published The Unjust Steward: Wealth, Poverty, and the Church Today in 2022.
Miguel grew up in the Texas Hill Country and studied at Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio, where he focused on the Roman Catholic social justice tradition, Latin American liberation theologies, and minored in Spanish. He currently serves on several boards, including Episcopal Relief & Development, Friends of Forward Movement, and Rural & Migrant Ministry.
Katharine “Kate” Schneider is a recent graduate from Union Theological Seminary having earned her Masters in Divinity. Prior to seminary, Kate served as the Director of Family Ministries at the Cathedral of the Incarnation, Garden City, NY. She currently serves as the Curate at Zion Episcopal Church, Douglaston, NY. She is excited by the magic that happens when our rich Episcopal tradition and creativity meet, and she seeks that out in liturgy and learning.
Kate earned her Bachelor of Science in Recreation Management at Appalachian State University. While in college she actively participated in campus ministry with the Presbyterian- Episcopal Campus Ministry. She is especially grateful to the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina’s youth ministry programs, HUGS Camp, and Camp Henry who all raised her up and encouraged her to listen to God’s call in her life. Above all, she is grateful to her parents, Mark and Mary Jane Akerman for raising her in this beautiful tradition and living as faithful examples of what it means to be a disciple of Christ, and to her wife, Mariel Schneider who has supported her every step of the way of this long and winding path.
Kate is excited to continue to make her home in the Diocese of Long Island and begin her priestly ministry in service to Jesus Christ and His church.
Casey Jamaal Jones is deacon and curate at Caroline Episcopal Church of Setauket. Casey sits on the advisory board for the Saint Nicholas Center for Faith and Justice and the alumni board for the Justice and Reconciliation Society at Virginia Theological Seminary. He also serves as a member of The Episcopal Church African Descent Ministries Council of Advice. Prior to his ordained ministry, Casey served as a case manager, campus minister, and parish administrator in the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles; he held both local and national offices in the Union of Black Episcopalians (UBE); and he completed a year-of-service with Jubilee Year Los Angeles, an Episcopal Service Corps program.
Casey received his undergraduate education at Morehouse College and his seminary education atVirginia Theological Seminary. Casey is married to poet-scholar-activist Amoni Thompson. Casey and Amoni are blessed with one daughter, Amara.
Amirthaseeli “Seeli” Jeyaseelan serves as Curate at St. Aidan’s Church in London, Ontario, in the Anglican Diocese of Huron. Originally from Idayankulam in South India, she was ordained a Transitional Deacon in January 2025 after years of ministry shaped by pastoral care, outreach, and a call to serve those on the margins.
Seeli earned her Master of Divinity from United Theological College, Bangalore, and a Master of Arts in Pastoral Care and Counseling from New York Theological Seminary, where she also completed Clinical Pastoral Education at Mount Sinai Hospital. Her formation has included parish leadership in India, lay ministry in New York, and outreach work at St. Paul’s Cathedral, London, Ontario, serving people experiencing poverty and homelessness. She brings to her priestly ministry a global perspective rooted in deep pastoral experience and compassion for God’s people.