A Message from Bishop Shoemaker
Beloved People of the Diocese of Long Island,
I am very pleased to share with you that I have called the Rev. Canon Licia Baldi Affer to be our new Canon to the Ordinary. In this role, Canon Licia will serve as Chief of Diocesan Staff and a top advisor to me on administrative matters. She will also have oversight of clergy formation, transition and deployment, congregational formation, discernment of Holy Orders, conflict mediation, and serve as the bishop's liaison to the disciplinary reference panel. She will begin her ministry with us on November 1st.
Canon Licia comes to us from the Diocese of Southeast Florida where she has been serving as Canon to the Ordinary for the past six years. Along with this wealth of diocesan leadership experience, she speaks multiple languages including Spanish and French, and, from her work in Miami and other experiences of life and ministry, brings a great deal of cross-cultural experience that is well suited to our very diverse diocese. Canon Licia and her family have also lived in New York before and look forward to returning to the area. I am thrilled to bring her wisdom and expertise to Long Island as my first hire as bishop of the diocese.
Canon Landon Moore, who has served our diocese for the last four years, overseeing transition ministry for the last three, will conclude his tenure on our diocesan staff by November 1st to pursue other opportunities. I am grateful for his service to the diocese and for his contributions to our common life. Canon Landon will work virtually through the month of October as he begins to make his transition. During the month of October, he will work with Canon Licia to onboard her to all matters pertaining to his area of oversight. In this interim time, a member of my transition team, the Very Rev. Gideon Pollach, will temporarily support the ongoing work of overseeing clergy and congregations in transition. He may be reached at gideon@stjcsh.org.
Please allow Canon Licia the space and time of these next several weeks, leading up to November 1st, to transition well from her work as Canon to the Ordinary in Southeast Florida and time to physically make her move to our diocese. I look forward to the chance to personally introduce her to the diocese at our upcoming Diocesan Convention in November.
In the meantime, please know of my continual prayers for all of you as we carry forward the collective life and ministry God has called us to do.
I remain, your brother in Christ,
A Message from Canon Licia Affer
Dear Siblings in Christ,
I am delighted to introduce myself as I begin my new role as Canon to the Ordinary in the Diocese of Long Island.
I am incredibly humbled and excited to join your vibrant community and to collaborate with Bishop Shoemaker, his staff, and all of you in advancing the mission of the Church here.
I look forward to bringing the experiences and insights of almost 20 years of ministry to my new role while listening to and learning from the unique traditions and needs of this community.
My primary goal in these upcoming months is to meet as many of you as possible. I want to understand how I can best support your ministries and spiritual growth. It will take some time, but we’ll get a good start on this process at Convention!
Thank you for your warm welcome and your continued dedication to our faith. Please keep me and my husband in your prayers as we begin this new chapter and know that you are in mine.
May God abundantly bless you and your ministry.
Yours in Christ,
Canon Licia
About the Rev. Canon Licia B. Affer
The Rev. Canon Licia Affer is the Canon to the Ordinary in The Episcopal Church in Southeast Florida. She was born in Milan, Italy and has lived and worked in a number of different places in Europe and the United States, including Spain, France, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Phoenix, Arizona, where she served at Trinity Cathedral and at All Saints’ Episcopal Church and Day School. She is a graduate of The General Theological Seminary and before her ordination she was a language scholar with a specialization in Applied Linguistics from the University of Milan.
Prior to joining Bishop Eaton’s staff in Miami, Canon Licia was the Rector at Saint Anne’s Episcopal Church and Day School in Atlanta, Georgia, where she also served on the Diocesan Executive Council, the Vitality Commission, and the Congregational Development Committee and as Convocational Dean.
Canon Licia is married to Maurizio, a scientist, and they are the proud parents of an adult daughter, Cecilia, who lives in Colorado.