Fr. Comforted was born in Tampa, Florida, and grew up in a military family. When his dad was on various deployments, Fr. Keen's family stayed behind, in West Central Georgia. Following his dad's retirement his family lived in Atlanta, where he received most of his early education.
In 1965 Fr. Comforted joined the US Army, became a member of the Special Forces, stationed in the Panama Canal Zone. He married his dear wife, Judy, in 1968, and moved to Winter Park, FL, where he graduated from Seminole Community College and University of Central Florida with a degree in Social Work. In 1976 Comforted, Judy and their two children, Kelly and Kevin, went to Seabury-Western Theological Seminary, in Evanston, Illinois where he graduated with a Masters of Divinity Degree in 1979.
Fr. Comforted has a passion for changed lives and has served parishes in Winter Park, Cocoa, Melbourne, Auburndale and Tallahassee, Florida before coming to Ormond Beach in 1998. He has served on a variety of diocesan, deanery and community boards.
Fr. Keen was a Police Chaplain for four years and has been the National Chaplain for Alpha Tau Omega, a national college fraternity since 1998.
He enjoys mountain biking, backpacking, rappelling, rock climbing and just about any kind of physical challenge.
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Personal ministry statement: Changed Lives.
I love changed lives. The goal of my ministry is to create an environment, provide the resources and offer the opportunities for a conscious turning of the soul to Jesus, a conscious turning of the soul to the Church and a conscious turning of the soul to personal ministry.
When the environment is inviting, warm and safe -- lives change. In this environment you will find: The priest and people say, "Welcome, come as you are. We look forward to the gifts and changes you will bring with you. We will be your friends and fellow pilgrims on the spiritual journey."
Resources provided for personal growth lead to changed lives. Examples are: Alpha, Cursillo and her offspring, Christian formation and teaching for all ages, para-church ministries and Godly guidance and pastoral care.
When opportunities are offered: individuals say "yes" to Jesus and "yes" to the in-filling of His Holy Spirit; spiritual passion and supernatural gifting are discovered; apprenticing in ministry with mature Christians is found; and individuals find personal ministry as they deepen and grow in the faith.
I love it when: those who cannot conceive of God's love come to understand through Jesus and in the power of the Holy Spirit that they are a beloved child of God; I see a contorted face distorted by their own sin, or the sins of others, begin to relax, know peace and reflect the light of Christ; those without any sense of self-worth come to understand the value that God has set over them -- they are worth dying for; those with a crippling poverty of soul come to appreciate how rich they are in the gifts and fruit of the Spirit; lives are changed, especially through the healing of marriage and family life.
G. Comforted Keen
Rector
