Requiem aeternam: Deacon Leva Bickford
It is with great sadness that the Diocese of the Restoration and CEEC-Province USA announce the passing of the Revd. Deacon Leva Bickford.
Deacon Leva was a part of the family at The Father’s House in Hutchinson for 26 years. She was ordained to the diaconate on January 28, 2018.
Tireless in her service, Deacon Leva oversaw the preparation of the eucharistic elements for several years, creating the procedure by which the preparations were made, setting the high altar and side altars most every Sunday, and–her legacy–training some of our clergy to continue this sacred task.
A sweet, kind, and humble soul, on Sunday mornings she would drive over 30 miles one way, often arriving before volunteers and clergy, and well before members of the congregation came for the early service. Prayerfully, she would gather the implements and elements needed for the morning and assemble them. Her devotion to her task and the people she served could be seen as she reverently carried chalices, patens, and altar linens out from the church kitchen, quietly setting and dressing each altar. As Mother Heather Faulkner of The Father’s House said of Deacon Leva, “Her servant's heart and her genuine love of people is a constant reminder of a life well lived”.
Deacon Leva reposed in the Lord on July 4, 2024, at the age of 87.
Into your hands, O merciful Savior, we commend your servant Leva. Acknowledge, we humbly beseech you, a sheep of your own fold, a lamb of your own flock, a sinner of your own redeeming. Receive her into the arms of your mercy, into the blessed rest of everlasting peace, and into the glorious company of the saints in light. Amen.
May the soul of Deacon Leva and all of the faithfully departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
Deacon Leva’s obituary may be found here: https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/thekansan/name/leva-bickford-obituary?id=55526066