To contact a member of the clergy, call the parish offices at 813.259.1570 or email us.
Father Chris was born and raised in Queens, NY. A lifelong Episcopalian, he grew up going to his local parish Grace Church Whitestone. At Grace Church, Father Chris began his journey with Our Lord. Growing up, he enjoyed playing baseball and rooting for his beloved N.Y. Mets and N.Y. Giants. Father Chris attended John Jay…
Father Andrew Lazo was born in northern California and has been making his way east and south ever since. After Bible school in Chicago, he moved to Nashville, TN to work with the acclaimed guitarist Phil Keaggy before takinghis BA (with Honors) in English at the University of California, Davis. He then moved Houston to…
Mother Caroline Devitt was born and raised in Sarasota, Florida, and is a lifelong Episcopalian. She grew up at Church of the Redeemer, where her love for music, liturgy, and the beauty of the sacraments first took root and shaped her call to ministry. Mother Caroline earned a degree in Public Relations from the University…
Norm is a lifelong Episcopalian, and as an Army Brat, was raised in churches across the country and overseas. He was routinely involved in the church as an acolyte or Sacristan while a student at the University of the South, Sewanee, TN. After law school at the University of Georgia, he practiced law in Athens,…
A Tampa native born to The Rev. and Mrs. Leonard E. and Martha L. Nelson, Mary Alice and older brother Martin were raised in Louisiana. Mary Alice is married to Victor, who is from Mexico. They have three children, Philip (Atlanta), Ana (Missoula, Montana), Victor (Tampa), and a grandson, Miller (Atlanta). Mary Alice received her…
Robert O. “Bob” Alter, born and raised Episcopalian, found a home at St. John’s Episcopal Church when returned to Tampa in 2013. He was born and raised in Dallas, Texas, where his family were active members of Episcopal Church of The Transfiguration. He was baptized, confirmed, and served as an Acolyte at the Church, and…
Father Connelly did his undergraduate work at the University of North Carolina and then earned an MBA at the Columbia Business School. After an eighteen-year career with Owens-Illinois, he spent fifteen years engaged in various entrepreneurial endeavors. As a layman he was involved in a wide variety of ministries in several Episcopal churches including serving…
Roddy is a 4th generation Episcopalian and a West Palm Beach native. She was baptized at Holy Trinity Church in West Palm and when her family moved to Knoxville, TN in middle school, she became very involved at the Church of the Ascension. She spent six years in the choir and led many Happening retreats…
I am honored to have been elected to the Vestry of St John’s. I was baptized, confirmed, and raised in a rural Virginia Episcopal parish. I’ve recently retired from a 37-year career in military and government service. This included active-duty Air Force assignments and deployments around the country and throughout the world, and lengthy duty…
