The clergy of St. John’s serves the Lord and the people of the parish by providing spiritual guidance, overseeing outreach, education, and parish life programs, commemorating sacraments like baptisms, weddings, and funerals, and celebrating the Eucharist several times weekly.
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…
Born and raised in Tampa, Jeff is a lifelong Episcopalian and was baptized and confirmed at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church. Jeff joined St. Johns in 1987 shortly before his late father, Richard Hunt, and stepmom, Mary Beth Hunt, were married at St. John’s by Father Peterson in April of 1988. After attending college at Georgia…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
The Rev. Donald P. Goodheart has led congregations from rural New Hampshire to Seattle, Washington in his 45 years of ordained ministry. Under his leadership St. Paul’s in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, grew to a membership of 2800, carried out a $14 million expansion of facilities, developed an Outreach Center, and started programs focused on spirituality…
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…