The vestry is an elected group of parish members who oversee the church and its operations.
This group of parish members ensure that the church obeys the denomination’s church doctrine.
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…
John was born and raised in Tampa and has been a member of St. John’s Church for over 30 years. He is a lifelong Episcopalian, having grown up as a member of St. Andrew’s and St. Mary’s churches and is a multi-generation member of St. John’s. His parents were married at St. John’s in 1959,…
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…
Andy has attended St. John’s for over 30 years, including being married in the church. His three adult daughters went to school at St. John’s. He is currently a reader and chalice bearer, and he has been involved in many other areas over the years, including as a Sunday School teacher, Every Member stewardship campaign…
Deacon 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. Caroline earned a degree in Public Relations from the University of…
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…
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…
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…
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…