Let me introduce myself!

If you have arrived here then I imagine that you are looking for more information about either Christ Church or about me, its Rector.

Christ Church is the oldest and largest Episcopal Church in Bradenton, Florida. If you’ve looked at some of the photos on our webpage then you know it is also one of the most beautiful churches in the nation. We are blessed to have wonderful people and a great town to do mission and ministry in for our Lord Jesus Christ. We have many active ministries and ongoing bible studies during the week. On Sundays we have three distinctive services to accommodate different worship styles.

Adjacent to the church is our sister institution St. Stephen’s Episcopal School. This is one of the finest college preparatory schools in the state of Florida.

My wife and I live not very far from the church with our three – yup, three – Shetland Sheepdogs; Piper, Lisa and Kirk. Our three daughters all are grown and reside in other states. Jennifer lives in Madison, Wisconsin. Jessica and her husband, Brad, live in St. Louis, Missouri. Tara lives in Raleigh, North Carolina. While Barbara and I have lived in many places our strongest connections with suburban Chicago and Wisconsin. Both of us went to the University of Wisconsin and worked for many years in the Chicagoland area.

My ministry as a priest has been served in three parishes. My first parish was St. John’s Episcopal Church in Naperville, Illinois. I was the Associate Rector at St. John’s from 1998 until 2002. Those were wonderful and exciting times because we did a capital campaign and a complete renovation of the entire facility in those years. It was a great place to grow and mature as a priest.

In 2002, I was called to be the Rector of Episcopal Church of the Resurrection in Franklin, Tennessee. Barbara and I both loved living in Tennessee. Resurrection was a lot for one priest to manage but we loved the people and our ministry there. I was privileged to be elected to the Standing Committee of the Diocese of Tennessee during my time at Resurrection. That allowed me to really get to know the inner working of a diocese. That is both good and not so good.

Much to my surprise in early 2006, I began to feel that my calling was changing. It became clear that the Holy Spirit had a new challenging calling for me. I accepted the call to Christ Church in Bradenton, Florida. I entered my ministry at Christ Church in the midst of a complete renovation of the worship space. We had to cram three services into a small building clearly not designed for liturgical worship. If that was enough of a challenge my new home was struck by lightning the day after closing and we had to live in a rental during the nine months the repairs took. But when God has a plan and a call for you things will work out. Now Barbara and I are in our house and Christ Church is turning around. We see new people every Sunday and new ministries keep springing up.

If you are looking for a relationship with Jesus Christ and with God’s people then you should visit Christ Church. You are welcome here!