St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church in St. Petersburg and the Episcopal Church of the United States are members of the Worldwide Anglican Communion. As such, they observe the worship customs offered in the Book of Common Prayer.
Members of the St. Thomas’ community are modern citizens who cheer on the Tampa Bay Rays. At a September home game against the Toronto Blue Jays, Father Ryan Whitley, the church’s rector, threw out the first pitch and the church choir sang Take Me Out To The Ballgame during the seventh-inning stretch.
Where All Are Blessed
For the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi in October, parishioners and visitors to the parish brought pets for a Blessing of the Animals service. Dogs, cats, a chicken, and a rabbit were joined by an owl, a snake, a macaw, and turtles from Boyd Hill Nature Preserve in St. Petersburg. There was even Ty, a caged 650-pound Siberian tiger brought by Vernon Yates of Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation, who licked Fr. Whitley’s outstretched hand.
When people think of the Episcopal Church, they often remember worship services they have seen televised from The National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., and/or royal weddings and funerals broadcast from England. The images are traditional, formal, and sometimes stuffy.
“In the time-honored words of our worship,” Whitley says, “we ground ourselves in the rhythms of a spirituality that has spoken for generations and speaks still today. Bolstered by traditional liturgy and progressive theology, we are equipping ourselves to be positive agents of change in our community, for the sake of the Gospel.”
St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church was organized in 1952 to serve what was then the fast-growing Snell Isle area. Two years later, having acquired and drained three acres of submerged land there, the congregation held its first worship service in a building that is now the church parish hall. Today, the property also is home to the lower school (Grades Pre-K through 4) or Hough Campus of the Canterbury School of Florida.
On a Mission
St. Thomas’ efforts go well beyond the boundaries of its neighborhood. Parishioners march in the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Pride parades, volunteer in all aspects of the St. Petersburg Free Clinic, and organize mission trips to Haiti, Honduras, and many areas throughout the United States. Most recently, a mission is planned to go the Florida Panhandle to help those affected by Hurricane Michael.
Through efforts such as “Pack a Snack” and “Lunchtime Pals”, church members volunteer with students at nearby North Shore Elementary School. They collect book donations to build a library at Happy Workers learning center, the longest-running day-care organization for St. Petersburg’s working poor. The church continually accepts donations of nonperishable food and personal items for area food pantries; children’s underwear and socks are collected for Clothes to Kids, which serves needy youngsters in the area. Each month, parishioners assemble and deliver more than 1,000 bologna-and-cheese sandwiches to St. Petersburg charitable organizations.
St. Thomas’ members founded the Coffeepot Bayou Watershed Alliance which now has more than five partner institutions. They organized and participated in a cleanup event in September, picking up trash and debris around storm sewers and gutters in the area.
Recently, the Rev. Martha Moore Goodwill, St. Thomas’ deacon, began a partnership with St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church to establish Benison Farm on 1½ acres of land owned by St. Augustine’s parish. The name comes from an old English word for “blessing.”
“The purpose of the farm,” Goodwill says, “is to provide fresh produce to food-deprived areas in St. Petersburg and to engage a diverse group of people in serving the community. We are about so much more than farming. St. Petersburg’s racial divisions are both historic and present. The dream is that we will serve together and that service will lead to an increase in the love, respect, and caring to which our Christian commitment calls all of us.” She continued “Through mutual work and learning, groups from various ethnicities, religions, and backgrounds learn to respect each other and work together to support our community. Our hope is that Benison Farm will be a blessing to all.”
Get Involved
If any – or all – of these community support efforts sound interesting to you, please stop by for a visit to see how you can get involved.
St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church, 1200 Snell Isle Blvd. NE, St. Petersburg, FL 33704; stthomasstpete.org; (727) 896-9641. Principal worship services are at 8 and 10 am each Sunday.
