The vestry of St. John the Divine in Sun City Center has called the Very Rev. Alexander Andujar as its next Rector. Fr. Andujar will relocate from St. Petersburg, where he is rector of St. Vincent’s Episcopal Church and Dean of the St. Petersburg Deanery. He is also the Diocesan Coordinator for Hispanic & Latino Formation, a role he will continue while serving St. John the Divine. Monday, April 8, will be his first day in the office and Sunday, April 14 will be his first Sunday celebrating and preaching as priest. Please see his letter to the congregation below.
My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ at St. John the Divine.
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a pleasure and honor to write to you for the first time as your new Rector. I want to thank the search committee and vestry for their hard work throughout this process. As the Co-Chairs of the search committee Natasha Palma and Aubrey Thompson created a great environment for my discernment and helped me recognize how special St. John’s is. I am also thankful to Don Fisher who as Senior Warden has already helped my family and I feel like a part of the parish. Everyone I’ve met has shown me that you are a loving people who seek to love one another and welcome others in the name of Jesus Christ our Savior. My family and I are looking forward to beginning this journey with you.
Monday, April 8, will be my first day in the office and Sunday, April 14, will be my first Sunday as your priest.
At the heart of my approach to ministry is a belief that everyone is created in the image of God and that we are called to love and serve one another in Christ Jesus who is the “way, the truth, and the life.”
I came to the Episcopal Church in 2008 when I began attending St. Clement’s Episcopal Church in Tampa. I fell in love with the Episcopal tradition through its powerful liturgy, its compelling theology, and its warm fellowship. I experienced a sense of community I had never known from my youngest days as a faithful Roman Catholic.
I attended seminary at The School of Theology at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee where I began my formation to become a pastor, priest, and teacher. After my ordination to the priesthood in 2014, I received my first call to become the curate for Christ Episcopal Church in Bradenton Florida. In 2016, I accepted the call to serve as priest-in-charge and then Rector of St. Vincent’s Episcopal Church in St. Petersburg Florida. Those years of ministry, with their joys and challenges, helped to form me into the priest I am today.
My wife Roxanne and our two teenage boys, Samuel and Gregory, are also excited about joining the St. John’s family. In our leisure time we enjoy sports, games, our pets, and traveling.
I am looking forward to getting to know each and every one of you, hearing your stories of faith, and learning how I can help to equip you for the ministry to which Jesus Christ has called each of us. To him be the glory, now and forever! Amen
Yours in Christ,
The Rev. Alexander Andujar