Editor’s note: Father Chris Brathwaite served as interim rector for St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Lake Mary for 14 months. With the Diocese of Central Florida set to celebrate the new ministry and installation of Rev. Jeremy Bergstrom as rector at St. Peter’s on Saturday, Jan. 19, Brathwaite will ease back into retirement. Brathwaite took time out to pen an open letter to John Ricci, Senior Warden at St. Peter’s, on his experience at the Seminole County church.

An Open Letter to Mr. John Ricci, Senior Warden
St. Peter’s Episcopal Church
700 Rinehart Road
Lake Mary, FL 32746

Dear John:

What a way to end a pastoral relationship! (Our recent) Saturday night was nothing but pure joy, which, in a spiritual sense, it is what God provides for us who cry out to Him for guidance and seek his strength. St. Peter’s has been an oasis of love and joy just for the building up of God’s kingdom.

That is how the response to (my wife) Genevieve and my being at St. Peter’s has been received. There is no place like it and if each of you continues to be faithful to the mission of pleasing God and serving others, the love will continue to flow. Thank you for inviting the Bishop (Greg Brewer) to join us as we celebrated our exit.

When we arrived at St. Peter’s, we came with the hope that we could make a difference, but we did not envision what that meant until we fell on our knees daily and asked God for guidance. Our early observation told us that there was something very different about St. Peter’s — there was a hunger and there were shepherd-less sheep just wandering in search of love. But we heard Nehemiah speaking when he said, “[T]he joy of the Lord is our strength.” The joy of the Lord comes from loving Him, loving ourselves, and loving our neighbor like we love ourselves.

The collect for the Sunday of my last sermon reads, “Almighty God, you have poured upon us the new light of your incarnate Word: Grant that this light, enkindled in our hearts, may shine forth in our lives; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.”

I have had the opportunity to speak from God’s pulpit at St. Peter’s for 14 months. As I wrapped up with my final sermon, I must tell you how I am always amazed to see how the Gospel or the readings fit for the times; Sunday or not. The collect says: “Almighty God, you have poured upon us the new light of your incarnate Word: Grant that this light, enkindled in our hearts, may shine forth in our lives;”

After 14 months of preaching from the pulpit, it would be of no value to you or me if we did not believe, in some ways, God has enkindled a new light in our hearts and so we plead that by His grace that light may shine forth in our lives; that is exactly what I believe God was doing over the past 14 months: helping people see how we all can reflect that light by helping each other see the light of Christ in the life of others.

The theologians who crafted the prayer knew that you cannot sit through 14 months of preaching and teaching, singing, praying, and listening to scripture and not have the light of Christ kindle your heart.

On my arrival here, I said I came to have a conversation with the church. Preaching is one-way; but a conversation is back and forth. And even though some might not have said everything on their mind, I know there are some things that have rested.

The benefit of fervent prayer:

The congregation at St. Peter’s believes in prayer, and the people have come to the understanding that nothing from God is of any benefit without prayer. So, every week as we came to the sanctuary, we asked Him to let us become instruments of His peace … and every Sunday as we prayed that prayer attributed to St. Francis, I asked Him to draw us closer to that image of goodness so that we might show forth the light of Christ in our lives from deep within our heart.

Every Sunday I said that prayer with them, it was said with every fiber in my body as I prayed it for them and for me.

Lord make me an instrument of your peace
Where there is hatred let me sow love
Where there is injury, pardon
Where there is doubt, faith
Where there is despair, hope
Where there is darkness, light
And where there is sadness, joy

I asked God to crystallize our thoughts and ideas that we may never be motivated by darkness, but by the light of Christ.

I asked Him to let us see others through the eyes of Jesus and others see the light of Jesus beaming through our eyes.

One weekend, I preached about Peter and John, how they left their nets and followed Jesus. And I asked the congregation to leave their nets of trials, and negative thinking and negative speaking at the door of the church; come inside and listen to the scripture, enjoy the music, make peace with God and their neighbor, and when leaving step over those invisible nets of trials and negativity and go about the Lord’s business in peace to Love and serve Him and each other. The week that followed that sermon, I received calls from people whom I did not even know, telling me that they were touched by the simplicity and the truth of the sermon.

Since that weekend, something stirred within the church. I cannot tell you exactly what happened, but there was a freshness, a newness, a new spilling of love, a new embracing of one another, and yes, a new thought about the power of prayer.

I asked God to give each of us the strength to take up our cross daily and to remind us that our cross will never be heavier than the one He carried for us to Calvary.

A few weeks ago, a young lady came to me to engage me in conversation. It was a story about her own change of heart. She was speaking precisely about what we are dealing with today – the light that God enkindles in our heart. I told her about how heaven rejoices when a sheep that was lost has been found. One thing I observed about her testimony was her sincerity and her new thinking about an old subject.

So, she asked me what I thought has happened since I’ve been here at St. Peter’s and what will I miss the most when I leave. 

I did not respond at that time because some questions beg for a broader audience when answering. The subjectivity of one perspective may lead to a jaded view of the answer. However, I did tell her that I do believe Genevieve and I have received just as much as we have given because what St. Peter’s has given has spread beyond the walls of your church. It is clear that the message and mission of Jesus is working. St. Peter’s has shown the entire diocese a few things some churches are yet to understand. They have laid the foundation for a paradigm shift in the diocese: they have indicated what “Becoming Beloved Community” looks like. They have spread a new map … a new track … a new brand of love, a new way to say yes to Jesus, because when we say yes to one another, we are saying yes to Jesus.

St. Peter’s worshipers have said to one and all that we don’t have to look alike to love alike.

We don’t have to sound alike for us all to raise our voices in thankfulness when saying yes to Jesus.

We don’t have to pretend that we are other than who we are.

We can be who we are and be loved for who we are.

We all can be faithful to Jesus and impact the lives of others despite our place of origin, or our station in life.

And together we know that all Jesus asks of us is to be faithful …

I had a conversation with the Senior Warden the other day and I said to him what I like about St. Peter’s is that Genevieve and I can be exactly who we are; no pretense.

Let me tell you what I mean by that. Last year, Genevieve and I honored four women on Mother’s Day weekend. Some people wanted to know how the selections were made. I refrained from speaking at that time, but now I will tell you. They were honored because those women see the best in everything and in everyone … they are dutiful Christians; they walk the walk and talk the talk. They believe in kindness, and forgiveness, and just like the man in the Liberty Mutual insurance commercial, they don’t hold grudges. I am sure there are others in the congregation with the same values, but those four, we believe, always see the best in others.

What I will miss most about St. Peter’s

I will miss the way the congregation has reached out to Genevieve and me, with their selfless love and care. Everyone has made us want to a part of something even bigger than St. Peter’s.

St. Peter’s can be the catalyst for what we believe “Becoming Beloved Community” should look like if people are willing to let the light that God has enkindled in their heart shine forth to the dark corners of God’s world.

I will miss the way the people come to the Lord’s Table every time to be fed by His body and blood:

I will miss seeing people at the prayer table over in the corner, and the women and men who have become their prayer warriors, if not their prayer partners. I will miss the different music styles and the penetrating words, especially from the hymns and songs.

I will miss the long line of people who come forward on the first weekend of every month to be anointed for healing.

I will miss the Baptisms, holding those tiny infants in my hands as I know the children around the throne of heaven rejoice in adulation as one more enters the family of God.

I will miss the kids giving me the high-five at the door and I will miss those who genuinely whisper a word of encouragement week after week.

I will miss the incredible Vestry and the staff. They are dedicated and faithful to their varied responsibilities. They love the people, and with love, they learn how to handle the small imperfections of others and move on to the bigger joy of embracing love. The staff kept on top of what really matters: how to please God with their service to Him, and how to balance every aspect of Liturgical worship with their distinct and varied styles and flavors to serve the membership. I am sure God’s choice for your leadership is already being worked out as each person who is on the Vestry must be very tired, if not exhausted. They have stuck together after the departure of the previous rector, the changes of key persons/positions, the ups and downs of the new building, the calling of a new rector, creating a new ball field, monitoring the new accreditation of the preschool, the constantly expanding MaxLife program, and all the rest that you have kept to yourself. You are a model church.

Going forward:

Genevieve and I thoroughly enjoyed the friends we have made and the friendship we have created and the love we have received from all, but what touches us the most is how each of you has offered your appreciation for the way we have entered your lives and the love that has circulated in and around us. All of the above gives a glimpse of what “Beloved Community” could look like when we open our hearts to love. I am sure the bishop was pleased as he continues to lean forward and steer us to the broader vision of what Jesus meant when he said love one another.

Now, some of you have sent Genevieve and me some heartfelt emails expressing your love and care for us and the blessings that God will continue on us as he has during our time at St. Peter’s. But while we appreciate all we received, our mission here was not about us; it was about how through conversation, we can help each other to shine the light that is enkindled in our heart so that others may find the cross of Christ attractive.

We hope the conversation helped some to open their hearts to love people whom they had never met and may never know.

We hope the conversation helped some to remember in not so simple ways that Jesus truly wants you to be a sunbeam to shine for Him each day; that you may put others first and as you pray “Give us this day our daily bread” the “us” includes the entire human family.

Recently, we buried a woman who made many songs … some may think her words were not religious enough for the church, but when she sang, “[E]ach morning I wake up, before I put on my make-up, I say a little prayer for you,” my friends, that is letting your light shine in a dark corner that only by prayer can be illuminated. What do you think our world would look like if every morning we found someone who meant so much to God’s mission in the world that before we can get to our coffee, we say a prayer for that person or those persons? I know for sure that there are such people at St. Peter’s and long before I was the interim rector, I engaged some of those people in occasional conversations and prayer.

I can’t pretend that I know everything there is to know about Jesus, but I know this: He is the light of the world and in Him there is no darkness at all, and if we who know Him keep saying yes to Him, for ourselves, our friends, and those who are alone, His light will glow through us evermore to brighten the corners where we live.

And this brings me to your collective role as a congregation:

You are called to this city at this time to let the light of Christ shine in the hearts of those who live here and those who come here. But you are also called to be a light to the world …

So how does that light shine?

The Apostle Paul tells us that each person has something to offer God’s people. He said there is one spirit, but there are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. ⁵ There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. ⁶ There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.

⁷ Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. ⁸ To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit,⁹ to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, ¹⁰ to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues,^[a] and to still another the interpretation of tongues.^[b]

¹¹ All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.

Now I have seen manifested in the staff and the Vestry an incredible array of talent and gifts, which have worked in harmony to keep this congregation on top.

The preschool, MaxLife, and volunteers, cooks, lectors, Altar Guild, Flower Guild, choir, musicians, and all who serve at the altar, you are the best; you have served well.

And as you continue to be about God’s business, please support Father Bergstrom and let him lead you to that new level of trust and goodness.

Do not lean on your own understanding or base everything on what you know, or how you think it should be: you have a leader, leave some things to him and the wonder working marvels of God.

Father Bergstrom is coming to you with his heart full of love. Love him, pray for him and his family, and respect his leadership.

That is what you offered Genevieve and me, and that is what he needs.

Remember, you are not just called to be better, you are called to be new, because if you are in Christ, you will be new … New is not about new programs or new plans, it is about prayer;

Pray and ask,
pray and seek,
pray and knock:
pray that the light, enkindled in your hearts, may shine forth in your lives; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

As we leave, we will forever cherish the friendships we have made and will continue to ask God to keep your congregation saying yes to Jesus. We will pray that you respect the new leadership. We are confident that Father Jeremy will do all he can to let the love flow from him and as Genevieve and I have observed, you all will do likewise.

We leave with the assurance that something good has transpired to help in shaping this congregation, Genevieve and me, and, in a wider sense, the Diocese of Central Florida.

On behalf of my family, including my Diocesan brothers and sisters, thank you for the time, thank you for the love, thank you for caring.

– Father Chris