Clergy & Staff

The clergy of Saint John’s serves the Lord and the people of the parish by providing spiritual guidance, overseeing outreach, education, and parish life programs, commemorating sacraments like baptisms, weddings, and funerals, and celebrating the Eucharist several times weekly. Staff supports the clergy administratively and through communications, facility maintenance, and financial oversight.

The Rev. Christian Wood

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…

The Rev. Dale VanWormer

Fr. Dale is a native of the scenic Finger Lakes region of New York State, a graduate of Keuka College (History & Political Science, 2014), and an alumnus of Nashotah House Theological Seminary in Wisconsin. He is passionate about liturgy and sacred music and plans to share his love of teaching with us at St.…

Deacon Mary Alice Lopez

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…

The Rev. Charles E. Connelly

  • Retired Priest-in-Residence

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…

The Rev. Donald P. Goodheart

  • Retired Priest-in-Residence

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…

Jan DePinto

Janice De Pinto, who joined us as Parish Secretary in 2023, is originally from New York State, Jan received a BA in English from Lehman College CUNY and an MA in Ministry with a Certificate in Group Spiritual Formation from Drew University. Her professional life has spanned a threefold track in administration, writing/editing and spiritual…