50 Years of Priesthood | Rev. John R. Peterson’s 2013 Celebration at St. John’s

On December 8, 2013, St. John’s Episcopal Church in Tampa gathered to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Rev. John R. Peterson’s ordination to the priesthood. Fr. Peterson was ordained on February 28, 1963, at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Lansing, Michigan, by the Rt. Rev. Richard S. M. Emrich. The Rev. John F. Mangrum, an important figure at both the beginning of Peterson’s vocation and his later call to Tampa, preached at the ordination. By the time of this celebration, Peterson’s ordained ministry had extended across half a century and three principal dioceses: Michigan, Chicago and Southwest Florida. He had served nearly fifteen years as Rector of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Barrington Hills, Illinois, followed by twenty-one years as Rector of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Tampa, where he was later named Rector Emeritus. The 2013 celebration brought together family, parishioners, clergy and friends whose lives and ministries had intersected with his own. Letters from the bishops of Michigan, Chicago and Southwest Florida traced the institutional arc of his ordained life, while personal remembrances reflected the pastoral relationships, clergy formation, education, outreach and service that had characterized his ministry. Among the voices preserved in the celebration is the Rt. Rev. Bruce Caldwell, former Bishop of Wyoming, who remembered Peterson as both friend and mentor and recalled the telephone call from Peterson that brought him back into parish ministry. Caldwell told him, “You had a tremendous impact on me.” The fiftieth anniversary also brought recognition from across the church and civic life. Taken together, the documents show the breadth of institutional recognition surrounding the fifty-year ministerial milestone, from parish and diocese to village, city, county, state legislature, U.S. House, U.S. Senate and White House. The Rev. John Raymond Peterson Jr. 1936–2025 Assistant to the Rector, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Lansing | 1962–1965 Ordained to the Priesthood | February 28, 1963 Rector, St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Barrington Hills | 1965–1979 Rector, St. John’s Episcopal Church, Tampa | 1979–2000 Rector Emeritus, St. John’s Episcopal Church | 2001–2025 St. John’s Episcopal Church Tampa, Florida December 8, 2013 Pastor. Preacher. Teacher. Friend. #JohnPeterson #StJohnsTampa #StMarksBarringtonHills #StPaulsLansing #TheEpiscopalChurch #EpiscopalChurch #Ordination #DioceseOfMichigan #DioceseOfChicago #DioceseOfSouthwestFlorida #TampaHistory #churchhistory Video credit: Original video recorded by Phil Dean. Republished with his permission.