HISTORY OF ST. PETER'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH:

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Previous Pastors

OUR PARISH HISTORY

St. Peter’s Episcopal Church has been serving the community since 1893.

From its beginning, St. Peter’s Church has been, and is, an Anglo-Catholic parish,
witnessing to the centrality of Eucharistic worship, all seven of the sacraments,
and emphasizing the Catholic Heritage of the Anglican Communion.

The Mass is celebrated with ceremonies which may be more elaborate than found in some
other Episcopal churches, but which are intended to help the devotion of all present.

The church edifice is well designed for the solemnity of the Mass, both in its
layout and the art which adorn the building.

In 1929, noted artist Arthur Gordon Smith painted fourteen-foot-high murals
on the walls of the church using a 14th century Italian style.

At the same time, the traditional 14 Stations of the Cross, each measuring
six feet high, were placed in the north and south aisles of the nave.

The missionary spirit of the parish can be seen in its historic sponsorship of missions which
eventually became independent parishes, including The Church of the Epiphany in Wilbraham,
Saint Barnabas and All Saint's Church in Springfield, and Saint Andrew’s in Ludlow.

As early as 1920, women shared in parish leadership, bearing witness to
St. Paul’s teaching that “in Christ, there is neither male nor female...” Galatians 3:28.

St. Peter’s has also been racially integrated from the beginning, with
records noting the baptism of black parishioners as early as 1895.

Through the years, the racial and ethnic makeup of the Parish has been as varied as the community.

Today; membership is drawn from the immediate neighborhood as well as throughout Springfield,
the Pioneer Valley and Connecticut. St. Peter’s is “multi-cultural”, welcoming any and all who
wish to be part of this Faith Community.

No description of the Parish would be complete without mention of the way its
faith is expressed through involvement in an outreach to the wider community.

Through the years that has included providing a warm, safe place on cold winter nights
for homeless people, donations to the “Open Pantry” and taking a regular turn feeding
the hungry in the “:Loaves and Fishes” program.

At present, “Narcotics Anonymous” meets six days a week at St. Peter’s and
each Monday evening St. Peter’s hosts a chapter of “Alcoholics Anonymous.”
Each year we participate in the fundraising project for city-wide ACTS program.
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Our Parish Priest is involved in a number of community organizations and
currently serves as vice president of the Pastors’ Council of Greater Springfield.
Many parishioners are also regularly involved in wide variety and forms of community service.

With the dawn of the 21st century, under the pastoral leadership of Fr. Dee Bright,
St. Peter’s seeks to undertake initiatives to re-grow and to continue to be an active,
vibrant parish of the Episcopal Church, worshiping God in the fullness of Anglo-Catholic
liturgy and seeking to serve all people in God’s Holy name.

Background: Rev. Fr. Dee Bright:

The Reverend Father Dee Wellington Bright Sr. was called to serve as Priest-In-Charge
of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church on February 1, 2003, and elected Rector in 2005.

Fr. Dee is originally from the Diocese of Liberia in the Angelican Province of West Africa.
Nearly 10 years ago, due to a bloody civil war in their homeland, he and his family
were resettled in the US through the agencies of the United Nations resettlement
program and the Episcopal Migration Ministry.

Fr. Dee was literally air-lifted from the Atlantic seacoast and evacuated from Liberia
by US Marines, cue to danger posed directly to his life by the civil crisis.

Prior to emigrating to the United States, he served in many capacities within his home diocese,
such as parish rector, member of the Diocesan Standing Committee, Regional president of a
Diocesan Deanery, and Principal of the Cathedral’s Episcopal High School, among others.

Fr. Dee’s first seven years in the US were spent in Texas, where he ministered in a
variety of parishes, then served as rector of St. Philip’s Episcopal Church in San Antonio.

Currently holding a Bachelor of Divinity from Cuttington Episcopal Seminary in Liberia
and a Masters degree from the Episcopal Seminary of Southwest in Austin, Texas,
Fr. Dee is pursuing studies towards his doctorate.

A gifted pastor, teacher, and preacher, Fr. Dee. has a passion for
church growth, ministry to the younger generation, and personal spirituality.



He and his wife Monyue have been blessed with children Dee Jr., Vonti and Tinika.