During his farewell sermon at The Church of Epiphany Episcopal in Miami Lakes, the Rev. John “Jack” Stanton stood before nearly empty pews.
As is the norm during the pandemic, the Jan. 2 service was conducted on Zoom.
Those compelled to attend in person stood outside of the church at 15650 Miami Lakeway North, listened to the service on cellphones while in their cars and received Holy Eucharist outside.
The rector led the church for the past seven years, and it was the final assignment of his 59 years as a priest.
“Christianity at its base is a community and we are Christian people together, but it’s a different feel when you’re looking at the little picture on Zoom than if you’re standing and talking to somebody or the person’s in the pew,” Stanton, 85, said. “It loses something in the transmittal.”
Despite the temporary enforced distance, what may have drawn congregants to the church in the midst of a pandemic could be Stanton’s unique way of communicating with his flock.
Parishioners described how Stanton would demonstrate magic tricks or sprinkle funny sayings from the late baseball great Yogi Berra into his sermons.
He also learned to play the guitar so he could strum it during Mass, according to Ava Innerarity Rosales, the church’s senior warden.
“It always fit, whatever his magic trick was,” she said. “It was that hook that got you interested and then he would carry on his service after that,” she said. “ ...they were always related to a lesson or moral that was part of the scripture.”
Innerarity Rosales, who has worshipped at the church for 46 years, said Stanton was “vibrant” and dedicated to parishioners.
“He really was an out-of-the box thinker and he really cares about his congregation,” Innerarity Rosales said. “He did things above and beyond what his contract was.
A church website photo of Stanton taken during a Christmas Eve service in 2017 showed him wearing a Santa cap along with his traditional vestments.
Stanton said his approach was ultimately to keep worshippers engaged.
“If I’m in a church and I’m doing a sermon and I see people looking at the stained glass windows, I’m losing them,” Stanton said. “How could I bring them back?
“Humor helps with that… it’s really a good thing to have a story, a Bible story or any kind of story that illustrates the point you’re trying to make,” he said.
During his tenure at The Church of Epiphany, Stanton’s goals were to encourage churchgoers to pray more, read the Bible and to nourish their spiritual growth, he said.
“The church is stronger now than when I came, particularly in the spiritual area,” Stanton said.
“I get questions from this group now that I didn’t used to get: ‘What does that mean in the Bible? How can I pray better?’” he said, adding that prayer is now deeper and more than just ‘Santa Claus’ prayers that ask for things.
Originally from the Diocese of Newark in New Jersey, Stanton worked in hospital administration before coming to South Florida in 2003.
He received a Master of Divinity degree from the General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church in New York City and a master’s degree in health services administration from Wagner College.
His undergraduate degree in English literature and philosophy is from Hamilton College.
Stanton served at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Miami, where he met his wife Nora, and St. James the Fisherman Church in Islamorada.
As for his future plans Stanton, who lives with his wife in Aventura, plans to swim, visit grandchildren and write a book about Christianity for a new age.
“The world has changed, and the church hasn’t,” Stanton said. “There’s people that grew up in a church and are not attending it anymore.
“But I think the way the church is presenting itself needs to change,” Stanton said. “There’s plenty there for people but it just isn’t properly presented. We need to have a new way of looking at the Bible.”
Since Stanton’s retirement, The Rev. Ann Reeder Goraczko has led services and is committed with the church through Easter. Stanton’s permanent replacement will be announced at a future date.