Clergy at St. Christopher's
The Reverend Susan Sowers, Rector
The Reverend Susan Sowers, Rector
Susan became a priest to follow Jesus, wherever he leads. She was raised in an Army family, and followed in the footsteps of her grandfather and father, with her own military career. After graduating from the U.S. Military Academy in 1982, she served as a Transportation Corps Officer for 25 years and had the privilege of serving young American soldiers in a variety of leadership positions, including: platoon leader, company commander, battalion commander and brigade commander. While in the Service, she received two Master of Science degrees: Civil Engineering from the University of Washington and Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College. Before retiring in 2007 and going to seminary, her final Army assignment was as the Chief of Staff of the Support Command in Iraq. Answering her call to ordained ministry, she was ordained in 2010, after receiving a Master of Divinity from the Virginia Theological Seminary.
Susan returns to us as our 5th rector, after serving for two years as the Associate Dean of the Cathedral of St. Andrew in Honolulu, Hawaii. She is no stranger to the congregation. This is where she was ordained to the priesthood and served as the Associate Rector for three years (Jun 2010 - Jun 2013). She is married to Donna Van Winkle who has lived in Hawaii most of her life, and joins her in ministry.
Susan is grateful and motivated to be ‘home,’ among the people of St. Christopher’s, as they journey life with Christ and one another. We are all called by God to live “fully alive,” and St. Christopher’s is one of those special places where love abounds and where people truly connect their faith to action.
“The glory of God is the human being fully alive.”
~ St. Irenaeus of Lyon (AD 202)
Susan became a priest to follow Jesus, wherever he leads. She was raised in an Army family, and followed in the footsteps of her grandfather and father, with her own military career. After graduating from the U.S. Military Academy in 1982, she served as a Transportation Corps Officer for 25 years and had the privilege of serving young American soldiers in a variety of leadership positions, including: platoon leader, company commander, battalion commander and brigade commander. While in the Service, she received two Master of Science degrees: Civil Engineering from the University of Washington and Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College. Before retiring in 2007 and going to seminary, her final Army assignment was as the Chief of Staff of the Support Command in Iraq. Answering her call to ordained ministry, she was ordained in 2010, after receiving a Master of Divinity from the Virginia Theological Seminary.
Susan returns to us as our 5th rector, after serving for two years as the Associate Dean of the Cathedral of St. Andrew in Honolulu, Hawaii. She is no stranger to the congregation. This is where she was ordained to the priesthood and served as the Associate Rector for three years (Jun 2010 - Jun 2013). She is married to Donna Van Winkle who has lived in Hawaii most of her life, and joins her in ministry.
Susan is grateful and motivated to be ‘home,’ among the people of St. Christopher’s, as they journey life with Christ and one another. We are all called by God to live “fully alive,” and St. Christopher’s is one of those special places where love abounds and where people truly connect their faith to action.
“The glory of God is the human being fully alive.”
~ St. Irenaeus of Lyon (AD 202)
The Reverend Jen Young Rice, Curate
The Reverend Jen Rice
The Rev. Jen Young Rice was ordained to the priesthood in October 2024 and serves as Curate at St. Christopher’s s Episcopal Church, focusing on youth and children’s faith formation, as well as pastoral care. Jen is also actively engaged in the church’s partnership with St. Monica’s Episcopal Church.
A graduate of The University of Alabama (2000), Jen earned a Master of Christian Education (2003) and a Master of Divinity (2004) from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Her ministry has included work with the International Sports Federation, coordinating sports mission teams for the International Mission Board, and serving on staff at The Church of Shelby Crossings in Birmingham, Alabama.
In 2006, Jen and her spouse, Shane Rice, moved to Milton to start a nonprofit that launched the “Backpacks for Kids” feeding program in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties. Once the program was well established, Feeding the Gulf Coast was able to secure grants to sustain its impact.
With a passion for education and spiritual formation, Jen became a certified Montessori guide and taught at the Montessori School of Pensacola from 2015-2020. She also served as a chaplain for Emerald Coast Hospice in 2023-2024 before completing a Certificate in Anglican Studies in 2024.
Jen and Shane are the parents of three children—Evangelin, Graham, and Beatrix. In their free time, they enjoy spending time together reading, playing basketball, listening to music and reading.
A graduate of The University of Alabama (2000), Jen earned a Master of Christian Education (2003) and a Master of Divinity (2004) from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Her ministry has included work with the International Sports Federation, coordinating sports mission teams for the International Mission Board, and serving on staff at The Church of Shelby Crossings in Birmingham, Alabama.
In 2006, Jen and her spouse, Shane Rice, moved to Milton to start a nonprofit that launched the “Backpacks for Kids” feeding program in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties. Once the program was well established, Feeding the Gulf Coast was able to secure grants to sustain its impact.
With a passion for education and spiritual formation, Jen became a certified Montessori guide and taught at the Montessori School of Pensacola from 2015-2020. She also served as a chaplain for Emerald Coast Hospice in 2023-2024 before completing a Certificate in Anglican Studies in 2024.
Jen and Shane are the parents of three children—Evangelin, Graham, and Beatrix. In their free time, they enjoy spending time together reading, playing basketball, listening to music and reading.
The Reverend Clelia Pinza-Garrity, LCSW
The Reverend Clelia Pinza-Garrity, LCSW
The Rev. Clelia Pinza-Garrity, LCSW was most recently the Associate for Community Engagement & Pastoral Care at St. Simon’s on the Sound Episcopal Church in Ft. Walton Beach, Florida. Prior to that, Clelia served at Christ Church, St. Michaels Parish, MD; St. Paul’s, Delray Beach, FL; and Grace in the Desert Episcopal Church in Las Vegas, NV. Clelia is a native of New York City. She has a master’s degree in social work and was ordained by The Rt. Rev. Dan Edwards, bishop of Nevada, to the Sacred Order of Deacons on April 10, 2010.
Clelia is licensed as both a clinical social worker and a hospice chaplain. In the late 1970s Clelia was one of the founders of the hospice program in America. During the 1990s, Clelia worked with projects throughout the United States developing social service and medical treatment programs for people living with HIV/AIDS, and women and children who were victims of domestic violence and sex trafficking.
In 2007 Clelia moved to Nevada where she established the Nye County Child Advocacy Center, a program for children who have been emotionally or sexually abused. Clelia is also the founder of the Valley AIDS Council in Harlingen, TX; a medical and dental clinic for people living with HIV/AIDS.
Clelia worked in Haiti for 20 years, and more recently in Zambia for three years, coordinating the delivery of healthcare to men, women and children who live in remote, underserved areas. Clelia’s most recent initiative focuses on the Texas/Mexico border, leading teams to work in partnership with organizations throughout the borderlands area. She is also the Missioner for Global Mission Advocacy representing the Episcopal Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast on this national task force.
Clelia is a member of the Episcopal Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast’s Commission on Ministry; the diocesan Commission on World Engagement and Mission; and she is the Diocesan Missioner for Global Refuge Ministries and the diocesan Global Mission Advocate. Clelia is a volunteer chaplain at Ft. Walton Beach Medical Center, and served in 2019-20 as an Honorary Commander in the Hurlburt Field Honorary Commander Program.
