On a corner of South Palm Avenue where Sarasota Bay breezes once met open jalousie windows, Church of the Redeemer has stood since 1950 as one of downtown Sarasota's signature congregations. The modified-Gothic church at 222 South Palm Avenue is home to a parish of more than 3,000 members, the largest Hispanic congregation in the Episcopal Diocese of Southwest Florida, and a music program recognized throughout the region. Its mission, in the words of the parish itself, is "to make new Christians and make all Christians new."
From the Gillespie Parlor to a Downtown Cathedral
Redeemer's story begins in the late 1880s, when Episcopalians in the small fishing village of Sarasota worshipped in the parlor of John Hamilton Gillespie's home on Palm Avenue. Gillespie, a Scottish Presbyterian sent to Florida by his father's British investment company, read the Episcopal funeral service for Tom Booth in 1887 and was confirmed into the Episcopal Church the following year. By 1904, Gillespie had built a rough-hewn guild hall in the back yard of his Palm Avenue home, and 26 charter members signed the papers that established Church of the Redeemer as an organized mission of the Missionary Jurisdiction of South Florida. The name honored the home church in Biloxi, Mississippi, of founding member Mrs. E. W. Morrill.
The congregation moved its building twice before settling in the center of its own lot, where additions and stained glass eventually produced a clearly church-shaped structure. On April 11, 1934, thirty years after being established as a mission, Redeemer was admitted as a parish. Fourteen years later the vestry commissioned the Boston firm of Cram and Ferguson, designers of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York, to draw a new church overlooking Sarasota Bay. A benefit performance by the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus helped kick off the campaign. The cornerstone was laid in 1949, and on the First Sunday in Lent in March 1950 the congregation of 917 members worshipped for the first time in the present church at 222 South Palm Avenue.
Two symbols have come to identify Redeemer. The first is the American cherry-wood cross above the high altar, designed by former Rector Father Paul Reeves, handmade by Gilman Lansdale, and installed in 1964; its broad-sword shape is echoed in the parish logo. The second is the mother pelican of the Redeemer seal, who pierces her breast to feed her young - an ancient image of Christ the Redeemer.
A Campus Built for the Growing Parish
Redeemer's campus now occupies an entire city block in downtown Sarasota. Beyond the church itself, the parish grounds hold Gillespie Hall (the renovated parish hall, named for the founding member), the three-story Robinson Center (dedicated in December 2019 and named for former Rector Fr. Fred Robinson), the Hope Bell Tower with its five German cast-bronze bells blessed in 1967, the St. Francis Garden columbarium, and the Babcock Youth Center. Free public parking is available in the parish lot on the corner of Ringling Boulevard and Palm Avenue, and complimentary valet parking is offered on Sundays from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Palm Avenue at the covered entrance to Gillespie Hall.
Worship at Redeemer
Redeemer offers five weekend services and a full round of daily prayer.
- Saturday 5:30 p.m. - Vigil Mass, Rite II, with organ and hymns.
- Sunday 7:30 a.m. - Spoken Rite I mass without music, for early risers.
- Sunday 9 a.m. - Sung Rite II mass with the choir and Children's Chapel; a family service of traditional music for parishioners of all ages.
- Sunday 11 a.m. - Sung Rite I mass with traditional music.
- Sunday 1 p.m. - Rite II mass in Spanish, with contemporary music (misa en español).
On most Sundays between the 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. masses, the parish gathers for formation from about 10:10 to 10:40 a.m. - children and youth for Sunday School, adults for the Redeemer Forum and Tell Me More classes. Weekday worship includes Morning Prayer Monday through Saturday at 9 a.m., Daily Mass Monday through Saturday at 10 a.m., and Evening Prayer Monday through Friday at 5:15 p.m.
The 9 a.m. Sunday service is also the service where Children in kindergarten through 5th grade leave for Children's Chapel in Gillespie Hall after the Gospel and return to their families at The Peace. Nursery care is available year-round on Sundays during the 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. masses for infants six weeks and older through age four, with a separate mothering room across the hall. Visitors who prefer to keep little ones with them can pick up a blue Redeemer Kids Bag of quiet activities from the narthex.
Visitors are invited to stop by the welcome table in front of the church on Sunday mornings, where the welcome team offers a welcome bag with more information about the parish, the latest newsletter, and a snack. A second red welcome cart stands on the veranda next to Gillespie Hall. Welcome Coordinator Anne Ayres and her team shepherd newcomers through a three-session Redeemer 101 class, periodic Coffee & Connect gatherings after the chapel's 10 a.m. mass, and the Rector's New Member Welcome Receptions at the Rectory. Services typically last just over an hour, and a coffee hour in Gillespie Hall follows most masses.
On attire, the parish invites visitors to wear whatever they feel comfortable in. Women often wear a dress, a skirt with a blouse, or pants with a blouse; men often wear a button-down shirt with slacks, with some adding blazers or suits.
Throughout the church year, Redeemer observes the great feasts of the Christian calendar with additional services, including Ash Wednesday, Palm Sunday, the Triduum, the Great Vigil of Easter, All Saints' Day, All Souls' Day, Thanksgiving Day, and four services on Christmas Eve plus Christmas Day.
The Spanish Mass and Hispanic Ministry
The Sunday 1 p.m. mass in Spanish is one of Redeemer's distinguishing features. The congregation it gathers is, since 2012, the largest Hispanic congregation in the Episcopal Diocese of Southwest Florida. The Hispanic Ministry is led by The Rev. Mario Castro, a Dominican-born priest who joined Redeemer as a part-time priest in 2011 and now serves full time. A women's Spanish prayer group, Hijas de Getsemani, meets on Redeemer's campus on the first Monday of each month and via Zoom on the other Mondays. Sunday School classes are offered in Spanish during the 1 p.m. mass.
A Music Program Known Well Beyond Sarasota
Music is woven through Redeemer's identity. The parish is known throughout the area for its choral singing, organ repertoire, and concert series. Every Sunday at the 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. masses, the choirs offer anthems drawn from the breadth of the Anglican choral tradition - from classic Stanford and Howells to living composers such as David Hurd, Judith Weir, and Jonathan Dove. Most months from September through May, the choirs lead Evensong (sung Evening Prayer), a practice that traces back to 16th-century England.
The instrument at the heart of it all is a 64-rank pipe organ built by Nichols and Simpson of Little Rock, Arkansas, installed in the church in 2003 and the largest pipe organ in Sarasota. Its oak console is finished with a burl eucalyptus interior, and its pipe shades draw inspiration from the wrought-iron screening of the Redeemer chapel.
Organist-Choirmaster Sam Nelson has held the post since 2020. A native of Lynn, Massachusetts, he earned his Bachelor of Music from Gordon College and his Master of Music from Boston University, and previously served at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Lynnfield and as Tour Manager and Organ Technician for Cameron Carpenter. He is supported by Associate Choirmaster Daniel Cartlidge, who has been a member of the music staff since 1998 and previously sang with opera companies and orchestras around the country. The adult choir rehearses on Thursday evenings from late August through May and sings at the two Sunday morning choral masses, Evensong, feast days, and concerts. The Redeemer Choir School, directed by soprano Adelaide Griffin, welcomes boys and girls who can read through grade 12 to grow as musicians and singers while serving in worship.
The parish also hosts organ recitals, choral concerts, quartets, Lent and Advent recital series, and other special musical events as part of its Great Music Series. Dr. Ann Stephenson-Moe, who served as Redeemer's Organist-Choirmaster from 1974 to 2020, holds the distinction of the longest tenure of any employee in the parish's history.
Children, Youth, and Young Adults
Redeemer defines its "children" ministry as infants through 5th grade and its "youth" ministry as 6th through 12th grade. The children's program centers on Sunday School during the academic year (10 to 10:40 a.m. on Sundays for VPK through 12th grade), Children's Chapel during the 9 a.m. mass, the year-round nursery, and First Communion Class for kindergartners and their parents. Weekday and seasonal offerings include LOGOS on Wednesday evenings in the fall (play, tutoring, choir, art, Bible lessons, and family-style dinners), Just Do It on Wednesday evenings in January and February (parishioners teach children their craft), Little Hands Big Hearts on Wednesday evenings in Lent (service projects for those in need), Vacation Bible School the week before the new school year, the Blessing of the Animals in the courtyard each fall, the Advent wreath-making event, Trunk or Treat on Gulfstream Avenue, and the Christmas Break Camp at DaySpring Episcopal Conference Center in Parrish, Florida. Director of Children's Formation Mandy Latta oversees the team. All staff and volunteers working with children and youth have been screened and have completed Safeguarding God's Children training through the Episcopal Diocese of Southwest Florida.
Youth ministry, led by Director of Youth and Outreach Ministries Jackie Overton, is built around the parish's C.O.R.E. values of Community, Outreach, Reflection, and Evangelism. Middle School Youth Group (grades 6 to 8) meets on Wednesdays from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. in the Babcock Youth Center, with High School Youth Group (grades 9 to 12) meeting from 7 to 8 p.m. and the two groups sharing an all-youth dinner from 6:30 to 7 p.m. The Gathering, a social event for middle and high school students and their parents, is held on the second Sunday evening of each month. Youth Confirmation Class meets on Wednesday evenings during the academic year for students in 7th grade and up. Mission trips have taken Redeemer youth to the Dominican Republic, New Orleans, and New Mexico.
Redeemer Young Adults, for parishioners and friends in their 20s and 30s, gathers throughout the year, typically on the second Saturday evening of each month, with Director of Communications Grier Ferguson as a steward of the group.
Adult Formation and Small Groups
Associate Rector for Adult Formation The Rev. Mason Waldhauser oversees the parish's teaching ministry. Redeemer Forum meets on most Sunday mornings between the 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. masses and acquaints adults with the sources, personalities, and themes of Holy Scripture, the teaching of Jesus, and the world in which He lived. Tell Me More, taught by that Sunday's preacher, offers a chance to go further into the sermon. Wednesday-evening adult classes are taught by Redeemer clergy throughout the year in Goewey Hall.
Other adult offerings include a long-running men's lectionary Bible study on Wednesday mornings via Zoom, a Saturday morning men's prayer group in Room 220 and on Zoom, Tuesday-morning and Tuesday-evening women's Bible studies, Grace Gang (a women's Bible study led by Rector Father Charleston Wilson on the first and third Thursday at noon in Goewey Hall), Daughters of the King, the Coffee Talk Women's Book Group, the Night Shift Women's Book Club, the Books and Beyond Men's Book Club, the Grown and Flown group for parents of adult children, the Heart and Sole Walking Group (outdoors October through May at the Van Wezel purple pier, indoors June through September at the Crossings at Siesta Key mall), the Chicks with Sticks knitting and crocheting circle, the Pattie Bell Clendenin's Quilts of Comfort ministry, and the Needlepoint Guild that has filled the church with kneelers, antependia, and rugs over the decades.
Men of Redeemer
Men of Redeemer (MOR) is a fellowship that aims to encourage men to seek Christ-centered living. Its signature events are the annual Steak Night, celebrated for more than 25 years with catering by Morton's Gourmet Market and speakers that have included NFL head coach Tony Dungy, two-time World Series champion Darryl Strawberry, high-wire artist Nik Wallenda, and Episcopal Diocese of Southwest Florida Bishop Doug Scharf, and the annual Golf Tournament at Palm Aire Country Club, which supports MOR's many projects. Other activities include men's quarterly events and barbecues, small groups, Bible studies, the Christ Led Communities Study Program, pilgrimages to the Holy Land and St. Paul's Greece, and the Behold The Man Holy Pilgrimages Scholarship. MOR also co-sponsors the annual Downtown Community Thanksgiving Luncheon, supports the Stations of the Cross Main Street Pilgrimage on Good Friday, and sends construction teams to the Dominican Republic.
A New Outreach Model for Sarasota and Beyond
Redeemer has reorganized its outreach around three-year partnerships with four area nonprofits: Meals on Wheels of Sarasota (daily meals and wellness checks for the homebound and elderly), Hope Seeds International (sustainable food production and seed kits), Resurrection House (a faith-based resource center for the homeless), and Sarasota Medical Pregnancy Center (medical, behavioral, and educational services for expecting mothers). Each receives $35,000 a year from the parish, with organized volunteer opportunities layered on top. International outreach centers on the Dominican Republic, where Redeemer has constructed and equipped four Episcopal churches, an Episcopal school, and an assisted living facility in the Boca Chica area of Santo Domingo since 1995. Within the parish, the Foster Youth Initiative, St. Scholastica Grants for public school teachers in Sarasota and Manatee counties, and Caritas (a ministry helping with utility payments, food, and transportation) all receive increased funding, and Alta Vista Elementary School - the closest Title I school to the church - receives $10,000 a year to support learning and staff initiatives. Together the new model amounts to more than $200,000 in direct annual support.
Other service ministries include the Back-to-School Bash for Alta Vista students, Bell-Ringers for the Salvation Army's Red Kettle campaign each Christmas, Feed My Sheep (summer sandwich-making for the Salvation Army), the Foster Youth Initiative's supply drives and necessity kits, the Faithful Friends Pet Ministry, the Homebound Ministry and Lay Eucharistic Visitors, Martha's Guild (support on the day of a requiem), and the Dominican Republic Adult Mission. The Mission and Outreach Committee advises the Vestry on grant allocations, and the parish also supports Resurrection House as a parish-wide commitment; Rector Fr. Charleston Wilson serves as President of Resurrection House's Board of Directors.
Pastoral Care and Counseling
Every member of the parish can receive pastoral care. Clergy are available for individual, premarital, and marriage counseling, and Redeemer partners with Samaritan Counseling Services of the Gulf Coast to provide on-site, spiritually integrated counseling through Licensed Clinical Social Worker Laura Johnston, who maintains a private office on the Redeemer campus. The pastoral care team visits parishioners in area hospitals Mondays through Fridays and on Sundays; due to hospital regulations, the family must notify the parish directly. Lay Eucharistic Visitors bring Holy Communion to those who are homebound or temporarily unable to attend. The parish also prepares couples for the Celebration and Blessing of a Marriage (the Rector requires a minimum 90-day notice and weddings are not scheduled during Lent or on Sundays), prepares baptism candidates and their families every other month, and walks families through funeral planning with a Requiem Planning Guide.
The Gift and Book Shop and the Episcopal Thrift House
Two parish-run retail efforts support the parish and the wider community. The Church of the Redeemer Gift and Book Shop, on the parish campus at 222 South Palm Avenue Suite A, sells books, jewelry, icons, homeware, greeting cards, and seasonal gifts. It is open Wednesdays and Fridays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and on Sundays before and after services. Sales support the Rector's Discretionary Fund. The Episcopal Thrift House, located at 1503 Second Street at the corner of Lemon Avenue and Second Street near Whole Foods, sells gently used clothing, jewelry, furniture, and household items. It is open Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. All profits fund grants to area nonprofits. In 2024 the Thrift House awarded $70,000 in grants and in 2023 awarded $61,000, including gifts to Alta Vista Elementary School, Baby Basics of Sarasota County, Resurrection House, the Sarasota Medical Pregnancy Center, Second Heart Homes, Genesis Health Services, Good Samaritan Pharmacy and Health Services, and the parish's own St. Scholastica Grants for public school teachers.
A Rector Shaped by Faith, Family, and Wine
The 11th Rector of Church of the Redeemer is The Rev. Charleston David Wilson, who was ordained at Redeemer in 2013 and was elected Rector in 2021. Before seminary, he worked in the restaurant, timber, and wine industries, co-owned a fine-dining concept, and now holds the certified sommelier credential. He preaches with music woven through the sermon, hosts the Spotify playlist of songs referenced in his sermons, and in December 2025 launched Water into Wine, a podcast exploring faith, music, and wine - now available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podbean, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, Player FM, Podchaser, and YouTube. Fr. Charleston is a graduate of Samford University and Nashotah House Theological Seminary, serves as President and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of The Anglican Digest, and serves as President of the Board of Directors of Resurrection House. He and his wife Malacy have two children.
With him on the clergy team are Senior Assistant Rector The Rev. Michael W. Hurst (a Nashville native and former rector of St. James Episcopal Church and School in Dallas, with deep experience in youth ministry), Associate Rector for Adult Formation The Rev. Mason Waldhauser (a Nashotah House graduate who joined Redeemer in August 2025), Priest Associate for Hispanic Ministry The Rev. Mario Castro, Priest Associate for Pastoral Care The Rev. Ralph Strohm, and Priest Associate for Worship and Liturgical Life The Rev. Andrew Yow, a Sarasota native and organist who was ordained to the priesthood at Redeemer in June 2025. Retired clergy in residence include The Rev. Dr. Fredrick Robinson, Rector Emeritus, and several other former rectors and assisting priests.
Visiting Redeemer
Church of the Redeemer is at 222 South Palm Avenue in downtown Sarasota, at the intersection of Palm Avenue and Ringling Boulevard along the Sarasota Bayfront. Two visitor parking spots are reserved in front of the church on Gulfstream Avenue each Sunday. The parish office is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and the parish phone line (941-955-4263) is staffed at all hours with an automated message routing pastoral emergencies to the on-call priest. Services are livestreamed online through the Boxcast app, and sermons are archived on the parish's podcast channels. Visitors planning a trip can fill out a Plan A Visit form online or email Welcome Coordinator Anne Ayres to arrange a tour of the church, classrooms, and gardens.