Word and Sacrament on Bonita Beach Road
On a stretch of Bonita Beach Road in Bonita Springs, Florida, St. Mary's Episcopal Church holds a quiet claim to being one of the more distinctive congregations in the Diocese of Southwest Florida. A "high" or Anglo-Catholic parish, St. Mary's draws its identity from the richer end of the Anglican liturgical spectrum: incense at the eucharist, the Book of Common Prayer opened wide each Sunday, and a calendar of saints that gives the year a particular shape. It is also a parish built around its prayer and healing ministries, its Recovery Eucharist for those struggling with addiction, and a thrift-shop-funded outreach commission that, in a single recent year, distributed grants to a dozen local and international nonprofit partners.
The community today numbers more than four hundred members, a long road from the thirty-four people who gathered in 1977 to begin the work of growing a congregation. Year-round residents worship alongside seasonal congregants and vacationing Episcopalians who return to southwest Florida year after year. The mix gives the parish a particular character: people with deep roots in the community alongside those who spend only part of the year in Bonita Springs, all meeting around the same prayer book and the same eucharistic table.
From a Mission of Thirty-Four to a Parish of Four Hundred
The story of St. Mary's begins in the mid-1970s, when the Diocese of Southwest Florida, Trinity-by-the-Cove Episcopal Church in Naples, and other local congregations saw the need for a new church to serve the growing population along Bonita Beach Road. In 1976, Trinity-by-the-Cove purchased a five-and-a-half-acre site on Bonita Beach Road and donated it to the diocese. A year later, in 1977, thirty-four people gathered and proclaimed their intention to build a congregation. Until the first permanent space was ready, the young mission worshiped in borrowed quarters at First United Methodist Church.
The parish was formally incorporated as an organized mission in 1978. In 1980 it held its first service in its own building, a multipurpose structure called All Saints Hall, which served as both church and parish fellowship center. By 1988 the St. Mary's Thrift Shop had opened in a rented storefront nearby, and the proceeds would become central to the parish's identity in years to come. In 1990 the diocese designated St. Mary's as a parish in its own right, and in 1993 the present church building was dedicated and consecrated.
The decades since have been marked by a steady accumulation of buildings, gardens and ministries. The Parish Life Center was dedicated in 2002, and the original church building became the home of the now-renamed PennyWise Thrift Shop in 2003. The Flora Linda Garden was constructed and dedicated in 2006. In 2013 the parish created the St. Francis Pet Cemetery, and in 2016 it added the All Souls Memorial Garden. The year 2017 brought a celebration of forty years of Christian caring. In 2023 the Bethany Chapter of the Daughters of the King was organized and installed at St. Mary's.
Today the senior warden reports a parish marked by both continuity and growth. Recent building improvements include a fresh off-white paint job in the sanctuary and narthex, a new energy-efficient lighting system, and the removal of sound panels from the sanctuary that has noticeably improved acoustics. New families have begun attending worship, joining as choir members, lay readers and greeters. Combined Sunday attendance at the two eucharists has held steady, even in the slower summer months.
Anglo-Catholic Worship, Sunday Through Friday
The shape of the week at St. Mary's follows the rhythms of traditional Anglican worship. On Sunday morning, two Holy Eucharists are offered. The 8:00 a.m. service is a Rite I eucharist, spoken without music, drawn from the older language of the Book of Common Prayer. The 10:00 a.m. service is a Rite II choral eucharist, led by the Adult Choir and Organist-Choirmaster Carl J. Marucci. The choir sings a varied repertoire of classical literature chosen to complement the liturgy, and the choral eucharist is the principal musical offering of the week.
Worship continues through the week with daily Evening Prayer. The Office is sung or said at 3:00 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Two special eucharists punctuate the month. On the first Tuesday evening at 5:30 p.m., the parish offers its distinctive Recovery Eucharist, weaving the language of the twelve steps and the Serenity Prayer into the traditional liturgy. On the third Thursday at noon, the Healing Eucharist is celebrated in the chapel with the Order of St. Luke prayer team assisting, and worshipers may also receive the laying on of hands and anointing. Outside of Advent and Lent, the parish gathers on the parish campus once a month for Prayer in the Square, offering prayer in a public place as a witness to the community.
The sanctuary itself is described by the parish as modern and light-filled. Altar servers, called acolytes, play an unusually full role: they set up the altar book, read lessons, light candles, pass the offertory plates, ring the sanctus bells, hold the chalice, and, in the case of the thurifer, prepare and swing the thurible during the eucharist. The Altar Guild, a volunteer group of the parish, cares for the altar, vestments, vessels, and linens, and prepares the sanctuary for baptisms, funerals, and the special liturgies of Holy Week and Easter.
St. Mary's livestreams its services on YouTube and Vimeo for those who cannot be present. Weekly bulletins and recorded services are available online, and the parish maintains an active presence on its YouTube channel.
The Music of the Parish
Music at St. Mary's is shaped by the Anglo-Catholic sensibility of the parish and by the long partnership of the congregation with its choirmaster. The Adult Choir rehearses on Wednesday evenings and sings at the 10:00 a.m. Rite II choral eucharist from autumn through late spring. New singers are welcomed, and the parish encourages interested members and friends to contact the church office about joining.
Outside of the regular choir season, the parish has hosted concerts of sacred music in the Anglican and Russian Orthodox traditions, including visits from ChoRuss, a vocal quartet that performs unaccompanied a cappella music from the Orthodox liturgical tradition. Such concerts reflect the parish's openness to the wider heritage of Christian sacred music.
The Healing Ministry of the Order of St. Luke
Few ministries define St. Mary's as clearly as its healing prayer work through the Ecclesia Chapter of the International Order of St. Luke the Physician. The Order, founded in 1932 by an Episcopal priest, Fr. John Gaynor Banks, is an ecumenical organization dedicated to the Christian healing ministry, with St. Luke, the physician, as its patron. Members study the biblical stories of Jesus's healing miracles and engage in healing prayer, often with the laying on of hands.
The Ecclesia Chapter at St. Mary's began in 2000 and has grown into one of the more visible prayer ministries of the parish. Members serve as lay prayer ministers at prayer stations around the church at every weekend service, and assist once a month at the Wednesday noon Healing Eucharist in the chapel. The Order also takes its prayer ministry outside the church: during Advent the OSL prayer team offers laying on of hands and anointing prayer in a public square, gathering under a red tent in front of a local thrift shop as a witness to passers-by.
Formation in the Order is serious and sustained. Candidates first read selected books, then commit to lifelong study, daily scripture reading and daily prayer. The classes meet for fourteen weeks to study the twenty-six recorded healings by Jesus in his ministry. Upon completion, candidates are inducted into the Order in a special ceremony, anointed, and have their hands blessed. Members meet weekly and are expected to attend at least one healing conference each year to foster continued spiritual growth.
The Recovery Eucharist
On the first Tuesday of each month, St. Mary's offers a service unlike almost any other in the diocese: a Recovery Eucharist that weaves the twelve steps of recovery into the traditional liturgy of the Episcopal Church. The service began in March 2015 and is open to everyone, from any denomination or none, with a special welcome to anyone struggling with addiction or whose loved ones are struggling.
The parish situates the service within a particular Anglican genealogy. The Episcopal Church's relationship with the twelve steps goes back to 1935, when an Episcopal priest, the Rev. Dr. Samuel Shoemaker, worked with Bill W. and Dr. Bob S. to develop what would become Alcoholics Anonymous. AA in turn became the model for the many twelve-step programs that followed. St. Mary's Recovery Eucharist draws on that history, combining ancient scripture, centuries-old eucharistic liturgy, and the more recent language of twelve-step meetings. The steps and the Serenity Prayer are incorporated directly into the service.
The parish describes the result as both moving and liberating, a celebration of the victory of God's grace over the destructive power of addiction. It is a come-as-you-are gathering, marked by candor and prayer, that has become a distinctive part of the parish's ministry to the wider community.
Women of St. Mary's and the Daughters of the King
Two complementary women's organizations shape the life of the parish for women who worship there. The Women of St. Mary's, known by the acronym WSM, is the parish's Episcopal Church Women chapter. Every woman who attends St. Mary's is a member, and the group meets on the second Tuesday of each month from November through April. Each gathering begins at 11:00 a.m. with the Holy Eucharist celebrated in the chapel by Fr. Wright, followed by a light lunch in the Parish Hall, a brief business meeting, and a program. The events brochure is available in the narthex and parish hall.
The Bethany Chapter of the Daughters of the King, established at St. Mary's in November 2023, focuses on prayer, evangelism and service. Members of the Order wear a distinctive cross and participate at the parish, deanery, diocesan, provincial and national levels of the Order. A Junior Daughters program is also available for girls and teens ages seven to twenty-one. The discernment course for women interested in the Order is offered periodically, often by Zoom.
Christian Formation and Youth
Christian formation at St. Mary's is understood as a lifelong journey that begins at baptism and continues through every stage of a Christian's growth. Drawing on the Old and New Testaments, the traditions of the Church, and the personal experience of its members, the formation ministry draws heavily on adult formation materials from the International Order of St. Luke and other sources. A particular favorite is the Beth Moore Bible study Entrusted.
Children of all ages meet in the Sunday school classroom in the Parish Life Center at 10:00 a.m. on Sundays, exploring scripture, activities, and music designed to help them grow in their understanding of faith. The Director of Youth and Family Ministries, Jules Wallace, oversees this work and plans additional outside activities to encourage interaction with the wider parish community.
Pastoral Care, Prayer Shawls, and the Mourner's Path
Pastoral Care at St. Mary's is organized as a constellation of lay ministries that put Christian love into practice. Trained Pastoral Caregivers contact parishioners who are unable to attend weekly services because of illness or physical challenge, praying with them regularly. Some caregivers are Eucharistic Ministers who can bring the sacraments to the homebound.
Each week, prayer request cards distributed at worship are gathered by a Prayer Leader who invites others to join in prayer for each request, taking care to keep prayers private. Signed requests are passed to the clergy or to a Power of Prayer representative and placed on a thirty-day prayer list. The Prayer Shawl Ministry invites volunteers to stitch specific patterns at home and gather monthly at St. Mary's to stitch, share and pray; each stitch is offered as a prayer for the person who will receive the shawl. Finished shawls are also available in a basket in the narthex for anyone who would like a "warm hug" during worship.
Walking the Mourner's Path is an eight-week, small-group workshop grounded in prayer and led by trained facilitators. The Christ-centered program is offered periodically to help those who are grieving. A specially trained Order of St. Luke prayer team prays off-site for each participant throughout the course.
PennyWise Thrift Shop and the Engine of Outreach
No account of St. Mary's is complete without the thrift shop. Opened in 1988 in a rented strip-mall storefront, the shop moved into the original church building when the present sanctuary was completed and has operated there ever since. Formerly known as PennyWise, the shop is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., year-round, and is governed by its own board of directors reporting to the vestry through a liaison. Each day is overseen by a volunteer manager, with two to six additional volunteers serving as cashiers, inventory preparers and sales personnel.
For the past five years, the shop has earned between eighty thousand and one hundred twenty thousand dollars annually in cash and credit sales. After a small reserve is set aside, the bulk of the profits is split: half supports the operating expenses of St. Mary's Church, and half goes to the Outreach Commission for distribution to local nonprofit service organizations and special appeals such as hurricane relief. Donations are accepted anytime, with volunteers sorting goods and sending items the shop cannot sell to other nonprofits such as St. Matthew's House, All Souls Episcopal Church Thrift Store, Habitat Resale, and Goodwill.
The Outreach Commission and Its Partners
The Outreach Commission is one of the most active arms of parish life. It oversees the funding of local outreach programs and, in some cases, directs the actual project activities. The commission is especially interested in helping disadvantaged neighbors, literacy and education, food assistance, recovery and rehabilitation, child development, and family integrity, with smaller out-of-state and international efforts focused on seminary education, winter clothing contributions to colder states, and safe drinking water.
In a single recent year, the commission funded grants and volunteer support to a wide circle of partners in the Fort Myers-Naples corridor and beyond. After the Rain of Southwest Florida, which provides safe housing for adult women recovering from substance abuse and domestic violence, received a cash grant, with the parish supporting the work since 2014. Café of Life, which offers on-site hot meals, supplemental groceries, clothing, and transportation for the community's poor, received both volunteers and cash grants, with the parish a partner since 2009; an annual spring food drive at St. Mary's supports Café of Life's work. Harvest Time Ministries of Bonita, which serves farm-worker families in the fields, receives volunteers and cash support, with the parish engaged since 2009.
Love In the Name of Christ (Love Inc.) of Southwest Florida, a coalition of two dozen local churches across six denominations, receives cash grants to support its work of connecting neighbors in need with network partners. Meals of Hope, which fights hunger through mobile pantries and meal-packing events, has had St. Mary's as a partner site since 2020, with refrigerated pantries-on-wheels distributing food on the church campus each Monday. The New Beginnings of Southwest Florida, which supports single mothers pursuing higher education and life skills, receives cash grants and participates in the parish's annual Christmas gift program. Our Mothers Home, which serves teen mothers in foster care and human-trafficking systems, has received parish grants since 2008. The Children's Advocacy Center of Southwest Florida, founded in 1981 to provide a safe and nurturing space for children affected by abuse and neglect, received its first grant from St. Mary's in 2025. New Horizons of Southwest Florida, which provides tutoring, mentoring and character-building programs to under-resourced students through Super Kids and Super Teen clubs, received both volunteer tutors and cash grants; the parish also hosted a Super Kids Club on its campus for nearly five years before the program relocated.
The commission also funds international outreach, including seminary education in South America and India and winter clothing shipped to Dearborn County Clearinghouse for Emergency Aid in Indiana, which has received sixty cases of clothing in a single year. Beyond cash grants, the commission organizes two semi-annual food drives each year, one in November for Harvest Time Ministries and one in March for Café of Life, and runs a Christmas gift program for children served by the parish's nonprofit partners.
The Veterans Ministry and the Endowment
The Veterans Ministry at St. Mary's recognizes the sacrifices of veterans and their families, both within the parish and beyond. The ministry maintains a list of parish veterans and their families and welcomes information about service dates, branch, rank, medals and contact details. It serves as a point of connection for those who have served and those who care for them.
The Endowment Ministry was established in 1998 to provide for the long-term financial stability of the parish. The Endowment Commission manages the portfolio, meets regularly to review performance, and determines disbursements. Parishioners are encouraged to become members of the Legacy Society either by current contributions to the Endowment Fund or by provisions in their wills.
The Campus, the Gardens, and the Buildings
The St. Mary's campus along Bonita Beach Road reflects nearly five decades of parish life. The present sanctuary, dedicated in 1993, is the focal point of the campus and houses the principal Sunday worship. The Parish Life Center, dedicated in 2002, is home to the Sunday school classrooms, the WSM luncheons, and a range of fellowship gatherings. The original church building, now the PennyWise Thrift Shop, anchors one end of the property. Outside, the Flora Linda Garden, dedicated in 2006 and graced by a statue of the Virgin Mary, offers a place for prayer and reflection. The St. Francis Pet Cemetery, opened in 2013, is overseen by a statue of St. Francis and provides a final resting place for beloved animal companions. The All Souls Memorial Garden, created and dedicated in 2016, serves as the parish columbarium.
Recent improvements have renewed the sanctuary and narthex with a bright, warm off-white paint, replaced the sanctuary lighting with an energy-efficient system, and removed sound panels from the sanctuary to restore a more natural acoustic. The result, parish leaders note, is a brighter, cleaner and more welcoming worship space.
Leadership and Governance
St. Mary's is a parish of the Diocese of Southwest Florida within The Episcopal Church. The vestry, an elected group of members serving as the legal representatives of the parish, defines the mission of the congregation, supports it by word and deed, selects the rector, and manages resources and finances. The rector presides; the senior warden leads the parish between rectors; and the junior warden typically oversees church property and buildings.
The current rector is Fr. Ryan Wright. A native of Naples who has lived in Southwest Florida most of his life, Fr. Wright is a graduate of Stetson University in DeLand, Florida, and The General Theological Seminary in New York City. He came to Christ as a young adult and draws on his experience as an "unchurched" youth to break through preconceived notions of what it means to be part of the church. His pastoral experience ranges from programs for the bereaved and terminally ill to years in college ministry. He accepted the call as rector of St. Mary's in 2021.
The Rev. Dr. D. William "Bill" Faupel serves as Assistant Priest. Fr. Bill's long road to St. Mary's began in 1966 as a young Assemblies of God pastor in Michigan, continued through an M.Div. at Asbury Theological Seminary, a Library of Science degree at the University of Kentucky, doctoral work at the University of Birmingham in England, and ordination in the Diocese of Lexington. He served as Director of the Library and Professor of Church History at both Asbury Theological Seminary and Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C., before retiring to Naples in 2013. He came to St. Mary's as Priest Associate in 2018 and served as Priest in Charge from May 2020 until June 2021.
The parish staff includes Parish Administrator Ian Mitchell, Office Assistant Sandra Cecchini, Director of Youth and Family Ministries Jules Wallace, and Organist-Choirmaster Carl J. Marucci. The vestry includes Senior Warden Nelson Burr, Junior Warden Joan Croteau, Treasurer Kathleen Palaia, Secretary Barbara Belliveau, and members Ron Westrom, Bill White, Joanna Wragg, Tony Sabol, Pam Stamper, Denise Wallace, and Jack Sites.
A Community Bound by Word and Sacrament
What holds St. Mary's together is the conviction that Word and Sacrament come together in celebration and service. From the spoken Rite I eucharist at eight on Sunday morning to the Healing Eucharist in the chapel on a Wednesday noon, from the Prayer in the Square witness on a public sidewalk to the shelves of PennyWise Thrift Shop quietly raising funds for a dozen community partners, the parish shapes a single life of worship, prayer, formation and service. In its own teaching, St. Mary's identifies as a "high" or Anglo-Catholic parish, drawing on the deeper wells of Anglican tradition: the fuller calendar of saints, the liturgies of the Easter Triduum, the ministry of healing, and the rich musical heritage that has long accompanied the Book of Common Prayer.
St. Mary's welcomes all visitors and encourages newcomers to attend a welcome reception to meet other members and the church leadership. Coffee hour follows both Sunday eucharists in the Parish Life Center, and special events through the year include dinners, the parish picnic, and St. Mary's Day celebrations. The parish office is open by telephone at 239-992-4343 and by email at churchoffice@stmarysbonita.org. The address is 9803 Bonita Beach Road, Bonita Springs, Florida 34135, with a mailing address of P.O. Box 1923, Bonita Springs, FL 34133. Services are livestreamed on YouTube, recorded for later viewing on Vimeo, and giving is available online through the parish's Realm portal.