Christ Church welcomes new pastor

The Rev. Norman Pritchard led his first service at Christ Church of Longboat Key, Presbyterian Nov. 30 — which was both the first Sunday in Advent and St. Andrew’s Day, which honors the patron saint of Pritchard’s native Scotland.

Pritchard tied the two together in his first sermon at the church.

“This day is one of great enthusiasm, and my sermon was about how I believe Christians should be more enthusiastic about their faith,” Pritchard said.

Pritchard was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and has served in ministries throughout the world. He graduated with honors in 1968 from the University of Glasgow with a Master of Arts degree in classics. He received his Bachelor of Divinity degree in 1971, his Master of Theology degree in 1974 and his doctorate in 1991.

From 1971 to 1979, he served in Scotland at churches in Edinburgh and West Kilbride.

In 1979, he left Scotland to become senior minister of the Scots’ Church in Melbourne, Australia.
“I loved Australia,” Pritchard said. “Melbourne is one of the world’s greatest cities.”

Pritchard moved in 1996 to the U.S. after receiving a call about an open senior pastor position at Kirk in the Hills Church in Bloomfield Hills, Mich.

“It just came out of the blue,” Pritchard said. “Someone had given the church my name, and I decided to take it.”

In recent years, Pritchard intended to retire with his wife, Joan. The couple bought a home in Naples, and Pritchard planned to find a part-time job as a parish associate. But he changed his plans when he learned of the pastor position at Christ Church.

Pritchard moved permanently to Naples in November and commutes to Longboat Key, where he stays two to three days a week.

“I really like that this is a very lively community of faith and has a great ministry outreach,” he said. “My hope is to encourage them to grow that even more.”

From November to April, church members work with students from the 13th Avenue Dream Center in Bradenton as reading buddies, providing support and academic assistance at least twice a month. Kirk in the Hills had a similar program, and Pritchard looks forward to continuing to help children find academic success.

“One of the teachers thanked us and said for some of the children, their tutors are some of the most stable adult presences in their lives,” Pritchard said.

One of the major changes Pritchard will enjoy is getting used to the climate.

“I’m now dealing with the flip side of what I had in Michigan,” he said. “People were there for the summers and went south for the winters. Now, it’s the opposite, and I’ll have the most people during the winters.”

Pritchard is impressed with his new church and hopes to make a difference in the community.

“I’m excited to be here,” Pritchard said. “It has worked out amazingly well. Folks at Christ Church have been wonderful, warm and welcoming. I’m thrilled.”