- January 8, 2025
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When walking into Christ Church of Longboat Key, one can’t help but notice the giant stained glass window behind the altar.
Thirty-three panels of vibrant colors in blue, yellow, orange, red, white and brown make up the picture of a risen Jesus Christ with three fingers raised in a blessing while his other hand reaches out in a welcoming gesture.
This focal point of the church represents everything Christ Church is about: The traditional Christ-centered faith and welcoming others with love and fellowship.
Founding member of the church, Patty Buck looks at the window frequently. Underneath it holds the signatures of all her fellow founding members that were placed there during its construction in 2010.
Now, the signatures are covered from the years of construction. But as the church reaches its 20th anniversary on Jan. 16, Buck can’t help but think back to the very beginning.
It started in 2004 with a group of 25 Longboaters who met frequently in different homes to discuss faith matters. After meeting over a couple of months, the group grew because of its focus on Christian-centered worship. This growth inspired them to form their church on the island, not affiliating with any denomination at first.
“What's special about the story is that founders were more interested in following Christ than being any particular part of the denomination,” said the Rev. Julia Piermont of Christ Church. “They actually interviewed denominations, which no one does that.”
Buck remembered the first service was January 2005 at the Bayfront Park Recreation Center with 69 attendees. Her husband volunteered her for the choir at the service after not singing for 25 years, but she enjoyed how it got her out of her comfort zone. They had no piano for the first couple of services and their lectern was an upside-down cardboard box draped with a cloth.
The Rev. Ray Woody, a retired Presbyterian minister from First Presbyterian Church in Sarasota and the Siesta Key Chapel, became the first part-time pastor of the church in February following the first service. In October, the group rented two rooms in Mediterranean Plaza to host everyone who joined. They officially became a Presbyterian congregation in February 2006 because of the influence of Woody.
Buck said fellowship was one pillar of Christ Church since the beginning. The group would have Wednesday night dinners, which helped the growth. She also led “Dine Around” dinners where the members would take turns hosting potlucks to get to know each other better.
Buck held her husband’s funeral in the tiny space they rented at Mediterranean Plaza since he passed away in the early days of the church.
“It has always been more like a family,” said Buck. “My husband died in the beginning, and I can't tell you the support and the love that I got and I still have that today.”
The Rev. Bruce Porter took over as the part-time pastor in September 2006 and was their pastor for seven years. Christ Church officially bought its current location at 6400 Gulf of Mexico Drive in February 2008, with construction completed in 2011.
In 2012, Robert Romanski started as the director of music, instilling the importance of music at Christ Church. Throughout the years, Romanski has hosted concerts of world-renowned artists such as opera vocalist Gerrit Paul Groen. Romanski also leads the Christ Church choir in musical programs based on different holidays for congregants to enjoy.
"Music is a big part of the church's ministry," said member Glenn Cassens at the church. "My favorite memories are around Christmas, with the special programs that they put on. The choir is just fabulous."
Congregants didn’t waste time on forming another pillar that defines Christ's Church: mission. Starting in 2012, members raised $17,000 for charities around the area. Just two years later, this number grew to over $100,000 in 2014.
Christ Church partners with 12 mission organizations in Bradenton, Sarasota and around the world. These include Beth-El Farmworker Ministry, Hope Seeds, Our Daily Bread, the Dream Center, Selah Freedom and Turning Points.
This year, the church raised $40,000 to build a new food pantry of Beth-El Farmworker Ministry, which provides hunger relief, education, healthcare and spiritual growth to the farm-working community in Wimauma. They also hosted a discussion with Selah Freedom, an anti-human trafficking nonprofit organization, and the other houses of worship on Longboat to raise awareness of the danger of sex trafficking.
“In 2007 or 2008, they adopted this phrase as their vision, ‘drawing others to Christ.’” said Piermont. “You can see through all of our mission programs that inspiring service around the island is so important to us.”
Piermont became the first full-time pastor in August last year after the Rev. Norman Pritchard retired, who was the Christ Church part-time pastor from 2014 through 2023. She can attest to the importance of community and their priority of being welcoming.
Piermont remembered she expected the church to be empty when she came in for her interview in the slow month of July. To her surprise, the whole search committee waited to greet her by the door with refreshments and cookies.
"They are always thinking of the details on how to make people feel welcome when greeting," said Piermont. "What strikes me about them is their joy. It's not a 'Happy Go Lucky' type of joy. It is based on their trusting faith."
To celebrate the 20th anniversary, Christ Church will be hosting a service at 10 a.m. Jan. 12. On Jan. 15, there will be a celebratory dinner starting at 5 p.m. in its fellowship hall.
On the 20th anniversary, Christ Church is starting the 20th anniversary campaign to raise $740,000. This will benefit the church's current projects, which include hurricane recovery for the congregation, improvements to its buildings, expansion of the parking lot, landscape refurbishment and hurricane relief for its mission partners.
As the first full-time pastor, Piermont plans to lead Christ Church in being a resource to Longboat Key. Using their values of fellowship, she hopes Christ Church will grow stronger in its faith and bring a helping hand to those around the island.
