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New Pastor Hopes To Form Many Genuine Relationships

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By DEREK MAUL, Tribune correspondent

Published: February 23, 2008

Updated: 02/21/2008 04:14 pm

BRANDON - Members of the Presbyterian Church of Bloomingdale welcomed their new pastor, Rev. John Wintringham, to the pulpit Feb. 2.

Wintringham, who moved from Grace Presbyterian Church in Lantana, brings with him an extensive background of pastoral counseling and a commitment to parish ministry.

"I've spent the past 27 years doing counseling and psychotherapy in pastoral counseling centers," Wintringham said. "But I always had a small church on the side."

Born in Baton Rouge, La., where his dad was a chemical engineer, Wintringham moved to California in ninth grade and finished growing up in Pacific Palisades.

"I attended prep school, then went to the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma," Wash., he said. "I wanted to be a heart surgeon."

But he was redirected into ministry and studied philosophy at Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pa., before enrolling in Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, N.J.

"Princeton was a delightful experience," Wintringham said. "My focus was 'how does a person grow into wholeness?'"

The preacher's first ministry experience was in Clewiston. "It was a great first parish with loving people," he said. "I stayed six years. The relationship with self intrigued me, the consistent unfolding of one's story. I wanted to go back to school."

The young minister moved to a church in Portage, Ind., and earned a joint doctor of ministry degree from Chicago Theological Seminary and the Center for Religion and Psychotherapy.

"In 1985, I joined a pastoral counseling center in Milwaukee," Wintringham said. "It was an ecumenical venture with several churches."

Then Wintringham's wife, Maureen, whom he had married a decade earlier, developed a form of muscular dystrophy. The cold and damp weather in Wisconsin was devastating to her, and doctors recommended relocation.

"My wife is remarkable," he said. "She doesn't let stuff get her down. That's just the kind of woman she is.

"We moved to west Texas," Wintringham said, "warm and dry. I continued in pastoral counseling and did a lot of pulpit filling. I also owned a little newspaper, the Sterling City News Record. But we took a stance against the war in Iraq, and we went out of business."

Ten years later, the couple moved to Delray Beach on Florida's east coast.

"I worked with the Samaritan Counseling Center at Fort Lauderdale," Wintringham said, "and served Grace Presbyterian in Lantana."

Eventually, the call to full-time parish ministry won out.

"This church first contacted me last year," Wintringham said. "I'm looking forward to investing in deep and genuine relationships. There are a little over 100 people involved, and they're a good group of people. I wouldn't be here if I didn't believe God had his hand in this call. There's a genuine seeking of the Lord's presence."

Wintringham said he enjoys preaching and spends a lot of time in preparation.

"I like being grandiose enough to think I have something to offer," he said. "I preach three sermons every week: the one I prepare, the one I preach and the one I wish I'd preached."

Wintringham also enjoys golf, reads and loves spending time with his grandchildren.

"Plus, I have a motorbike that gets me around at speeds I probably shouldn't be going," he said.

Wintringham's installation service will be March 22.

MEET THE REV. JOHN WINTRINGHAM

WHAT: Pastor, Presbyterian Church of Bloomingdale

WHERE: 710 East Bloomingdale Avenue

BORN: Baton Rouge, La., 1946

EDUCATION: University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, Wash., Westminster College, New Wilmington, Penn., Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton, N.J.

MARRIED: Maureen Sullivan, 1976

CHILDREN: John, 43; Tom, 42; Jennifer, 40; Melissa, 38

MOVED TO BRANDON: 2008

CONTACT: (813) 654-3699

Derek Maul can be reached at derekmaul@gmail.com.

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