Father Juan Perez Joins Harlem Valley Ministry

The Harlem Valley Ministry is pleased to welcome the Rev. Juan Francisco Perez, Jr. as its new Priest-in-Charge effective September 1, 2017. The Ministry is made up of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Brewster, Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Pawling, and MESA in Dover Plains, which stands for Misión Episcopal Santiago Apóstol/St. James’s Episcopal Mission.

Father Juan will bring his vitality, cultural heritage, and passion to his ministry role and plans to foster outreach to all members in the community as well as offer opportunities to foster hope, not just on Sundays but in their daily lives.

Father Juan was born in the South Bronx in New York City, raised Roman Catholic, and received into the Episcopal Church as an adult in 1998. He was ordained to the priesthood in the Dioceses of Michigan in June 2014. He served his Curacy at St. Stephen’s, Troy, MI, and also served as co-founder of La Iglesia Detroit and as a Curate Missioner for Hispanic Ministry in the Diocese of Michigan.

Before discerning a call to ordained ministry, Father Juan was employed as a social worker in various clinical and academic settings in New York and Michigan. He moved from the Bronx to Detroit in 2001, and most recently lived in Berkley, MI, with his husband, Joe Cloutier, and their three standard Schnauzers, Maggie, Lazarus, and Jäger.

Father Juan earned his Master of Divinity degree from Bexley-Seabury Seminary in Ohio, holds a Master of Social Work degree from the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor’s degree in Peace Studies from Manhattan College.

St. Andrew's Episcopal Church has been a part of Brewster for more than 130 years. The church's grey stone building on Prospect Street is a local landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is home to the Brewster Theater Company and the Brewster Community Food Pantry. The parish is a warm and welcoming community.

The regular Sunday service of Holy Eucharist at St. Andrew's is at 10 a.m. For more information about St. Andrew's, call the church office at 845-279-4325.