In May 2017 The Rev. Fr. James Brzezinski received a call to be the Rector, priest, and pastor of The Church of St. Anne in Morrison, IL, beginning his ministry at St. Anne’s on July 1, 2017. He enjoys welcoming people into an ever-deepening relationship with Jesus Christ.
He is a cradle Episcopalian, baptized as an infant, who grew up in New England. In his youth, he sang in the Royal School of Church Music-Men and Boy Choir training program in his parish. With his involvement in public school music classes and musical groups, church music, studying piano and organ, youth group, Sunday school, serving as an acolyte and eucharistic minister, James found his life centered around faith and activities in the church.
During his confirmation by the bishop he felt the Holy Spirit issuing a call to religious service.
He attended Westminster Choir College in Princeton, NJ, where he studied organ, voice, choral conducting, and music education. He suspended his musical studies and became an apprentice to a pipe organ builder in Wallington, NJ. Moving back to his home state of Connecticut, he apprenticed with an organ pipe maker, learning the specialized craft of building the metal organ pipes. He then moved to California to work with the organ builders on the organ at Robert Schuller’s “Crystal Cathedral” in Garden Grove, CA.
While living in Long Beach, CA, he joined an Episcopal church singing in the choir, serving as a lector, lay reader, chalice bearer, and substitute organist and choirmaster. After the Crystal Cathedral project, he accepted a position with an organ builder in Lakeland, FL. A year later he met Nancy Bock, a talented organist trained in Hamburg, Germany. Within ten months Nancy and James were married.
He operated his own business making organ pipes for other pipe organ builders. After closing his organ pipe shop he worked for the citrus processing company where his father-in-law was CEO. He assisted in managing the domestic and international logistics of shipping Frozen Concentrated Orange Juice.
Feeling the call to priesthood again, Fr. Brzezinski returned to college and completed his Bachelor of Business Administration degree at Belhaven University. He spent three years as a seminarian at Nashotah House Theological Seminary in Wisconsin, earning the Master of Divinity Degree.
He was ordained Deacon in 2012. He was ordained into the Sacred Order of Priests in 2013.
Fr. Brzezinski has served Jesus Christ as a layman in Connecticut, New Jersey, California, Florida, and Wisconsin. Since his ordination he has served churches in Wisconsin, was called as a Curate to the Church of the Holy Faith, Santa Fe, NM, serving as Assistant for Pastoral Care and Liturgy, and was appointed Priest-in-Charge at St. Francis on the Hill in El Paso, TX, serving as priest, healer, peacemaker, and rebuilder.