One of Tallahassee's best-known clergy members was honored Saturday evening with a dinner celebrating the 45th anniversary of his ordination as an Episcopal priest. Father Hugh Chapman is the spiritual leader of a very historic congregation.
The guest of honor at the Capital City Country Club dinner was a bit overwhelmed by the turnout.
"It's packed! Over 100 people! I couldn't be happier!"
Former North Florida Congressman Al Lawson was the event's M-C and prime organizer.
"Father reaches out to all denominations and, just because it's the Episcopal Church, he wants to make the whole community better. He gets involved in everything else and so I wanted to make sure we did something for him on his 45th year anniversary," he remarked.
Even after nearly half-a-century in the priesthood, Father Chapman sees a lot of work still to do at St. Michael and All Angels, the historic Tallahassee parish he took over in 2017.
"We're trying to work with our changing demographics in terms of elderly members and trying to get new, fresh people in to carry us to another 150 years, another 8 years from now."
Since its founding in 1882, St. Michael and All Angels has been the spiritual home for some of Tallahassee's most prominent people.
