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Pastor brings ideas, energy

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By DEREK MAUL

Tribune correspondent

Published: April 22, 2009

TEMPLE TERRACE - Temple Terrace United Methodist Church has long represented the model of an aging mainline congregation; a proud look and a rich past, but with dwindling numbers facing an uncertain future.

Then the arrival of Pastor St. Claire Moore provided a shot in the arm.

Moore, a native of Barbados, brings passion, experience in church revitalization and an innovative approach to ministry.

"There's tremendous potential," he said. "We're stabilizing, changing the culture and building a discipleship church. The move is from preference to purpose; from what we want, to what Christ is calling us to be. We've made it our mission to make disciples of Jesus. The core of our mission is to connect unbelievers and to grow mature disciples."

Moore said the church, 5030 E. Busch Blvd., has always wanted to reach out, but never owned a strategy to shape diversity.

"Our vision is to be a diverse Christ-centered community," he said.

"But we need to rethink diversity. It's not just ethnicity; it's reaching out to the community and addressing educational issues. We're intentional, on target and excited. I feel good about our energy here."

Moore has been on site since July 2008. His previous appointment was the Rogers Community United Methodist Church in Bradenton, where he grew a part-time church of 20 into a full-time ministry with 130 regular worshippers.

Temple Terrace is a far cry from the minister's origins in Barbados.

"I'm one of 12 kids," he said. "My mother moved to the states when I was 4 and I was raised in the Church of the Nazarene. It was the joy of my life. But I had no hopes, no aspirations; there were no real dreams for me. The ministry was not even a possibility."

Then, a series of small miracles. In 1984 he moved to Harlem, N.Y., to live with his mother; there he met a Methodist preacher who sent him to school in Tennessee.

"It was traumatic," he said. "Tennessee gave me huge transfer shock; but I graduated valedictorian and student body president."

An Academic all-American scholarship took Moore to Fordham University in New York then Clark Atlanta University, where he completed his undergraduate work. Then, again with the help of the Metropolitan Community United Methodist Church in Harlem, he earned his masters in divinity at Drew University in Madison, N.J.

"If you only knew how God prompted me every step of my journey," he said. "People, particularly in this generation, want to see the God in your life. They want to see the brokenness, the forgiveness, the mercy. Today's church is called to be more transparent."

Moore's first assignment was five years in the Bronx, then four years in New Rochelle, N.Y. He met his wife, Yvette, while preaching, and the relationship ultimately bought him to Florida.

"Her career took her to Tampa," he said. "I visited every month until I found the appointment in Bradenton."

Yvette Moore, a native Jamaican, is a former vice president and certified project manager with JPMorgan Chase & Co. She left banking after 26 years and joined her husband's staff as office manager.

"I would not have taken this church without her," Moore said.

Attendance at the Temple Terrace church has grown to about 350.

"I believe God will eventually add people who will be healed and who will grow in faith," Moore said. "Health is much different than numbers. I'm trying to build a healthy church where members will minister to one another and be witnesses to Christ."

GET TO KNOW

WHO: Pastor St. Claire Moore, Temple Terrace United Methodist Church

BORN: Barbados, 1963

EDUCATION: Walters State Community College, Morristown, Tenn.; Clark Atlanta University, Ga.; Drew University, Madison, N.J.

MARRIED: Yvette Moore, 1996

CHILDREN: Jovan, Stephon, Samuel

MOVED TO TAMPA: 2002

NOTABLE FACT: Played soccer for Barbados

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