Clergy Bio

On August 13, 2004, The Rev. Michael J. Bridge, his lovely wife Bonnie, and their
nine year old daughter Victoria ended their two day journey from Pittsburgh, PA and
pulled into the driveway of the St. John's Parsonage. That Sunday, August 15, Fr. Mike
gave his first sermon as deacon of St. John's, as well as St. Timothy's in Hugoton. At 26
years of age, and married for only two weeks, Fr. Mike began his ministry in Ulysses
while his wife went back to West Virginia to finish up her final year of law school.

The coming months were trying due to the distance between husband and wife; but the Lord is always faithful to those who heed his call. And in the case of Mike and Bonnie, God was certainly there helping things along. God used this time to provide great blessing to the Bridge Family. Not the least of the ways in which God blessed this time was to give the St. John's community an opportunity to show how loving and supportive they truly are. The community responded by showing great care to Mike and Victoria in Bonnie's absence.

In December of 2004, Fr. Mike was ordained to the sacred order of priests at St. John's by Bishop James Adams and a month later he was installed as rector of St. John's. Amongst other things, in the time since then Fr. Mike has worked to form relationships with the people of St. John's and St. Timothy's; he has joined the Lion's Club in Ulysses; he has served as an advisor to the Way Out West Leo Club; he has preached the gospel of Jesus Christ faithfully and with great zeal; and most importantly, he has served his family as husband and father.

On November 15, 2006, Mike and Bonnie welcomed their first son and Victoria her first
brother, Michael J.W. Bridge, known simply as Mickey. In July of 2007, the Bridge Family
bought their own home in Ulysses with plans of staying in the area for the long term.
Bonnie has set herself up as an attorney in town and travels all over southwest Kansas for
hearings. Mike and Bonnie are also expecting another son, due in July of 2008.

When not engaged in work, the Bridge Family enjoys several leisure time activities with their dog Cookies.