Meet Brian Petersen | Episcopal Priest

We had the good fortune of connecting with Brian Petersen and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Brian, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
Even though I am an ordained minister in the Episcopal Church, I’ve always felt just as comfortable encountering and being in conversation with spirituality outside of a traditional church setting. Over the years, I’ve encountered so many people who have a deep spiritual hunger in their lives, but the traditional church hasn’t always given them the space or even the vocabulary to be able to comfortably explore that side of life. So the initial idea behind St. Brigid’s was to create a space and a community where people could connect with other like-minded spiritual seekers without having to face some of the barriers that traditional church puts up (whether intentionally or not).

Don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of great, traditional churches out there who are doing wonderful things for a lot of people. But when we started St. Brigid’s, we asked ourselves “who is being left out of this conversation? How can we make spiritual community more accessible to people who have been excluded?” Also, we wanted to create a community that reflected the unique, diverse identity of Oceanside, which is such a melting pot of different cultures, backgrounds, and traditions.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I’m most proud of the path that I’ve taken to leading this sort of community, which has been very much outside of the norm for most clergy in the church. Although I grew up in the church, I always found more of a culture that resonated with me outside of the church, especially in DIY and creative spaces. And I always wanted to figure out a way to connect my faith, which was and is very important to me, with the joy and connection that I found in the music and art scenes. I’ve also always been naturally drawn to people and groups that have been marginalized or ignored, and this has shaped both my faith journey and the way that I’ve approached the creation of faith communities.

This all started to come together when I was in seminary — I went to a Southern Baptist seminary near Portland, Oregon, and there was a disconnect between how I was being taught to view the church and ministry and the actual work I was doing. I ended up connecting deeply with the work I was doing with homeless youth in downtown Portland, and this set me on a course to trying to figure out how faith and spirituality could speak to the lived experience of these people I loved, who would not usually be welcomed in a church because of how they looked, spoke, or acted. At the same time, I realized that they were teaching me more about God than I was learning in seminary!

The experience taught me that my primary focus should always be on meeting people where they are, giving them space to explore and find their gifts, and letting them shape the community rather than having me try to impose my own ideas of how it should go. And that’s really the core of the brand of St. Brigid’s — we model ourselves after St. Brigid of Kildare, an Irish saint who “bridged” the gap between the pagan and Christian worlds by being willing to listen and let people be who they were. And that’s what we want St. Brigid’s to be — a community that serves as a bridge between the church and people.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
For me it’s all about being outside! Oceanside is so amazing because there is such a diversity of places and things to do — within striking distance you have the beach, the mountains, the desert, — I’m not sure you can even scratch the surface in a week! I’d go surfing at the Pier or the Harbor, take a walk along the Strand to soak up the vibe, and hit up some skateparks like Prince or MLK. I’d go for a nice hike at Guajome Lake or Calavera, then head out to catch the sunset at one of the lagoons.

Food-wise, this is So Cal — you have to hit up the taquerias! Fridas, Valeries, Birrias El Padrino for tacos, Colimas or Senor Panchos for California burritos. I also love Eris for amazing vegan food, and 333 Pacific as a fancy date-night spot. We are also blessed with lots of wonderful coffee shops here — Pier View, Camp Coffee, Communal, Vigilate, and The Cup are all great.

Really the best thing to check out in Oceanside to really get into the local scene are Sunset Market on Thursday nights, and the First Friday Art Walks in Artist’s Alley. Those are the times when things are really buzzing and you can get a sample of all that this place has to offer.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I can’t express enough gratitude to the people of our diocese, the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego, and our Bishop, the Rt. Rev. Dr. Susan Brown Snook, for believing in and supporting the vision of St. Brigid’s from the earliest stages until now. In a day and age when churches are struggling with declining attendance, it’s not an easy move to take a risk on something new that is trying to shift the whole paradigm of how and why we get together in church. Our Bishop and the people of the churches all across our diocese have been enthusiastic partners with us, allowing us to pursue these creative paths of worship, ministry, and community while having a stable base of support so that we can focus on innovating rather than getting bogged down in the minutae.

Website: https://www.osidechurch.org

Instagram: @stbrigidsoside

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stbrigidsoside