New Service
A new Episcopal liturgical experience with a progressive theology
Saint Mary's has been in St. Paul for 127 years, and over the last 11 years has experience new life. Average Sunday attendance, which started at 65, is now 155. The number (3) of children under 18 has multiplied into comprising one full third of the congregation, with 41 under the age of six!
All this good news has brought many people through our doors, teaching us some things about what people are looking for when the 'church shop'. The love the community and have deep friendships. They love our heavy emphasis on volunteering in the community as well as ending global poverty. We have also learned that among them, as well as among our fatthful cradle Episcopalians, there is an increasing number of people who feel a painful dissonance between the progressive theology they believe in and the liturgy and music of our regular Sunday worship. Creating a new liturgical experience was the next logical step. Eight of us have been meeting consistently for fifteen months. Some are from within our church, some without. We have prayed, studied, and visited Emergence-style worship services. We have wrestled with the meaning of community, prayer, leadership, and the message of the Gospel. Our goal is to create an Episcopal expression of worship that encompasses a progressive theology, uses art and multi-media to enhance prayer, and offers an eclectic global musical sound. We operate on a shared leadership model, a style we think more fully expresses the ministry of all the baptized. Our thinking was that the first step was to create something authentic and meaninfgul to us, then issue a wide invitation, see who else is attracted.
We imagine becoming a constantly evolving liturgical experience with ever-growing leadership.
Our dream, and our belief, is that this service will reach so many people who currently do not find a home within the church. People long for that connection with others with whom to join in prayer, and alongside whom they can work to make the world a better place. We feel that this expression of Episcopal worship will reach those people.
Some particulars. We don't want to be a satellite of the St. Mary's community, right at the heartbeat of the shared life of this extraordinary community. That means overlapping coffee hours and Sunday school.
We held three 'trial run' services in the winter, and six weeks of the three service schedule this spring. Through this experimentation and participant evaluations we have learned a lot, and will spend the summer evaluating and dreaming up what the service will look like beginning in the fall.
We believe that at least a large slice of the future of the Episcopal Curch lies in that blend between our tradition and our changing culture. We believe that the inculturation of the liturgy in the 'language of the people' is right near the center of Anglicanism. We believe that although true Emergence congregations begin outside of the institution, there is much to learn from that movement. We can create innovative worship on the inside of that thin membrane that lies between our church and the changing culture.
Interested in more? Give LeeAnne Watkins a call #651-646-6175. Want to dream and create with us? Anyone is welcome.
One final thing - this June we are looking to hire a 10/hr/week Song Leader for this new service. Know someone who might fit the bill? Again, give LeeAnne a call.