1895 Laurel, Saint Paul MN 55104

Saint Mary's Episcopal Church

1895 Laurel Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55104

  • Curious?
    • Who are we and why are we here?
    • Who is Jesus?
    • Episco-What?
    • Clergy Leadership & Pastoral Care
    • Membership
    • LGBTQIA+ Folks Belong Here
    • Staff
    • Money and Stewardship
  • Worship
    • Worship
    • Weddings
    • Baptism
    • Funerals
    • Lay Ministry Instructions
  • Calendars
    • Main Calendar
    • St. Mary’s Events Calendar
    • Sunday Bible Readings (lectionary)
  • Children & Youth
    • 2022-2023 Children’s Faith Formation
    • 2022-2023 Youth Group & Activities
    • Beginnings
    • Sunday School
    • Pre-Tweeners & Tweeners
    • Youth
  • Building Use
  • Sermons
  • Contact
  • Contribute
    • Money and Stewardship
    • Stewardship 2023: Renew, Reconnect, Reimagine, Recreate
    • How to give
    • Give Now Online
    • Planned Giving

Sign Up for Saint Mary’s Email Distributions

April 7, 2023 by

We’re glad you would like to hear more from us!

First, you can try the direct method and sign up yourself using the form below. If you run into trouble, you can send your contact info to communications@saintmarysepiscopal.org. Please let us know which email lists you want to join.

The Weekly is our primary communication to our congregation and friends of St. Mary’s. In addition to information about worship services, the Weekly contains announcements, adult education schedules, youth events, and service opportunities.

St. Mary’s Mornings is a daily dose of inspiration, curated by various members of our congregation.

We’re glad you’re here! Thanks  for reaching out!

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Stewardship 2023: Renew, Reconnect, Reimagine, Recreate

October 8, 2022 by

Stewardship 2023

A tree whose leaves are the colors of fall. The prefix RE in large letters, with the following words stacked next to it: new, connect, imagine, create. The effect is: renew, reconnect, reimagine, recreateThe warm, humid days of summer have given way to the cool, crisp air of the season change into fall.  All across the country, Episcopal churches are turning to Stewardship and what that means to their communities.

At St Mary’s, it’s a time to reflect on our life here and how that life enters into our act of giving. Our theme for this coming year is to renew, reconnect, reimagine, and recreate our future together as St. Mary’s. 

Watch this space for video messages from your leadership team regarding their reasons for giving to St. Mary’s and why it’s important for all of us to find our own reasons in our hearts. We are so grateful for all of the time, talent and treasure that is offered here within our community.

Access our Online Pledge Form for 2023 – Click here

We are a community moving forward with a new permanent rector as we renew, reconnect, reimagine, and recreate with each other as we abound in grace. The 2023 stewardship campaign is underway and we invite all to learn more about our stewardship and how we handle money at Saint Mary’s.

Online pledges: We will have online pledging again for 2022.  However, if you are someone who would rather fill out a pledge card, we have that option as well.

Printed pledge cards: Printed pledge cards will be mailed out to all members and anyone who might request one. They will  also be available in the pews, or you can print a copy by following this link. These can be filled out and  mailed into the church office to the attention of the Pledge Clerk.

November 14th: While we appreciate all pledges and gifts whenever received, it would be ideal if we could receive by November 14th. Our finance committee will craft our prospective 2023 budget using pledge projections. 

Your pledge donations will help to….

  • Nurture our St. Mary’s community: coffee hours, newcomer dinners, men’s group, Thursday dinners, frequent justice work, reading groups, pod ministry, greeters, nametags, outreach visits with our priest, beautiful music, picnics, Sunday blessings etc. These are some of the activities that contribute to the thriving and growing spiritual community that we have built and wish to maintain and grow.
  • Invest in our youth: We have a growing and thriving youth community that offers programs for all ages from Sunday school to tweeners and teens. Our youth are also active in our many ministries and are genuinely sought out as contributing valuable members of the community.
  • Build and maintain our community outreach: We believe it is our calling to “go out and serve” those who are in need. Sometimes it is easy to lose sight of serving the less fortunate in our greater community when, financially, it is hard enough to just run our church and maintain the grounds. In addition to our current outreach efforts at First Nations Kitchen, Department of Indian Works food shelf, Episcopal Homes, Galtier Elementary, we are being presented with new opportunities to serve—and we want to answer that call.
  • Hear relevant sermons: Each Sunday we have the privilege of listening to powerful sermons that are not only proclamations of Christ’s message, but meaningful and relevant to our daily lives. And, those sermons are available on podcast for the broader community. Also, our pastoral staff is always so active and available to support us in times of need.
  • Make beautiful music: We are blessed to have such talented and dedicated music directors and volunteers who inspire us and enrich our Sunday services.

In addition to our outreach, we have to keep the day-to-day operating expenses satisfied and make sure we manage our finances and maintain our facilities and assets (as our predecessors have done) to be around for the many generations to follow.   Our stewardship is essential to our church and is a gift we give ourselves as well as to others.

When considering your 2023 Pledge, we ask that you:

  • Prayerfully contemplate what you are thankful for in the St. Mary’s community and pledge from your heart.
  • Please fill out a pledge card regardless of the amount. We strive for 100% participation.
  • Consider increasing your pledge from the previous year, if possible.

Please take the time to review the ways you can give, noting especially the option to participate in auto pay through your bank. This option provides us the ability to manage our budget more predictably. If you have any questions about completing the pledge card, please feel free to contact us.

 

A tree whose leaves are the colors of fall. The prefix RE in large letters, with the following words stacked next to it: new, connect, imagine, create. The effect is: renew, reconnect, reimagine, recreate

All Parish Message from Reverend Lindsey Briggs – September 2022

October 5, 2022 by

Dear Saint Mary’s Episcopal Church,
 
I write knowing that many of you call our church community home, while others are still deciding if St. Mary’s is where you want to belong. I know many are bone tired due to COVID and crisis. My hope for Saint Mary’s is that we are a place of rest, healing, connection and growth; that each person who enters our physical or digital space will know that they have inherent worth, unrelated to their skill or ability to produce. 
 
Amidst the noise of global crisis and constant urgency, I invite you to our discernment year. Who are we now? How do we want to show up in our own lives? Who will we serve as we join with God to love the world into wholeness?
 
Our Bishop, The Rt. Rev. Craig Loya, has provided a road map which we will follow in our own St. Mary’s way. None of us are who we were when the pandemic started, but all of us can blossom in the here and now. We worship a God of new beginnings and second chances, a God who makes all things new.
 
Our map for the year follows a helpful pattern. We start by getting grounded, asking what spiritual practices keep you connected to God and walking in the way of Jesus: discipleship. Then we’ll explore how we can focus and change as a community, choosing to partner with the Holy Spirit’s movement in the world: faithful innovation. In Lent we’ll discuss how we collectively live out our baptismal covenant, repairing harm, treating every human life with dignity and respect: justice. And in Easter we’ll build skills to create healthier relationships with ourselves and others: vitality. Click hyperlinks to watch videos of Bishop Loya speaking on each theme.
 
Underneath these themes we’ll explore the questions driving how we live in our neighborhoods, city, country, and world. We will make meaning using our sacred texts. We will grow in wisdom. We’ll commit ourselves to strengthening our integrity and love. 
 
Please join us on Rally Sunday, in person or online, to gently regather our community and ourselves. A Church Picnic will follow the service as we celebrate the start of a new program year. Bring a side dish you’d like to share!
 
Following Rally Sunday we’ll have a new schedule and new programs.
 
Saint Mary’s Sunday Schedule
  • 9:00 am Families worship in the chapel for 15 minutes of singing and praying before Sunday School
  • 9:15 am Kids K-6th grades walk to their Sunday School classroom. 
  • 9:15 am Parents are invited into a neighboring class room for mutual support.
  • 10:00 am Holy Eucharist
  • 11:00 am Apple Cider Hour on front lawn (weather permitting) 
 
Our adult education takes new shape, inviting us to dive deeper into each theme. In person and online opportunities will be available. Contact me by email, text, or phone to sign up for any of our Sacred Space/Sacred Study groups.  
 
Sacred Space/Sacred Study – Tuesday Nights 6:30-7:30 pm
 
Ordinary Time: Discipleship
  • Gospel of Mary (10/18, 10/25, 11/8, 11/15) 
  • Altar Building for All Saints & All Souls (11/1)
 
Advent: Faithful Innovation
  • Book Study & Spirituality Group on The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters by Priya Parker (12/6, 1/10, 2/7) 
 
Lent: Justice 
  • Collective Discernment – To whom? what? where? is God inviting us to create a more justice and kind world. We will be drawing on a diversity of sources. (every Tuesday in Lent)
 
Easter: Vitality
  • Boundaries Build Kind Community will draw diverse sources including Victoria Albina, Nedra Glover Tawwab, Tara Brach, and many others! (4-week class, 4/25, 5/2, 5/9, 5/16)
 
Additional Events
  • Rally Day & Church Picnic (9/18)
  • Choir Practice (Wednesdays and Sundays)
  • Pre-Tweeners, Tweeners and Youth Group Relaunches (Wednesdays)
  • Confirmation (1x monthly)
  • Contemplative Service (Thursdays at 7pm)
  • Animal Blessing on St. Francis’ Day (10/2)
  • All Parish Fun Day! At Big Stone Mini Golf (10/16) 
  • Installation Service (10/12)
  • Senior Quilt Sewing Nights (We will gather together in the dead of winter to collectively work on our senior’s quilts for 2-3 nights in February and March)
  • LGBTQ+ Healing Service & Karaoke (Co-hosted with other churches at St. Mary’s, 3/3)
  • Confirmation at St. Mark’s Cathedral (04/23)
  • Youth Recognition Dinner (5/TBD)
  • Sacred Sites with Rev. Jim Bear (Spring)
 
I’m delighted to be your new Rector and looking forward to seeing who we become in the coming year. Please email or call to sign up for any Sacred Study/Sacred Spaces events.
 
Also, I’m loving learning more about each of you. Sign up for a 1:1 with me if we haven’t had a Get to Know You conversation yet!
 
Many blessings,
Rev. Lindsey Briggs+
 
 
The Rev. Lindsey R. Briggs, BCC (she/they)
Rector of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church
revlindseybriggs@gmail.com
612-444-1090

Sunday Worship – Services in 2022

August 23, 2022 by

Update:  November 22, 2022

St. Mary’s offers a hybrid worship service.  Our priest, Rev. Lindsey Briggs, presides over Eucharist each Sunday at 10:00am.
 

To attend on Zoom:

Each week, a new link is provided via the Weekly Newsletter, which you can read on our website’s Home page or receive via email.  Sign up for one or more of our email distributions.  After the service, we use “breakout rooms” on Zoom to enjoy small-group social time.

To attend in person:

  • A link to the Service Bulletin is published in the Weekly (link found on the Home page).  You may print a copy at home and bring it with you, or read it from a device.  If  you choose to use a device, please make sure the device is silenced during the service.
  • Masks covering the nose and mouth are required indoors.
  • Anti-bacterial wipes will be available to wipe the mic in between speakers, for those who wish to do so.
  • We encourage the use of hand sanitizer before and after the Peace.
  • Passing the peace with respect for people’s different comfort levels. Please check each person’s color dot and/or ask their preference.
    • RED • dot – maintain social distance (peace sign, air hug)
    • YELLOW • dot – more comfortable coming closer (a wave, or a fist or elbow bump as a greeting)
    • GREEN • dot – willing to shake hands and potentially open to hugs
  • Wine will be served from the “pourable chalice”, so bring your small glasses or take a paper cup from an usher.
  • Following the service, during Social Hour please keep your mask on when not actively consuming food or beverages. 
  •  

Contemplative Service on Thursday Evenings

If you would like to try something new, we offer a contemplative service every Thursday at 7:00pm in person and on Zoom. Read more here.

 

God is good, all the time!

covid 19 notice

Our decisions about how to conduct activities at St. Mary’s are guided by our belief that it is our duty to care for one another as children of God, as well as by guidance from the Episcopal Diocese of Minnesota.

Find the current status of all St. Mary’s programming and community activities on THIS PAGE. Join us!

 

 

© 2023 · St. Mary’s Episcopal Church