Who We Are

On Saturday, July 17, 2010, St. Paul's hosted a service in celebration of 50 years of ministry of The Rev. Canon J. Fletcher Lowe. Fletcher, a St. Paul's Priest-in-Residence, had pin-on butterflies distributed to all those in attendance and hosted a reception in the Parish Hall following the service. Photos courtesy of Bruce Yoder.

 

Thanks to all who joined us on July 14th for an evening of music and poetry at the Urban Farmhouse (1217 E. Cary St.) in Shockoe Slip. We enjoyed live music organized by Debbie Jones followed by live readings of poems by Mary Oliver and small group discussion of those poems. Thanks to Don Cowles of the Downtown Adventure team for organizing the evening and to our new friends at the Urban Farmhouse for hosting us.

Please note that the below were taken on an iPhone so the resolution is low.  

Special thanks to all the children and families who volunteer to prepare and serve our Emmaus Walk-In Lunch this summer. Photos below taken on Thursday, June 17 and Thursday, July 15! If you'd like to volunteer for our next Emmaus Family Day (August 12), call Jenny Bliley (545-5416) or Leslie Choplin (545-5418).

 

St. Paul's Episcopal Church, a 165-year-old fixture of downtown Richmond, is a participating site along the Anthem Stride Through Time 10k history walk, which is organized by Sportsbackers and benefits the Valentine Richmond History Center. As part of our involvement in the walk, a group of volunteer musicians and greeters from St. Paul's host tea & cookies with live music in Darden Gardens. In the church, volunteer tour guides lead free guided tours throughout the day. Special thanks to this year's volunteers, including: May & Ed Dickson, Lew & Barbara Holley, Nancy O'Donnell, Erik Kutzler, Tom Emswiler, Jacqueline, Leslie Choplin, and Patricia Miller (our greeters); Mary Hunter Ayer, Earle Dunford, and Philip Schwarz (our tour guides); and members of the folk band "Heartwood" and the St. Paul's Choir (our musicians). Photos taken by Kimberly Allen for St. Paul's.

 

On Sunday, April 25, 2010, St. Paul's celebrated our second annual Earth Day Sunday. Following our worship together, more than 70 St. Paul's children, youth, and adults participated in the "Get Your Hands Dirty" trash pick-up activity at Belle Isle. Before walking to Belle Isle, the group ate a quick lunch together. The t-shirts they wear were designed by parishioner Lois Biddison and read "God Made Dirt So Dirt Don't Hurt." Thanks to Leslie Choplin for providing these photos. 

 

On Sunday, May 23, the St. Paul's community celebrated together during our annual Parish Picnic on Pentecost. Photos courtesy of Bruce Yoder. 

 

From April 4 - 11, 2010, 14 service volunteers from St. Paul's Episcopal Church traveled to New Orleans to work through the Episcopal Community Service program of the Diocese of Louisiana (http://www.ecsla.org). There, the group worked on a home destroyed during the flooding that followed Hurricane Katrina in 2005. It was a week of sanding, mudding, painting, dancing, singing, laughing, praying, joking, and loving. Special thanks to Brian Carr for sharing this photo album. You can read reflections about the experience on the Faith in Action blog at: http://www.stpauls-episcopal.org/index.php/faith_in_action/blog/.

 

Special thanks to Jeanne LeFever for photographing our 2010 Parish Retreat at Shrine Mont. Check out this album to see if you are pictured. Or, if you weren't at the retreat this year, check out the album to see what you missed. There's always next year! 

 

On Wednesday, April 21, St. Paul's newly forming Downtown Mission Team gathered for dinner at Aziza's on Main. Twenty-seven "downtown adventurers" gathered and recounted St. Paul's journey to this exciting time -- the growth of our Downtown residential neighborhood, parishioners' enthusiasm for meeting our new neighbors, and Wallace's joyful ministry to all people.

With Wallace's encouragement, we reflected on the Gospel story of two dejected disciples who encountered the spirit of Jesus in a stranger on the road to Emmaus and rediscovered their own purpose in life. We recalled how strangers have affirmed us on our life journeys. And, finally, Buford Scott invited us to another Downtown Adventure. A few photos from the evening are available in this album.

More information about our Downtown Adventures is available in the Elevation Online resource center.

 

Happy Easter! This album contains more photos from Easter Sunday at St. Paul's. Thanks to all who worshiped with us and to all who participated in the Easter Egg Hunt on Capitol Grounds. 

 

Happy Easter! Photos of Easter Sunday by Jeanne LeFever are now available online. Thanks to all who joined us for worship and for the Easter Egg Hunt on Capitol Grounds. 

On Sunday, December 13, the St. Paul's community participated in Court End Christmas, a holiday open house featuring ten downtown historic sites. Guided tours of the church, Christmas concerts, activities and crafts, cocoa and cider, and much more made the day a lot of fun for both visitors and volunteers! Photos courtesy of Barbara Parker, Jane Cowles, and Cyane Lowden. 

A photo slideshow from Court End Christmas is also available on the Richmond Times-Dispatch Web site. 

 

Photos courtesy of Henry Simmons.

The Feast, St. Paul's fall celebration, took place on November 15, 2009. The exuberant company, food, party games, and music by The Deviators made for a rollicking good time. Thanks to all who made this evening a special and memorable one!

 

Special thanks to all who participated in St. Paul's Blessing of the Animals service on Sunday, October 4 at 5 p.m. There were plenty of dogs, a fish, and even a hermit crab! We are also grateful to Officer Robin Robinson and Officer M.V. Agee III who brought Bo and Koda from the city's K-9 unit to be blessed.

Refreshments for people and pets were available after the service courtesy of the Hospitality Committee, chaired by Kathleen Ryder. This annual service is held during the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, who is honored each year for his love of all creatures.

The below photos are courtesy of Bruce Yoder.  Thanks, Bruce!  

 

On Sunday, September 27, the Adult Forum focused on Generosity with special guests Tom Payne, Stewardship Consultant, and Jim Doherty, author of In Praise of Givers, a book about Richmond-area philanthropists.

The Such Great Heights Generosity Team led the forum, which included small group discussions about what it means to live generously. More information about the Such Great Heights movement at St. Paul's is available here. More information about the 2010 Annual Giving Campaign is available here.

 

On Sunday, August 9, the people of St. Paul's celebrated Grant Hellmers' music ministry and dedicated service to St. Paul's for over 30 years. These photos are courtesy of Bruce Yoder and were taken during a reception celebrating Grant's legacy following the 10:00 am service.

Audio from the first part of Grant's Farewell Concert is available online now. The remaining audio will be made available in the coming days.

 

Over a dozen youth and five adults prepared and served a warm meal for those experiencing homelessness on Thursday, August 13. This was a record turnout for the Emmaus family day this summer!!  In addition to serving food, they organized and helped distribute clothing and water bottles.

Special thanks to: Sue Bland, Jake Holweger, Jill, Grace, Fisher, and Henry Mountcastle, Scott and Will Sherrill, Perry Zakaib, Laura, Quint and Peter Carr, Sara, Sam and Maja Gabrielson, Conner Flinchum, Lew Johnson and Steven Mack.

With the news that homelessness has risen by 11% in the last year, your additional time and caring is vital and appreciated. This was our last Children & Families Emmaus meal for the summer as students go back to school next month. Thanks to all of the families who supported the Emmaus Ministry this summer! 

Cindy Wofford, her son Si, and Natalie Davis, recently returned from their first mission to Mwitikira in Central Tanzania. Also there were Suzanne Johnson, chair of St. Paul's Global Mission committee, and Roger Whitfield, who oversees the clean water initiative of the Carpenter's Kids partnership. You can read more about their pilgrimage in the August Epistle newsletter (coming soon!)

 

Thanks to all who made our first-ever Concert for Caring, hosted in the Atrium on Sat., June 20, a success. The Sonorous Brass Company, under the direction of Bartolo Vargas, delighted an audience of about fifty members and visitors. Admission was free, but the musicians asked attendees to donate items to the St. Paul's food pantry. In one afternoon, we nearly doubled the amount of food in our pantry and received $35 in donations.

 

St. Paul's youth and families prepare the Emmaus meal on Thursday, June 18, 2009. They served 275 meals. Twice as many families participated this June as did June of last year! Help keep the trend going and sign up your family to volunteer on Thursday, July 16th! 

 

On April 23, Suzanne Johnson and Roger Whitfield joined a pilgrimage to Mwitikira, Tanzania as part of St. Paul's ongoing Carpenter's Kids partnership with the Diocese of Central Tanganyika.

Photos courtesy of Suzanne Johnson.

 

St. Paul's Episcopal Church near Capitol Square was among the 24 stops on the first-ever Anthem Stride Through Time history walk on Saturday, May 30th. The event drew over 2,000 health and history enthusiasts to downtown Richmond. 

We offered a friendly welcome to thirsty walkers and music led by parishioners in the Sunday morning music ensemble. We began the day with an old-time music jam session followed by the choir singing popular hymns. In addition to our outside presence, the church was open for guided tours and bathroom breaks throughout the morning.

 

Parents!  Photos from the Easter Egg Hunt are now available online!  Photos in this gallery are courtesy of Bruce Yoder and Margie Nea.  If you would like a higher resolution version of your child or family photo, please call 545-5405 or email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). 

For information about our children/youth programs at St. Paul's, call our Christian Formation Minister, Leslie Choplin, at 545-5418 or our Youth Minister, Bryan Appel, at 643-3589, ext. 5419.

On Sunday, April 5, 2009, St. Paul's Episcopal Church hosted the Downtown Community Ministries Palm Sunday service on the Portico.  

Photos by Bruce Yoder

 

Photos of Micah Ministry volunteers in action -- including our Rector -- are available in this photo gallery.  Think it looks like fun?  Contact Betsy Carr (545-5415 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)) or Carol Sabatino (.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)) to learn more about volunteering. 

There are a range of opportunities available, from mentoring and assisting a classroom to helping with special events like Read Across America Day, organizing books in the school library, or leading exercise or outdoor gardening activities. 

Photos from the Inauguration Day Interfaith Service of Prayer & Music, followed by a broadcast of the Inauguration in Parish Hall, at St. Paul's on Jan. 20, 2009.  If you have additional images to share, please email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or call 545-5405.

 

During July and well into August 2008, Suzanne Johnson made her way back to the village of Mwitikira and to the people she promised to spend more time with.  There are many more images available that tell the story surrounding this mission experience.  If you would like to view them, please contact .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) at 804-643-3589 ext. 5415.

Between July 18^th and 25^th  2008, 13 youth and adults from St. Paul's Episcopal Church participated in an Immersion Experience in the country of El Salvador through the International Partners in Mission non-profit organization. The IPM organization is committed to building, strengthening, and maintaining partnerships across faith and culture on behalf of women, children, and youth in order to work towards a more just, peaceful, and hopeful world. IPM operates under the belief that mission is a two-way street. By entering into this journey, The Immersion Experience Team was accepting a call to, briefly, live as the majority of people in El Salvador live, eat what they eat, accompany them in their struggles and joys, share their hopes and dreams. The Immersion Experience Team was asked not only to give, but to humbly receive; To be willing to stand back and listen, and to encounter the Divine in their hosts, in their traveling companions, in their experiences, and in themselves. As the day-to-day itinerary was deeply experiential, each morning and evening the team used the Gospel, sections of Archbishop Romero's Second Pastoral Letter, Silence, Questions, Discussion, Journaling, and Prayer to process and reflect throughout the week.

We deeply appreciate our parish family holding us in their prayers as we traveled and as we were in the country of El Salvador. We ask that you continue to pray for the people of El Salvador as many of its citizens continue to struggle in poverty and with the affects of oppression.

 

As a member church of the Downtown Community Ministry, St. Paul's has provided Thursday lunch to the homeless, needy and working poor for 25 years. In the spirit of "welcoming the stranger," approximately 200 guests in need of a hot meal are served lunch each Thursday at St. Paul's Episcopal Church. 

Please search our site using the key word "Emmaus" for more information including volunteer opportunities.  The search box is at the top right of the site window.

Thank you to everyone who visited our stand.  You helped up raise $87 in support of Children’s Miracle Network the fight to stop pediatric cancers.  Please join us next summer when we hold this event again.

Shrine Mont 2008, April 11-13 was a wonderful weekend for St. Paul's parishioners at our annual retreat in Orkney Springs, Virginia.  We came back to Richmond well nourished, relaxed, energized and fulfilled.

Saturday Sisters was a series of winter events on Saturdays in January and February for the Youth Group. These albums show some of the enthusiasm and joy gained by spending time with new friends in our city.

The 2007 Christmas pageant was held on Christmas Eve.  As is the St. Paul's tradition it is open to all.  No rehearsals, just come in time to get your costume.  These photos were furnished by Leslie Choplin.

In the fall of 2007 Suzanne Johnson and Roger Whitfield traveled to Tanzania to explore options for the Carpenter's Kids Program through the Diocese of Virginia.  Their report can be found in the Outreach section under Millenium Developmenet Goals.  This album is photos from their trip.