A Century on Camden Drive
All Saints' Episcopal Church sits on the northeast corner of Camden Drive and Santa Monica Boulevard in Beverly Hills, one block from the city's signature shopping district. The parish was founded in 1925, when its first services were held at the Beverly Hills Hotel, and it marked its centennial across 2025 with a year of special liturgies, a commemorative gala at The Ebell of Los Angeles, an inaugural Salon series, and a parish-wide homecoming picnic. That same year, the parish launched a multi-year stewardship campaign titled Imagine a Church, inviting members to deepen financial commitments toward the next generation of ministry.
All Saints' is part of the Diocese of Los Angeles in The Episcopal Church. The parish is known for the quality of its music and for a culture that welcomes newcomers without exception. Its mission statement and signage describe it as "a diverse, inclusive family of faith" that welcomes each person "just as you are with love, hospitality, and community." Outreach, formation, and pastoral care are woven into the rhythm of parish life alongside a robust schedule of worship, including services broadcast online.
Sunday Mornings at All Saints'
Two Sunday services form the core of the week. At 8:00 am a spoken Holy Eucharist is held in All Saints' Chapel, running about forty minutes with no music and a quiet, contemplative tone. At 10:00 am the principal Choral Holy Eucharist takes place in the main church, lasting roughly an hour and featuring the All Saints' Choir and organ with the full Anglican liturgy. The 10:00 am service is livestreamed for those who cannot attend in person.
Communion is offered at every Sunday service, and all are welcome to receive. Those who prefer not to take communion may come to the altar rail with arms crossed to receive a blessing. There is no dress code: the parish invites visitors to "come as you are," and members arrive in everything from Sunday finest to jeans and a sweater.
Visitors driving in for the first time will find free parking in the metered bays on the south side of Santa Monica Boulevard on Sundays, along with a public parking garage on the same side of the boulevard. The Sunday School programs and Children's Chapel, plus Middle and High School Youth Groups, run during the school year for those arriving with children. The Welcome Table on the patio after the 10:00 am service is staffed by volunteers ready to answer questions and help newcomers find their footing.
A Music Program That Draws the City
Music is widely regarded as the soul of All Saints'. The parish supports a tiered program of choirs under the leadership of Interim Director of Music Dr. Douglas Leightenheimer, who came to Beverly Hills in 2025 after retiring from St. Margaret's Episcopal Church in Palm Desert, where he had served as Director of Music and Organist.
The semi-professional All Saints' Choir consists of twelve staff singers and twenty-five auditioned volunteers. They rehearse on Thursday evenings from 7:30 to 9:30 pm, September through May, and sing the Sunday morning liturgies, the major feast-day services from Christmas Eve through Pentecost, and an annual series of orchestral Sacred Concerts sponsored by the All Saints' Music Guild. The choir has produced six recordings for Gothic Records and toured to the eastern United States, most recently undertaking a two-week pilgrimage to England in 2023 that included daily services at Wells and Salisbury Cathedrals.
The Parish Choir, an adult volunteer ensemble that rehearses Tuesday evenings from 7:15 to 8:30 pm, leads the popular monthly Tuesday evening services in the style of Taizé and joins the All Saints' Choir for principal feast days. The All Saints' Choristers, an RSCM-affiliated training choir for children ages eight and up with unchanged voices, rehearses on Sundays from 11:30 am to 12:45 pm and sings for the 10:00 am Holy Communion on the second Sunday of each month during the school year. The choristers are led by Dayna Roberts.
The Music Guild underwrites the parish's concert outreach, offering named giving levels from Contributor through Saint that include season passes and recordings. The parish has also released a substantial catalog of recordings, from For All the Saints and A Festival Song to the Taizé collection Come and Fill Our Hearts and the Easter album Hymns, Carols and Anthems, available on Apple Music, Spotify, and at the parish bookstore.
The Craig Phillips Legacy
For thirty-eight years the music program was shaped by Canon Dr. Craig Phillips, who joined All Saints' in 1988 directly from graduate studies at the Eastman School of Music. Phillips is a distinguished American composer whose works have been performed across North America, Europe, and Asia. In 2012 he was named the American Guild of Organists' Distinguished Composer, and he has received honorary doctorates from Virginia Theological Seminary and an honorary fellowship from the Guild of Musicians and Singers in the United Kingdom.
In honor of his ministry, the parish launched the Canon Dr. Craig Phillips Distinguished Chair, Director of Music Endowment Fund, the first endowed chair in All Saints' history, with a goal of raising three to five million dollars to permanently support the Director of Music position. Donor levels are framed around the movements of the Mass, from Gathering Circle ($1 to $999) through Agnus Dei ($1,000,000 and above). The principal of the fund is preserved in perpetuity, with earnings dedicated to music ministry, and the vestry has adopted a formal resolution directing that, if the parish were ever to dissolve, the endowment would pass to other Episcopal churches within the Diocese of Los Angeles.
Clergy, Staff, and Vestry
The Rev. Dr. Andrew K. Barnett is rector. A native of Minnesota, he came to All Saints' from Washington National Cathedral, where he led the strategic priority of broadening liturgical music. He holds degrees from Oberlin College and Conservatory, Yale's School of the Environment and Divinity Schools, and Luther Seminary, where he earned a Doctor of Ministry in congregational mission and leadership. He serves as a trustee of Berkeley Divinity School at Yale. As founding director of the Theodicy Jazz Collective, he has performed across the United States and England and commissioned a jazz mass for Canterbury Cathedral. He and his wife Morgan live in the neighborhood with their dog, Nina.
The Rev. Julia Warren serves as associate rector. A graduate of Berkeley Divinity School at Yale and an ordained priest of the Diocese of Los Angeles, she came to ordained ministry after a career as a theatrical lighting designer. She grew up between Virginia and North Carolina and brings a background in Episcopal summer camp from her years at Shrine Mont in the Shenandoah Valley.
The clergy are supported by Hallie Foote in stewardship and pastoral care, Courtenay Hrubesky as communications coordinator, Manuel Castro as facilities manager, and an accounting manager. Megumi Calver serves as an outside communications consultant.
All Saints' is governed by a twelve-member elected Vestry, joined by the rector, with a Senior Warden (Kevin Shrum), Junior Warden (Claire Cundiff), Treasurer (Peter Farr), and Clerk (Bonnie McClure). Members are confirmed Episcopalians who have pledged and served at the parish for at least three years; they commit to a four-year term that includes monthly meetings, vestry retreats, and convention service. The Buildings and Grounds Committee and Finance Committee meet monthly and report to the full body. Vestry meeting minutes and a financial dashboard are posted publicly, with several years of monthly archives available.
Faith Formation for Every Age
Adult formation at All Saints' clusters around Sunday mornings at 9:00 am in Lower and Upper Sweetland Hall, with seasonal classes designed for seekers, newcomers, and long-time members. Recent series have included Faith and Daily Life with the rector on Christian practices for the week, Scripture, Story, and the Life of Faith, a class on ordained women's leadership in the Episcopal Church led by the Rev. Julia Warren, and a four-week series with the parish's former priest-in-charge, the Very Rev. Gary Hall, on congregational mission and the surrounding neighborhood.
Education for Ministry, the four-year distance-learning certificate program founded in 1975, has a long-standing chapter at All Saints'. The parish has also hosted shorter courses on Christian practices, lectio divina, the mystics, and adult confirmation preparation.
Children's and family ministry is a particular strength. Godly Play serves children from pre-K through fifth grade, with a Children's Chapel option during the 10:00 am service. Middle and High School Youth Groups gather regularly throughout the year. Families of every configuration are explicitly welcomed.
Pastoral Care and the Prayer Team
The pastoral care ministry is built around the conviction that "we all have times in our life when we need a little extra care and support." Clergy and lay chaplains are available for prayer and counsel, and a Prayer Team gathers in the Memorial Chapel following the 10:00 am Sunday service to pray with anyone who comes forward. At almost every worship service the community prays by name for those on the Prayer List, and the parish invites additions through the church office.
A monthly Grief Support group meets on the first Tuesday of each month from 7:00 to 8:30 pm, welcoming anyone grieving the loss of a loved one, a job, or "the world as we knew it." All Saints' offers the Episcopal Burial Rite from the Book of Common Prayer for funerals and memorial services, with planning coordinated through the stewardship and pastoral care office.
Sacraments and Life Events
All Saints' celebrates Holy Baptism as the full initiation by water and the Holy Spirit into the Body of Christ, using the liturgies of the Book of Common Prayer. Baptism may be administered by immersion or affusion, and the newly baptized are marked with the sign of the cross and welcomed to the Eucharist as the chief Sunday service. Baptisms are especially appropriate at the Easter Vigil, the Day of Pentecost, All Saints' Day, and the Feast of the Baptism of our Lord.
Confirmation, the mature affirmation of the Baptismal Covenant, is offered approximately every eighteen months during the bishop's visitation. Adult confirmation classes are open to all, including those already confirmed who wish to refresh their faith.
Holy Matrimony is celebrated as an act of worship that reflects the character and traditions of All Saints'. At least one member of the couple is asked to be a baptized Christian. Weddings, funerals, and memorial services may be arranged through the parish office.
Outreach Across Los Angeles and Beyond
All Saints' sponsors a wide network of outreach ministries that extend into the wider city. The Trinity Food Project, led by parishioner Lonnie Hinckley, distributes groceries weekly to neighbors experiencing food insecurity. A weekly meal program, also called the Monday Meal, brings volunteers together in service. Food and Clothing Drives accept donations every Sunday from 8:00 am to noon on the patio; gently used clothing for all ages, hygiene products, diapers, and non-perishable items are passed on to local charities.
The Honduras Medical Mission sends teams south to provide care in partnership with long-standing relationships there. The Refugee Ministry partners with IRIS, the Diocese of Los Angeles's refugee and immigration service organization, helping families from Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan with housing, furniture, transportation to appointments, job searches, English learning, and friendship. Karen Woodward Ide, who leads the ministry, has represented the Episcopal Church at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women and works to support Afghan women and families.
Creation Care, a newer ministry, meets monthly via Zoom and has partnered with the Buildings and Grounds Committee to explore the installation of solar panels on the parish campus. The group is also working with staff to expand recycling and exploring tree-planting partnerships in under-canopied areas of Los Angeles. Project Angel Tree, active during the Christmas season, provides wrapped gifts to children with incarcerated parents and hosts a Christmas party on campus with pizza, cake, a magic show, and a visit from Santa.
Community for Every Stage of Life
A range of affinity groups anchors the social and spiritual life of the parish. The 20s-30s Ministry hosts gatherings and welcome events for younger adults. PRIDE is the parish's LGBTQ+ ministry, an outgrowth of All Saints' long history of welcome. The Men's Ministry, SAGES (a seniors' group), and seasonal small groups round out the adult offerings, along with the Brotherhood of St. Andrew and Laundry Love partnerships.
The parish is intentionally intergenerational: "We welcome families of all sizes, ages, descriptions and configurations to worship, play, and grow with us." Children's Chapel during the 10:00 am service, Godly Play for pre-K through fifth grade, and Middle and High School Youth Groups provide structured formation, while families are invited to participate together in Sunday morning classes and seasonal events.
Worship Ministry: The Work of the People
The word "liturgy" means "the work of the people," and a substantial share of that work at All Saints' is carried out by lay volunteers. The all-volunteer Altar Guild cares for sacred vessels, bread and wine, linens, hangings, candles, and torches, and prepares and decorates the sanctuary for each service. Youth Acolytes serve as torchbearers, crucifers, thurifers, and banner-bearers in age-divided teams. Lay Eucharistic Ministers are trained and licensed to administer the chalice at communion. Lectors, both adult and youth, are appointed by the clergy to read scripture and lead the prayers of the people. Ushers welcome attendees at every service, take up the offertory, and serve as the first face of the parish for newcomers.
Choral Evensong and the contemplative Taizé services extend worship beyond the Sunday morning liturgies. Choral Evensong follows the form of Evening Prayer as sung in the Anglican choral tradition, while the monthly Taizé service, led by the Parish Choir, uses repetitive chant and extended silence in the style of the ecumenical community at Taizé, France.
What Episcopalians Believe
All Saints' worships and teaches within the Episcopal tradition, rooted in the Book of Common Prayer. The parish affirms the historic creeds of the church, the Apostles' Creed at baptism and the Nicene Creed at communion, and recognizes two sacraments ordained by Christ: Holy Baptism and the Eucharist. Five other sacramental rites, including Confirmation, Ordination, Holy Matrimony, Reconciliation of a Penitent, and Unction, are recognized as means of grace.
Scripture is the foundation, understood through tradition and reason. The baptismal covenant, found in the Book of Common Prayer, opens with questions about belief in the Holy Trinity and closes with five questions about how Christians are called to live out their faith. The parish teaches that God loves every person without exception.
Generosity, Stewardship, and Planned Giving
The parish runs an annual pledge campaign with proportional giving encouraged; the biblical tithe is offered as one guide. The 2027 campaign, Imagine a Church, asks members to consider an ambitious three-year increase in giving, with the goal of expanding ministries, deepening formation for children and youth, and investing in outreach. Pledges are acknowledged on All Saints' Day, with names printed alphabetically in the bulletin.
Gifts can be made in person during services or dropped at the Welcome Table, online through the parish's Realm platform, or by Venmo at @AllSaints-BeverlyHills. Checks may be mailed to the parish office. Planned giving options include bequests, charitable gift annuities, charitable remainder trusts, life insurance, life estate arrangements, and retirement plan beneficiary designations.
Looking to the Next Hundred Years
As it passes its centennial, All Saints' finds itself entering "a new season," marked by the leadership of a new rector, the launch of the first endowed chair in its history, an ambitious stewardship campaign, and the active discernment of how a historic parish on a busy boulevard can serve its neighbors with renewed energy. The congregation spans young families, longtime members, and visitors who walk in off Santa Monica Boulevard; whatever their reason for coming through the door, the parish aims to make room for them.
Worship continues every Sunday at 8:00 and 10:00 am. The livestream is available online for those who cannot be there in person. Whether someone arrives for the quiet of the spoken Eucharist in the chapel, the full choral liturgy in the nave, an evening of contemplative chant, or simply a conversation at the Welcome Table, the doors on Camden Drive remain open.