Worship on Asbury Street
Christ Church gathers on Asbury Street in South Hamilton, Massachusetts, for worship rooted in the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer. A Rite I Eucharist is held in the Chapel every Sunday at 8:00 a.m. year-round, while the principal service is a Rite II Eucharist in the Church at 10:30 a.m. from mid-September through late May, broadcast on Facebook Live for those who cannot attend in person. During the summer, the later service shifts to 10:00 a.m. The Chapel is the original church building, and the early service is especially valued by members for its simple beauty and the splendid pipe organ, with a traditional, formal, dignified style. Nursery care for children from birth through age five is provided during the later service in the Red Room, and a Coffee Hour with coffee, juice, and sweet and savory snacks follows in the Preston Cutler Room, moving to the courtyard in warm weather. The parish purpose statement sums up the congregation's calling: "To worship God in word and sacrament, to grow in Christ, and in every way to proclaim the Gospel through the power of the Holy Spirit."
Children, Youth, and the Parish Day School
Children are welcomed into the life of the parish from infancy. Beulah Land offers the youngest children and their caregivers about fifteen to twenty minutes of songs and a colorful felt-board Bible story, built on three repeated faith themes: "God has never stopped loving us," "God's love is always enough and more than enough," and "Hear the story and let it change you." Above that, Christ Church runs the full Catechesis of the Good Shepherd program in three atria, where children gather in a specially prepared room to work with hands-on Montessori materials and share a time of prayer around a prayer table. Level 1, the Good Shepherd Atrium, serves children ages three-and-a-half through kindergarten. Level 2, the True Vine Atrium, covers grades one through three. Level 3, the Believers Atrium, uses a blended curriculum for grades four through seven. Older youth meet weekly to explore the Bible and their place in the world through the Bible Project videos and curriculum, and they enjoy monthly outings together, with occasional service projects and game nights.
Sharing the same campus is Christ Church Parish Day School, established in 1957 as an outreach mission of the parish. The school promotes the spiritual, social, physical, emotional, and cognitive growth of each child, working to build a strong foundation for learning and maturity in the likeness of Christ. Grace Chmura has served as Director since 2007, after years of running her own daycare and teaching at the local public schools, and she calls the position her dream job.
Music in Worship
Hearty congregational singing, accompanied by a majestic pipe organ, is a hallmark of every service at Christ Church. The Christ Church Choir leads the music at the 10:30 a.m. service, drawing on a repertoire of sacred music both past and present, with rehearsals on Thursday evenings from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. and Sunday mornings from 9:30 to 10:15 a.m. Director of Music and Organist Raymond came to Christ Church from St. Michael's Episcopal Church in Marblehead, where he served as Director of Music and Organist. A graduate of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, he brings a particular passion for creative hymn playing and improvisation, and lives in Hamilton with his wife, Casey, where they tend a garden and keep bees.
Adult Christian Formation
Sunday mornings at 9:15 a.m. belong to adult formation, with classes in the Parish Hall and recordings posted afterward on the parish's YouTube channel. Centering Prayer gathers on the first Wednesday of each month from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the Library Meeting Room upstairs in the Church, with periods of silent prayer, music, Lectio Divina, Visio Divina, and guided meditation, a gathering in Great Silence and Great Presence. A women's Bible study meets on the second Monday of each month from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. in Hamilton, working through a passage from the upcoming Sunday liturgy and leaving time for fellowship and prayer. The parish also offers a 50-hour Stephen Ministry training course, preparing lay people to offer confidential, Christ-like support to those in crisis, and a long-running small group following the Renovaré spiritual formation curriculum, with rich discussions across the varied spiritual backgrounds of its members.
Campus Life
Beyond worship and formation, the parish sustains a wide-ranging campus life. The Altar Guild is a volunteer group that cares for the altar, vestments, vessels, and altar linens of the parish, working behind the scenes to prepare the physical elements of worship. Servers assist throughout services as readers, ushers, acolytes, and lay Eucharistic ministers. Hospitality hosts Coffee Hour and special receptions around the Annual Meeting, the Easter Vigil, the Summer Parish Picnic, and the Advent Lessons and Carols. The Garden Guild gathers most Tuesday evenings from May through September, working the church grounds for about two hours and then sharing a potluck on the grill, with newcomers always welcome at any skill level. The Readers and Writers Guild meets on the third Friday of every other month in the Preston Cutler Room, hearing a featured reader and sharing open-mic time, while the Featured Artist program hosts a Parish Art Show each March and April. The parish softball team, the Crushin' Croziers, plays in the North Shore Coed Church Softball League each summer, open to any regular attendee fifteen and older.
Pastoral Care
Christ Church is a Stephen Ministry congregation. Stephen Ministers are trained lay caregivers who come alongside a hurting person and meet weekly to listen, care, encourage, and pray, offering emotional and spiritual support through job loss, divorce, or the death of a loved one; men are paired with men and women with women. The Good Company program matches parishioners with a weekly visitor for conversation and companionship, especially for those who feel isolated or face limited mobility, and the pairs often meet for a year or more. The Helpful Meals Ministry prepares and delivers meals to parish families after the birth of a baby, during illness or injury, or following a loss, lifting the burden of meal preparation during difficult times.
Partners in Mission
The parish supports a network of local and international mission partners. Acord Food Pantry is a nondenominational, volunteer-staffed organization that empowers individuals and families to feed themselves in a nutritionally balanced way, serving almost 4,000 client visits a year in surrounding towns, with collection baskets placed around the Church and Chapel. The Essex County Community Organization, known as ECCO, is a diverse network of congregations and organizations across the North Shore working for human dignity in public life. Christ Church also serves as a host site for Family Promise, an interfaith hospitality network providing temporary shelter, meals, and case management for families experiencing homelessness. The Haiti Packathon raises money and packs nutritious meals for the school children of St. Louis d'Ayiti, Haiti.
Weddings and Baptisms
The Church seats up to 323 people and the Chapel up to 100, and both spaces host weddings and baptisms. Couples seeking Christian marriage at Christ Church are asked to be members of the parish for at least six months and to contact the clergy at least six months before their desired wedding date. Pre-marital counseling consists of at least five sessions with a materials fee, and weddings are not held during Lent or Holy Week. A rehearsal is typically held the evening before, and a Sexton is on duty for both rehearsal and wedding. Flash photography is not allowed during the ceremony, and the buildings are not air-conditioned. For baptism, at least one parent must be a Christ Church member in good standing, or able to demonstrate comparable membership in another parish with a letter of support from that parish's clergy, and parents and godparents must be able to affirm the Apostles' Creed in good faith. Both sacraments are scheduled through the Parish Administrator at 978-468-4461.
A Parish in the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts
Christ Church is part of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts, a family of 180 congregations across eastern Massachusetts, Cape Cod, and the islands, and through the diocese is part of the wider Episcopal Church and the global Anglican Communion. The parish is led by Father Patrick, with Dean serving as an assisting priest for more than thirty years while also serving as a senior professor of Youth and Family Ministries and Social Ethics at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. The parish office is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Giving is available online through the Realm database, by direct electronic payment, or by cash or check. As one parish couple put it, Christ Church is "an outstretched hand to the table of the Lord."