Christ Episcopal Church stands at 3445 Warrensville Center Road in Shaker Heights, just outside Cleveland. Tucked into the popular Van Aken District, the church's stone building has been a fixture of the neighborhood for nearly a century, and inside it a parish committed to ancient liturgy and a wide-open table has made its home. The congregation's motto, "All are welcome at Christ's table, without exception!", is more than a slogan: Christ Episcopal follows the policy of the Episcopal Church that ordination, employment, marriage, baptism, and communion are open to LGBTQIA+ members.
The parish describes itself as a mixture of cradle Episcopalians, people from other Christian denominations, and newcomers to church life. Its ministry centers on what the community calls living and proclaiming the Way of Love through worship, pastoral care, Christian education, outreach, and the arts. An elevator at the back of the building opens directly into the nave, and the parish sets aside a "Soft Space" near the front where babies and little ones can move about during worship while still seeing what is happening.
Sunday Worship with Choir, Chapel, and Livestream
The principal Sunday service is the 10:30 a.m. Holy Eucharist in the nave. Lasting about an hour, this celebration is enriched with music, choir, and acolytes and is livestreamed on YouTube. The congregation typically follows Rite II from the Book of Common Prayer, and every Sunday includes Holy Eucharist, a sacred giving of thanks. There is no dress code; the parish says simply that God delights in the wearer no matter what.
From September through May, a quieter 8:00 a.m. service is offered in the chapel. This earlier liturgy is intimate, valued for its simplicity and quiet, with sermon and Eucharist but no music. On feast days the whole parish leans into a more elaborate style with incense, bells, and long processions, while ordinary time brings a lighter experience with piano. Children are welcome and encouraged to take part as acolytes, ushers, and lay readers, and the sounds of kids are considered a sign of joy.
During June, July, and August the schedule shifts: the 10:30 a.m. service moves to 10:00 a.m. and the chapel service pauses. The Christ Church Choir is an all-volunteer group whose repertoire ranges from classical anthems and global music to songs and chants from the Taizé and Iona communities, spirituals, and gospel. Children and youth, both singers and instrumentalists, regularly join the worship services.
The music director and organist, Anne Wilson, plays a three-manual mechanical-action pipe organ built by the Rieger shop in Austria. It was installed in 1980 and dedicated on Palm Sunday in a festival service with the Bishop of Ohio. Wilson, who also serves as Staff Accompanist at Case Western Reserve University and as piano instructor at The Music Settlement, has won first or second prizes in seven national and international organ competitions. She has been featured on National Public Radio's Pipedreams program and on Cleveland's WCLV.
Christian Formation from Atrium to Adult Forum
Formation is at the heart of parish life at Christ Episcopal. On Sunday mornings from September through May, formation hour runs from 9:15 to about 11:10 a.m. Children ages 3 through sixth grade gather in an atrium, a prayerful space filled with handmade Montessori-based materials, to explore scripture through the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. The program is designed for three age groups: preschool and kindergarten, first through third grade, and fourth through sixth grade. Children attend the atrium for two hours, then join their families in church after the sermon to share in Holy Communion.
Babies and toddlers are cherished throughout the parish. A professionally staffed nursery on the second floor is open from 9:00 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. for use during formation hour and the main service. Parents using the nursery often bring their children down to the nave to receive Communion.
Youth in 7th through 9th grade meet from 9:15 to 10:15 a.m. for Journey with Jesus, a curriculum created by the Episcopal Church and organized around the Lectionary readings for each Sunday, including the Hebrew Scripture and Gospel. Tertiary through twelfth graders gather throughout the year for learning, service projects, and social gatherings, and they regularly participate in worship as acolytes, choir members, ushers, and lay readers, as well as in diocesan events.
Adults gather between services for Adult Forum at 9:15 a.m. in the Good Shepherd Room. The forum covers a variety of topics throughout the year, giving adults of all ages space to talk about faith and how it is practiced in daily life. The parish also hosts seasonal Inquirer's Classes, a Lenten Series, and retreats at Bellwether Farms, the Diocese of Ohio's retreat and education center in Wakeman, Ohio.
Education for Ministry and Small Groups
On Wednesday mornings at 8:00 a.m., Bible Study meets on Zoom, and all are welcome. Later in the week, Evening Prayer is prayed on Wednesdays at 6:00 p.m. on Zoom.
The parish hosts a year-round Education for Ministry (EfM) program, a four-year course of group study developed by the School of Theology at the University of the South. Designed to help participants discover and nurture their call to Christian service, the Christ Church EfM group meets on Monday evenings from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. in the Good Shepherd Room from September through May.
Two long-standing small groups give the parish much of its texture. The Daughters of the King is a community of women and girls who seek a closer walk with God through a Rule of Life and the companionship of sisters. The King Fisher Chapter of the Brotherhood of St. Andrew, which has been bringing men and youth to Jesus Christ in the Anglican Communion since 1883, meets on the third Saturday of each month at 10:00 a.m. in the church library. Its three disciplines are prayer, study, and service. The Brotherhood also welcomes women as associate members.
Outreach Across Shaker Heights, Cleveland, and the World
Under the guidance of the Outreach Committee, Christ Episcopal supports a wide range of ministries in the neighborhood, in greater Cleveland, and abroad. The Little Free Pantry sits at the northeast corner of the church building, stocked with non-perishable food and toiletries for anyone who needs them and supported by donations from the community.
Through the St. Herman's Bag Lunch Ministry, the parish prepares fifty bag lunches every week of the year, fifty-two weeks with no vacations. Eight teams of volunteers fill bags with non-perishable items, prepare meat and cheese sandwiches, and transport completed lunches to St. Herman's House of Hospitality in Ohio City. The teams include Christ Episcopal youth, individual families, singles of all ages, and seniors.
The parish also maintains a revolving Kiva loan fund, originally seeded with several thousand dollars, that provides micro-loans to people in developing countries seeking to open or grow small businesses. As loans are repaid, the money is reinvested in new borrowers. Additional giving has supported Family Promise of Greater Cleveland, Episcopal Relief and Development's disaster work, the Bishop's Annual Appeal, and the scholarship fund of Bellwether Camp.
Christ Episcopal has joined Episcopal Migration Ministries' Rainbow Initiative, a ministry equipping congregations to serve and advocate for LGBTQ+ forced migrants.
Clergy, Staff, and the Episcopal Tradition
The Rev. Charles Graves IV serves as the fourteenth rector of Christ Episcopal Church. A seventh-generation Episcopalian, he previously served as campus minister at the University of Houston and as curate at the Church of the Advent in Cincinnati. He is a graduate of Hampton University and Berkeley Divinity School at Yale and has served since 2019 on the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church. He and his husband Chris live in the area.
Anne Wilson is the music director and organist. Lynn Winkelman serves as interim Christian formation director. The parish is part of the Diocese of Ohio and the worldwide Anglican Communion, tracing its roots back through the Church of England to the Scottish Episcopal Church and the Apostles of Jesus' own time. Its faith life is grounded in the three-legged stool of tradition, reason, experience, and Scripture. The parish keeps the Sacraments, holds fast to ancient ways of gathering and serving, including the ancient practice of empowering people of all genders to lead, and proclaims by word and example the Good News of God in Christ, seeking and serving Christ in all persons.
From its long-standing liturgy and its Rieger organ to its Little Free Pantry and its affirming welcome, the parish has built a rhythm of faith and service that has held steady in the Van Aken District for nearly a hundred years.