An Episcopal Home in Milford
Church of Our Saviour sits at the corner of Route 13 and Amherst Street in Milford, New Hampshire. The parish's motto, set in capital letters across its front materials, is "Forming community through Christ; serving community in Christ." Members travel from Amherst, Wilton, Mont Vernon, Merrimack, Hollis, and Brookline, as well as from across the Massachusetts border, to join a small but active congregation that takes both formation and outreach seriously.
Sunday Worship Through the Seasons
From September through May, the parish gathers for a single Sunday service at 10:00 a.m. Three weeks a month that service is a Choral Holy Eucharist, with the choir and congregation singing from the Episcopal musical tradition. On the fourth Sunday of the month, the liturgy shifts to Morning Prayer, led by members of the parish. On the first Sunday of each month, an earlier 8:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist is offered without music. Throughout the church year, additional services mark Thanksgiving, Advent, Christmas, Lent, Holy Week, and Easter. When summer comes, the service moves outdoors to Emerson Park, across from the church, at 9:00 a.m., a casual setting that is especially welcoming to families with children.
Wednesdays Around the Word and the Altar
The parish keeps a steady midweek rhythm. On the first, third, and (when there is one) fifth Wednesdays of the month at 11:00 a.m., parishioners meet by Zoom for an informal check-in, conversation, Bible discussion, and prayer. On the second and fourth Wednesdays, the gathering moves into the church at noon for a brief Holy Eucharist; on those days the in-person service and Bible study take the place of the online meeting.
What Sunday Morning Looks Like
Visitors are greeted at the front door and handed a bulletin containing the order of service, references to the prayer book and hymnal, and the readings and psalms for the day. Ushers help newcomers find a seat. The liturgy follows one of the orders in the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer, with Holy Eucharist as the norm and Morning Prayer on occasion. Worshipers are free to stand, sit, or kneel for prayer, and everyone is welcome at the altar to receive Holy Communion or a blessing. The sacraments are brought to anyone who cannot easily come forward. Communion is offered with wine and wafers, with non-alcoholic and gluten-free options available.
The exchange of the Peace, when the congregation turns to greet one another with "Peace be with you," is one of the most loved moments of the service. The parish welcomes everyone, regardless of income, age, dress, or background.
Children and Youth
Children of all ages are welcome at the 10:00 a.m. services. The sanctuary has a family space with a soft floor, toys, and child-sized furnishings where families can sit together, and children are invited to bring forward the gifts for SHARE during the offertory. During the school year, a multi-age church school class for children ages four to twelve uses the Godly Play approach to nurture spiritual growth and a sense of belonging. Children can be dropped off in the Godly Play classroom in the undercroft up to fifteen minutes before the service begins, and they rejoin their families in the sanctuary during the passing of the Peace, roughly thirty to forty minutes later. Older children and teenagers serve as acolytes, carrying the cross and candles in the procession and assisting at the altar.
Music in the Parish
David Kjellander serves as organist and choir director. He leads the music at the Choral Holy Eucharist services, drawing on the Episcopal musical tradition and supplementing it with other sources to enrich worship. Choir members rehearse together and sing regularly. Anyone interested in joining the choir is warmly invited to reach out to David.
Outreach at Home and Abroad
The parish describes outreach as the heartbeat of its life. Locally, Church of Our Saviour supports SHARE, Bridges, Greater Nashua Habitat for Humanity, the Boys & Girls Club of Souhegan Valley, Family Promise of Southern NH, Dismas Home, the Manchester NAACP, and Ascentria. The building hosts Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. Food and personal items are collected at Sunday services for SHARE, and the parish runs a booth at the Milford Pumpkin Festival and a Christmas Fair whose proceeds support local charities.
Other in-house ministries include a Little Free Library on the property, stocked and maintained by parishioners, and a prayer shawl ministry that knits and prays over shawls given to newly-baptized infants and others in need of comfort. A prayer ministry carries the names of parishioners, friends, family, and those suffering throughout the world, while pastoral care volunteers make visits, supply meals, and arrange transportation, and have completed renovation projects to improve accessibility for neighbors.
Internationally, the parish supports Episcopal Relief & Development and Church World Service through the local CROP Hunger Walk, and continues a long relationship with the church community at St Andre's in Ondjiva, Angola.
Clergy, Leadership, and Governance
The Reverend Edward Frost serves as rector. Father Ed is a British American Episcopal priest with more than twenty years of ordained ministry, holding M.Div. and M.Min. degrees. He also works as a hospital chaplain and as a CPE educator, training chaplains toward board certification. He and his wife Linda, married for thirty-nine years, live in Amherst, New Hampshire.
Like every Episcopal parish, Church of Our Saviour is governed by an elected vestry that meets monthly to provide strategic and fiduciary guidance. The senior warden is Gail Coad, the junior warden is Chipper Brown, the clerk is Elizabeth Rotch, and Gail Coad also serves as treasurer pro tem. The congregation elects delegates to the annual Diocesan Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire.
Finding the Church, Getting Involved, and Giving
The church is at 10 Amherst Street, Milford, NH 03055, with a mailing address of PO Box 237, Milford, NH 03055. Office hours are Monday through Thursday, 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. From the Milford Oval, go north on Route 13; the building is across from the Post Office, with parking in the Post Office lot or the lot near the church. Accessible parking spaces sit next to the main entrance, and an elevator is available for those who need to enter through the lower level.
Electronically, contributions can be made through an online giving link or the GivePlus Church mobile app, where the church can be found by name or by zip code 03055. The parish is also active on Facebook and shares a weekly newsletter called Wednesday Notes.