On a quiet lane off Northside Parkway in Atlanta's Buckhead neighborhood, Saint Anne's Episcopal Church & Day School has gathered worshipers for generations. Set among single-family homes near the Governor's Mansion and a short drive from West Paces Ferry, the parish shares its campus with Saint Anne's Day School and Enrichment Programs and with Saint Anne's Terrace, an independent-living community for adults 62 and older. The campus on Saint Anne's Lane NW is one of the better-known Episcopal congregations in northwest Atlanta, drawing members from across Buckhead and the surrounding neighborhoods of west and north Atlanta.
Sundays at Saint Anne's
Sunday is the heart of parish life. Two services of Holy Eucharist are offered each week. At 8:00 a.m., the chapel hosts Holy Eucharist, Rite I, an intimate service with no music. At 10:30 a.m., the nave fills for Holy Eucharist, Rite II, sung by the Adult Choir with organ, and streamed live online for those joining from home. Between the two liturgies, at 9:15 a.m., the parish offers formation classes for both adults and children. A continental breakfast on summer Sundays and a hot breakfast during the school year begins at 8:45 a.m. in the Parish Hall, making the early morning a place to catch up as much as a place to prepare for worship.
At the 10:30 service, children preschool through third grade are invited to Children's Chapel for a Gospel lesson designed for their age group, returning to the nave at the Peace. The nave is equipped with a hearing loop that allows worshipers with t-coil-equipped hearing aids to receive the audio directly. Ushers greet visitors at the door and hand out a service leaflet that walks through the liturgy, while the blue 1982 Hymnal and the red Book of Common Prayer in each pew provide the words for hymns, prayers, and responses. Members typically dress in what the parish describes as "dressy casual," though newcomers are invited to wear whatever feels right.
Sunday does not end with the final hymn. After the 10:30 service, the Youth Choir gathers in the Choir Room, and once a month the Episcopal Church Women host a dinner in the Parish Hall that draws women and friends of the parish together around a meal and a speaker.
The Clergy and Staff
The Rev. Buddy Crawford has served as Rector since January 2024, after three years as Interim Rector and Priest in Charge. He is active in the Diocese of Atlanta, having served on the Standing Committee, the Diocesan Foundation board, and the Diocesan Benefits Committee, and currently works as a Search Consultant for parishes in transition and as faculty for Learning 2 Lead, a program for newly ordained clergy and those in transition. He lives in Brookhaven with his partner Eric and their Wire Fox Terrier, Sophie.
The Rev. Hannah VanderMale (sometimes listed in parish communications as Hannah Kelly) serves as Associate Rector. She leads Saint Anne's pastoral care ministries and works alongside the Rector in planning liturgy, celebrating the sacraments, preaching, teaching, and outreach. She is a member of the Bishop's Advisory Board for Church of the Common Ground and came to Saint Anne's from chaplaincy work at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta.
The Rev. KC Crewdson serves as Priest Associate. She is a postulant in the Diocese of Atlanta and a student at the Candler School of Theology at Emory, where she plans to concentrate in chaplaincy and prison ministry studies. She recently returned from pilgrimages to the Holy Land and along the Camino de Santiago.
Dr. Joyce A. Schemanske is Director of Music. She holds a Doctor of Music degree from Northwestern University and previously served as Associate Organist-Choirmaster at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago, where she worked with the composer Richard Proulx. Since her arrival at Saint Anne's, the music program has grown from two choirs to a full graded choral program and a five-octave handbell choir.
Tabi Tobiassen directs Children's and Youth Ministry. A native of West Palm Beach who grew up attending St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, she has been staffing the Kanuga Key Conferences since 2006 and joined Saint Anne's in 2018. Rhonda Mitchell leads Saint Anne's Day School and Enrichment Programs. David Brooks serves as Executive Director of Saint Anne's Terrace, the senior residential community on the campus.
A Graded Music Program
Music is one of Saint Anne's defining ministries. Under Dr. Schemanske the parish supports a graded choral program that begins in grade school and continues through high school, plus choirs for adults and a five-octave handbell choir. The choirs receive pins based on the national Choristers Guild curriculum, with jewels added for years of service, and each choir takes an annual trip after its Awards Ceremony.
Rehearsals run through the week. The Primary Choir (kindergarten and first grade) rehearses Tuesdays from 4:30 to 5:15 p.m., introducing children age five and older to songs, rhythmic movement, percussion instruments, and musical games. The Junior Choir (grades 2 through 5) rehearses Wednesdays from 4:30 to 5:15 p.m., with simple part-singing, percussion, handbells, and handchimes. The Youth Choir, open to singers and instrumentalists in grades 6 through 12, sets its own rehearsal schedule in September; its first organizational meeting this year is right after the 10:30 service on the third Sunday of the program year.
The Adult Choir rehearses Wednesdays from 7:30 to 9:00 p.m. and sings most Sundays at the 10:30 service and at special services and diocesan events. On Christmas Eve the choir is joined by members of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. The Handbell Choir, open to high school age through adults, rehearses Tuesdays from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. and plays roughly four times a year plus Christmas and Easter. There are no auditions; members are welcome to join a choir that fits their schedule and voice.
Children and Youth
Saint Anne's Children's Ministry serves children from birth through fifth grade. Sunday School uses a lectionary-based curriculum so that every age learns the same message each week, with engaging Bible stories and a strong sense of play. During the 10:30 service, children preschool through third grade may go to Children's Chapel for a Gospel message delivered at their level; they return to the nave at the Peace.
The Little Saints Nursery is open free of charge on Sundays from 9:00 a.m. to noon and for special services and activities. Every nursery worker has been interviewed by the Director of Children and Youth Ministry, has passed a background check, and is certified in CPR, First Aid, and Safeguarding God's Children, a child sexual abuse awareness training used across the Episcopal Church.
For children who stay in the service with their families, the pews hold worship bags with quiet activities: a cross and candle to build a mini altar, scrap paper for tracing the stained glass windows, and a weekly worship bulletin. Worship bags and the sound of children in worship are both welcomed here. The parish offers a week-long Vacation Bible School each year, drawing children from the wider community for song, dance, games, Bible stories, and crafts.
For parents of younger children, Saint Anne's hosts two support groups. POLO (Parents of Little Ones) meets on parish grounds for outdoor playdates, and the ECW Moms Group brings mothers together through the women's ministry of the parish.
Youth Ministry serves students in grades 6 through 12. Sunday night is EYC (Episcopal Youth Community), when youth gather for dinner, games, and conversation in a setting designed for them to be themselves. Confirmation preparation begins in ninth grade, with regular meetings alongside clergy and mentors. Acolytes, fourth through twelfth grade, carry crosses, torches, and banners in procession and help set the table for Holy Communion, learning the liturgy by serving it.
Each summer, children and youth are encouraged to attend Camp Mikell, a ministry of the Diocese of Atlanta in the North Georgia mountains, and the high school youth head to Kanuga in the North Carolina mountains for the annual KEY Conferences - Youth Week in the summer and Winterlight later in the year.
Pastoral Care and Prayer Support
Saint Anne's takes seriously the promise to care for one another. The Rev. Hannah VanderMale leads a pastoral care team that includes Community of Hope International (COHI), a chapter of trained lay pastoral visitors who complete fourteen classes before beginning visits and who meet for ongoing continuing education. Their visits are confidential. Eucharistic Visitors are lay people trained and licensed to bring bread and wine from a Sunday service to those who cannot attend.
The Flower Guild prepares arrangements for the altar each Sunday, and a small team delivers leftover blooms to parishioners who are celebrating, recovering, immobile, or grieving. The Soup Fairies, begun during the pandemic, deliver homemade soup, cookies, and other treats to members who are homebound, ill, or have suffered a loss; the ministry delivers roughly 300 pints of soup and goodies each year, including regular visits to residents of Saint Anne's Terrace. The Guild of the Christ Child welcomes newly baptized children and their families into parish life with a book about baptism and ongoing connection.
Anyone with a pastoral need, or who would like to be added to the parish prayer list, is invited to call the church office.
Mission and Outreach
Saint Anne's interprets its baptismal vows to "seek and serve Christ in all persons" through a wide network of partners, both on and off its campus. The parish supports Camp Mikell through the Mikell Scholarship Fund and the Operations Fund, and sponsors five to ten campers from the Agape and Jabez after-school programs each summer.
The Church of the Holy Comforter in southeast Atlanta serves people living with mental illness and other disabilities. Saint Anne's prepares and serves the Christmas Eve service at Holy Comforter and supports the parish in other ways throughout the year. Saint Anne's also helps sustain Buckhead Christian Ministry, a faith-based nonprofit that provides food, clothing, and emergency rent and utility assistance, plus longer-term help through the 70/30 Project and Transitional Housing.
Agape Community Center in the Bolton neighborhood offers after-school and summer enrichment for youth, a day program for seniors and disabled adults, ESL classes, counseling, parent support, and a mentoring institute for high school juniors and seniors. Saint Anne's parishioners tutor about fifty children there on Mondays during the school year, participate in the annual Backpack Give-away that collects supplies for more than 2,400 students, and help with the Agape Room Makeover. The parish also supports the Christmas Giving Tree each Advent.
On its own campus, Saint Anne's hosts an Urban Recipe food co-op. Thirty co-op families come to the church every other week to sort food items and take home a two-week supply, delivered by refrigerated truck. Parishioners also regularly volunteer with the Church of the Common Ground, an Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta community that serves Atlanta's unhoused men and women through outdoor worship services, Bible studies, meals, and foot clinics.
Sacraments and Life Events
Baptism at Saint Anne's is the full initiation by water and the Holy Spirit into the Body of Christ. The parish celebrates baptisms on the dates appointed in the Book of Common Prayer - the Easter Vigil, Pentecost, All Saints' Day, and the Feast of the Baptism of our Lord on the First Sunday after the Epiphany - and typically also offers a baptism in late summer or early fall as needed. The entire congregation renews its own baptismal covenant during the rite.
Confirmation is the sacramental rite in which candidates affirm their Christian life in the Episcopal tradition, receiving the laying on of hands by a bishop. At Saint Anne's, confirmation is preceded by several months of instruction so that inquirers can grow in their understanding of the creeds and sacraments. The parish offers confirmation when the bishop visits, typically every other year. Reaffirmation and Reception are also offered for those returning to the Episcopal Church or joining it from another denomination.
Weddings at Saint Anne's are described in a separate Wedding Guide available from the church office. Couples begin planning with a meeting with clergy. Funerals and memorial services are also offered through the parish; those interested are invited to contact the church office.
Saint Anne's Day School and Enrichment Programs
Sharing the campus with the church, Saint Anne's Day School and Enrichment Programs offers preschool education in an environment of love and respect. The program supports developmentally appropriate growth across emotional, cognitive, social, physical, and spiritual dimensions, with the highest standards of quality in early childhood education. Enrichment programs extend the day for children whose families need additional hours or activities. The Day School is licensed and accredited and is led by Executive Director Rhonda Mitchell.
Saint Anne's Terrace
On the same campus, Saint Anne's Terrace provides residential housing for adults 62 and older who are capable of independent living and have adequate income. The Terrace welcomes persons of all faiths and beliefs; some residents worship at Saint Anne's Episcopal Church and some do not. The Terrace is led by Executive Director David Brooks.
Parish Life and Adult Formation
Beyond Sunday worship, Saint Anne's hosts a rich adult life. Episcopal Church Women (ECW) is one of the largest parish organizations, with four chapters that meet monthly from October through April and a church-wide kickoff dinner each September. Chapters gather for fellowship, study, service projects such as sewing blankets for Grady babies, and shared meals. All women of the parish are automatically members of ECW. Saint Anne's Cooks prepare seasonal parish events including Festival Sunday, the Founder's Day Picnic, the Christmas party, and covered dish breakfasts. Sunday morning breakfast is its own recurring ministry. In warmer months, Lemonade in the Shade invites the parish to linger outside after church for cookies, lemonade, and sometimes an ice cream truck.
Adult formation is offered at 9:15 a.m. on Sundays between the two services, with talks, small groups, and Bible studies that allow for theological reflection. The parish affirms the creeds and ancient councils of the church while welcoming a wide range of thought among its members. Saint Anne's values the gift of reason, allows for doubt and uncertainty, and treats differences of opinion with respect, believing the Holy Spirit moves through seasons of struggle as well as agreement.
An Episcopal Identity
Saint Anne's is part of the Diocese of Atlanta and of The Episcopal Church. Its worship follows the Book of Common Prayer, with Rite I in the early service and Rite II in the principal service. Both liturgies include Holy Communion, and both are open to anyone who wishes to receive. The parish celebrates the historic sacraments, supports a graded music program that has drawn in members of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra for Christmas Eve, and reaches out into greater Atlanta through established mission partnerships. Its campus is also home to a respected preschool and a senior residential community, making it one of the more wide-ranging parishes in the diocese.