A Parish in the Lincoln Fields
St. Anne's in-the-Fields Episcopal Church sits on Concord Road in Lincoln, Massachusetts, set back from the road behind a stand of trees and a long drive. The "in-the-Fields" part of the name is not a flourish: the parish is ringed by farms, fields, and conservation land, and the light and seasonal beauty of the surrounding landscape is something the congregation names as part of why it gathers. Inside, the building has been home to Episcopal worship for more than a century and a half, and the rhythm of the year is still set by the lectionary, the choir, and the church calendar.
More than 300 families now count St. Anne's as their spiritual home, drawn from Lincoln and from Concord, Wayland, Acton, Sudbury, Arlington, Maynard, Weston, and a half-dozen other nearby towns. The rector, the Rev. Garrett Yates, frames the community as one that is rooted in the Great Faith handed down through Christian history and yet not bound by it, "meant to liberate and orient our lives, not bind and conform them." That posture - traditional in worship, contemporary in formation, and outward-looking in service - shows up everywhere from the atrium floor where four-year-olds work with child-sized worship materials to the Social Justice Commission launched in 2022.
From Howard Snelling's Gift to Today's 300 Families
The parish was born in 1873, when Howard Snelling, a recent transplant from Boston, donated land for an Episcopal church in Lincoln. Snelling and four members of Trinity Church in Boston raised the funds to build, and the structure was completed in late fall of that year. The first service was held on Easter Sunday 1874, and the parish was dedicated that June. Fourteen families from Lincoln, with others from neighboring Wayland and Weston, made up the original roster.
For the first several decades, the parish did not have a full-time rector. Professors and students from the Episcopal Theological School in Cambridge often served part-time, and at other moments St. Anne's shared clergy with Episcopal parishes in Concord and Weston. That changed in 1945 with the arrival of the Rev. Morris Robinson, who served until 1970 and was the first resident full-time rector. It was during his tenure that "in-the-Fields" was added to the church's name, a quiet acknowledgment of the land around it.
Six rectors have followed Robinson: Stephen Apthorp (1970 to 1977), Stephen White (1978 to 1985), Mark Hollingsworth, Jr. (1986 to 1994), Cathy H. George (1996 to 2008), Kate M. Malin (2009 to 2018), and Garrett Yates, who arrived in 2019, just a few months before the pandemic forced the parish to learn how to livestream, meet outdoors, and shepherd one another from a distance. The building looks much the same as it did a century ago, but the parish that gathers in it now reaches well beyond Lincoln's borders.
Sunday Worship at Eight and Ten
From early September through early June, St. Anne's offers two Sunday services. At 8 a.m., a small and contemplative spoken Holy Eucharist draws those who prefer a quieter, less musical service. At 10 a.m., a Holy Eucharist with the church choir is livestreamed on YouTube and Facebook and is the main gathering of the week. The 10 a.m. service usually runs about an hour, and coffee hour follows in the Parish House.
During the summer, the schedule collapses to a single Holy Eucharist at 9 a.m. On occasion the parish adds an evening service such as Evensong, and the online calendar carries those dates when they are scheduled.
Visitors are often surprised at how warmly the room is run. Ushers greet at the door and help with seating; the bulletin walks newcomers through the service; and the parish's own description of the congregation, "vibrant and loving Christian community, growing through ministries that challenge our minds, feed our souls, and open our hearts," is borne out in the way people linger over coffee. The rector, Garrett Yates, encourages newcomers to arrive five to ten minutes before the service begins.
What to wear is left almost entirely to the visitor. Many people arrive in business casual; others come in t-shirts and sneakers, and some still put on a suit because it makes them comfortable. The emphasis, the parish says, is not on what people wear but on "orienting our bodies, minds, and hearts to God."
The Casavant Organ and the Choir Loft
Music sits at the heart of the 10 a.m. service. The choir, led by Director of Music Jay Lane, sings each Sunday at the principal Eucharist and also for Lessons and Carols, Christmas Eve, Ash Wednesday, Holy Week, and occasional evensongs. A professional voice teacher, choral conductor, and organist, Lane holds a Ph.D. in musicology from Yale and has served churches in Acton and Newburyport before coming to St. Anne's. He also teaches voice at the Concord Conservatory of Music and leads a choir for people with Parkinson's Disease, and he brings that same commitment to vocal health and ensemble singing to St. Anne's.
The choir is a volunteer ensemble supported by four section leaders. Rehearsals are held Thursday evenings from 7:30 to 9 during the program year, with a shorter 9 a.m. rehearsal on Sunday mornings before the service. Recent favorites in the repertoire have included Charles Villiers Stanford's Evening Service in B flat, Anton Bruckner's Christus factus est, Herbert Howells's Like as the hart, and Palestrina's Sicut cervus. The parish takes seriously the role of music in formation, and several choir anthems and hymns are available in a long-running music archive online.
The instrument under the choir's hands is a two-manual Casavant pipe organ, recently revised and expanded by William Catanesye. Its specifications are available for anyone interested in its stops and scaling.
Catechesis of the Good Shepherd: Formation for the Youngest
For children from pre-kindergarten through seventh grade, St. Anne's runs Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, a Montessori-based religious formation program that has shaped the parish's children for years. Rather than teaching about faith, the program protects what Sarah Jennings, the Director of Children's Formation, calls "the young child's sense of wonder," and creates a prepared environment where children can work with kid-sized worship and Eucharist materials, hear parables, look at maps of Israel, and ponder scripture at their own pace.
Children age four through first grade gather in the Good Shepherd Atrium. They practice independent exploration of the worship materials, hear parables and the Birth of Jesus, and learn basic maps of Israel - all focused on the person of Jesus as the Good Shepherd. Second through fourth graders meet in the Mustard Seed Atrium, where they learn to prepare services at the Prayer Table, choose opening blessings and dismissals, practice the Lord's Prayer, and learn songs matched to the seasons of the church year. Fifth through seventh graders, in the People of God Atrium, work with Level III materials, reading stories from Hebrew Scripture, exploring the typologies of Creation, the Flood, Abraham, Jacob, Moses, and the prophets, and asking their own questions about the common threads of faith across centuries.
Parents are a visible part of the rhythm. During the program year, atriums meet at 9:30 on Sunday mornings. Children ages four to eleven gather before worship and are brought back to the sanctuary in time for Holy Eucharist at 10 a.m., and on Communion Sundays the children join their families at the altar rail.
For infants, the parish keeps a free nursery during the 10 a.m. service. Mature teens serve as paid caregivers under the supervision of the Director of Children's Formation, and parents are asked to stay in the building and pick up children promptly at the end of the service.
Acolytes, Teens, and the Bishop's Visitation
Acolytes are an important part of the 10 a.m. liturgy. Beginning in the spring of fourth grade, students are trained to carry the cross, light and carry the torch, hold the Gospel, and lead the opening and closing processions. Older elementary students and teens work together in this ministry, which the parish sees as a way of teaching young people their place in the worshipping life of the congregation.
For middle and high schoolers, Teen Formation meets monthly on the third Sunday at 5:30 p.m. Open to eighth through twelfth graders, the gatherings are built around the students' own questions and interests, with time for games, conversation, and reflection on sacred spaces and how young people show up in them. Several teens also serve the parish as livestream technicians and nursery staff.
Confirmation is offered every other year for eighth graders and older. Students meet regularly with the clergy to study the history and spirituality of the Episcopal Church and to prepare for the bishop's visit. At a recent Visitation Sunday, Bishop Alan Gates confirmed eight students in a joyful Holy Eucharist surrounded by the parish.
The Adult Forum, Bible Studies, and the Speaker Series
Worship is the center of parish life at St. Anne's, but it is not the only time the community gathers. The Adult Forum meets at 11 a.m. on most Sundays from September to May, after the 10 a.m. service and coffee hour. Recent and upcoming topics have included how to balance hope and lament in a fractured world, how the Bible can be used outside of simply reading it, Climate Justice, and the annual Advent Moth storytelling hour.
Two long-running Bible studies anchor the week. The Men's Discussion Group gathers on Wednesdays at 8:30 a.m. in the Parish Library for coffee, the upcoming Sunday's lectionary readings, and prayer. The Women's Bible Study meets on Thursdays from 10 to 11:30 a.m. for a similar rhythm of check-in, lectionary study, and prayer.
Twice a year the parish hosts an installment of the Speaker Series, inviting noted authors, activists, and leaders to discuss intersectional issues in faith and current events. Past topics have included mercy and justice in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam; how different faiths approach the afterlife; a needlework session with activist Shannon Downey; and authors' readings on finding God, the resurrection, and the religious dimension of the Ukraine conflict.
A Women's Book Group meets every two months. The parish produces an annual Lenten Booklet as a community writing project. The diocese's Sacred Ground curriculum and a discussion group around Bishop Budde's "How We Learn to Be Brave" have been offered in recent years, and Quiet Days and the Education for Ministry program round out the formation calendar. The Climate Justice Ministry also sponsors regular evening film screenings, free and open to the wider community, followed by discussion.
Pastoral Care Across the Cradle and the Grave
The Pastoral Care team at St. Anne's coordinates a network of ministries that touch the major thresholds of life. Any parishioner may call the church at any time, day or night, in a pastoral crisis such as a death, serious illness, accident, or other emergency, and a priest will respond. When possible, a priest is called whenever someone is near death in order to administer the Ministration at the Time of Death and pray with the family.
Two prayer lists form the backbone of the intercessory work. The parish prayer list, managed by Parish Manager Jennie Cook, is reviewed and updated regularly; the Intercessory Prayer Group also prays through a confidential list for those who would prefer their names not be read aloud in public. The clergy of St. Anne's are also available for the Reconciliation of a Penitent, the Episcopal tradition's sacramental name for private confession, as well as for House Blessings when a household moves into a new home and for a brief service of Thanksgiving for the Birth of a Child at the hospital in the days after a baby arrives.
The Pastoral Care team also organizes meals for those who are infirm, distributes prayer blankets, arranges rides to church, and coordinates a quiet Blue Christmas service each December for people who feel sadness during the holiday season.
A Social Justice Commission, Local and Global
Each Sunday at St. Anne's, the dismissal sends worshippers out with the words, "Go in peace to love and serve the Lord." The Social Justice Commission, launched in 2022, is the parish's attempt to coordinate the many ways the congregation already lives out that sending. It brought existing groups together under a single commission structure and created easier ways for newcomers to find a place in the work.
The commission's vision statement names four areas of concern: racial justice, social justice, economic justice, and environmental justice. It acknowledges that the Doctrine of Discovery has caused "destruction to the people, culture and fabric of indigenous communities," and that the Earth is "a beautiful, fragile gift of God" currently endangered by human selfishness, greed, and thoughtlessness. To that end, the commission commits to listening, looking, and reflecting more deeply; creating opportunities to connect with communities of color and marginalized groups; and identifying, supporting, and taking actions to promote racial, social, economic, and environmental justice.
Locally, the parish keeps the B-Love Food Pantry, a Climate Justice film series, and a community rentals program on its own campus. It partners with College Behind Bars and Partakers in Medford, the Crop Walk in Concord, the Household Goods Ministry in Acton, the Maynard Backpack Program, Open Table in Maynard, the REACH Shelter in Waltham, the Interfaith Partnership for Refugee Resettlement with a Rohingya family in Lowell, and Unity Farm in Sherborn. In Boston, the parish supports the B-Safe Summer Program, Bridge over Troubled Water, FamilyAid Boston, and St. Stephen's After School Program. Globally, it stands with the Artisans of Sant Art and the Centre de Formation Fritz LaFontant in Haiti, Friends of Matenwa, Episcopal Relief and Development, and NuDay Syria.
Outreach Grants, Swift to Love, and the B-Love Food Pantry
Two programs allow the parish to fund the work of its mission partners. The Outreach Committee annually disburses grants from the operating budget - typically in the $250 to $500 range - to local organizations and global ministry partners, with a focus on low-income families and children, hunger and food insecurity, homelessness, and climate justice. The application is open to anyone with a relevant ministry or nonprofit, regardless of denomination.
Swift to Love, a monthly giving program begun in 2017, brings a specific cause to the attention of the congregation before one Sunday service each month. A parishioner sponsors an organization, and that Sunday's plate collection supports the sponsored ministry. Past recipients have included the parish's own mission partners and a range of local nonprofits.
Inside the church, the B-Love Food Pantry operates as an in-house outreach, stocked and maintained by parishioners for the wider community.
Stewardship, the Legacy Society, and Giving
St. Anne's runs a yearly stewardship campaign. Each fall, members receive a packet inviting them to make an annual pledge, the financial commitment that allows the parish to budget for the year ahead. Pledge payments can be made online, by check in person or by mail, or through a transfer of stock.
For those who want to extend their support beyond their lifetime, the St. Anne's Legacy Society gathers parishioners who have remembered the church in their estate planning. Wills, trusts, stock, retirement plans, annuities, real estate, and life insurance are all part of the planned-giving conversation, and the parish connects prospective legacy givers with the Stewardship Committee and the Finance Manager for one-on-one guidance.
One-time gifts are welcome at any time, and a separate Memorial fund, Outreach fund, and Music fund allow donors to direct their giving to specific corners of the parish's life.
The Clergy, Staff, and Leadership
The Rev. Garrett Yates has served as rector since 2019. A graduate of Samford University in classics and Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, he came to St. Anne's from St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Pittsburgh, where he was Assistant Rector. He lives in Lincoln with his wife, and he has a particular interest in spiritual formation, the livingness of God, and preaching that prompts wonder and courage. The pandemic that arrived a few months into his rectorship pushed the parish to learn new ways of being church together, and his sermons are posted regularly to the parish's sermon archive.
The Rev. Dr. Joseph Kimmel joined as Assistant Rector in 2022. Originally from Chicago, Joe spent time as an evangelical missionary in Lhasa, met his wife Shoko while studying at Tibet University, and earned an M.Div. at Harvard Divinity School and a Ph.D. in New Testament and Comparative Religion, also at Harvard. Ordained as an Episcopal priest in 2023, he also teaches introductory Bible courses at Boston College.
Jay Lane directs the music program, leads the choir, and oversees the parish's organ. Sarah Jennings, the Director of Children's Formation, joined the staff in the summer of 2006 and completed all three levels of Catechesis of the Good Shepherd formation training in 2013. A campus resident at Concord Academy, she holds a B.A. in History from Connecticut College and an M.Ed. in Secondary Education from the College of William and Mary. Together, the staff keeps the parish's many programs running and its spaces open.
The Building on Concord Road
St. Anne's is located on Route 126, about half a mile north of Route 117 and roughly two miles south of Route 2. From Route 2, the church is a left turn at the light, two miles down on the right, with Walden Pond visible on the way. From Sudbury, the church is a left off Route 117 onto Route 126 and a half mile on the left. From Concord, the church is south on Route 126 on the right. From Wayland, it is north on Route 126, half a mile past the light at Route 117, on the left. From Weston, it is a right off Route 117 onto Route 126, then half a mile on the left.
There is plentiful parking in front of the church, including several handicap spaces. The main entrance is through the double doors of the Parish House, which are automated. An elevator and two handicap-accessible bathrooms make the building fully accessible to those who use wheelchairs or have limited mobility.
The building itself is shared with the wider community. Flint Hall seats 150 and is the parish's large gathering space; the Sanctuary seats 290; the Kitchen is rated for smaller events; the Library seats 18; and a small Spiritual Room seats 8. Outside groups rent these spaces for nonprofit meetings, dinner parties, concerts, and recitals. Rates depend on the space, the length of the event, and the impact on parish programming, and pricing is set at the rector's discretion. A staff member must be on-site for the duration of every rental, and events that draw more than 100 cars must coordinate a police detail through the Lincoln Police Department.
Coming to Worship: Communion, Children, and the Welcome
At the altar rail, the parish extends Communion to all who wish to receive, regardless of age, faith background, or life circumstance. Gluten-free and non-alcoholic options are available, and anyone who prefers a blessing may cross their arms over their chest to indicate that wish. The decision is left entirely to the person approaching the rail.
Children are welcome in the service, and the back of the Sanctuary is open and set up for them, with a Children's Table stocked with coloring pages, crayons, and colored pencils. The "joyful noises" of children are part of what the parish expects and enjoys.
No one will ask a visitor to stand up and introduce themselves, and no one will be pressed for a personal testimony. The invitation is simpler: come, see, and join a community that is rooted in a long Episcopal history, deeply attached to the fields and seasons of Lincoln, and serious about the work of following Jesus in the wider world.