Saint Anne's Episcopal Church sits on a wooded stretch of Charlton Road in Sunfish Lake, a small suburb tucked between Mendota Heights and Inver Grove Heights just south of Saint Paul. The building is single-level, ringed by gardens and an outdoor chapel, and positioned within easy reach of three major highways. Locals know it as a warm, progressive Episcopal parish whose members care for one another through meals, prayer, and rides, and who regularly open the doors of the church to neighborhood groups. The church's own way of describing the work is plain and unmistakable: we are called to be Christ's loving arms in the world.
Worship Rooted in the Book of Common Prayer
Saint Anne's follows the liturgical worship of the Episcopal Church, drawn from the Book of Common Prayer and a heritage that traces back to the Church of England. Two Sunday services form the rhythm of the week: an 8:30 a.m. service and a 10:30 a.m. service, both in English. Four times a year, on roughly quarterly Sundays, the parish gathers for a single lay-led Morning Prayer at 10:30 a.m. instead of the usual two services. These Sundays are intentionally simple: a camp-style or team-led Morning Prayer that lifts up the voices of the whole community and frees the congregation to worship together as one body.
Worship is at once traditional and progressive. The parish is not afraid to ask questions about scripture, to try different expressions in prayer and music, and to embrace the long Episcopal tradition alongside newer forms. On most Sundays, parents and children worship together. The Nursery is available for children five and younger during the education hour and the 10:30 service, staffed by a caregiver and volunteers, so that parents of young children can fully participate in the liturgy. On special Sundays throughout the church year, the welcome extends beyond people: the Feast of St. Francis brings a Blessing of the Animals at both services, with pets and photos and stuffed animals all invited to receive a blessing.
Children, Youth, and the Intergenerational Life
Saint Anne's celebrates children as an essential part of the Christian community and looks for ways to include them fully in every aspect of parish life. The result is an intentionally intergenerational church, where adults, children, and teenagers know one another and are involved together in worship, outreach, learning, and fellowship.
- The Nursery is available for children five and younger during the education hour and the 10:30 service.
- Sunday Club is the parish's Sunday school for preschool through 8th grade, meeting Sundays from 9:15 to 10:15 a.m.
- Confirmation Class is a two-year program of study and preparation for students in 9th and 10th grades, and for older students who have not yet been confirmed.
- Summer Stretch is a week-long day camp for K-8 children, usually held in mid-June. Each year the week centers on Micah 6:8 (do justice, love kindness, walk humbly) and the parable of the Good Samaritan, with mornings of discussion followed by afternoons of service out in the community.
- Baptism is offered as part of a Sunday Eucharist several times a year: the First Sunday after the Epiphany, the Easter Vigil, Pentecost, the Sunday nearest July 26 (Saint Anne's Day), and All Saints Sunday, with other dates arranged as needed. Infant baptism is the norm, but older children and adults are also baptized here.
Peace and Justice: Looking Outward with Joy and Hope
The parish takes seriously its call to be Christ's loving arms in the world, and a great deal of that work happens through the Peace and Justice ministry. Saint Anne's looks outward with joy and hope and the knowledge that there are deeds of compassion and courage that will not be done unless they are done by ordinary people showing up.
Harvest Pack is a flagship partner. The local organization works to bring nutritious food to the tables of those in need, and Saint Anne's regularly hosts food-pack events where volunteers of all ages assemble packs that are distributed to local food shelves and school backpack programs.
Local partnerships run deep. The congregation supports Neighbors, Inc., Youth Farm, First Nations Kitchen, MICAH, Minnesota Interfaith Power and Light, and The Open Door Pantry through second-Sunday collections, food drives, and service. As part of the Episcopal Church in Minnesota, Saint Anne's also partners with Episcopal Community Services, Episcopal Homes, Sheltering Arms Foundation, and the Minnesota Council of Churches Refugee Program.
Other ongoing efforts include:
- Care Kits for the Homeless: a parish-wide project that collects and assembles small kits with socks, shampoo, granola bars, toothpaste, service-location cards, and notes of encouragement. Sunday Club children help assemble the kits.
- The Angel Tree: each Christmas, the congregation buys gifts of clothing, toys, and books for the children at the child care center at Saint Paul College, supporting kids whose parents are working hard toward their own education.
- Seasonal clothing and supply drives, including a fall career clothing drive that gathers fall and winter work clothes, jackets, boots, gloves, hats, and accessories for the From Me to You Clothing Ministry at El Bethel Baptist Church in Minneapolis, which serves women and men returning to the workplace, entering school, or preparing for job interviews.
A Building That Opens Its Doors
Saint Anne's is on one level, with no steps into the building or into the sanctuary. A drop-off lane allows passengers to step out right at the door, and an automatic door button is available near the drop-off lane for the office section of the building. The restrooms are accessible and ADA compliant, and the building welcomes wheelchairs and walkers.
The grounds include an outdoor chapel and carefully tended gardens that the parish invites visitors to enjoy any time. The church is centrally located near Highways 494, 62, and 52, which makes it easy to drop in to sit and pray, meditate, or simply breathe for a moment. Inside, the fellowship hall accommodates gatherings of up to 120 people and is regularly used for parish suppers, neighborhood baby showers, board meetings, classes, and receptions.
The parish hosts weddings and funerals as part of its ministry. Christian weddings at Saint Anne's may be held with or without the involvement of the parish's clergy, with approval of the priests-in-residence, and the sanctuary, outdoor chapel, and fellowship hall are all available. Funeral services draw on the Easter-centered funeral liturgy in the Book of Common Prayer, marked by joy and the certainty that nothing in all creation can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. Saint Anne's also rents meeting rooms and the fellowship hall for community meetings and events.
A Church at the Heart of the Neighborhood
Saint Anne's has steadily grown into a community resource and gathering place, a vision that came out of a Dreams and Visions brainstorming session with the Vestry a few years ago. The parish has since built relationships with local schools, supported other nonprofits, and offered space whenever possible. Today, the building is rarely quiet.
- The West Saint Paul Rotary Club meets at the church every Wednesday.
- Spanish classes use parish space during the week.
- A new playground on the grounds is enjoyed by local families as well as Saint Anne's families.
- A Little Free Library extends the parish's reach out into the surrounding streets.
- The church hosts blood drives, movie nights, parish picnics, and seasonal events such as the Blessing of the Animals and a Wear Your Halloween Costume to Church Sunday.
- Members participate in local parades and help staff a booth at the area PRIDE festival each year.
- The Garden Club keeps the outdoor chapel and the gardens in shape through the growing months.
The parish publishes a weekly email called the Announcer, which carries news of upcoming events, partner needs, and opportunities to serve. A 2024 Year in Review video and ongoing written reflections from the priest help newcomers get a feel for the community before they ever walk through the door.
Faith, Doubt, and a Sense of Welcome
Saint Anne's describes itself as inclusive, joyful, progressive, intergenerational, loving and caring, and hopeful. The congregation is unembarrassed by questions and differences of belief. The priest has written publicly about how not everyone at Saint Anne's subscribes to the creeds in the same way, not everyone prays the same way, and not everyone comes to church for the same reason - and how that diversity is one of the community's strengths. The parish's stance is that authentic, attentive presence with one another is itself a form of prayer, and that questions are welcome alongside answers.
Worship is anchored in the liturgy of the Episcopal Church and the Book of Common Prayer. Music is led by Organist Tony Sofie. The presiding priest is the Rev. Jennifer McNally, who serves as Priest In Partnership and writes a weekly column of reflections that often opens with a small story - a forgotten newborn sock, geese flying over the Mississippi River, the routine of an ordinary Tuesday - and closes with a brief prayer for the week. The parish's vision statement sums up the spirit that runs through it all: we are the loving arms of Christ, to each other and to the world that God loves so much.
Getting Connected
Visitors who want to attend a service are welcome at either the 8:30 or 10:30 a.m. Sunday Eucharist (or at the 10:30 a.m. Morning Prayer on quarterly Sundays). The Nursery is available during the education hour and the 10:30 service for children five and younger, and Sunday Club welcomes children preschool through 8th grade from 9:15 to 10:15 a.m. People exploring membership, baptism, confirmation, or simply a deeper connection are invited to be in touch with the parish office. The church is open throughout the week for anyone who wants to stop by to sit, walk the gardens, or use the outdoor chapel as a quiet place to pray.