A Parish Without Walls
On any given Sunday morning in southwest Fort Worth, members of St. Christopher's Episcopal Church file into a sanctuary that does not belong to them. For more than four years now they have been guests of St. Matthew's Lutheran Church on Wedgwood Drive, ever since a long-running property dispute forced St. Christopher's to surrender its own sanctuary, its pews, its processional cross, its vestments and its vessels. The loss cut deep, but the parish refused to scatter. Today, what began as a temporary arrangement has become a striking portrait of what it means to be the church apart from a building. St. Christopher's describes itself as a growing, loving congregation with a big heart - a place where people of every background, every story and every season of life are welcomed with open arms.
The community gathers every Sunday at 9:30 a.m. for Holy Eucharist Rite II, then shares coffee in the fellowship hall before dispersing into a full slate of formation classes, book studies and small groups. Children and youth fill their own spaces; choir practice fills the afternoon. Outreach - both local and across an ocean - is woven into the rhythm of the week. "We are a thriving community knit together by worship, fellowship, service and hope," the vicar, the Rev. Paula Jefferson, writes. "Each week, we gather at the Table to share one bread, one cup. And then we go into the world doing our best to live the Gospel."
From a Park in 1957 to a Lutheran Sanctuary Today
St. Christopher's was founded on September 15, 1957, as a mission in the Diocese of Dallas. Seven families met in a park that day and chose to name the church after St. Christopher, the patron saint of travelers - an apt choice for a congregation that was preparing to take root near the new Southwest Loop 820. The first Eucharist was held the Sunday after the founding, in the home of one of those original families. The group soon moved to a country club ballroom, then spent a year at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary before its members built their first building on Southwest Loop 820 in 1958.
The mission became a parish in 1960. In 1961, the present church and church school buildings were completed; by 1973, the original church building had been repurposed into a parish hall, offices, nursery and chapel. A 1984 renovation added a narthex, church parlor and choir loft, which now houses the console of an 1908 Pilcher pipe organ and its 966 pipes. In 2009 the parish dedicated a Family Life Center with a catering-sized kitchen, a 2,300-square-foot multipurpose space, handicap-accessible bathrooms and the St. Simon of Cyrene Chapel.
In late 1982 the western half of the Diocese of Dallas became a separate diocese - the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth - and St. Christopher's came along with it. A second wave of upheaval arrived in 2008, when disagreements over the ordination of women and same-sex marriage fractured the diocese. Over the following years, courts would eventually award more than one hundred million dollars of property to the breakaway group. In April 2021, St. Christopher's buildings, pews, vestments, vessels and linens were surrendered. St. Matthew's Lutheran Church rolled out the red carpet and welcomed the congregation as tenants - a relationship that continues today and that the parish describes with deep gratitude.
Rather than fold, the parish absorbed members from several other Episcopal congregations that had also lost their buildings. The congregation of the historically Black St. Simon of Cyrene, which had joined St. Christopher's back in 2010, was joined over time by remnants of St. Elisabeth's, Christ the King, and a Parker County group. Today the parish is, in its own telling, a tapestry woven from many threads.
The St. Simon of Cyrene Welcome
The story of how the historically Black St. Simon of Cyrene congregation came to share life with St. Christopher's is one of the defining chapters of the parish. After the 2008 split, some thirty displaced members of St. Simon's met each week at the home of Evelyn and John Meeks with supply clergy while litigation dragged on. St. Christopher's had just finished building a new family life center, kitchen and chapel; eventually the idea developed that St. Simon's could use the new chapel as a worship space until property rights had been sorted out. For a couple of years that is exactly what happened.
When it became clear the litigation would continue indefinitely, St. Simon's Senior Warden John Meeks and St. Christopher's Senior Warden Bill Walker worked out an agreement with the bishop that the displaced members would join St. Christopher's. On one Sunday morning, Bishop Wallace B. (Wally) Ohl met with the members of St. Simon's before the service and led them in procession into the sanctuary. They were greeted with applause as they came in. "St. Christopher's was honored to 'clap' them back in," the parish recalls. The chapel was renamed the St. Simon of Cyrene Chapel to honor the journey. In the spring of 2024, when a handmade Italian-silk banner for the parish was unveiled, a cross for St. Simon of Cyrene was stitched at its center beside a crown for Christ the King, a dove for St. Francis and a rose for St. Elisabeth.
The Vicar and Her Curate
The Rev. Paula Jefferson was called as priest-in-charge and later vicar of St. Christopher's. A cradle Episcopalian by conviction if not by birth (her call came later in life), she graduated from Pennsylvania State University with a degree in accounting in 1983, founded a CPA firm in the mid-cities area of Tarrant County in 1990 and retired from it in 2015. She then earned her Master of Divinity from the Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest in Austin in 2018 and was ordained a priest by Bishop J. Scott Mayer in December 2020. She joined St. Christopher's on August 1, 2022.
She is an avid hiker and swimmer along with her dog Dursey, and an unrepentant fan of the Texas Rangers, Penn State Nittany Lions and the Fort Worth Symphony. Her sermons, often illustrated with stories about her dogs (Scrappy, who hoards food, has become a recurring character), have drawn a wider audience online.
The Rev. Iwao Asakura serves as curate. Originally from Nagoya, Japan, he graduated recently from Seminary of the Southwest with a Master of Divinity. Before seminary he taught vocal performance and related courses at institutions of higher education for more than twenty years, most recently at Tarleton State University, and performed as a soloist in numerous opera and oratorio productions. He was a recipient of the Texas Paul Murray Scholarship, served at St. Julian of Norwich Episcopal Church during his field education, and in 2025 was selected for the Preaching Excellence Program. He has been active in Episcopal Asiamerica Ministries, leading a monthly Zoom Bible study and an annual retreat for the Metropolitan Japanese Ministry in New York.
The Rev. Cynthia Steblein Ruiz-Riquer joined the staff as a deacon in 2024. Originally from the Niagara borderlands near Canada, she earned degrees in history, German and secondary education from the University of Rhode Island, then a master's in applied linguistics from the University of the Americas-Puebla. She taught at the American School in Puebla, where her two daughters were born, and after moving to Fort Worth in 2001 became active in Latino ministry and studied at the Instituto Teológico in Dallas. She completed her Master of Divinity at Seminary of the Southwest with a concentration in Hispanic Studies. She is also a teacher, translator, writer and poet.
Sunday Worship at 9:30
Worship follows the liturgy of the Episcopal Church, with a single Sunday celebration at 9:30 a.m. The service - Holy Eucharist Rite II - is held in person and broadcast on YouTube every week, a livestream tradition that was started during the pandemic by the great-niece of one longtime member and that continues to serve worshipers at home.
"All are welcome," the parish writes, and means it. Visitors are greeted at the door, shown to coffee and treats after the service in the fellowship hall, and invited to stick around for choir rehearsal or an adult Christian formation class. The nursery is available for children five and younger during worship and Sunday School. The Rev. Paula Jefferson is happy to sit down with anyone considering baptism, confirmation, marriage, a hospital visit or funeral planning.
On the second Sunday of every month, young people are invited forward for a children's sermon by the Director of Christian Formation. After the service, the parish gathers in the fellowship hall before dispersing into its Sunday-morning formation hour at 10:45 a.m. The Wednesday Night Book Club gathers each week - in person around a potluck meal, with a Zoom option for those joining from home - around reading that ranges from memoir and biography to psychology, social justice, theology and fiction.
The Episcopal Way
St. Christopher's describes itself in terms that are unmistakably, generously Episcopal. Every Sunday service includes lay people and clergy. No matter where one is in the world, the pattern of worship is the same across Anglican churches. Communion is celebrated every Sunday, and all who are baptized are welcome at God's Table - children included.
"The Episcopal Church follows the middle way in our theology and community engagement," the parish teaches. "We seek first to see God in all people. Whether we agree on a particular topic, we are all God's beloved. We embrace thoughtful, respectful discussions. We celebrate diversity. And, we are known for our beautiful and engaging liturgy that respects tradition and maintains a sense of awe and wonder at the power and mystery of God."
The parish's list of non-negotiables is short. Episcopalians believe in one God, who is a Trinity of Persons. They believe that the First Person of the Trinity created all things at the beginning of time, that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, our Savior, and the Second Person of the Trinity, and that the Holy Scriptures contain all things necessary for salvation. Faith is informed by Scripture, Tradition and Reason. "Concerning Membership, Ordination, and Marriage, The Episcopal Church follows Paul's proclamation: 'For in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith... There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.'" Neither race, nor ethnicity, nor sexual identity, nor social status prevents anyone's access to all the Episcopal Church has to offer - including ordination to the priesthood and the office of bishop.
Sacraments
The parish celebrates all the sacraments of the church. Baptism is the initiatory rite by which God adopts us as children, makes us members of Christ's Body the Church and inheritors of the kingdom; families interested in baptism, whether for an infant or an adult, are invited to speak with the Rev. Paula Jefferson.
Holy Eucharist is celebrated every Sunday. "On his last night of mortal life, Jesus shared a sacred meal with his disciples," the parish teaches. "We're still sharing that meal today. In communion, we not only remember Jesus' life, death and resurrection, we also experience his presence in our midst... in this moment." All baptized Christians, including children, are welcome to share in communion.
Confirmation invites baptized members to make a mature public affirmation of their baptismal promises in the presence of a bishop. "Members' classes are scheduled as needed throughout the year," and the bishop welcomes members by confirmation or, for those confirmed in Roman Catholic, Lutheran or Orthodox traditions, by reception. Marriage takes preparation. Three pre-marital sessions, usually on successive Saturdays or Sundays, are scheduled with the vicar. For those previously married, the diocesan bishop's consent is required before the priest can perform the wedding.
Unction - the anointing of the sick with oil, or the laying on of hands - is offered for the healing of spirit, mind or body. Reconciliation of the Penitent is available by appointment: "When we say those things aloud in the presence of a priest, it not only helps us empty ourselves of our guilt, but it also allows us to hear directly and personally that God forgives us." Christian Burial in the Episcopal Church is treated as an Easter celebration; pre-planning forms are available at the office, and the vicar is happy to walk families through the details of a service.
Nursery, Children and Youth
Children are taken seriously at St. Christopher's. The nursery welcomes children five and younger during worship and Sunday School. For children ages 4 to 10, the parish offers the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, a Montessori-based faith formation program with two atriums led by trained guides. The atriums are specially prepared rooms where children encounter Jesus, the Good Shepherd through hands-on materials: a model altar, maps of Israel and Jerusalem, mustard seeds and pearls representing the Parables of the Kingdom, a small baptismal font and Paschal candle. Level 1 nurtures a sense of wonder; Level 2 introduces children to history, calligraphy, embroidery and moral formation, ending with First Reconciliation and First Eucharist.
For youth in middle and high school, the parish offers the Journey to Adulthood program - three segments built around the ideas of Spirituality, Society and Self. Rite 13, a two-year program for ages 11 to 13, marks the young teens' unique gifts with a liturgical rite of passage loosely based on the Jewish bar and bat mitzvah tradition. J2A - Journey to Adulthood proper, ages roughly 13 to 15 - teaches six basic skills of adulthood: active listening, negotiation, assertion, research and information management, partnership and leadership. The program ends with a Holy Pilgrimage planned and undertaken by the group. The last two years are called 4WARD, when teens write a personal credo, take on more adult responsibilities and put their time, talent and treasure into the ongoing work of the church.
Confirmation classes help younger Christians ready to take a next step in their life of faith, focused on the promises made at baptism. "How do we witness evil in the world, and how do we renounce it? How can we be faithful in following the apostles' teaching and in gathering for the breaking of bread and prayers?" Melanie Kingsbury, the Director of Christian Formation and Youth Ministries, walks alongside all of this. A graduate of Texas Christian University and General Theological Seminary, she helped launch Christofolx, the parish's college and career group, and oversees the formation and youth programs. On the second Sunday of each month she invites the young people forward for a children's sermon.
Adult Sunday School and the Wednesday Night Book Club
Adults have their own place to grow. The Sunday morning formation class at 10:45 a.m. is built around reading, conversation and short-term studies - and currently centers on Richard Rohr's The Universal Christ, "an invitation to deepen our faith, widen our understanding of God and see ourselves - and one another - with greater compassion."
The Wednesday Night Book Club gathers each week around a guiding question. Recent and upcoming readings include Sara Miles's Take this Bread, Irin Carmon and Shana Knizhnik's Notorious RBG, Jonathan Haidt's The Anxious Generation, Trevor Noah's Born a Crime, Allen Levi's Theo of Golden, Gregory Boyle's Tattoos on the Heart, Dolly Parton's Songteller, Atul Gawande's Being Mortal, Bryan Stevenson's Just Mercy and The Book of Joy by the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu. "No expertise is required," the parish writes, "just curiosity, an open mind, and a willingness to wonder together. Come for the book. Stay for the conversation."
Music and the Choir
Music pulls the heart and mind toward God. The choir is led by Shirley Johnson, who earned a Bachelor of Music Education from Texas Christian University and has served parishes in the diocese for more than thirty years, with a parallel career as a private voice instructor for adults and adolescents. She has also begun composing, having written the masses and the parish hymn "Summoned from What Once Was Scattered," whose lyrics were commissioned from Adam Wood, a former North Texas Episcoparian who had lived through the 2008 schism. The hymn tells, in four verses, the recent history of a scattered people gathered into one.
David Lindsey is the organist and pianist. He joined the staff in 2001 and has been a church musician for more than sixty years, growing up playing the piano in Baptist churches his father pastored and serving in Baptist, Disciples of Christ and Episcopal congregations. The 1908 Pilcher pipe organ console in the choir loft is his instrument, and the parish's growing and vibrant choir is his to call his own.
Music and the arts also surround the work of the Altar Guild. The parish lost all of its paraments and vessels in the litigation of 2021. Members have quietly replaced them one sacred piece at a time - including a foot-washing service commissioned from potter Rachel Norris of Joy Pottery in Bryan, Texas, where the Daughters of the King chose the colors, scripture (John 15:12, "Love one another as I have loved you") and a Daughters of the King cross. The vessels were dedicated at the All Saints' Day service.
Sacred Hospitality: Acolytes, Greeters, Tech Guild and Visitors
If you visit on a Sunday morning, the greeting team is hard to miss. Greeters and ushers are looking for people relatively new to the parish who remember what it felt like to walk in for the first time. The Hospitality Team arrives early each Sunday morning to set up coffee and treats.
Acolytes - lighters, torchers, crucifers, Gospel book bearers, leaders of the prayers of the people, wine distributors and, on major feasts, assistants with incense - are an ancient ministry made fresh. Training takes place about once a month.
The Tech Guild sprang into existence at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and has become a critical piece of the parish's life. The team broadcasts Sunday worship on YouTube and tends to the parish's social media. Licensed Lay Eucharistic Visitors bring Holy Communion to those who are homebound, ill or otherwise unable to attend church in person.
Threshold is the parish's path to membership. Four sessions, on the four Sundays of a month, explore what it means to belong to St. Christopher's - the church as a place of community, of change and growth, of mission, and of worship. Anyone is welcome to begin at any time and to pick up a cup of coffee on the way.
The Daughters of the King
The Hildegard of Bingen chapter of the Order of the Daughters of the King has a strong presence at St. Christopher's. The Order brings together women and girls, ages seven and beyond, who desire a closer walk with the Lord. Members share a Rule of Life and the companionship of other women in the chapter; they support one another in prayer, service and study. Members at St. Christopher's commissioned the foot-washing vessels, created the parish's new processional cross and are involved in many other ministries.
Outreach in Fort Worth and Across the World
St. Christopher's takes seriously the call to serve the world outside its doors. The parish is a long-standing supporter of Christian Community Assistance (CCA), which provides a food pantry, clothing closet and limited financial aid to people living in poverty in Fort Worth. Parishioners donate clothing, bring in pantry items, contribute financially and volunteer on-site; St. Christopher's serves as one of thirteen CCA partner congregations with a representative on the board, currently Carolyn Law, who serves as board president.
Laundry Love Fort Worth began as a partnership between parishioner Kelli Graham and St. Christopher's outreach ministry and has since become an independent 501(c)3. Today it helps more than 80 families each month across two events - one near the parish's worship home and one on the west side of Fort Worth. Families are fed at each event, and children have a creative space of their own.
Hopewallah, meaning "one who provides hope," is a medical and pastoral mission begun by parishioner Dr. Andy Babbali in 2007 in memory of his late father, who served in the Church of South India and spent his life bringing the Gospel to the leper colonies of Hyderabad, India. Hopewallah supports a small church, a kindergarten, a primary school, and, since a recent fundraiser, a daily meal program for 32 people with severe leprosy effects - a hot meal delivered to their homes 365 days a year.
St. Christopher Preschool
St. Christopher Preschool began as Christopher Robin School in 1960, the same era the parish was built. Over the years it added classes for two-, three- and four-year-old children. Today it operates as a separate entity, with Margaret Mieuli serving as treasurer of both the church and the school. The preschool is open to children of any background and remains an important ministry of the wider parish family.
Becoming a Member and Joining a Guild
Becoming an Episcopalian, or being received from the Roman Catholic, Lutheran or Orthodox churches, begins with a conversation with the Rev. Paula Jefferson. Baptized members from other traditions are recognized as baptized members, and the parish looks toward confirmation as the normal expectation. Members are eligible to vote in annual elections, run for the Bishop's Committee and serve as a convention delegate.
For those who want to put hands and hearts to work, the parish maintains an Altar Guild (the legacy ministry that quietly supports worship life), a Tech Guild (which broadcasts services and runs social media), Greeters (who welcome every person who walks in), Lay Eucharistic Visitors (who carry Communion to the homebound), the Acolyte program, and Parish Life (which organizes cookouts, pool parties and the cheering on of Texas Rangers baseball, fulfilling John 10:10 with abundant life).
Stewardship and Giving
"St. Christopher's joyfully identifies itself as a giving community," the parish writes. "Our identity as a generous people compels us to reach out to our parish and our community in truly transformative ways - whether it be in ministry to each other or our neighbors. We give time, talent and treasure to spread the Love of God." Online giving runs through Realm, where members can schedule one-time or recurring gifts, manage payment methods and print end-of-year statements. Giving by text is available by texting Blessing to 73256. Offerings can also be mailed to the P.O. Box. There are two funds: the General Fund, which supports worship, formation, pastoral care and the work of laying a foundation for the future, and the New Direction Fund, which underwrites plans to re-establish a perpetual memorial garden and columbaria, rebuild the worship home, and strengthen the parish's presence in southwest Fort Worth.
Reaching the Parish
St. Christopher's Episcopal Church worships at 5709 Wedgwood Drive, inside St. Matthew's Lutheran Church, in Fort Worth's Wedgwood neighborhood. The mailing address is P.O. Box 34971, Fort Worth, TX 76162. The parish office can be reached at 817-926-8277 or office@stchrisfw.org. Sunday worship begins at 9:30 a.m. and is livestreamed on YouTube. Morning Prayer is prayed on Zoom at 9:00 a.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, Compline at 8:00 p.m. on Mondays and Thursdays, and the Rosary with the Saints on the first Sunday of every month at 7:30 p.m. "This is the kind of community St. Christopher's is becoming," the vicar writes, "a place where forgiveness and mercy are given freely - not because we expect something in return, but because we have received them freely, ourselves."