A Cross and a Star of David on Packard Road
Drive along Packard Road in southeast Ann Arbor and you will see two religious symbols standing side by side on the lawn of St. Clare's Episcopal Church: a cross and a Star of David. They mark the home of Genesis of Ann Arbor, the joint corporation created by St. Clare's and Temple Beth Emeth, a Reform Jewish congregation, to own and operate the buildings and grounds they share. St. Clare's is the Episcopal partner in that arrangement, and the symbols are the most visible sign of a parish that has spent more than seven decades learning how to live, worship and serve alongside people of a different faith tradition.
The church's address is 2309 Packard Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48104. Its mission is summed up in three short phrases that appear throughout its materials: worship with joy, grow in faith, and act for justice. Everything from Sunday liturgy to the weekly food pantry flows from that three-part commitment.
From a Patient's Gift to a Parish
St. Clare's began not with a building program but with a physician and her companion. In the early 1950s, Dr. Inez Wisdom and Gertrude Griffith had admired small family chapels on their European travels. When patients of Dr. Wisdom could not pay their bills in cash, she suggested another form of payment: help her build a small chapel. With those patients, along with local artisans and craftsmen, the small white stucco and brown-shingled St. Francis Chapel was built, seating twelve to fifteen people. Inside, University of Michigan student artist John Maxon painted an al secco fresco of the Transfiguration behind the altar.
In 1952, Inez Wisdom donated part of her land and the St. Francis Chapel to the newly designated St. Clare of Assisi Episcopal mission church in southeast Ann Arbor. The first service of St. Clare's was held in the chapel on Wednesday, May 24, 1953. The Rev. Philip Schenk, a retired University of Michigan professor and Greek scholar, came out of retirement to lead the mission without pay. By 1956 the mission had outgrown the chapel and, with substantial help from the Diocese of Michigan, St. Clare's built its first sanctuary next door. In 1958 the Rev. Albert Neilson became vicar, and in 1963 the Rev. Colin Campbell arrived as vicar and later rector, leading the congregation through a period of growth.
In 1965 St. Clare's was designated as a parish church. Construction of a larger church building with a sanctuary-in-the-round, offices and church school classrooms was completed in September 1968. By the end of the decade the parish was holding three Sunday services, including a folk music service, publishing a monthly newsletter, and engaging with the social issues of the day, from the Detroit race riots to disarmament and national politics.
The Genesis Partnership
In 1970 Temple Beth Emeth, a local Reform Jewish congregation, began renting space from St. Clare's. The arrangement worked so well that in 1974, at separate congregational meetings, both congregations voted to approve joint ownership of a co-designed and renovated facility. That December they signed an agreement creating Genesis of Ann Arbor, a nonprofit corporation that would own and supervise all property except Wisdom House and the Chapel. A Genesis Board of Directors was established to govern it. In 1975 the cross and Star of David were erected side by side outside the sanctuary, and Genesis was formally dedicated on May 31.
Genesis was renewed in a 2015 Covenant Renewal with the vision that "By daily embracing mutual trust and respect, we partner with God and one another to heal a broken world." Each congregation maintains its own programs and religious character, but together they sponsor a Thanksgiving service, an annual pulpit exchange, and many joint outreach activities, including support for homeless families through Alpha House and the Rotating Shelter, support for refugee sanctuary and resettlement, and together with the Muslim community, food for the hungry through the Back Door Food Pantry.
Sunday Worship
Worship at St. Clare's follows the Episcopal tradition. Two Sunday services are held in the sanctuary: at 8:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. The 10:30 service is also offered on Zoom and is livestreamed on YouTube. Both use The Book of Common Prayer (the red book) and the 1982 Hymnal (the blue book), along with supplemental hymnals or music printed in the bulletin. Congregants may stand, sit, or kneel as they are able, and visitors are invited to follow the lead of those around them.
Holy Communion is a central part of most services. People of every age are welcome at God's table; those whose tradition does not permit participation may cross their arms to receive an ecumenical blessing. If wine cannot be taken, or if there is a wheat allergy, consecrated grape juice and rice wafers are available. If mobility is limited, ushers can bring communion to a seat. Visitors are welcome to give a financial gift, but there is no expectation to do so.
After each service, Coffee Hour in the Social Hall offers a relaxed setting to meet people, ask questions, and pick up information about upcoming events.
Weekday Worship
Beyond Sunday mornings, the rhythm of prayer continues through the week. Morning Prayer is offered on Tuesdays at 9:30 a.m. on Zoom. On Thursdays at 12:30 p.m., a midday Eucharist is celebrated in St. Francis Chapel, the small white chapel that is the oldest building on the Packard Street property. A weekly podcast, Reflections from St. Clare's, makes the sermons available for those who cannot be present.
Children and Youth
Children are described as beloved members of St. Clare's and are welcome at every age and stage of parish life, including in the sanctuary during services. The Children and Youth program is led by Eliza Nuxoll, who joined the staff as director in 2023, and is supported by a team of trained, background-checked volunteer teachers under Safe Church guidelines.
On Sunday mornings at 10:15, while adults worship, Children's Chapel meets in age-grouped rooms using the Godly Play curriculum. Preschool children (ages 2 to 4) gather in Room 11, and Young 5s through first graders gather in Room 13. They sing, play, and tell stories about God, then join the congregation in the sanctuary at the Peace. Church School for grades 2 through 5 meets in Rooms 9 and 10, beginning with a snack, story and reflection before moving into building with LEGO and imagining together. They also rejoin the sanctuary at the Peace.
On Sunday evenings from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., Youth Group for grades 6 through 12 meets in the Social Hall and offsite for service projects, field trips, games and shared exploration of God's creation.
On Wednesday evenings an intergenerational rotating program gathers at 5:30 p.m. with service projects, music and more for all ages, followed by a shared meal at 6:00 p.m. in the Social Hall that is open to everyone. Music programs for children and youth happen at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesdays: Wonder Buds, for ages birth through second grade with a parent, meets in the Family Room; Cantabile Choir, for grades 3 through 8, rehearses in the Social Hall.
Music at St. Clare's
Music is described as central to the spiritual life of the parish. The Adult Choir rehearses on Wednesdays at 7:00 p.m. in the sanctuary and leads worship at the 10:30 service. No auditions are required; singers in high school or older are welcome, and the ability to read music is helpful but not required. Children's Choir for kindergarten through sixth grade and an occasional Tone Chimes ensemble round out the program. The Music Director is John Goodell.
Adult Formation and Small Groups
A range of small groups gives adults opportunities to grow in faith and friendship. Dinner Group hosts Saturday night potluck dinners from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. Cell Mates meets on the second and fourth Monday evenings on Zoom for sharing and book discussion. Crafting and Conversation gathers on the first, third and sometimes fifth Sundays from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at a nearby restaurant, with Zoom backup, to knit, crochet and talk. Seekers meets on Mondays at 1:00 p.m. on Zoom for check-ins, book discussion and prayer. The Ungroup meets irregularly on first and third Thursday nights around 8:30 for conversation. The Whole Bible Group meets on the second and fourth Saturday mornings from 10:00 a.m. to noon on Zoom, reading books of the Hebrew Bible and Christian Testament with scholarly guides. Conversations with Scripture meets Tuesday nights at 7:00 p.m. on Zoom, working slowly through one book of the Bible at a time using the Episcopal-Anglican "Conversations with Scripture" commentary series. A Book Club gathers at 1:00 p.m. on the second Wednesday of the month, in person and on Zoom.
The Back Door Food Pantry
For more than two decades, St. Clare's has operated the Back Door Food Pantry in partnership with Temple Beth Emeth and the local Muslim community. The pantry is open every Thursday from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. and is committed to providing groceries to anyone in the area who needs assistance, with no requirement to prove need.
Outreach Beyond the Food Pantry
The Outreach Commission supports a long list of local, national and international ministries. In Washtenaw County, parishioners volunteer and serve at Alpha House, providing temporary shelter, food and support services for homeless families; the Rotating Shelter, which St. Clare's hosts at the Genesis building each Thanksgiving week; Hope Clinic; the Robert J. Delonis Center; Community Kitchen; and Ozone House. The Back Door Food Pantry, Friends In Deed, Garrett's Space, Religious Action for Affordable Housing, the Interfaith Council for Peace and Justice (as a Level II Sanctuary Congregation), and Refugee Resettlement through Jewish Family Services all receive volunteer and financial support.
Internationally, St. Clare's has been actively involved with the Haiti Outreach Mission (HOM) since 2004, contributing more than $250,000 and leadership over the years. HOM supports the St. Pierre Episcopal and St. Louis Catholic churches in Mirebalais, Haiti, along with a medical and dental clinic, schools and a water treatment facility. After violent gangs from Port-au-Prince overran Mirebalais in April 2025, the staff and clergy fled and HOM redirected support to humanitarian aid for refugees and to a Mobile Medical Clinic operated by Father Alphonse and former clinic staff.
The Magee Outreach Fund, an investment fund managed by the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation, was seeded by a bequest from longtime parishioner Rich Magee to ensure that outreach work would not be cut in difficult budget years.
Social Justice and the EEAC
In the summer of 2020, in the wake of George Floyd's murder and the protests that followed, a group of St. Clarians formed the Equity, Education, and Action Committee (EEAC). One of its first acts was to bring Sacred Ground, the Episcopal Church's in-depth program on race and faith, to St. Clare's; nearly forty people took part in the first four circles, and three more circles followed. The Sacred Ground process directly inspired the parish's Land Acknowledgement, formally incorporated into worship in January 2023 after two years of consultation with members of the Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians, the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi, and the Nottawaseppi Band of Potawatomi. The acknowledgement honors the Anishinaabeg, the Ojibwe, the Odawa and the Bodéwadmi, and is read as part of the Prayers of the People.
The EEAC also partnered with Perry Early Learning Center in Ypsilanti, a Pre-K through first-grade school in the top 20 percent of Michigan elementary schools for student diversity, where volunteers help with reading and classroom support. In 2026 the committee rebranded itself as the Social Justice Ministry, retaining its commitment to racial and social justice while shifting its primary focus to voting access and election safety.
The Green Corner
Creation care has its own corner of parish life. The Green Corner publishes a monthly newsletter on Ann Arbor climate action, hosts plant-forward potlucks, organizes twice-yearly Genesis Grounds spring and fall cleanups, and participates each September in the Season of Creation alongside other members of the World Council of Churches. The Genesis Building Decarbonization Plan lays out a path toward the shared Genesis facility becoming carbon neutral.
Clergy, Staff and Lay Leadership
The Rev. Anne Clarke was called as rector of St. Clare's in October 2021. A graduate of the Church Divinity School of the Pacific and Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, where she earned an M.Div. and an M.A. in Ethics and Social Theory, she previously served as the Lifelong Christian Formation Coordinator for the Episcopal Diocese of Northern California and as Assistant Rector of Grace Episcopal Church in Saint Helena, California. She holds a B.A. in Theology and Peace Studies from the University of Notre Dame.
The Rev. Toby Darrah, the curate, is a 2024 graduate of the Master of Divinity Program at Church Divinity School of the Pacific. They first explored a call to ordained ministry at Holy Cross Episcopal Church in Novi, served an internship at St. Clare's in the summer of 2023, and was called as curate after graduation. They hold a B.A. in Communications from Alderson-Broaddus College.
Eliza Nuxoll directs Children and Youth programs, drawing on her background as a church school teacher, her work with military families in Colorado Springs, and her teaching of the Parent/Toddler program at Allen Creek Preschool in Ann Arbor. Karen Slagell has served as Parish Administrator since 2012. Music Director John Goodell leads the choirs and supports the livestream ministry.
The Vestry is led by Senior Warden Kathy Daly and Junior Warden Geoffrey Ringlee, and includes Lucia Cooper, Mark Davis-Craig, Sophia Paul, Sarah Barbrow, Kim Dolan, Joan Nuxoll, Jackie Sproat, Kate Morris Curtin and Jordan Nye. Vestry members are elected each January by the congregation.
The Endowment and Capital Campaign
The St. Clare's Endowment Fund was established in 2000 with the Inez Wisdom Endowment Fund making annual grants for projects beyond the operating budget. The Ark Fund, created in 2014, supports real estate and property needs, and the Assisi Fund, established in 2021, helps meet annual operating expenses.
A capital campaign titled "Courageous Roots, Strong Branches, Hopeful Seeds" is currently underway, with focus areas including grounding worship, St. Clare's home in Genesis, the endowment funds, the Genesis Building Decarbonization Plan, building reserve planning, children and youth programming, and acting for justice.
Joining In
Becoming a member of St. Clare's begins with regular attendance and participation in parish life. Visitors who want to learn more can contact the church office; newcomers are encouraged to attend a Newcomer Class or Dinner. Those who wish to join simply contact the parish, and the clergy are glad to talk with anyone about faith or transferring membership. The fastest way to reach the parish is by email at welcome@saintclareschurch.org or by phone at 734-662-2449.
Beliefs
St. Clare's describes itself as a Christ-centered welcoming community that takes Scripture seriously and affirms God's presence both in the world and in the spirit of scientific inquiry. As Episcopalians, members are open to being moved by the Holy Spirit and value sacramental, liturgical worship. The parish welcomes all people, regardless of prior church affiliation, sexual orientation, political views or economic status, into the loving fellowship of a faith community seeking to give praise and thanks to God in the name of Jesus Christ.