At 810 N. Campbell Street, on the corner of Montana and Campbell Streets in El Paso, The Church of St. Clement is known for worship in several forms: a traditional Sunday service with choir and organ, contemporary services with a praise band, and Spanish-language worship in McKee Chapel. The parish's story began in 1867 and now includes a Christian school, a long-running English program, ministry to children and youth, and partnerships that address needs in El Paso, the Rio Grande region, and other countries.
St. Clement's is an Anglican congregation affiliated with the Anglican Church in North America and a founding member of the Anglican Diocese of the Southwest.
From a Parlor in 1867 to Montana and Campbell
The story begins in 1867 when Episcopal layman Gaylord Judd Clarke and his wife arrived in the village of Franklin on the banks of the Rio Grande. Lacking a church, Clarke read the Episcopal service in his parlor on Sunday mornings and evenings. In 1870, Parson Joseph Wilkin Tays came to the frontier town, then home to about 800 people, and built the first Church of St. Clement from two adobe rooms. One room became a chapel and the other served as his home. The mission was the first Protestant church between Santa Fe and Brownsville, and its name honored Clarke's young son Clement as well as the third Bishop of Rome.
A copper bell cast in Paso del Norte in 1871, though cracked, still hangs in the narthex. Tays's second, wood-frame church on Mesa Street was completed in 1882 and became known as The Little Watch Tower on the Rio Grande. Tays died of smallpox that year. The cornerstone of the present Neo-Gothic church was laid in 1907 in the shape of an E made from three stones. Stained-glass windows and a Tiffany glass mosaic helped shape its early beauty, and later generations added their own work.
Donors raised money for McKee Chapel and Williams Hall between 1946 and 1950, honoring layman R. E. McKee and the Rev. B. M. G. Williams. Under Rector Robert T. Gibson, St. Clement's Parish School was founded in 1958. The congregation voted in 2007 to separate from the Episcopal Diocese of the Rio Grande and became a founding member of what became the Anglican Diocese of the Southwest. That diocese encompasses churches in Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, and Mexico.
Traditional, Contemporary and Spanish Worship
Worship is rooted in the ancient traditions of the Church and centered on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Scripture, prayer, preaching, and Holy Communion shape services that follow the 2019 Book of Common Prayer, while the congregation participates in both historic forms and heartfelt responses.
- Saturday at 5:00 p.m. Contemporary worship takes place in the main sanctuary with the praise band and prayers written by church members.
- Sunday at 8:30 a.m. The traditional service is in the main sanctuary and uses traditional prayers, the choir, and organ.
- Sunday at 10:45 a.m. A contemporary service in the main sanctuary uses the praise band and member-written prayers. This service is livestreamed on YouTube.
- Sunday at 10:45 a.m. in Spanish Iglesia Rey de Paz meets in McKee Chapel, honoring the Nicene Creed and the Anglican liturgical tradition.
People are welcome in whatever feels comfortable, with both casual and formal attire accepted. Holy Communion is central to worship: all baptized Christians are invited to receive it, while an unbaptized person is invited to come forward for a blessing. Prayer teams are available during Communion at both the 8:30 and 10:45 Sunday services.
For worship, parking is available in the lots on either side of Montana Street and on Yandell Street. Visitors can enter through the sanctuary's front doors or from the Montana Street parking lot. The Spanish congregation also has an entrance at Campbell and Yandell through black gates and up a staircase, while a Montana Street entrance provides wheelchair access.
Children at the Sunday Services
St. Clement's Kids, the children's ministry, partners with parents to help children meet Jesus, grow in Christian faith, and become established in their faith.
- At 8:30 a.m. Sunday: Nursery care for ages 0 to 3 and Sunday school for PreK3 through fifth grade accompany the traditional service.
- At 10:45 a.m. Sunday: Nursery care for ages 0 to 3, a preschool class for ages 3 to 5, separate classrooms for first through fifth grades, and middle school catechism accompany the contemporary service.
- At 10:00 a.m. Sunday: A cereal bar for children preschool and older, plus nursery care for ages 0 to 3, gives parents time for adult Sunday school.
The Saturday 5:00 p.m. service does not have childcare or children's ministry. Children are checked in at their classrooms and released only to parents or approved family members. Nursery parents receive a pager. All volunteers and employees have background checks, and many volunteers and all church employees hold First Aid and CPR certification.
On the first Sunday of each month, breakfast is served in W-R Hall around 10:00 a.m. after the traditional service, and families gather for pizza on the playground after the contemporary service.
Anchor Groups and the Adult Life of the Parish
Adult Sunday School meets from 10:00 to 10:40 a.m. each Sunday between the two main services. Coffee is available at the Welcome Center, and the couches there offer a place to meet people. Confirmation and reception classes teach about Anglicanism and St. Clement and are open to all.
Small groups and Bible studies are called Anchor Groups. They meet throughout El Paso for fellowship, support, study, and prayer, with groups listed in the Eastside, Westside, Northeast, and central areas and one in Las Cruces. A Monday evening Bible study, a Wednesday morning Bible study, several Wednesday groups, and a Friday 7:00 a.m. men's study at the Village Inn on Balboa and Mesa are among the regular gatherings.
Men of Christ holds quarterly gatherings with a shared meal, a focus on a truth or skill, a testimony, and prayer, along with an annual retreat in the Sacramento Mountains. Women of Christ hosts quarterly mini-retreats with worship, teaching, discussion, and prayer, plus an annual spring retreat in Las Cruces. Fr. David Sheehan helps with Anchor Groups and Bible studies, and Deacon Courtney is the contact for Women of Christ.
The Good Soil: Youth Ministry with a Mission
The Good Soil is the youth group. Its name comes from the parable of the sower in Luke 8, and its mission is to love Jesus with heart, soul, strength, and mind and become more like Jesus. The group meets weekly on Wednesdays from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. and seeks to build a Christ-centered peer community, teach spiritual disciplines, grow in understanding of Scripture, and support parents who are raising Christian children. Kristie serves as youth ministry director.
- Middle school catechism is offered at the 10:45 Sunday service.
- Retreats give middle and high school students dedicated times together.
- Community-service outreach takes place in and around El Paso during spring break.
- Mission work and trips allow students to worship through music, service, and outreach.
- A summer camp gives students a week centered on Jesus.
English Classes, Recovery Groups and Mission Partnerships
The English Speaking Center began in September 1980 when Julia Shoemaker started classes to help people adjust to a new country, culture, and language. Classes meet Mondays and Wednesdays from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. from September through May and focus on speaking, reading, and writing. Volunteer teachers have built a welcoming program whose twice-weekly classes reach more than 70 adult language students. Students have come from Asia, Europe, and Latin America. The center combines language learning with devotional time and a Christian environment of friendship and service.
St. Clement also makes space available for various recovery groups to meet weekly. The twelve-step programs are independent from the church.
The congregation supports local, regional, and international missions and ministries. These include Abara's connections and response on the United States-Mexico border, Ciudad Nueva's after-school programs and community development in the Rio Grande district, and campus ministry among UTEP and EPCC students through InterVarsity and RUF. Other supported work addresses needs in Juarez through Life Challenge and Onemi, unplanned pregnancies through Pregnancy Help Center, addiction through Recovery Alliance, homelessness through Rescue Mission, and childhood and discipleship needs through LZ Zambia and YWAM. Mustard Seed Café and several additional partnerships extend this network of practical and spiritual service.
Giving to the church is available through online giving.
St. Clement's Parish School, founded in 1958, provides a nurturing Christian environment intended to promote each child's academic, spiritual, moral, artistic, physical, and intellectual growth.
What St. Clement Believes
The church's aim is to know, love, and follow Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit for the glory of God the Father. It affirms the Apostles', Nicene, and Athanasian Creeds and the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion. The Bible is understood as the inspired Word of God and the final authority in faith and life, and the English Standard Version is used in worship.
St. Clement affirms one God in three Persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man, lived without sin, died for sin, rose bodily from the dead, and reigns as Lord. The Holy Spirit gives new birth, dwells in believers, and empowers holy living. All people are made in God's image but need redemption, and salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, with good works as the fruit of living faith.
The Church is the Body of Christ, called to worship God, proclaim the gospel, and make disciples of all nations. Baptism and the Lord's Supper are the two sacraments ordained in the Gospel. The church holds marriage to be a lifelong covenant between one man and one woman, reflecting Christ's faithful love for the Church, and looks for Christ's personal and visible return, the resurrection of the body, final judgment, and everlasting life.
Its worship and teaching are grounded in the 2019 Book of Common Prayer, the church's creeds, an Anglican catechism, the Thirty-Nine Articles, and the Jerusalem Declaration.
Real Worship, Real Relationships, Real Difference
Real Worship, Real Relationships, and Real Difference are the church's three core values. Real Worship centers on glorifying God; Real Relationships treats the congregation as a spiritual family; and Real Difference calls the Holy Spirit's transforming work outward into service. The Vestry serves as the governing board, with at least 13 members including the Rector and four new members elected each year at the annual February meeting.
Across its history, St. Clement has remained centered on worship, formation in faith, and service to others. The El Paso parish continues that work through Anglican worship, relationships formed in church, and ministries that reach across the street and around the world.