At 706 W 113th Avenue in Tampa, St. Clement’s Episcopal Church is an inclusive Episcopal congregation known for making room for people and animals together for decades. Its two Sunday Eucharists, monthly Pet-Friendly Sundays, pet food bank, and annual Blessing of the Animals reflect a community that treats welcome as a calling. The church’s life combines Scripture, prayer, music, silence, Holy Communion, honest questions, and practical service, all held together by the image of an anchor: anchored in faith, hope, community, and nature.
Two Sunday Eucharists, Then Coffee and Snacks
The Sunday rhythm begins at 8:00 a.m. with Rite I Eucharist, a shorter and quieter service. At 10:00 a.m., Rite II Eucharist includes music, and Sunday school is offered for children during that gathering. Coffee and snacks follow both services, giving worshipers time to talk, meet one another, and settle into the life of the parish.
St. Clement’s compares its worship to a family dinner: sometimes formal, sometimes a bit rowdy, and always centered on love. Scripture, prayer, music, silence, and the mystery of Holy Communion shape the services. Some worshipers stand, sit, sing, pray, or respond, while others participate in their own way. The church makes clear that no one has to perform devotion perfectly or take part in every part of the service.
Services are livestreamed through St. Clement’s YouTube channel, where previously recorded services are also available. The music, spoken responses, and periods of quiet that shape worship continue to be central to the congregation’s identity.
A First Visit in Casual Clothes
St. Clement’s occupies a quiet, peaceful spot in Tampa. Visitors looking for parking should use the spaces marked “Visitor” in the main lot. If those spaces are occupied, the church says to park anywhere that works, and accessible parking spaces are located near the entrance. The calm setting and practical parking arrangements help make a first visit feel unhurried.
There is no dress code. Jeans, a suit, flip-flops, and other ordinary choices are all welcome, and visitors do not need to bring anything with them. The church’s approach to worship is similarly relaxed: participating more or less is acceptable, and there is no wrong way to join in.
Children are welcome at both Sunday services. St. Clement’s treats wiggly, giggly, and chatty children as a sign of life rather than a disruption. Children who want to participate in Sunday school can join at the 10:00 a.m. service. All children are cared for by at least two unrelated adults who have completed the church’s Safeguarding course.
That combination of clear expectations and casual hospitality extends to adults as well. A first-time visitor can expect a service that allows standing or sitting, singing or quiet reflection, while the coffee hour provides an easy way to meet people afterward. No one has to arrive with knowledge of Episcopal worship or church customs before joining the congregation.
Keeping People and Their Pets Together
The People & Pets Ministry has its roots in St. Clement’s long history as a pet-friendly church. Its aim is to keep people and their animals together while serving practical needs in the local community. On the third Sunday of every month, Pet-Friendly Sunday invites people to bring their entire families, people and pets, to worship together.
Most animals attending are dogs, but the welcome extends beyond them. Cats, domestic skinks, and bearded dragons are among the pets that may join the congregation, and every pet receives a blessing. The Pet-Friendly Sunday gathering is therefore both worship and a recognition of animals as members of the wider family and community.
St. Clement’s Pet Food Bank is another expression of that ministry. The parish responds to a difficult choice faced by families when human food costs and pet food costs rise together: some people must divide limited resources between their own meals and their animals’ food, or go without themselves. By collecting and distributing pet food, the bank helps households care for both people and animals while easing at least part of that burden.
The annual Blessing of the Animals brings the parish’s animal-centered mission together in a larger celebration. The gathering includes worship and animal blessings, rescue organizations and adoption opportunities, food, coffee, children’s activities, local vendors, and community organizations. It takes place beneath the church’s oak trees and carries the same relaxed, come-as-you-are spirit found in ordinary Sunday worship.
Welcome Across Backgrounds, Abilities, and Generations
St. Clement’s defines welcome as a core practice rather than a decorative phrase. The parish celebrates diversity across race, gender, orientation, ability, background, and age, and it holds each person’s story as sacred. People may be lifelong Episcopalians or newcomers exploring what faith might look like for them. They may arrive curious, uncertain, wounded, hopeful, or simply in need of a place to belong.
That welcome is especially explicit toward LGBTQIA+ people. St. Clement’s describes the church as a place of refuge, love, and justice and connects its LGBTQIA+ welcome to the Baptismal Covenant’s call to pursue justice and peace and respect the dignity of every human being. The church’s actions are intended to support people whose dignity and rights may be threatened.
The parish includes young and old, and its shared life is not built on sameness. Members gather to worship, learn, serve, and laugh, supporting one another through both joy and sorrow. A newcomer does not need to match anyone else’s background or certainty to become part of that community.
Faith That Grows in the Middle of Real Life
St. Clement’s presents faith as a lifelong journey rather than a finish line. God is believed to meet people where they are, walk with them through doubt, and invite them into deeper trust. The parish welcomes questions and treats faith as something exercised through trust, wonder, and courage. It does not expect perfect belief from its members.
The church’s Baptismal Living values translate the promises made at baptism into daily practices:
- Continue in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship.
- Resist evil and return to the Lord when they fall.
- Proclaim by word and example the Good News.
- Seek and serve Christ in all persons.
- Strive for justice and peace.
- Respect the dignity of every human being.
Fr. Andrew describes Jesus as “the face of the invisible God.” He teaches that people come to know God as Father and come to know the Holy Spirit through Jesus, while also learning grace, peace, forgiveness, redemption, and God’s love. At the same time, he says, God remains a mystery beyond human thought. St. Clement’s holds that God is at work even in the messiness of life and that resurrection was the beginning of the story rather than its end.
That combination of doctrine and openness gives the parish room for both conviction and honest questioning. Its worship asks people to remember who they are and whose they are, while its teaching expects them to keep learning together.
Why an Anchor Hangs Across the Parish Hall
Anchors appear throughout St. Clement’s on signs and in artwork. A hand-carved wooden anchor hangs across from the main doors of the parish hall, draped with a stole. Member Bill Ingalls made the anchor, which the church treats as a sign of Christ, calling, and care rather than simple decoration.
The symbol comes from Hebrews 6:19: “We have this hope, a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul.” Early Christians used the anchor as a hidden expression of trust in God’s faithfulness, sometimes carving it into tombs and catacombs as a sign of being held fast in Christ.
St. Clement’s also connects the anchor with the saint for whom the parish is named. In the tradition held by the church, Clement of Rome was tied to an anchor and thrown into the sea. His death became associated with the anchor as a mark of his witness and a reminder that Christ’s love holds fast even when the world seems to let go.
For the present congregation, the anchor represents more than being grounded. It signifies hope that remains steady when life becomes uncertain and a shared calling to remain steadfast in love, truth, and care. The carved anchor, the smaller anchor images around the church, and the repeated phrases “anchored in faith,” “anchored in hope,” and “anchored in community” all express that purpose.
From the Breaking of Bread to the Work of Care
St. Clement’s describes its mission as something lived rather than merely stated. The parish seeks to speak God’s love clearly in a world confused by hate, provide shelter in a time of division, nourish people through Word and Sacrament, walk with the weary, laugh with the joyful, mourn with the brokenhearted, and remind one another that resurrection is real, grace is free, and love still wins.
These commitments reflect the Five Marks of Mission of the Anglican Communion and express what it means to belong to the worldwide Anglican Communion and the Episcopal Church in the United States. The mission becomes concrete in the breaking of bread, caring for community, feeding the hungry, sharing joy, and sending people from worship into lives of service.
Service is not treated as a separate activity from faith. The church believes people are sent out to care for neighbors, stand with vulnerable people, and live with compassion and courage. Its concern for creation is similarly practical: called to steward the earth, the parish begins with small acts such as distributing pet food to people who are struggling.
Weekday service projects give this calling a shared form. Members help with the Pet Food Bank and other outreach efforts, bringing the same hospitality they practice in worship into practical work beyond the church itself.
A Community That Can Be Earnest and Funny
St. Clement’s describes its worship as all-age and its community as willing to take faith seriously without taking itself too seriously. Members gather to worship, learn, serve, and laugh. Conversations after church take place over coffee, sometimes with a dog receiving a treat nearby, and the mixture of prayer, humor, music, and ordinary conversation is part of the parish’s character.
Humphrey, Fr. Andrew’s Blue Doberman and the parish’s familiar church dog, has become an informal voice for questions that range from Holy Week and the nature of God to where God is when life hurts. His humorous observations give the church’s willingness to engage doubt a lighthearted voice, while his presence reflects the practical welcome given to animals in the congregation.
Music also has a prominent place in parish life. Josh Cessna serves as organist and pianist, using the church’s piano to support worship and musical gatherings. Together, music, pet-friendly worship, volunteer work, and coffee-hour conversation make St. Clement’s a community in which spiritual life and everyday fellowship occupy the same spaces.
A Place for Gatherings, Weddings, and Remembrance
St. Clement’s offers its intimate hall and adjoining grounds for smaller gatherings, including parties, wedding receptions, Bar Mitzvahs, anniversaries, and graduation parties. The secluded outdoor setting also provides a backdrop for photographs. For couples seeking a church venue, the parish can provide both a place for the wedding and a priest to officiate.
Pet-friendly weddings are another distinctive offering. The church welcomes couples to include animals in the celebration, extending its long-standing practice of keeping people and their pets together into marriage ceremonies.
The courtyard contains the St. Francis Remembrance Garden, a quiet and contemplative space where more than 250 pets are remembered. The garden gives the church’s animal ministry a lasting physical expression, joining weddings, ordinary worship, and remembrance within the same grounds.
St. Clement’s Episcopal Church brings together a liturgical faith, an open welcome, and a practical concern for people and animals. At 706 W 113th Avenue in Tampa, its anchors in the parish hall, Sunday Eucharists, pet food bank, music, and Blue Doberman companion all express the same conviction: faith is held fast through love, hospitality, and care for creation.