A Faithful Presence on Saint Charles Avenue
St. George's Episcopal Church has lived as a faithful presence at 4600 Saint Charles Avenue in Uptown New Orleans for more than 165 years. The parish traces its origins to 1859, when the Louisiana Diocese established the Emmanuel mission on the corner of Berlin (now General Pershing) and Magazine streets, meeting in the town hall of what was then called Jefferson City. Louisiana's first Episcopal Bishop, Leonidas Polk, confirmed members before becoming a general in the Confederate Army.
The congregation divided in 1871 with the formation of St. Mark's Church, and the two reunited in 1874 at this location. The present church building went up in 1899, and some of the wood from the earlier church was used to construct the rectory, which still serves the parish. The most famous stained glass in the church depicts Saint George and the Dragon, drawing on the legend of George of Lydda, a Roman soldier martyred after refusing to recant his Christian faith.
Worship on Sundays
Two Sunday services anchor life at St. George's. At 8:00 am, a spoken Holy Eucharist, Rite II, is offered without music. At 10:30 am, the principal service features full musical leadership from the St. George's Choir. The 10:30 liturgy is livestreamed on Facebook for those who cannot be present. Both services use the Episcopal Church's Book of Common Prayer and follow the Anglican tradition that the parish calls its spiritual home.
The liturgy is shaped by a conviction that the diversity of the congregation is part of the gift. On any Sunday morning, members and visitors of every age and background gather for the same Eucharist, and the parish embraces what it calls a "broad and generous" approach to worship, willing to be surprised by whoever walks through the doors next.
A Welcoming Community
St. George's has long been known in New Orleans for its openness. In 1973, the Rev. William P. Richardson held a small prayer service for the thirty-two victims of arson at the UpStairs Lounge, a gay bar in the French Quarter. He was admonished for it by the Episcopal Bishop of Louisiana at the time and by some members of his own vestry, but he continued to advocate for the LGBTQ+ community in New Orleans and the diocese. That legacy of welcome continues today.
All couples, including LGBTQ+ couples, may have their weddings at St. George's under the same policies and procedures, and membership does not require affiliation with any particular background. The parish reads aloud each Sunday its baptismal promise to "strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being."
A Non-Shushing Church for Children and Youth
St. George's calls itself a "non-shushing church" because the congregation does not expect children to sit still and silent for an hour. Upstairs in the sanctuary, a pray-ground in the north transept near the altar offers babies and toddlers toys and books, while a pray-station in the south transept near the choir gives older children puzzles and coloring activities. Coloring clipboards can be taken to the pews.
Families who prefer to drop off children before the liturgy find a nursery and Sunday School in the undercroft (the lower level of the building). Children rejoin the congregation upstairs before the Eucharist, and all children are invited to stand around the altar during Communion so they can see and participate. Christian formation classes for ages three and older meet on Sunday mornings at 9:00 am in the undercroft.
Students in second grade and older may train as acolytes, leading the procession and assisting at the altar. Family programming throughout the year includes pumpkin painting for All Saints Day, Advent wreath making, Easter egg hunts, and other intergenerational gatherings. The St. George's Children's Choir, for children in grades one through five, prepares young singers for a lifetime of music and returns each Advent and Christmas.
The Music Ministry
Music is central to the life of the parish. The St. George's Choir is a mixed ensemble of adults and youth that leads music at the 10:30 Sunday Eucharist, Holy Day liturgies, and regular Evensongs. Rehearsals take place Wednesday evenings from 7:30 pm to 9:00 pm, September through May, with a Sunday morning rehearsal at 9:30 am before worship. The choir's repertoire ranges from ancient chant to contemporary composition, and singers do not need to be members of the parish to join. Ryan Celestin is the Director of Sacred Music; Carla Waterfield directs the children's choir.
The music program is anchored in a deep commitment to the Anglican choral tradition. Choristers follow the curriculum of the Royal School of Church Music, working through an advanced course of study in music and liturgy and receiving awards at the end of each year to mark their progress. Each year the choir also auditions young singers from area universities to award a choral scholarship that brings a student into the choir for the academic year.
Outreach: Dragon Cafe and Morning Call
Two long-running programs extend the parish's life well beyond its walls. For more than twenty years, the Dragon Cafe has welcomed New Orleans neighbors every Sunday with a hot breakfast, a smile, and a place to belong. Founded by members of St. George's after Hurricane Katrina, the cafe is now a community-wide effort, open to all and entirely volunteer-run. About half of the volunteers come from the parish and half from the wider community, and the meal is offered with no questions asked.
Morning Call, which started on September 6, 2023, gathers the parish's more vulnerable neighbors in the Parish Hall on Mondays and Tuesdays from 9:00 to 10:30 am. The program offers coffee, water, and a continental breakfast of pastries and fruit, a resource table with information on twelve-step meetings, food resources, and shelters, and access to clean restrooms, device charging, and the sanctuary for quiet reflection. Food bags, hygiene items, and clothing are also available. Interim Rector the Rev. Ron Clingenpeel holds pastoral office hours during the program when his schedule allows, and the parish office helps guests with research and limited printing for housing and benefits applications.
Pastoral Care and Lay Leadership
The pastoral care ministries quietly sustain the parish through the ordinary and extraordinary seasons of life. The Meal Ministry delivers food to parishioners after a birth, surgery, or illness. The Funeral Hospitality team sets up, serves, and cleans up funeral receptions. Lay Eucharistic Visitors take reserved bread and wine each week to those who are hospitalized, homebound, or in nursing homes, leading a brief prayer service in a visit that usually takes about thirty minutes.
The vestry, the parish's elected governing body, has nine members, with three elected each January at the Annual Parish Meeting to serve three-year terms. Officers include the Senior Warden, appointed by the rector, the Junior Warden, who oversees buildings and grounds, the clerk, and the treasurer. Vestry meetings generally take place on the third Tuesday of each month at 6:00 pm. The current Senior Warden is Lauren Dunn; Paul Karas serves as Co-Junior Warden.
Life Events: Baptisms, Weddings, and Funerals
Holy Baptism at St. George's is open to anyone seeking God or being sought by God. Preparation begins with a conversation with the clergy, and a similar process welcomes those who wish to be confirmed or received into the Episcopal Church. The parish draws its understanding of baptism from the Book of Common Prayer, which teaches that the sacrament is full initiation by water and the Holy Spirit into Christ's Body the Church.
Weddings at St. George's are offered to all couples under the same policies, and the sanctuary at 4600 Saint Charles Avenue is open to couples who are not members of the parish. Funeral liturgies follow the Episcopal conviction that the liturgy for the dead is an Easter liturgy, finding all its meaning in the resurrection. Joy and sorrow are held together, as the parish notes, because Jesus himself wept at the grave of his friend.
St. George's Episcopal School
In 1969, the parish founded St. George's Episcopal School as an expression of its outreach into the community, with the first classes meeting in the church undercroft. Today the school occupies its own buildings on a campus on Camp Street, one of which sits on the site of the original 1859 Emmanuel meeting place. The school remains tied to the parish's identity and mission.
Becoming a Member
Visitors thinking about membership are encouraged to attend worship several times and try classes and other offerings before deciding. Baptized Christians may enroll by submitting a parish registration form, those transferring from another Episcopal parish may request a transfer, and those who have never been baptized enter the church through Holy Baptism after preparation with the clergy. Confirmation, when desired, is offered through a class that prepares candidates to reaffirm their baptismal covenant and receive the laying on of hands by a bishop.
The parish is supported by pledges and gifts from its members, who give online, by text ("Stgeorge" to 73256), through the Realm Connect app, or in the Sunday offering. Worship services, livestreams, music, children and youth programs, and outreach ministries together form the steady rhythm of a parish that has served Uptown New Orleans from the same avenue for more than a century and a half.