Saint Mary's Episcopal Church sits on the corner of Laurel and Howell in the Merriam Park neighborhood of Saint Paul, a brick building whose cornerstone was laid in 1925 and whose life has been shaped, ever since, by the conviction that church should make room for whoever walks through the door. The parish blends Episcopal tradition with a willingness to ask hard questions, welcomes children into the heart of worship, treats inclusion of LGBTQIA2+ people and disabled people as a decades-long practice rather than a recent announcement, and opens its building and its books to the surrounding block.
Sunday Morning at the Corner of Laurel and Howell
At 10:00 a.m. each Sunday, the Sanctuary fills for the principal worship of the week: a Holy Eucharist that mixes contemporary and traditional Episcopal elements, with inspirational sermons, music that ranges across styles, and the poetry of the Book of Common Prayer holding it all together. On the first Sunday of each month, the chairs are rearranged and the Eucharist is celebrated in the round. The service runs about an hour and is followed by coffee, fellowship, and a full slate of formation and programming.
For those who cannot come in person, the service streams live on YouTube and is also mirrored inside an interactive Zoom room. Online participants can greet each other in the chat, request prayers that the Zoom host then reads aloud during Community Prayers, share in the Prayer for Spiritual Communion during the Eucharist, and linger in small-group conversation after the final hymn. The Zoom link and the printable service bulletin are distributed each week through the parish's email newsletter.
Children are an explicit part of the Sunday gathering. A Prayer Rug sits at the front of the Sanctuary where kids can see everything that is happening; activity kits are available for those who would rather stay in the pews; and children are welcomed forward to witness the Eucharist up close at the altar when they want to. For parents who need a quieter moment, the Nursery is staffed and located on the same floor as the Sanctuary.
Thursday Evenings in the Chapel
At 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, the rhythm shifts entirely. The Contemplative Service gathers in the chapel area of the Sanctuary (or, in good weather, outdoors in the garth garden) for a lay-led forty-five minutes of prayer and silence. Two candles, two periods of silent meditation (ten minutes and fifteen minutes), and short readings from poetry, prose, Scripture, or wherever the leader is being drawn. There is no sermon, no music program, no Eucharist; the service is built around stillness and listening. It is described by the parish as an oasis of calm in the midst of a busy week. The Thursday service is in person only.
Music
Music at Saint Mary's is led by Jayce Mulligan, the Music Minister, a composer and pianist originally from Texas who has lived up and down the East Coast before settling in Saint Paul. The choir rehearses on Wednesday evenings at 7:00 p.m. in the choir room and welcomes new singers; the parish also draws on a handbell choir and solo musicians for worship, weddings, and funerals, and the Sanctuary's acoustics have made it a popular venue for concerts and recitals.
A Building Held in Trust
Parishioners have long spoken of the Saint Mary's building as a gift from earlier generations, held in trust for the wider community. The Sanctuary is the showpiece: a modern, light-filled space with a ramp between the seating area and the chancel, seating about 250 across the middle section and two side sections. Its acoustics make it a frequent stop for concerts, theater performances, and rehearsals.
Down the hall, the Chapel is an intimate space with pews set up in the round, hosting groups of five to forty. It is the home of the Contemplative Service and any gathering that calls for conversation rather than performance. On the second floor, the St. Mary's Room is a natural-light-filled meeting room with a dozen comfy living-room chairs and moveable round tables, able to host a handful of people or a gathering of up to a hundred. The Tea Kitchen sits next door with an oven, refrigerator, dishwasher, and plenty of plates and serving ware; it opens both into the St. Mary's Room and out to the hallway and elevator. Across the hall, the Multi-Purpose Room overlooks the garden in the garth. Below the Sanctuary, the Undercroft is a high-ceilinged basement that seats about 150 at tables.
A spacious elevator runs through the center of the building. There is a designated handicap parking and drop-off area at the Laurel Avenue entrance, and ADA-accessible restrooms (women's, men's, and gender-neutral) are on every level. In 2020 the parish installed solar panels to reduce energy costs, and a 2021 technology upgrade brought stronger cameras and streaming capacity that supports ongoing online worship.
The building is also a working office building. Saint Mary's rents space to several long-term tenants who share the parish's commitment to serving the neighborhood:
- Jean Lyle School, an independent school that has been part of Merriam Park for many years.
- Central Golden Care Services Inc., a home health care agency providing Personal Care Assistant services.
- RadicallyAligned Body & Energy Work, offering Thai bodywork, customized yoga and Pilates, and virtual oracle card readings.
- Manos de Luz, LLC, the massage therapy practice of Gigi Ortiz, who sees clients in English and Spanish.
- Caval Servicios, LLC, an income tax preparation service.
- Kent Voice Studio, private voice lessons from soprano Patricia Kent, who has sung with the Minnesota Orchestra and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra.
- N. Drechsler, Pain Management and Prevention, individualized bodywork and movement education.
- Rainbow Lotus Therapy, the psychotherapy and art therapy practice of Jamie Winter.
Office and event spaces are also available for rent, with a published rent schedule for receptions, meetings, concerts, and recurring tenants.
Children and Youth: A Full Part of the Body
From birth through high school graduation, young people at Saint Mary's are treated as full members of the congregation, with programming that meets them where they are. Every Sunday, the children themselves lead the Offertory Prayer:
God be in my head and in my thinking.
God be in my mouth and in my speaking.
God be in my heart and in my loving.
God be in my hands and in my giving.
Sunday School and Nursery (K-6)
Sunday School gathers on Sundays from 11:15 a.m. to noon with snacks, prayer, service projects, and learning. The Nursery is staffed on the same floor as the Sanctuary during the 10:00 a.m. service.
Pre-Tweeners (K-2) and Tweeners
Pre-Tweeners meet on Wednesdays from 6:30 to 7:00 p.m., and Tweeners meet from 7:00 to 7:45 p.m., both on Zoom so that busy families can keep them on schedule. Each group gathers in person once a month during the parish's Community Meal.
Youth Group (grades 7-12)
The Youth Group meets on some Wednesdays from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m., beginning with check-ins and prayer, moving into a discussion topic, and ending with a game. Recent favorites include Midnight Werewolf. The rector describes the group as thoughtful, hilarious, creative, and kind. The group's wider life includes cheering on local roller derby teams, cooking for Community Meal, fundraising for First Nations Kitchen, planning the Ash Wednesday service, hiding all the eggs for the Fabulous Easter Egg Hunt, and showing up at each other's performances and games.
Recognition Dinner and the Senior Quilt Project
When a student finishes sixth grade, the parish holds a Recognition Dinner with parents, godparents, and significant adults. Toasts of gratitude are offered, and on the following Sunday the wider community gathers to pray with the young people and bless them as they move toward adulthood. For graduating high school seniors, the Cozy Quilt Collective gathers in the winter to sew quilts that are signed by members of the congregation; the quilts are presented during the Sunday service in June, with parents or caregivers invited to wrap the graduate in the quilt while the community offers prayers.
Confirmation
Confirmation is offered annually in partnership with neighboring Episcopal churches. Sign-ups are in September, and all high school students are eligible. The group meets monthly and the year culminates in the confirmation service in April at Saint Mark's Episcopal Cathedral.
Adults: Learning, Connecting, Sitting with Questions
After the 10:00 a.m. Sunday service, the Adult Faith Forum gathers in the Chapel from 11:00 a.m. to noon for a forty-five-minute book study, guest speaker, or topic discussion led by the rector. Past series have included Episcopalianism 101, a study of Liz Theoharis's We Cry Justice: Reading the Gospel with the Poor People's Campaign, and a study of Cole Arthur Riley's This Here Flesh: Spirituality, Liberation, and the Stories That Make Us. The parish frames adult formation around the belief that doubt is a part of faith and questions are a part of understanding.
The Men's Group meets on the first Tuesday of each month, usually at a local pub, for an informal evening of conversation; the parish describes it as putting the fellow in fellowship. On the second Wednesday of every month, the whole community gathers for the Community Meal at 6:00 p.m.; afterward, adults move into the chapel for Sacred Space / Sacred Study, an hour of quiet spiritual practice selected each month by the priest, sometimes centering prayer, sometimes a coloring practice, sometimes something else. A Parents' Support Group meets as needed, hosted by the rector, for parents at every stage. A monthly 20s & 30s Brunch rotates through members' homes around the Twin Cities.
A Space Built for the Neighborhood
Saint Mary's understands its building as something more than Sunday-morning real estate, and its community life as something larger than its membership rolls.
- The Community Meal on the second Wednesday of every month draws neighbors in for dinner at 6:00 p.m. After the meal, the children head to age-appropriate programming and the adults move into the chapel for Sacred Space / Sacred Study.
- The parish maintains a Little Free Pantry outside the building, stocked for anyone in the neighborhood who needs it.
- A regular crew from Saint Mary's serves at First Nations Kitchen in Minneapolis on Sundays, helping with a year-round giveaway of fresh produce and hot meals; the Youth Group has its own dedicated shifts.
- During the summer, Pizza Church gathers on some Wednesday evenings from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. for a simple outdoor Eucharist and a shared meal, a recent offering borrowed from Saint Clement's.
The parish also participates in wider Episcopal life in Minnesota, gathering occasionally with other ECMN congregations for events like an evening at a Saint Paul Saints baseball game.
Inclusion, Accessibility, and Safe Church
Saint Mary's has practiced full inclusion of LGBTQIA2+ people for many decades. The parish marries same-sex couples, calls LGBTQIA2+ people into every lay and ordained role in its life, and is explicit that God's love extends to all people, all the time, with no exceptions. Many parishioners are neurodivergent, queer, trans, disabled, or chronically ill, and the parish names that diversity as part of who it is.
Accessibility is taken just as seriously. The building is ADA-compliant, with a designated handicap parking and drop-off area at the Laurel Avenue entrance, an elevator between floors, and accessible restrooms that include a gender-neutral option. The parish works toward AAA-level digital accessibility online using the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1. The rector, the Reverend Lindsey Briggs, who is herself chronically ill and disabled, prefers identity-first language and notes that access needs go beyond legal compliance; the parish welcomes specific conversations about what each person needs to fully participate.
A Safe Church program maintains background checks (through Verified First) and Safe Church Training (through Praesidium Academy) for everyone who works with children, youth, or vulnerable adults, in line with the standards of the Episcopal Diocese of Minnesota.
Beliefs in Brief
Saint Mary's is a parish of The Episcopal Church within the Episcopal Diocese of Minnesota. Its life is grounded in the Baptismal Covenant, which the parish recaps every Sunday: to follow Jesus, to resist evil, to proclaim the Good News, to seek and serve Christ in all people, to strive for justice and peace, and to respect the dignity of every human being. The Eucharist is described as God's table, not the church's, and everyone is welcome to receive. Liturgy draws on the Book of Common Prayer and the wider Episcopal tradition; the parish also reads contemporary theologians and spiritual writers, among them Cole Arthur Riley, Kate Bowler, William J. Barber II, Henri Nouwen, Julian of Norwich, and Pauli Murray. Common Prayer, the parish says, takes precedence over right belief: people who disagree can still pray together.
Stewardship with Open Books
Saint Mary's approach to money is unusually transparent. The parish's income comes only from member pledges, fundraising, building rentals, donations for the use of the space, and a small amount from investments, and any member of the parish may review the books, including the rector's compensation, by asking the Treasurer.
Pledges may be made online through Vanco, set up as automatic bill pay through a bank, mailed as checks with pledge written in the memo line, placed in the Sunday offering plate, or transferred as stock through UBS Financial Services. Planned-giving options include beneficiary designations on retirement accounts or life insurance, charitable bequests through a will or living trust, charitable gift annuities, charitable lead trusts, and charitable remainder trusts. Donations are tax-deductible, and a year-end statement is mailed in January.
A portion of every wedding and funeral fee goes back into parish life. The rector receives no personal compensation for these sacraments; customary gifts are directed to a discretionary fund that the rector uses for food certificates, emergency help, and unbudgeted parish needs.
Weddings, Baptisms, and Funerals
Saint Mary's hosts Episcopal weddings, baptisms, and funerals for anyone who asks, whether or not they are members of the parish. Marriage preparation includes premarital counseling (required by canon, available through the rector or another licensed counselor), at least two planning sessions with the priest, and a rehearsal. The parish happily marries same-sex couples, and welcomes couples at any stage of life; living together before marriage does not preclude an Episcopal wedding.
Baptism is offered at any age. The parish recognizes baptisms performed in other Christian denominations, so there is no need to be baptized twice; infant baptism is common, with parents and godparents taking on the Baptismal Covenant on the child's behalf. Adults interested in baptism are invited into the community's life and the preparation process.
Funerals are described as belonging to everyone, whether they were faithful churchgoers or not. Services can be held at the church, at another location, or in the warmer months in the garden courtyard, where there is a granite memorial wall on which cremains may be buried for a $500 donation that supports the garden's upkeep. Advance funeral planning is welcomed, and the rector also crafts services for miscarriage and other experiences of loss.
Clergy and Staff
The Reverend Lindsey Briggs (she/they) is the Rector. An Episcopal priest, board-certified chaplain, and LGBTQ+ spiritual care educator, Reverend Briggs came to Saint Mary's after four years of healthcare chaplaincy in New York City, with specialties in LGBTQ+ spiritual care, palliative care, and hospice. She has taught LGBTQ+ spiritual care at Union Theological Seminary and previously served as Chief of Staff and Assistant to the Rector at the Church of the Heavenly Rest in New York. She is available for pastoral care, hospital visits, and confidential prayer requests.
Jayce Mulligan (he/him) is the Music Minister.