St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church sits on Montaño Road NW on the west side of Albuquerque, where the parish has stood in its present home since Palm Sunday 1997. It began in 1950 as a mission of St. John's Cathedral, holding its first worship service in a storefront on 4th Street under the direction of Bishop James M. Stoney. Eight rectors have served the congregation since then. Long described as one of the most inclusive and theologically progressive parishes in the city, the church draws its identity from three shared values - Welcome, Action, and Spiritual Grounding - that emerged from years of one-to-one conversations, small meetings, and parish-wide discernment. As part of the Episcopal Church and the Diocese of the Rio Grande, St. Michael's locates the center of its historic faith in the Baptismal Covenant and the ancient creeds while insisting that respectful debate and doubt have a place at the table.
Three Sunday Liturgies on Montaño Road
Sunday at St. Michael's unfolds across three distinct celebrations of the Holy Eucharist, each with its own music, language, and character. All three include the Scripture readings for the day, a sermon, prayers, and communion - the sharing of blessed bread and wine. Visitors are greeted by an usher, given a bulletin, and invited to take their place in whatever way feels right.
The 7:30 a.m. service is small, peaceful, and quiet. The only music is simple chant, which sets a meditative tone for the morning. Many who come to this service appreciate the smaller worshiping community and the stillness of the early hour, but the parish welcomes households with small children who often arrive before anyone else has stirred.
At 9:00 a.m., the largest congregation of the morning gathers. The language of the liturgy is often more modern than at the other services, drawing on gender-inclusive texts authorized by the Episcopal Church. Music is led by the Coro de Luz, an ensemble of instrumentalists and voices that draws from the Gather hymnal and beyond. Children are welcomed to Children's Chapel at the beginning of the service and rejoin their families at the Peace, before everyone receives communion. This service is almost always broadcast live on the church's YouTube channel.
The 11:15 a.m. service leans into the more traditional elements of the historic church. Much of the liturgy is chanted, incense fills the sanctuary, and the Chancel Choir leads hymns and anthems drawn from the great sacred music tradition of the church. For visitors looking for an ancient-feeling service paired with progressive preaching, this is the place. The 11:15 service is livestreamed about once a month.
Bulletins are reusable across a season, with a colored weekly insert carrying the readings and music for the particular Sunday. Most of the hymns sung at St. Michael's can be found in the Hymnal 1982 and Gather 3.
Coro de Luz, the Chancel Choir, and the Sound of the Parish
Music is one of the most distinctive threads running through St. Michael's three Sunday services. All three encourage congregational singing. The 7:30 a.m. service prefers stillness and chant; the 9:00 a.m. service is led by Coro de Luz with an eclectic sound drawn from the Gather hymnal; the 11:15 a.m. service is led by the Chancel Choir with traditional choral music accompanied by piano or organ, drawing on several hymnals and five hundred years of sacred music.
Both Coro de Luz and the Chancel Choir welcome new and returning members. The parish is also always looking for people interested in learning to chant and to lead chant. William W. Williams serves as Organist and Accompanist. Recordings of the choirs and congregational music appear regularly on the church's YouTube channel.
Making Room for Children and Young People
St. Michael's intentionally makes room for children. The parish likes to say that everyone should be able to act their age. A Kids' Space with children's books, coloring sheets, and quiet toys sits on the east (entrance) side of the church, and coloring sheets, crayons, and pencils are available at the front entrance along with a coloring table at the back. If a child gets especially fussy, the narthex functions as a soundproof quiet space during the service, with windows into the sanctuary, a live audio feed, and rocking chairs.
Nursery care is provided on Sunday mornings during the 9:00 a.m. service for children from infancy through age four. The nursery is located in the Wonder Room, one of the preschool classrooms, across the kitchen in the Parish Hall. Children's Chapel, for pre-school and elementary-aged children, meets during the 9:00 a.m. service between Labor Day and Memorial Day. Children gather in the Youth Building across the courtyard from the church, then walk over for Holy Communion.
Older youth serve as Junior Servants of Worship - reading, acolyting, and otherwise taking part on Sunday mornings - and many are active in the Casa San Miguel Food Pantry and the Immigration Ministries. The parish has held youth confirmation classes, with several teens confirmed or received into the Episcopal Church. The Director of Youth and Outreach, Angel Nalubega, a 2025 graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary with a background in popular education and community organizing, works to reimagine youth ministry as a space where young people of any age can wrestle with faith, identity, and belonging.
All Angels Episcopal Day School
Across the St. Michael's campus sits All Angels Episcopal Day School, a parish day school that has long been part of the church's ministry to Albuquerque families. Monica Muñoz directs the school, which occupies classrooms on the parish grounds and shares the Wonder Room with the Sunday nursery program. The day school is one of the institutions being considered in the parish's current Site Master Plan, with plans for a new All Angels Episcopal Day School building among the proposed elements.
Casa San Miguel Food Pantry
The Casa San Miguel Food Pantry is one of the parish's largest outreach ministries. Operating in partnership with Roadrunner Food Bank, the pantry distributed more than four thousand eight hundred standard grocery bags of food in 2023, supplemented by produce, bread, and meat when available. That same year the pantry served 3,387 households, handled on average more than five thousand five hundred pounds of food weekly, and logged more than forty-five hundred volunteer hours. Food is also delivered weekly to clients at Dismas House, a transitional living program for men on parole or probation.
Distribution takes place on Tuesday mornings from 8:00 to 10:00 a.m., with the line beginning in the parking lot in front of the church. New clients can register between 8:00 and 9:30 a.m., and a completed registration can be used at any Roadrunner Food Bank partner site. Clients may visit once every four weeks. Most of the pantry's funding comes from the parish through Sunday morning collections and monthly commitments, and a Site Master Plan element envisions a new Food Pantry building on the campus.
Immigration Ministries: Landing, Safe Release, and Borderlands
St. Michael's Immigration Ministries evolve alongside the political landscape affecting immigrant neighbors and work in collaboration with many local agencies. Three sub-ministries share the load. Landing offers short-term hospitality for those in transit. Safe Release assists people released from immigration detention to get on their way home, including providing backpacks packed with essentials. Borderlands supports the Diocese of the Rio Grande's work in El Paso and the Marfa/Alpine region of Texas.
The Associate Rector, the Rev. Simone Drinkwater, also serves as Indigenous Missioner for the Diocese of the Rio Grande, working with Episcopalians in Navajoland on a translation of the Book of Common Prayer. The congregation supports a Navajoland Partnership, and the Diocese regularly sends Border Chaplains and partners to visit St. Michael's for weekends of learning and engagement.
A Half-Century of LGBTQIA+ Welcome
St. Michael's commitment to the full inclusion of LGBTQIA+ persons has been part of the parish's ethos since 1974. In 1996, the parish offered a Eucharist of Reconciliation in acknowledgment of the larger church's harms against the LGBTQIA+ community, bearing a significant cost from the diocese at the time. Some members left over the issue; others helped the parish sharpen its focus on social justice. St. Michael's was the first parish in the diocese to offer same-gender marriage after the wider Episcopal Church approved marriage equality in 2015. The parish has celebrated the Episcopal Church's Service of Renaming for trans members and has partnered with the Transgender Resource Center of New Mexico to offer trainings, raise funds for CASA Lola (a program for trans people experiencing housing insecurity), and advocate for trans healthcare and reproductive healthcare. The rector was active in Missouri in advocacy against discriminatory laws targeting the LGBTQ+ community before coming to New Mexico.
St. Michael's celebrates both same-gender and mixed-gender marriages, using the Episcopal Church's adapted marriage rite that is more inclusive of the diversity of human gender. The marriage rite itself is taken seriously as a covenant made between two people, blessed by the church.
Weekday Prayer: Morning Prayer, Compline, and the Eucharist
The rhythm of prayer extends well beyond Sunday morning. Morning Prayer is said or sung every weekday at 8:00 a.m. and live-streamed on Facebook. The short service, drawn from The Book of Common Prayer and Enriching Our Worship, includes psalms, scripture lessons, and intercessions from the parish's prayer list. A devoted group of laity and clergy take turns leading.
On Wednesday evenings at 8:00 p.m., the parish gathers on Zoom for Compline, a beautiful way to participate in the Anglican practice of daily prayer. On Fridays, the group gathers for Night Prayer with music using the New Zealand Prayer Book.
Thursday mornings have their own pattern. A quiet service of Holy Eucharist is offered in the church at 9:30 a.m., followed by coffee in the parish office. At 10:30 a.m., the congregation moves to the Sanctuary for Contemplative Prayer - brief intercessory prayers, a reading from scripture, a twenty-minute sit, a walking meditation, and a second twenty-minute sit (with the option of quiet reflection in the parish library). The full session lasts about an hour and is open to all.
Contemplative Christianity at St. Michael's
St. Michael's has a long history of engaging contemplative Christianity. The parish has run a contemplative center that has welcomed nationally known speakers, and weekly contemplative sits have long been a touchstone. Many participants practice Centering Prayer, but it is not the only method by which the group slows down. The parish offers regular weekly sits, retreats throughout the year, and occasional contemplative services, inviting people wherever they are on the journey of faith to find time for reconnection.
Adult Formation, the Forum, and the Newcomers Class
The Forum, St. Michael's adult formation conversation, gathers most Sundays at 10:15 a.m. in the Pavilion to explore topics around scripture, culture, and life. Recent series have included two-part explorations of the Nicene Creed and of Elaine Pagels's Miracles and Wonder, and discussions of Richard Rohr's The Tears of Things. Child care is available in the nursery for those who wish.
For those newer to the parish or the Episcopal tradition, the Newcomers Class is a hybrid experience of teaching and discussion held during a six-week series each fall and spring, beginning with a potluck brunch. The class is open to all, and is especially helpful for those considering baptism, confirmation, reception, or reaffirmation, or simply wondering why the Episcopal Church does what it does.
The "Classics" Senior Ministry
Created in 2022, the Classics Senior Ministry recognizes that a good proportion of those who worship at St. Michael's are seniors - and that their unique strengths and needs deserve specific attention. The Classics meet on the second Thursday of each month from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. in the Pavilion for guest presentations on senior scams and fraud, crisis management, end-of-life preparation, wills and trusts, City of Albuquerque senior programs, and reports from the Vestry and other ministries. Meetings typically draw fifteen to twenty-five attendees, with special presentations such as an FBI talk on fraud drawing more than sixty.
A quarterly Bible study segment led by the Rev. Dr. Paul Hanneman, the parish's Preacher in Residence, has been well received. The Classics also include time for Trivial Pursuit and breakout discussions on topics of mutual interest.
Pastoral Care, Meal Ministry, and Lay Eucharistic Visitors
Pastoral care sits at the heart of St. Michael's life, celebrating joys and sharing sorrows through hospital visitation, counseling, and ministries of shared presence, listening, and support. The clergy are committed to visiting anyone who lets the parish know they need a visit; one of the priests is always on call, and after-hours callers to the parish office can dial 8 to be connected.
The Meal Ministry organizes parishioners who are ready to cook for members who are sick, recovering from surgery or childbirth, or homebound. A team of trained Lay Eucharistic Visitors, licensed by the bishop, brings communion to those who are hospitalized, homebound, or in nursing homes roughly once every four to six weeks. The clergy are also glad to offer prayers at the birth or adoption of a child, blessings for a new home, and the Reconciliation of a Penitent (commonly called Confession).
Weddings and Funerals at St. Michael's
St. Michael's celebrates both same-gender and mixed-gender marriages using the adapted marriage rite from The Book of Common Prayer. The parish takes marriage seriously as a covenant made between two people and blessed by the church. Couples meet with clergy, complete pre-marital counseling, and arrange the marriage license through the Bernalillo County Marriage License Bureau. At least one of the parties must be a baptized Christian, and the ceremony is attested to by at least two witnesses. Saturday evening receptions in the Parish Hall are welcomed up to 6:00 p.m., as the building must be prepared for Sunday morning services.
Funerals and memorial services at St. Michael's follow the Burial of the Dead from The Book of Common Prayer. Because the parish is a church rather than a for-profit funeral service, it only charges the expenses the church actually incurs (such as flowers or a hired musician). Many members plan their funeral or memorial service in advance, and the clergy are glad to walk alongside them as they make those decisions. Receptions may follow in the Parish Hall.
The Columbarium
Just inside the entrance to the nave, a small chapel houses St. Michael's columbarium - two large Mexican-style cabinets, or trasteros, that hold the cremated remains of loved ones. The columbarium is open for visits during parish office hours and on Sunday mornings between services. Ashes are laid to rest without charge, though donations are welcomed.
The Tatschl Stained Glass and Gallery St. Michael
The stained glass windows at St. Michael's were created in 1957 by John Tatschl, an Austrian émigré and professor of art at the University of New Mexico, for the original church building (now the parish hall). When the parish moved into its current home in 1997, the windows came with it. Nine of them tell the story of the life of Christ, with an additional image of St. Michael the Archangel in the Columbarium Chapel. A short documentary, Glass Light, explores the windows through reflections by artists, historians, and clergy, and a guide to the imagery is available for download.
Gallery St. Michael is a self-supporting ministry that creates venues in the Pavilion and the Parish Hall for the display of fine arts, rotating new shows about every two months. Sales of artwork benefit the ministries of the church. The Liturgical Arts Guild enhances worship by providing a visual expression of the seasons and major feasts of the church year, and the Flower Guild tends the arrangements that mark those seasons.
Planning for the Future: A New Site Master Plan
St. Michael's is in the middle of its first Site Master Plan since 2008. After extensive parish listening in the fall of 2025, the Plan for the Future Committee has been working with an architect on early concept designs. The proposed scope envisions a new Food Pantry, a new Landing, a new Parish Hall, a new All Angels Episcopal Day School, a nursery located near the worship space, ADA-accessible family and gender-neutral restrooms, and a new chapel - all phased over perhaps seven to ten years, with each phase determined by parish priorities and the capacity to fund it. Construction would begin only after a Feasibility Study and, if appropriate, a Capital Campaign. The committee has completed its work of refining the plan for presentation to the parish.
A separate Solar Panel Project is also underway. The Vestry approved a plan to install solar energy that would fully supply the parish's power needs across the year, with parishioners invited to sponsor individual panels.
Clergy, Staff, and Vestry
The Rev. Mike Angell became rector of St. Michael's after eight years as rector of the Episcopal Church of the Holy Communion in the St. Louis area. Ordained at St. John's Church, Lafayette Square, in Washington, D.C., in 2011, he holds degrees from the Virginia Theological Seminary and the University of San Diego and is currently pursuing a doctorate in ministry in Christian Spirituality through Virginia Seminary. He is an award-winning preacher, writer, and community organizer who has served on the board of Cristosal, a human rights organization in Central America, and who lives into questions of prayer, contemplation, and justice through writing and preaching. He and his husband, Ellis Anderson, are the parents of a seven-year-old and the companions of a Labradoodle named Gus.
The Rev. Simone Drinkwater joined the staff in February 2025 as Associate Rector after serving at St. John's in Alamogordo. She also serves as Indigenous Missioner for the Diocese of the Rio Grande, working with Episcopalians in Navajoland on a translation of the Book of Common Prayer. The Rev. Lee Lowery serves part time as Priest for Pastoral Care, drawing on three decades of ordained ministry; he previously served as Interim Rector of St. Michael's from August 2022 to July 2023. The Rev. Dr. Paul Hanneman, an American Baptist pastor retired to Albuquerque and a certified Enneagram trainer, was named Preacher in Residence in December 2024.
The staff supporting this ministry includes Angel Nalubega as Director of Youth and Outreach; Ana Segura as Business Administrator; Carrie Chavez as Communications and Office Administrator; Monica Muñoz as Day School Director; Joe Warner as Sexton; and William W. Williams as Organist and Accompanist.
The Vestry, the legal representative of the parish, consists of twelve members elected to staggered three-year terms. The Rector's Warden is Chris Alvarez, and the Vestry Warden is David Odegard. The Vestry shares its working covenant at the start of every meeting - praying together, encouraging everyone to speak, acknowledging one another's feelings, and seeking out the concerns of the parish.
How to Give and the Band of Angels
St. Michael's is funded primarily through annual pledge income and non-pledged offerings. Members may give in the offering plate, by mail, online through Realm, by automatic account withdrawal, or from an IRA as a way to satisfy a Required Minimum Distribution. The Band of Angels Legacy Society recognizes those who have remembered St. Michael's in their estate plans through documented planned gifts - bequests in a will, major lifetime gifts, life income gifts such as charitable gift annuities and charitable remainder trusts, life insurance, and life estates - all of which can support the Endowment Fund, the Capital Fund, or another chosen ministry.
A Parish on the Page and Beyond It
St. Michael and All Angels identifies itself with three values - Welcome, Action, and Spiritual Grounding - and they run through every part of its life. The parish welcomes children into the sanctuary, welcomes the stranger at the food pantry, welcomes LGBTQIA+ neighbors into leadership, and welcomes those released from immigration detention into a backpack and a ride. Its members act for justice through Casa San Miguel, the Immigration Ministries, and advocacy. And the parish grounds itself in ancient liturgy, weekday Morning Prayer, Thursday morning contemplative sits, and a long history of theological engagement with the Christian tradition. All are welcome.