St. Michael's Episcopal Church sits on West Imhoff Road on the west side of Norman, Oklahoma, a low brick building with a stained glass window above the nave entrance and a columbarium tucked into its chapel. Founded in February 1976 by about 40 members of St. John's, Norman, the congregation celebrated its fortieth anniversary in the summer of 2016 and traces its roots through six rectors, a building program that added a nursery, classrooms, youth room, bookstore, library, vesting room, choir room and chapel, and a long list of outreach ministries. St. Michael's describes itself with one phrase over and over: "a place of belonging for ALL people where everyone is welcome at Christ's table."
Worship on Sunday Mornings
Two Sunday services anchor the week. At 9:00 a.m., Rite I is celebrated without music, a quiet, traditional liturgy in the language of the older Book of Common Prayer. At 11:00 a.m., Rite II fills the nave with congregational singing and the work of the St. Michael's Adult Choir. The 11:00 service is normally Holy Eucharist, sometimes called the Lord's Supper or the Mass, with readings from the Bible, a sermon, prayers of the people, and the sharing of bread and wine in Holy Communion.
Visitors will notice people bowing, crossing themselves, and standing or sitting at various moments. Apart from a few general guidelines, much of this is up to the individual, and the church invites newcomers to follow the rhythms of the service by watching the people around them. Worshippers who want to follow along from home can join the 11:00 service through a livestream on YouTube.
A Wednesday Rhythm
Midweek worship is just as much a part of parish life as Sunday morning. A spoken Holy Eucharist is celebrated at 12:00 noon on Wednesdays, with Bible studies earlier in the day, Lectio Divina at 6:30 p.m. and Evening Prayer at 7:00 p.m. Lectio Divina, sometimes called Holy Reading, is an ancient and venerable way of encountering Scripture "with the ear of the heart," and is led by Bishop Wallis Ohl in the parish library. Evening Prayer follows the Daily Office tradition of the Episcopal Church. Friday brings a slower tempo: Wild Men's Night Out on the second Friday of the month at 7:00 p.m. and Saucy Sisters on the third Friday at 5:30 p.m. The men's group gathers for charcoal-grilled ribeye steaks, baked potatoes and craft beer; the women's group gathers for food and fellowship. First-timers to Wild Men eat free.
The Building, the Labyrinth, and the Memorial Garden
The current building was dedicated and consecrated in July 1981 after ground was broken in July 1980, the same year St. Michael's was raised from mission to parish at Diocesan Convention. A building expansion program that began in 1997 produced the spaces the congregation uses today: a nursery, classrooms, a youth room, a bookstore, a library, a vesting room, a choir room and a chapel. The chapel holds a columbarium that was rededicated in September 1996 and formally dedicated in 2002 in memory of Francis Cella. A stained glass window above the nave entrance was installed in 2004 as a memorial to Fred Shellabarger. Outside, the church grounds include a labyrinth used for walking meditation, and a Memorial Garden redesigned in 1995 to serve as a perpetual columbarium.
The parish also remembers two architectural companions that are no longer part of the building's daily use. In 1982 the Education wing was leased to the Southwind Montessori School. In 2008 the mortgage from the expansion program was burned and the new additions to the Memorial Garden were dedicated.
Music and the St. Cecilia Guild
Music is central to the 11:00 service. The St. Michael's Adult Choir leads congregational singing under organist and choirmaster Jon Roberts, who has been at the parish since 1983. The choir also sings at appointed services through the church year. Membership requires a committed rehearsal schedule, and choir members are expected to learn the music and sing at the appointed services.
The St. Cecilia Guild, named for the patron saint of music, supports the music ministry through gifts of time, talent and financial resources. The guild maintains the church's rich Anglican musical heritage at a high level while exploring new types of musical experience. Its longer-term dream is to offer the sanctuary as a venue for aspiring musicians and to have St. Michael's musicians perform with other groups in the wider community.
Christian Formation
Christian formation at St. Michael's takes several shapes. Bishop Wallis Ohl leads Lectio Divina on Wednesday evenings in the library. The church maintains a labyrinth on the grounds and offers the Retreat in Daily Life, rooted in the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises. Wednesdays also bring three Bible studies: one in the morning, one led by Fr. Joseph Farber at 1:00 p.m., and another at 5:30 p.m. The church points visitors to the Online Book of Common Prayer, the Forward Day by Day daily devotional, and Education for Ministry, a four-year theological curriculum for laity developed at the School of Theology at the University of the South.
LGBTQ+ Welcome and Norman Pride
St. Michael's is an openly affirming congregation. Members include straight, gay, trans, bi-, queer and non-conforming people, and the congregation hosts a booth at the Norman Pride Festival and walks in the Norman Pride parade. The church's float won the Most Colorful Float award at the 2023 Pride Parade, designed by Susie Cassidy and built by volunteers of all ages. A long page of scriptural reflection on the parish site reads "God did not make a mistake when He created you" and walks through the seven passages traditionally used to condemn LGBTQ+ people, reading them in their original historical context.
Pastoral Care, Prayer, and the Care Team
When members of St. Michael's are hospitalized or homebound, the clergy and parish office want to hear about it, since hospitals are not always able to contact churches directly. The Care Team, associated with the healing archangel Raphael, organizes meals for parishioners recovering from illness, transportation to doctors' offices and grocery stores, and visits to those who are alone or housebound. Lay Eucharistic Visitors take the consecrated sacrament from Sunday services to those who cannot attend. The Prayer Team maintains a confidential ministry of daily intercessory prayer for anyone in need - prayers may be requested for physical, mental or spiritual needs, or for thanksgiving.
Feeding the Unhoused and Thanksgiving Baskets
On the third Thursday of every month at 5:00 p.m., a small group of volunteers prepares 40 meals for unhoused neighbors in Norman; the Social Injustice League of Norman picks the meals up and delivers them to people who cannot get to other areas for an evening meal. St. Michael's also supports Norman Food & Shelter, Inc., which provides housing for homeless families and individuals, free meals and other services. Each year, the congregation prepares and delivers around 45 Thanksgiving Baskets to Aging Services in the week before Thanksgiving. The Norman Community Christmas Dinner, which St. Michael's started in 1987 with the slogan "No one should be alone on Christmas," now has its own organization and feeds around 2,000 people at Norman High School.
Laundry Love, Sharon's Wagon, and Recycling
Laundry Love takes St. Michael's volunteers to Sooner Wash, 1325 East Lindsey Street, several Saturdays a year, where they provide up to $15 per family for washing and drying, plus detergent, dryer sheets, bleach, a free meal, books while supplies last, and pet food while it lasts. Volunteers also hand out new socks for the whole family. There is no appointment, no ID, no proof of residency, and no voucher system; it's first come, first served, with "dignity, respect, hope and love" at the center of the day.
Sharon's Wagon, a ministry in memory of parishioner Sharon Vaz, collects a featured item each month for a specific need in the community. And St. Michael's is part of Churches Caring for Creation, a coalition that recycles #6 foam plastic by densifying it into logs. Since May 2019 the church has recycled over 800 bags of foam, about 600 cooler boxes, and over 4,000 egg cartons for reuse.
Norman Coalition for Refugee Support
Since joining the Norman Coalition for Refugee Support in October 2021, St. Michael's has helped resettle refugee families in the Norman area for their first six to seven months in the United States. The coalition, formed in 2019 and now a 501(c)(3) non-profit, coordinates housing, clothing, food, transportation, medical care and education for arriving families. Volunteers are needed to teach English, give legal advice, fix up homes and help with grants. The coalition received the Norman Humanitarian Award in March 2022.
BARHD and International Mission
Internationally, St. Michael's supports the Bushenyi Alliance for Rural Health and Development, which provides medical services to rural communities in Uganda, including home health care, safe drinking water, malaria control, HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment, and educational opportunities for orphans. The congregation also takes an annual collection for Camp New Hope, a summer camp at St. Crispin's Episcopal Camp and Conference Center for children with an incarcerated parent.
The Cleveland County CROP Hunger Walk
Each year St. Michael's fields a team for the Cleveland County CROP Walk, an ecumenical charity walk that raises money for Church World Service's hunger-fighting and disaster relief work. Twenty-five percent of the proceeds stay local and support Norman Food & Shelter, Inc.
Fellowship, Mardi Gras, and Coffee Hour
The fellowship life of the parish is varied. Sunday Coffee and Conversation follows each service, with gluten-free snacks and what the congregation calls "holy chaos." Welcome Luncheons are held two or three times a year at the home of a congregational leader, bringing newcomers and long-time members together over a meal. St. Michael's Crafters meet on Monday evenings to knit prayer shawls, purple baby caps to raise awareness of Shaken Baby Syndrome, scarves for the Norman Community Christmas Dinner, and small articles of clothing for Special Olympics athletes. Each year, on the evening before Ash Wednesday, the parish gathers for a Mardi Gras feast, followed by a bonfire in the churchyard and the burning of the previous year's Palm Sunday palms to make the ashes for Ash Wednesday.
Youth and Children
St. Michael's has a Youth Group for older children, an active acolyte program that welcomes children from about third grade up, and a nursery added in the 2001 expansion. The oblationer ministry invites anyone, including godparents and godchildren, to present the bread and wine during the offering at the Sunday service. A Confirmation Class is offered for adults who wish to affirm their baptismal vows, and the Education wing and classrooms added in the expansion program are still in use for formation and Sunday gatherings.
Clergy and Music Leadership
St. Michael's is currently served by three clergy. Fr. Joseph Farber is the Priest. A native of the Oklahoma City area who graduated from Moore High School in 1976, Fr. Joseph practiced law for 24 years before answering a call to ordained ministry. He was sponsored for holy orders by St. Michael's, attended the School of Theology at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, and was ordained a deacon in January 2010 and a priest in July 2010. He is also a musician who once played in the jazz vocal quartet Satin and divided his teenage Sundays between the organ at Holy Apostles Episcopal Church and youth activities at First United Methodist Church of Moore. Mother Ann Murray serves as Associate Priest, and Rev. Dr. Laura Blazek serves as Deacon; she has been on the parish staff since 2007, originally as Formation Director working with youth and education programs. Jon Roberts has served as organist and choirmaster since 1983.
Giving and Getting Involved
St. Michael's accepts donations online through a debit, credit or bank draft giving page, by texting SMECNorman to 73256, and by check mailed to the parish office at P.O. Box 720326, Norman, Oklahoma 73070. The annual pledge drive takes place in the late fall for the coming calendar year, and parishioners can also give to the Rector's Discretionary Fund, Laundry Love, Thanksgiving Baskets, Altar Flowers, Aumbry Candles and Outreach at any time. Altar flowers cost $45 per vase, and Aumbry Candles $10. The Stewardship page reminds readers that, in the Episcopal understanding, "stewardship is about being grateful, responsible caretakers of the gifts we receive from God" - giving of time, talent and money alike.
Office hours are Monday through Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., and the parish can be reached at 405-321-8951 or stmecnormanok@gmail.com.