An Episcopal Anchor at Jacksonville Beach Since 1887
St. Paul's by the Sea Episcopal Church sits a block from the Atlantic on Eleventh Avenue North in Jacksonville Beach, a low-slung parish whose roots go all the way back to the resort era of the late nineteenth century. Its self-description, "A Community of Love Seeking and Serving Christ in All Persons," captures a congregation that is at once historic and contemporary: it began as a small chapel serving summer visitors to the Murray Hall hotel in 1886 and grew into the first religious congregation established at the Beaches area of Jacksonville.
The parish belongs to the Episcopal Diocese of Florida and, through it, to the worldwide Anglican Communion. On any given week its work stretches from a contemplative Celtic Eucharist on the first Sunday of the month to a Cold Night Shelter in town and a companion relationship with the Anglican diocese of Cienfuegos, Cuba. The Rev. Victor Hailey, who arrived as rector on January 15, 2025, now leads the parish alongside Archdeacon the Ven. Lawanda Williams, who was ordained to the diaconate in the very sanctuary she grew up in.
A Sanctuary Built for Choral Worship
The building that defines the parish today was completed on Easter Sunday, April 30, 1967, under the leadership of the Rev. Paul Ritch, and the mortgage was paid off in January 1972 under the Rev. Neil Gray. Inside, the architecture was designed with music in mind, and the parish has built its identity around what the building can hold.
The organ is a custom instrument built by the Schantz Organ Company of Orrville, Ohio, and is one of the largest all-pipe organs in the Jacksonville area. Its casework is integrated into the church's architecture, and its tonal design is meant to lead congregational singing, accompany choirs, and provide service music. In late May 2025 the organ was carefully dismantled and trucked to the A.E. Schlueter Pipe Organ Company in Lithonia, Georgia, for a full restoration of its leather components, a new state-of-the-art console, and an expansion of its tonal capabilities; the instrument was returned and rededicated in 2026 after roughly nine months of work in the Schlueter shop.
Three Services, Three Different Moods
Worship at St. Paul's by the Sea is grounded in the Book of Common Prayer, with Holy Eucharist as the central act each Sunday. The week offers three Eucharists, each with a distinct feel.
At 10:00 a.m. on Sunday the congregation gathers for a Traditional Choral Eucharist, roughly seventy-five minutes long, that combines Anglican liturgical roots with hymns, choral anthems, and an organ prelude and postlude. From August through May, the children begin in the church, hear a Children's Sermon, then process out for Sunday School and return at the Peace to join their families at the altar.
At 11:45 a.m. on Sunday the parish offers a shorter, quieter Holy Eucharist without music, typically thirty-five to forty-five minutes long. Once a month, on the first Sunday, this service takes a Celtic turn, rooted in the prayers and rhythm of the Celtic tradition and offering space for quiet reflection.
On Wednesday morning at 10:30 a.m. a small congregation gathers for a brief midweek Eucharist with a conversational homily. On the first Wednesday of each month, the service is a healing service with Holy Eucharist.
A Music Program That Fills the Building
Music is one of the defining ministries of the parish. The choir is composed of choral scholars, skilled lay clerks, and volunteer singers from the congregation; it rehearses on Wednesdays from 7:00 to 8:25 p.m., ending with spoken Compline, and again on Sundays from 9:00 to 9:45 a.m. The choir leads the congregation in anthems tied to the day's lectionary, musical settings of the psalm, and service music drawn from the Anglican choral repertoire and American sacred music traditions.
A Handbell Choir rehearses on Wednesdays from 6:00 to 6:45 p.m., and rings on Sundays when scheduled. The Director of Music and Organist, Matt Bickett, holds graduate degrees in historically informed performance and religion from Yale University's Institute of Sacred Music and from the Oberlin College and Conservatory of Music, and has served Episcopal, Congregational, Presbyterian, and Lutheran congregations. He also writes music criticism for the Jacksonville Symphony.
St. Paul's by the Sea is also the home of the Beaches Fine Arts Series, founded in 1972 by Jim Johnson, who came to the parish in 1967 as choirmaster and organist and was dismayed to find no classical music on the Beaches. Since then the series has offered free performances in the sanctuary every year, ranging across classical, jazz, world music, dance, and the avant-garde. The annual James D. Johnson Memorial Organ Concert continues Johnson's legacy.
Children, Youth, and the Sunday School Heartbeat
Christian formation for children and youth is treated as central to the parish's mission. The Nursery is open during Sunday worship from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. for children up to three years old, staffed by Tenaya George; parents may drop off their children before the service and pick them up after Coffee Hour. From August through May, kindergarteners through sixth graders attend Sunday School; they begin in church, hear a Children's Sermon, then leave for class and return at the Peace to receive Communion with their families.
The older youth ministry, known as SPY (St. Paul's Youth), runs through the school year and depends on volunteers. The parish invites families to recognize the home as the primary place of faith formation and to partner with the church in that work. Children and youth who have completed Sunday School are warmly welcomed at the altar for Communion.
Small Groups, Bible Studies, and Brotherhood
A wide range of lay-led ministries keeps the parish connected during the week.
- Discover the Bible meets each Sunday at 9:00 a.m. in the Christopher Conference Room to explore the lectionary readings in greater depth before the service.
- Donuts, Discussion and the Divine Word, the parish's Wonderful Wednesday Bible Study, meets at 9:00 a.m. in the Christopher Conference Room for Scripture, conversation, and fellowship.
- Education for Ministry (EfM), a four-year distance learning certificate program from the University of Sewanee, meets on Thursdays from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. and walks participants through Hebrew Scripture, the New Testament, church history, theology, worship, and reflection.
- Centering Prayer gathers on Mondays from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. in the chapel end of the sanctuary, beginning with silent contemplative prayer and moving into study.
- The Brotherhood of St. Andrew, a missionary and evangelism ministry of the Episcopal Church and Anglican Communion, meets the first and third Saturday of each month at 8:00 a.m., with light refreshments, a brief business meeting, and Bible study; its funds support youth mission trips, Anglican Frontier Missions, and Camp Weed scholarships.
- The Daughters of the King (St. Julian of Norwich Chapter) is open to women and girls from age seven upward and meets on the third Saturday of each month for prayer, service, and evangelism.
- Books at Noon is a monthly book club that gathers over lunch to discuss contemporary fiction, historical novels, and the occasional page-turner.
- The Altar Guild, with members of all ages, prepares the altar, vestments, vessels, and linens for each Eucharistic service in a ministry of "quiet service" behind the scenes.
- Acolytes, open to adults, teenagers, and children as young as fourth grade, assist the priest at the altar and are trained in sessions held through the year and regularly in the summer.
- Episcopal Church Women (ECW) brings together the women of the parish for mission, ministry, and fellowship, and oversees the annual United Thank Offering campaign.
- The Guild of the Christ Child provides ministry to families with newborn babies and is a support group for mothers and others who love to work with children.
- Cursillo has a long history at the parish and continues to send members to three-day weekends at Camp Weed.
Outreach Across the Beaches and Beyond
Outreach at St. Paul's by the Sea reaches from the parking lot to the Caribbean. In Jacksonville Beach the parish runs the Cold Night Shelter, sends teams to Habitat for Humanity builds, supports Beach Church and Mission House, partners with Isaiah 117 House and the Angel Tree, and joins with the Rhoda L. Martin Cultural Heritage Center and its sister church, St. Andrew AME, in the Reconciling Jax Beach ministry. Each February the parish celebrates the birthdays of residents at Pablo Towers, and each year it brings cookies and carols to Pablo Towers' Christmas concert.
Stephen Ministry equips laypeople to provide confidential, one-to-one Christian care to members of the congregation experiencing difficulties in their lives. The Archdeacon, the Ven. Lawanda Williams, leads a ministry called Joggin' our Noggins, visiting three local memory care facilities.
Internationally, the parish has maintained a companion relationship with St. Paul's in Cienfuegos, Cuba, since 1988, and regularly collects over-the-counter medicines for shipment to its sister parish. The Foundation, a 501(c)(3) entity, has provided seed money and ongoing grants for Meals-on-Wheels, Mission House, Pablo Towers, Beaches Emergency Assistance Ministry, Dial-A-Ride, Beaches Habitat for Humanity, the parish's youth and worship programs, and a parish communication program.
Renovating the Stormes Complex and the Schantz
In 2025 the parish family committed more than $3.2 million to the Building Tomorrow Together capital campaign. The campaign addresses three priorities: replacing the sanctuary HVAC with three new Trane fifteen-ton systems, fully restoring the Schantz organ, and renovating the Stormes Complex - the parish hall and middle section built in 1956.
The HVAC project is complete, and the parish reports a reduction of nearly one thousand dollars a month in cooling and heating costs. The organ restoration has concluded with a rededication in 2026. The Stormes Complex renovation is on track for completion in the fall of 2026 and includes new energy-efficient windows, a new sprinkler system, foundation stabilization, a redesigned kitchen, new family bathrooms, new meeting spaces, new roofing, and refreshed exterior paint. The Foundation supplements annual giving through its Tree of Life Membership Society and provides scholarships to Episcopal Schools of Jacksonville - Beaches Campus.
Planning a First Visit
The parish office is open Monday through Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and the office administrator can be reached at administrator@spbts.net or 904-249-4091. A parking lot sits in front of the Christopher Lobby, with additional street parking on Eleventh Avenue North and Fifth Street North; arriving a few minutes early is recommended.
There is no dress code - some worshipers arrive in their Sunday best, others in khakis or shorts. Ushers greet visitors at the door with a bulletin. All baptized Christians are welcome at the altar for Communion, and those who would prefer a blessing are invited to come forward with arms crossed over the chest. Worship is corporate in nature, with the congregation sharing in the prayers, the readings, the singing, and the silences; visitors are encouraged to do whatever feels comfortable.
Sunday worship is also livestreamed on YouTube at 10:00 a.m. for those joining from elsewhere, and bulletins are available for download. After the 10:00 a.m. service the parish hosts Coffee Hour in the parish hall. Online giving is available through the Realm giving portal.