A House of Worship on West Saint Paul Street
St. Paul's Episcopal Church sits in the heart of Brighton, Michigan, on West Saint Paul Street, near the downtown the town is named for. From this corner the parish has welcomed neighbors since the first service was held on June 21, 1881, more than 140 years ago. Today the congregation calls itself "joyfully growing, giving, and serving in all ways in Christ," and it is known throughout Livingston County as a parish where questions are welcomed and where faith is described as a journey, not a destination.
St. Paul's is part of the Episcopal Diocese of Michigan, under the pastoral care of the Eleventh Bishop of Michigan, the Rt. Rev. Dr. Bonnie A. Perry. The rector, the Rev. Jeanne Hansknecht, leads the parish alongside a music minister, an outreach coordinator, and an office manager, with a vestry of elected members guiding the mission and finances of the church.
Two Sunday Services and a Once-a-Month Combined Gathering
Worship on Sunday mornings at St. Paul's takes two distinct shapes. At 8:00 a.m. a traditional service of worship gathers in the sanctuary for a liturgy that includes silence and reflection, without sung hymns. At 10:30 a.m. a fuller service of "sights, sounds and singing" fills the church, a celebration the parish describes as inviting to all and especially appropriate for young children and their families. The 10:30 a.m. service is also livestreamed on Facebook so that members who cannot be present in body can still join in worship from home.
On the rare months when the calendar gives the parish a fifth Sunday, the two services come together as one combined service at 9:30 a.m., a change that simplifies life for the volunteers, choir, and worship planners. The combined service is also the regular home of the Jubilee Choir, a festival ensemble that enriches Christmas, Easter, and these 5th Sunday gatherings.
Worship at St. Paul's uses the breadth of services in the Book of Common Prayer through the course of the year, along with material from Enriching Our Worship and other parts of the Anglican Communion. The community calls itself "traditional but never conventional," a place where the faith is over two thousand years old but the thinking is not, and where minds are engaged as well as souls nourished.
What Visitors Notice When They Walk In
Greeters and ushers hand out a service leaflet as people arrive, and newcomers can sit wherever they like. A few minutes before the service begins, an instrumental prelude helps the assembly gather its thoughts. A bell rings, a procession of liturgical ministers enters led by the cross, and the Presider and congregation exchange the Opening Acclamation.
From there the service moves through the Liturgy of the Word, which includes a Hebrew Scripture reading, a psalm, a New Testament reading, and a Gospel reading drawn from the Revised Common Lectionary on its three year cycle, and continues into the sermon. After the sermon the assembly responds by standing for the Creed and joining in the Prayers of the People, with petitions for the Church, the world, the nation, those who are sick, and those who have died. The Confession may follow, and then the exchange of the Peace, a moment the parish openly acknowledges can feel awkward for newcomers but invites everyone to greet those nearby.
The Liturgy of the Table follows. The collection is brought to the altar along with the bread and wine, the Eucharistic Prayer is prayed, the Sanctus is sung, and the assembly responds with "Amen." At the invitation to Communion, anyone seeking God is welcome to receive, a policy the parish has broadened beyond the official Episcopal expectation that all baptized people may receive. Those who do not wish to receive may remain in their seat or come forward with arms crossed for a blessing. Worshippers at St. Paul's wear everything from casual jeans to formal suits, and the parish assures visitors that no matter what their style, they will feel welcome.
Music of the Heart
Music is described by the parish as a vital part of the spiritual life shared at St. Paul's. The Sunday Singers lead the 10:30 a.m. congregation in hymns, service music, and anthems, drawing on an eclectic repertoire that ranges from classical and modern pieces to folk, spiritual, and gospel selections. The Adult Choir sings for special liturgies surrounding Advent, Christmas, Holy Week, Easter, Pentecost, Confirmation, and All Saints, and children are welcome to join the choir as well. The ensemble rehearses on Thursday evenings at 7:00 p.m., and membership is open to anyone who enjoys singing, regardless of prior choral experience.
The Jubilee Choir supplements the Sunday Singers as a festival choral and instrumental group that enriches Christmas, Easter, and the 5th Sunday 9:30 a.m. combined services without requiring a full program year commitment. Livestreaming volunteers operate the MEVO camera each Sunday so that the 10:30 a.m. service can be shared on Facebook.
From Mission Church to Cornerstone of a Modern Building
The history of St. Paul's stretches back to the 1830s, when the Rev. William A. Clark, then Rector of All Saints Church in New York City, journeyed west with his family to the Michigan Territory. Clark settled in the Brighton area and conducted the first regular Protestant religious services here. The Episcopal Mission in Brighton was formally established in 1878, with services held in various local buildings until a permanent home could be built.
Chloe Clark, Dr. William Clark's daughter, directed in her will that her property be sold after her death and the proceeds used to build a Protestant Episcopal Church. The architect chose a style patterned after a little chapel in England. The cornerstone was laid in May 1880, and the first service was held on June 21, 1881.
St. Paul's was closed and inactive on at least two occasions in its early history, for two years in the mid-1920s and for at least a decade from the early 1930s into the early 1940s. During that latter period, church records held in the home of a former lay reader were lost forever when his house was destroyed by fire, taking with it documents dating back to 1886.
In 1963 the mission church petitioned the Diocesan Convention for admission to Parish status. The petition was granted, and on St. Paul's Day, January 25, 1964, the parish's Vicar became its first Rector and the congregation assumed full support of its church. In January 1988 the congregation decided that expansion and renovation were needed; architectural plans were presented in June, a major fundraising effort began, and the resulting renovation was completed in March 1992, producing the L-shaped structure of the present sanctuary. In 2000 a Garth, a place of spiritual reflection and retreat, was created next to the sanctuary.
In July 2013 the parish embarked on its fourth renovation and building expansion, updating the entire facility with an expanded worship space, a new chapel, gathering space, atrium, and classrooms. On June 21, 2014, Bishop Wendell N. Gibbs Jr., Tenth Bishop of Michigan, consecrated the completed building in a ceremony that blended ancient and modern ritual. Throughout this history more than fourteen Vicars and Rectors have served St. Paul's, and the most recent rectors have served terms of more than ten years.
Formation for Every Age
Faith formation at St. Paul's is described as a lifelong journey of becoming. For children, the parish welcomes the joyful noise of young families in worship and provides specific formation programming; for youth, the parish integrates its young members into the regular life of worship as Chalice Bearers, Ushers, Acolytes, and Greeters. A rite of Affirmation marks the transition from childhood to adulthood as a midpoint in the journey with God and with one another.
Adult formation includes a steady rhythm of offerings throughout the program year. DISCIPLE Bible Study meets on Sundays between the two services and emphasizes the wholeness of Scripture through disciplined study and dynamic group discussion. The Inquirers Class, offered annually, introduces newcomers to the Episcopal Church and its "weird and wonderful ways" and meets for three Saturdays during Lent from 10:00 a.m. to noon, in preparation for Confirmation or Reception by the Bishop at Easter. An Epiphany Series brings expert speakers to Zoom to engage and equip the parish in its social justice ministries, and a Lenten Series walks through a book study over four or five Wednesdays in Lent.
For those preparing for baptism, marriage, funerals, or anointing, St. Paul's provides detailed guidance. Baptism is full initiation by water and the Holy Spirit into Christ's Body, the Church, and may be administered by immersion or affusion. The parish welcomes the marriage of committed couples, with the rector walking couples through a flexible planning process that becomes firmer only a month before the wedding. Funerals are described as Easter liturgies, finding their meaning in the resurrection, with detailed guidelines available for pre-planning. Anointing is available to anyone who is sick or preparing for medical treatment, with blessed olive oil applied to the forehead in the sign of the cross.
Outreach That Feeds, Clothes, and Welcomes
Through the Justice & Change Committee the parish addresses systemic issues that prevent the community from living as a beloved community, with a focus on antiracism education and relationship building, public policy and advocacy focused on human rights, and creation care. The parish has formally committed itself as a sanctuary church for immigrants and refugees, to stand against racial injustice, to confront bigotry whenever it is encountered, and to protect the physical, psychological, and spiritual safety of women, people of sexual and gender diversity, the elderly, and the physically impaired.
Concrete hands-on ministry is woven into the year. Fish & Loaves free dinners are offered at St. Paul's on selected Sundays throughout the church year, each Sunday a different area church providing a hot meal to anyone in the community starting at 5:00 p.m. In partnership with LACASA, the parish participates each year in the Adopt-A-Family Christmas program, providing toys, clothing, and meals to children and families during the holiday season. The Fill a Bag, Feed a Family program runs over the summer to help alleviate meal gaps for children who rely on school meals, with parishioners filling bags with non-perishable items that are delivered to Gleaners Community Food Bank. The Daughters of the King sponsor a Cozy Box donation drive for vulnerable populations, collecting items like winter hats, mittens, socks, diapers, and feminine hygiene products. A newer initiative partners with refugee resettlement agencies to discern a call to co-sponsor a new American.
Community Presence is a quiet ministry of evangelism by simply being a loving presence in the community and by hosting community events, while Pastoral Care is described as St. Paul's "showing up for its members when our members cannot show up to St. Paul's," through Eucharistic Visitors who bring Communion to those who cannot attend, Visiting Friends who check in by phone or visit, and a Funeral Hospitality and Meal Train ministry.
A Building Campaign and a Lasting Legacy
The 2013 expansion was funded in part through BELIEVE, the first in a series of capital campaigns, which raised $300,000 from the congregation and secured an additional $1 million in grants from the Episcopal Diocese of Michigan and community foundations, nearly half the total construction budget of slightly over $2 million. In the latter part of 2015 the remaining $800,000 of construction debt was converted into 20-year mortgage loans, with $80,000 of BELIEVE contributions held in reserve. A second campaign, Continuing the Legacy, was launched in 2017 to cover monthly mortgage obligations and pre-pay additional building debt, with a goal of $250,000.
Core Values and the Mission That Holds Them Together
The mission of St. Paul's is to "connect with God and with each other," and that simple sentence shapes everything else. Six core values anchor the parish. It is Joyful, a hopeful and optimistic community that celebrates Christ's presence through traditional and contemporary worship, ritual, music, and love. It is Accepting, welcoming everyone with warmth and respect and offering all the opportunity to participate fully. It is Community, a caring and growing inter-generational family renewed by the engagement of children, youth, young adults, and seniors. It is Actively Inviting, reaching out to share its faith journey with others. It is a refuge for Seekers, encouraging diversity of thought, questions, and challenging conversations. And it seeks to Experience God in Christ through interactions with one another and through service to others, especially those who are in need or struggling.
Planning a Visit, a Wedding, or a Funeral
Visitors can plan their first visit using the parish's guide to Episcopal services, which explains every element of the liturgy from the prelude through the postlude. The parish office is open Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., closed on federal holidays and open by appointment on Friday. Pastoral emergencies are handled through the Rev. Jeanne Hansknecht at 810-844-1132.
Couples considering a wedding at St. Paul's are invited to download the parish's Wedding Guidelines, Wedding Information Form, and Wedding Readings Form, and to begin a conversation with the rector about how their faith and their plans for married life can be woven into a single joyful celebration. Families planning a funeral can download Funeral Pre-planning documents, a Garth Agreement, Funeral Guidelines, and Funeral Readings to help the parish prepare a meaningful service that honors both the grief and the resurrection hope of the Christian tradition.
Music, Livestream, and Connection
Sermons are shared on the parish's YouTube channel, allowing members and visitors to revisit any message at any time. Photos and videos of parish life are shared on social media, with a Media Opt-Out form available for anyone who prefers not to have their image shared. A monthly eNewsletter keeps members informed, and an RSS feed carries parish updates as well. Giving is available online, with both one-time gifts and two-channel stewardship options, and pledge forms are accessible online.