An Anglo-Catholic Mission in the Heart of Uptown
St. Paul's Episcopal Church has stood at the foot of Queen Anne Hill, at 15 Roy Street in Seattle's Uptown neighborhood, since the early 1900s. The parish describes itself as a progressive, socially active Episcopal Anglo-Catholic community that affirms the God-given dignity of every person. In its sacramental life of communal prayer, study, learning, life in community, and social action, the congregation proclaims that God forms it to serve one another, its neighbor, and the stranger. The mission statement is concise: St. Paul's renews and revitalizes the neighborhood of Uptown Seattle in contextual ministry alongside its neighbors.
On Sundays the church gathers as a "funky" and diverse community that includes people in jeans and others more dressed up, some single and some partnered, some with children and some not, some queer, gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender and some straight, lifelong Episcopalians and many who came from other (or no) church backgrounds. The parish fully uses the treasures of the Episcopal Church's Book of Common Prayer (1979), the Book of Occasional Services, The Hymnal 1982, and music chosen from other carefully selected sources. It cultivates partnership with other churches in the Episcopal Diocese of Olympia (western Washington) and the larger Episcopal Church and the Worldwide Anglican Communion. The congregation is known for combining solemn and beautiful Anglo-Catholic worship with a deep commitment to social action and urban mission.
Sunday Worship at St. Paul's
On Sundays the parish gathers for the Holy Eucharist. A Spoken Holy Eucharist is offered at 8:00 a.m. in the church. A Sung Holy Eucharist follows at 10:30 a.m. in the church, and this liturgy is live-streamed. A small Saturday morning Holy Eucharist is celebrated at 9:00 a.m. in All Saints' Chapel. The parish extends an explicit welcome to anyone who is unfamiliar with the ritual customs of the Episcopal Church: newcomers are invited simply to relax with the liturgy and let the rest of the congregation carry them in worship.
The Anglo-Catholic character of the parish is unmistakable. The look and smell of incense, the use of chant and song, and the employment of the body in worship - bowing, crossing oneself, touching the water of the font to remember baptisms, lighting candles at the icon of Mary - all shape the experience. The parish treasures children in worship, trusting that the embodied and mysterious nature of the liturgy is highly evocative for them. Every Sunday morning at 10:20 a.m. members gather at the Mary Shrine to pray the Angelus. The parish also incorporates many liturgical practices inherited from Roman Catholic tradition, including Marian devotion and the annual celebration of the Feast of St. Mary the Virgin.
Evensong and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament is celebrated on the Saturday evenings before four major feasts, in the chapel at 5:30 p.m.: the Last Sunday after the Epiphany, Corpus Christi (the Second Sunday after Pentecost on the Roman Calendar), the Feast of St. Mary the Virgin (August 15 or the nearest following Sunday), and the Reign of Christ. "Benediction" is shorthand for the Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, a liturgy in which the parish meditates on the Real Presence of Christ's Body in the consecrated bread and wine.
Music and the Choir
Music is one of the defining glories of the parish. The parish choir sings most Sundays from September through June, and at the great feasts of the year. The choir rehearses Thursday evenings during the season and gathers about an hour before each Mass to warm up. A newer hand-chime ensemble needs no musical training and welcomes people of every age. An orchestra gathers for the great feasts, and the parish hosts concerts and recitals through the year. The Director of Music is Dr. William Fletcher Bryant, a composer, conductor, and organist who holds the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Washington. Bryant is also Second Clarinetist with the Seattle Festival Orchestra, is active in the American Guild of Organists, and serves on the music faculty for Music & Arts of Bellevue and Emerald City Music Makers of Seattle.
The parish organ anchors this ministry. The instrument has been the subject of recent lighting upgrades that the parish describes as enhancing the worship experience and identity of the building itself. The organ and choir together give the parish a robust Anglo-Catholic musical tradition that fills the mid-century modern nave with chant and anthem, and the parish extends this care into the streets of the neighborhood through occasional music events.
The Daily Office and Prayer Throughout the Week
Beyond Sunday worship, St. Paul's maintains a regular rhythm of daily prayer. On Zoom, Morning Prayer is prayed Monday through Saturday at 8:30 a.m., following the liturgy from the Book of Common Prayer and lasting about thirty minutes. Contemplative Prayer is held on Tuesdays at 7:30 a.m. on Zoom, and in person in All Saints' Chapel on the first Tuesday of the month. Noonday Prayer is prayed in the chapel on Wednesdays at 12:00 p.m. Together, these prayer offerings mean that the chapel and the Zoom room alike hold a steady cycle of Anglican daily prayer throughout the week.
Adults gather for Christian formation in a variety of ways: some are on Zoom, others in person; some on Sundays after morning Mass, others on weekday evenings. Many members come from other faith traditions, and the parish offers formation opportunities to help newcomers know the Episcopal Church and its traditions in transformational ways. St. Paul's parishioners describe themselves as learners, thinkers as much as feelers, with a high regard for Christian education for themselves and for newcomers.
A 130-Year Mission in the City
St. Paul's congregation was begun as a log cabin mission in 1892 by the early settlers of Queen Anne Town, a neighborhood directly north of downtown Seattle distinguished by a prominent hill featuring many homes of Queen Anne architectural style. In 1895 it officially became St. Paul's Mission. In 1903 the vestry purchased land for the present site at the foot of Queen Anne Hill and soon erected the first church building. During the next three decades St. Paul's became one of the major Episcopal churches in the city, and additions such as the still-in-use All Saints' Chapel were added in 1938. The parish celebrated 100 years at 15 Roy Street in 2003.
The land on which the parish stands is the homeland of the Salish People. While the indigenous population never had a permanent encampment in the Queen Anne neighborhood, or specifically on the section of land that holds St. Paul's, there were summer and winter hunting camps near the site. A few blocks from the parish, the current site of the Seattle Center was Baba 'kwob (prairies), a gathering place for tribal festivals. The parish honors with gratitude the land itself and the Duwamish People, and all their descendants.
The urban identity of the parish took root in the late 1950s when the vestry purchased land at the top of Queen Anne Hill with a view toward rebuilding St. Paul's in the neighborhood's more affluent, residential quarter. At the same time, the parish's sixth rector, John Lockerby, was called. Father John persuaded the vestry to sell the newly acquired property on Galer Street and stay at the historic site with the explicit purpose of remaining closer to the city, the parish's mission site. His urban sensibilities were rooted in the words of the parish's patron, St. Paul, in the Acts of the Apostles: "Rise up and go into the city, where you will be told what you must do." Father John led the parish's endeavor to raze the original wood-frame structure and erect a soaring mid-century modern structure, contemporaneous with the Seattle World's Fair of 1962.
Twelve Rectors and the AIDS Years
The Reverend Roy Coulter followed Father John, bringing an extraverted and charismatic personality to an otherwise introverted community. A young Father Ralph Carskadden began his ministry as a curate during this period. In the 1980s the parish called the Reverend Peter Moore. This was a poignant, difficult, and inspiring period in the history of St. Paul's, marked by the HIV/AIDS pandemic that devastated urban populations across America. Father Peter became famous for proclaiming, through Seattle's media channels, the parish's willingness to host memorial services for any friends and family devastated by the loss of a loved one to AIDS, irrespective of their faith affiliation. During this time St. Paul's lost a significant portion of its own parish population to AIDS, and the church was full of bodies, grief, and sadness. Through it all, the parish remains proud of its role as a sacred house of support, solace, and comfort during this tragic time in history.
The Reverend Morrie Hauge was called in the 1990s. St. Paul's first openly gay and partnered rector, Father Morrie continued to extend the branch of welcome to Seattle's queer community. The Reverend Melissa Skelton was called in 2005 as the tenth rector, leading the parish into a deeper ministry of spirituality, intergenerational community, and growth. Mother Melissa deliberately and explicitly welcomed young families, and the parish built a Godly Play program through which young couples with children joined. The parish tripled in size during her leadership. In late 2013 Mother Melissa was elected Bishop of the Diocese of New Westminster (Vancouver, BC) in the Anglican Church of Canada.
The Reverend Sara Fischer was called as the eleventh rector in 2015, with a view towards consolidating growth, stewardship, and engagement with the surrounding community. Mother Sara helped establish the Art Heals Project with the Mental Health Chaplaincy, and she started parish conversations about race that led to continued engagement with the Episcopal Church's Sacred Ground curriculum and the formation of the Anti-Racism Commission. In 2017 Mother Sara and her associate rector, Father Robert Rhodes, developed Wednesday Night Church, a midweek formation opportunity for worship, learning, and companionship. Father Rob left in 2019, and in early 2020 Mother Sara accepted a call to Saints Peter & Paul in Portland, Oregon. That spring marked the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Reverend Nat Johnson, who had served as curate the year before ordination in June 2020, subsequently became interim rector, leading the parish during the hard days when the global pandemic and the Seattle housing crisis brought great upheaval to Uptown Seattle and to the labyrinth garden. In November 2022 St. Paul's called the Reverend Stephen Crippen to serve as its twelfth rector. Father Stephen had been a member of St. Paul's in the 2000s and served from 2014 to 2017 as deacon, but the new adventure reconnected him with the parish in new ways. Father Stephen and lay leadership have led a $2 million-plus effort to repair and restore the buildings, replace the roof, and improve accessibility. In 2023 the parish launched the Parish Ministry Council, a new lay leadership structure that supports its many efforts, coordinates work across ten ministry areas, and develops new lay leaders.
SPiN Walks and the Sunday Mission
St. Paul's most visible outreach to the neighborhood is SPiN - the acronym is built into the parish's identity in ways the community uses to name its ministry. Every Sunday afternoon a small team of SPiN walkers gathers at 11:45 a.m. to stock wagons with food and essential supplies, then walks the neighborhood from about 12:00 to 1:30 p.m. distributing food, warmth, and human connection to neighbors living outside. The walks are open to volunteers who can sign up online, and they are one of the parish's most consistent weekly ministries.
From October through April the SPiN team takes along hot soup on its walks. Volunteer soup-makers prepare soup at home and drop it off at the church at their convenience; other volunteers reheat the soup on Sunday mornings and portion it out. A knitting group meets on the third Sunday of the month after the 10:30 a.m. Mass in the church library; everything they make goes to the parish's unhoused neighbors through SPiN and to families at Mary's Place. All levels of knitting and crocheting are welcome.
The SPiN and Little Free Pantry work is supported by a broader Neighborhood Action Ministry, which focuses on three areas: direct action (SPiN wagons and the Little Free Pantry), community advocacy, and building relationships with neighborhood individuals and groups. The parish welcomes new walkers, soup-makers, knitters, and pantry stockers as recurring weekly or monthly rhythms of service.
The Little Free Pantry on Roy Street
In the spring of 2022 St. Paul's installed and blessed a Little Free Pantry just outside the doors of the church for the benefit of the neighborhood. The cabinet is stocked through the generous donations of parishioners and neighbors with non-perishable food and personal care items, and is available to anyone who needs them. The pantry was painted by the artist Megan McDermott, whose ancestry is of the Cree and Blackfeet tribes.
The pantry is partnered with a research team at the University of Washington that is working closely with the parish to learn how the pantry is used. Real-time statistics on stock levels and requested items are shared publicly. Non-perishable food items may be placed directly in the pantry. Donations may also be placed in the designated box in the narthex on Sundays. For larger bulk donations, arrangements can be made with the parish office during its Tuesday through Thursday office hours. Volunteers sign up to keep the pantry stocked, tidy, and welcoming once a week at their convenience.
Community Action Working Group and the Noon Protest
The Community Action Working Group, known by its members as CAWG, formed in 2025 in response to changes in the national government. The group's motto is "turning worrying into something you can do." It sponsors education events, protests, and spiritual care during political crises, and works to connect members of St. Paul's with ways to address the political and social problems, both near at hand and far away, that touch the lives and spirits of the parish community.
CAWG protests every Sunday at noon on Roy Street, gathering outside the church entrance. The group also meets monthly on Zoom to encourage one another, organize, report back, and plan next steps. The work is one expression of the parish's vision that God's holiness is revealed in the dignity of every human being, and of the conviction that prayer and proclamation flow into organized response.
The Buildings and the 2023 to 2025 Renovation
The mid-century modern building at 15 Roy Street has been the parish's for over a hundred years, and the parish has invested heavily in its care in recent years. A $2 million-plus capital improvement campaign launched by Father Stephen and lay leadership has repaired and restored the buildings, replaced the roof, and improved accessibility in the buildings and grounds. The work shortened some pews so that people who come by wheelchair can truly join the assembly and not block aisles and walkways, a change that took several parish-wide discussions. Lighting upgrades have enhanced the worship experience and identity of the building itself.
The campus includes several distinct sacred spaces. The nave is the soaring mid-century modern sanctuary that reopened its doors on Christmas Eve 2011 after a fully restored and rejuvenated renovation completed under Mother Melissa's leadership. All Saints' Chapel, added in 1938, is still in use and hosts the Saturday morning Holy Eucharist, the Wednesday Noonday Prayer, and the in-person Contemplative Prayer on the first Tuesday of the month. The Mary Shrine, where members gather each Sunday morning at 10:20 to pray the Angelus, anchors the parish's Marian devotion. Art Around the Parish includes a guide to the pieces throughout the building, and the parish's visual culture is part of how the Anglo-Catholic aesthetic takes shape in the building.
The Centennial Garden Labyrinth and Bolster Garden
The grounds at 15 Roy Street include the Centennial Garden Labyrinth, a sacred space where members can walk or sit in the open air. The labyrinth is part of the parish's pastoral geography, and it has been a meaningful site for grief and prayer during difficult years. During the pandemic and the Seattle housing crisis the labyrinth garden was a particular focus of pastoral care. The Bolster Garden is the second of the parish's named gardens. Together the gardens invite members and visitors to enter into the prayer of the grounds. Through the little clear windows of the building, members can gaze out into the tree branches of the labyrinth garden during the long liturgical silences of the Sung Eucharist.
Children's Formation and the Godly Play Room
Children are treasured at St. Paul's, and the parish has built an entire children's formation program around the conviction that the embodied and mysterious nature of worship in an Anglo-Catholic parish is highly evocative for children. From incense and chant to bowing, crossing oneself, and touching the water of the font, the liturgy itself shapes children. The parish has spent years deliberately and explicitly inviting and welcoming young families, and the Godly Play program is one of the fruits of that work.
The nursery is open Sundays from 9:20 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. for children three and under. Godly Play gathers at 10:25 a.m. for children four to twelve years old, and children may be dropped off as early as 9:20 a.m. Godly Play is a method of Christian education and spiritual direction rooted in the Montessori tradition, developed and classroom-tested for more than twenty years by Episcopal priest, author, and teacher Jerome Berryman. During a typical session children are greeted, told a sacred story using special materials, and engaged in a series of "I wonder" questions that allow them to explore the relationship between the story and their lives. The session concludes with children working with materials of their choice to express and "meditate" on the story in an artistic and kinesthetic way.
Children ages eleven and up are welcome to serve in the Sunday liturgies as acolytes. Parents are encouraged to sing the hymns, pray, and respond during Mass, knowing that children learn liturgical behavior from them. If a parent needs to leave Mass with a child, they are free to do so, but are asked to come back. Members are gently reminded that the way the parish welcomes them in church directly affects the way they respond to church, to God, and to Christ.
Faith, Welcome, and the Dignity of Every Person
The parish's vision statement places God's holiness at the center of every human life: "God's holiness is revealed in the dignity of every human being. In our sacramental life of communal prayer, study and learning, life in community, and social action, God forms us to serve one another, our neighbor, and the stranger." The parish sees itself as a community that values Christian formation, the arts, the presence of children in its midst, and the ever-challenging call to act on its baptismal identity through concrete actions that contribute to justice and peace in the world, and particularly in its immediate neighborhood.
The parish explicitly welcomes people of all sexual orientations and gender identities, and many of its members and visitors are queer, gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender. The parish has been shaped by the history of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, by the call of an openly gay rector in the 1990s, and by decades of liturgical welcome and pastoral care to LGBTQ+ people and their families. The parish is also honest about its ongoing shortcomings: it acknowledges that it is whiter than the Uptown neighborhood that surrounds it, and wealthier too. Members are encouraged to keep learning about the ways that patriarchy, capitalism, and white supremacy have damaged and distorted their own humanity, even within their beloved parish church.
Creation Care and Carbon Neutrality
St. Paul's Creation Care Ministry pays attention to how the parish uses natural resources. The ministry is committed to being carbon neutral by the end of 2030. The group regularly calculates St. Paul's carbon footprint and brings the vestry recommendations on energy-efficient upgrades and carbon offsets. Members can contribute carbon-offset gifts through the parish's giving page, with donations transferred to the Carbon Offset Cooperative Mission partnership between the Diocese of Olympia and the Diocese of Southern Philippines to fund tree-planting in the Philippines. The parish provides examples of typical carbon footprints in Washington for households and individual flights, and recommends an Episcopal Household Carbon Tracker to help members calculate their own impact.
The Anti-Racism Commission and Sacred Ground
The Anti-Racism Commission at St. Paul's has led Sacred Ground groups, developed the parish's Land Acknowledgement, initiated a budget line item for Real Rent to the Duwamish Tribe, and audited the parish's Godly Play content. The commission has been dormant in recent years, and the parish is restarting it together, deciding what this work looks like now. Members who want to walk this road can join Sacred Ground groups and partner in the parish's continuing engagement with racial reckoning.
Lay Leadership and the Parish Ministry Council
In 2023 St. Paul's launched the Parish Ministry Council (PMC), a new lay leadership structure that supports the parish's many efforts, coordinates work across ten ministry areas, and develops new lay leaders. The PMC is a team of representatives from the parish's ministries who gather monthly to share ideas, focus on parish-wide mission goals, support one another, and broaden and deepen lay leadership across the parish. The current ministries represented include Buildings and Grounds, Liturgy and Music, Neighborhood Action, Newcomers and Membership, Parish Life, Pastoral Care, Stewardship, and Finance, with Small Groups and Intergenerational ministries in development. The parish has always been led by faithful members of the lay order of ministry, the largest and most powerful of the four orders of ministry in the Episcopal Church (laity, deacons, priests, bishops).
The Clergy and Staff
The Rector is the Reverend Stephen Crippen, who came to St. Paul's in late 2022. A Minnesota native who came to the Pacific Northwest in 1997, Stephen began his career as a priest in 2020 at Grace Episcopal Church, Bainbridge Island, serving first as curate and then as interim rector. He holds the M.Div. from Virginia Theological Seminary (2020) and has published a book of theological reflections on the topic of remorse. He has served the Diocese of Olympia as a congregational-development trainer and consultant and now serves on the steering team for the multi-diocese College for Congregational Development. Father Stephen maintains a schedule of open appointment times for those who would like to meet for conversation on any topic, and invites members to send preferred dates and times to his email.
The Curate is the Reverend Kelly Moody, who joined St. Paul's after being ordained a priest in Seattle in 2025, having graduated from the School of Theology in Sewanee. Kelly previously served as a member of the clergy at St. Mark and St. Paul, Sewanee, while beginning coursework for an advanced degree in biblical studies. The Priest Associate for Adult Faith Formation is the Reverend Samuel Torvend, who has served St. Paul's in various capacities since 2009. He has taught full-time at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma since 1998 and holds the Ph.D. in church history. He is the author of eight books that focus on liturgy and life, sacraments and social action, and worship and work. The Priest Associate is the Reverend Catharine Reid, who was sponsored by St. Paul's for priestly ordination in October 2011 and has served the parish in a variety of liturgical and pastoral roles for many years. She currently sings with the Seattle Bach Choir and rows with Conibear Rowing Club.
The Director of Music is Dr. William Fletcher Bryant, whose compositions and awards are part of the Seattle music community and the American Guild of Organists. Bryant's position is supported by the parish's continued investment in its music program, from the choir and hand-chimes to the orchestra that gathers for the great feasts.
Practical Information for Visitors
Visitors are warmly welcomed. The church is at 15 Roy Street, Seattle, WA 98109, at the foot of Queen Anne Hill in Uptown. The mailing address for checks and gifts is PO Box 9070, Seattle, WA 98109. The parish office is open Tuesday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.; the entrance to the office and chapel is located on 1st Ave N, through the parking lot. There is a doorbell on the gate leading down to the parish hall to summon assistance.
There is a small parking lot off 1st Ave N with limited or no availability in the evenings except Sundays and Wednesdays. The lot is secured by a gate that is closed and locked outside of business hours, and the parish cannot accommodate any parked cars overnight. Limited street parking is available, both pay-to-park and free two-hour parking in the surrounding neighborhood. Members are asked to move their cars promptly if blocking others in, choose street parking from time to time especially on Sunday mornings, and park neatly to make the most of the small lot. The parish is easily accessible from several bus lines, including the 1, 2, 8, 13, 29, 32, 994, and D Line.
Nursery care is available for children three and under on Sundays from 9:20 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Godly Play is offered for children four to twelve at 10:25 a.m. All children may be dropped off as early as 9:20 a.m. The parish has no dress code; people come in jeans and others more dressed up. Coffee hour follows the 10:30 a.m. Mass on Sundays, hosted by parish volunteers.
The 10:30 a.m. Sung Holy Eucharist is live-streamed on the parish's YouTube channel, and the parish keeps a sermon archive that goes back through several years. Sunday bulletins are shared online for those following the livestream. Giving is available online through the parish's Realm giving page; donations may also be made by mail to the parish office. The parish's Tax ID number (EIN) is 91-0570868. A mobile app called Connect - Our Church Community is available for iPhone and Android to keep in touch with the parish.
For those who want to learn more about joining the parish, the Newcomers and Membership Ministry oversees the parish's shared call to invite, greet, orient, and incorporate newcomers and stay in current contact with all members. Newcomers are invited to fill out a New Parishioner Information form after they have made St. Paul's their home, so the parish can keep in touch and get to know them better. Regardless of religious background and experience, the parish is committed to providing an open environment for learning about who it is and what it does, and for honoring each person's discernment in terms of their affiliation with the parish and the Episcopal Church.
The Mission and Vision Today
St. Paul's renewed and revitalized vision is rooted in its sacramental life of communal prayer, its growth in lay leadership, and its deepening commitment to the neighborhood of Uptown Seattle. Through its sung Anglo-Catholic worship, its choir and music program, its formation offerings for children and adults, its labyrinth and gardens, its SPiN walks and Little Free Pantry, its Community Action Working Group, its anti-racism work, its creation care, its Pastoral Care Ministry, and its Lay Leadership development through the Parish Ministry Council, St. Paul's continues to embody the conviction that God forms us to serve one another, our neighbor, and the stranger. The parish is sustained by more than a century and a quarter of prayer, music, social action, and urban ministry, and looks outward in mission from its home at 15 Roy Street.