Saint Philip's in the Hills sits at 4440 North Campbell Avenue on the north side of Tucson, an Episcopal parish that has gathered at the corner of Campbell and River since Christmas Eve, 1936. One of the largest Episcopal parishes in Arizona, with some four hundred households drawn from across the city, Saint Philip's is a parish where worship, music, and service have long been woven together. Its mission statement frames the life of the congregation simply: "a vibrant Christian community gathered in love, transformed by grace, and sent to serve."
A Joesler Sanctuary at Campbell and River
The story of Saint Philip's begins with two Tucsonans, John and Helen Murphey, who originally asked the architect Josias Joesler to design a private chapel at their home. Instead, Joesler persuaded them to build a small church at the corner of two dirt roads. Father George Ferguson, a temporary supply minister in Tucson, shared the vision. He dreamed of a place where beauty dwelt, where the glory of God was exemplified, and where learning was an ever-present part of people's lives. The first service, held on Christmas Eve in 1936, overflowed the seating capacity.
Built in the style of Spanish Colonial architecture, sometimes called Neo-Mission, Saint Philip's echoes the Franciscan mission churches constructed in California more than four centuries ago. Although the building has undergone several expansions as the congregation grew, the integrity of Joesler's design has been preserved. In the mid-1980s an art gallery, a memorial garden, the east and west transepts, and a campanile housing the carillon were built. In the summer of 1998 a Children's Center and Recital Hall were added. The complex is on the National Register of Historic Places, and Saint Philip's recently received a $150,000 grant from the National Fund for Sacred Places, a program of Partners for Sacred Places in collaboration with the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The funding supports essential repairs to the sanctuary's primary facade, the most prominent example of Joesler's work.
Sunday Mornings at Saint Philip's
Worship is central to the Christian life at Saint Philip's. The parish comes together week in and week out to hear the Word of God, to affirm its faith in the Creeds of the Church, to acknowledge where sin is found, and to receive the Holy Sacrament of Christ's Body and Blood. Three Sunday liturgies anchor the week.
At 7:45 a.m., a congregation gathers in the Sanctuary for Holy Eucharist, Rite I, in traditional language. At 10:00 a.m., the principal service of the day, Holy Eucharist, Rite II, is celebrated in modern language in the Sanctuary and is also broadcast online through a live stream. A trained nursery is available from 9:00 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. for the youngest members of the parish family. At 4:00 p.m., a quiet alternative called "Come & See," an hour of prayer and reflection, is offered in Saint Anne's Center.
From October through May, the parish adds a fourth offering. At 4:30 p.m. on third Sundays, Choral Evensong is sung in traditional language in the Sanctuary, with the same live-stream option. New families are welcomed in the Children's Courtyard at the north end of campus, where Mtr Taylor and other volunteers are ready to greet visitors and answer questions after the 10:00 a.m. service.
A Weekday Rhythm of Prayer
From September through May, Saint Philip's keeps a daily rhythm of prayer in its smaller chapels. Monday through Thursday at 8:30 a.m., Morning Prayer, Rite I, is recited in the Chapel of Saint Benedict, also called the Baptistery. At 12:15 p.m. on those same days, Holy Eucharist, Rite I, is celebrated in the same chapel, offering a midday communion for those who work nearby. On Tuesdays, a second midday Eucharist is added at the Chapel of the Nativity in modern language with Prayers for Healing. On Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m., Evening Prayer, Rite I, draws the day to a close in the Chapel of the Nativity.
For those who cannot attend in person, the 10:00 a.m. Sunday service and the Choral Evensong are available through the parish's Vimeo live stream. An archive of past services is kept online, and bulletins for each service are posted so that those watching from home can follow along.
Music as a Foundational Practice
Music is a foundational part of parish life at Saint Philip's, and the church's identity is inseparable from its choirs. The parish supports three adult choirs and two youth choirs, all coordinated by Director of Music Dr Justin Appel and Associate Director of Music and Organist Dr Jeffrey Campbell, the parish's longest-serving staff member, who joined in 2001.
The Choir of Saint Philip's, the main adult ensemble of about forty-five voices, rehearses on Thursday evenings and is open to adults with basic choral and vocal skills who can commit to regular attendance. Schola Cantorum draws members from the adult choirs to lead Choral Evensong. Saint Morwenna Voices is made up of senior youth choristers and alumnae who sing at Choral Evensong, named for a sixth-century Welsh saint remembered for her humble and faithful service. Lay Clerks are the professional singers who anchor the adult ensembles, and the Finzi Singers are a project choir that performs occasional services. The Canterbury Apprentices are senior youth who sing in as many services as the Lay Clerks in a training capacity.
Children and youth music at Saint Philip's is built around the Royal School of Church Music America curriculum. The Saint Nicholas Choir serves boys and girls from age eight through high school, with choristers working toward RSCM Bronze, Silver, and Gold Awards. Children work their way through Voice for Life training, and outstanding members are sponsored to attend the annual summer RSCM courses. During the summer, anyone interested in trying choir life is invited to drop in for the Summer Choir, which meets at 9:30 a.m. before the 10:00 a.m. service.
The music library at Saint Philip's contains more than two thousand scores and books, organized and maintained by a team of volunteer librarians. The instrument inventory is anchored by a large-scale Holtkamp pipe organ installed in 1986. A three-manual console controls over forty-five ranks within a functional casework and organ loft, with a Trumpet stop added to the Swell division in 2005 and a new custom console installed in 2020. A Steinway B concert grand piano, gifted in 2022 by Mary Kautz and the Kautz Family Foundation, has been featured in the annual Steinway Series concert. A Yamaha concert grand piano and a Richard Kingston French double harpsichord complete the collection.
Every two to three years, the Saint Nicholas Choir and Schola Cantorum travel to England as a visiting choir in an English Cathedral, a tradition the parish calls the UK Residency Program. Past residencies have taken choristers to Worcester (2016), Ely (2019), Wells (2022), and Lincoln Cathedral (2024). In the course of a single residency, the choristers sing eight full choral liturgies in one of the very places where the Episcopal choral tradition developed and still thrives.
Major feast days bring the parish's musical ambitions into focus. Recent and upcoming celebrations have included Jonathan Dove's Missa Brevis for the Feast of St Michael and All Angels, Sir Edward Bairstow's Communion Service in E-flat for Saints Simon and Jude, Ēriks Ešenvalds' Saint Philip's Missa Brevis for All Saints' Day, plainsong and Herbert Howells' Requiem for All Souls' Day, John Rutter's Gloria for Christ the King, and a Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols in the Nativity season. The parish also hosts a Rising Stars recital series for young musicians from across Tucson and concerts such as the annual Steinway Series and the UK Residency fundraising concert featuring the Saint Nicholas Choir.
Children, Youth, and Family Ministries
Children, youth, and their parents are full mission partners of the Church at Saint Philip's, and the parish has built a substantial formation program around them. Children, Youth, and Family Ministries (CYFM) is led by Co-Chairs Kate Appel and Becky Friesen, with Mtr Beth Clarke as staff liaison and Fr Alex Swain as the clergy point of contact.
Formation begins in the Atriums, which offer a Montessori-based Christian formation experience through the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. Atrium I serves children ages three to six, while Atrium II is for first through third graders. StoryMakers, for fourth and fifth graders, continues hands-on study of the Bible and the sacraments. Junior Youth gathers sixth through eighth graders, and Senior Youth gathers ninth through twelfth graders for age-appropriate Christian practices of Bible study, Lectio Divina, and other prayer practices. Breakout groups exist for Senior Youth focused on Confirmation, pilgrimage, and other interests. A separate Parents' Formation Group meets on Sundays during the formation hour, a place for parents and caregivers to discuss Episcopal traditions, share parenting joys and challenges, and enjoy camaraderie.
High school youth typically go on an international pilgrimage with chaperones. The most recent pilgrimage, in July 2024, began with the UK Residency at Lincoln Cathedral and ended with a week walking the Walsingham Way. The parish also organizes intergenerational activities throughout the year, ranging from informal playground dates to the annual Fall retreat in Prescott.
Worship bags, a recent addition at the back of the Sanctuary, give families new tools for engaging with the Sunday liturgy. Two age groups are offered: bags for ages zero to three, and bags for ages four to eight, each containing seasonally updated materials such as guides to the order of the service and an art card with the words of the Sanctus. Parents are also invited to make use of a new quiet space set up in the Chapel of the Nativity, where children can take stretch breaks, see the choir and processions more closely, and follow along through a dedicated livestream monitor.
The parish also partners with Sound Sparks to offer Rhythm&Rhyme classes on second Saturdays for children up to age five and their grownups. These sessions introduce young children to the church's seasons through music enrichment.
Pastoral Care, The CareLine, and Stephen Ministry
The essence of pastoral care at Saint Philip's is getting to know people deeply, the practice of caring for others' emotional, physical, and spiritual needs. The Pastoral Care Commission, chaired by Deacon Tom Lindell, oversees a wide array of caring ministries.
For urgent pastoral needs, the CareLine connects callers with clergy who will listen confidentially and without judgment, offer spiritual guidance and prayer, provide pastoral support and visits, and help connect people with community resources. The CareLine can be reached at 520-971-3551.
Stephen Ministry provides non-emergency, confidential, one-to-one emotional and spiritual support. Stephen Ministers are highly trained lay caregivers who practice a ministry of deep listening through weekly visits, walking with people through grief, loss, depression, sickness, or loneliness. Saint Philip's currently has thirteen Stephen Ministers caring for more than twenty people, with new ministers being trained and commissioned.
The Fiber Guild gathers at 10:30 a.m. on Saturdays in the Julian Room to knit and crochet prayer shawls for parishioners and their loved ones who are ill, bereaved, or going through a difficult time. Shawls are blessed by clergy throughout the year and distributed during in-person pastoral visits. The guild also creates hats and scarves to donate to the Seamen's Church Institute's Christmas at Sea project.
The Health Cabinet, made up of parish health professionals and two of the priests, designs offerings on health and education for Saint Philip's parishioners. The Elder Care Ministry keeps a steady rhythm of calls and emails to parishioners eighty and older who are unable to attend in-person worship services. Eucharistic Visitors take the consecrated bread and wine from a celebration of the Eucharist to members of the congregation who are unable to be present because of illness, infirmity, or other circumstances, fostering connections through prayer and a pastoral presence. A separate Off-Campus Worship ministry organizes trained Lay Eucharistic Ministers who facilitate Sunday worship services with communion at assisted living residences throughout Tucson, including Desert Springs, The Forum, The Fountains at La Cholla, Villa Hermosa, Amber Lights, and Hacienda at the Canyons.
Outreach Across Tucson
Saint Philip's has a long history of service to the wider Tucson community. The parish food pantry operates out of the church office area from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on Tuesdays, distributing items such as bottled water and juice, beans, canned vegetables, canned fruit, meats, pastas, rice, and toiletry items, especially body wash. First Sunday food drives keep the shelves stocked. Manna bags, Ziploc bags filled with fruit juice, granola bars, crackers, Vienna sausages, peanut butter, applesauce, bottled water, utensils, and a napkin, can be kept in a car and handed to someone who is hungry. Pet food, especially dog food, is collected on the third Sunday of every month and distributed with food pantry clients, helping keep pets and their owners together.
Saint Philip's is a registered partner with the national nonprofit Laundry Love. The parish partners with Interfaith Community Services and Northgate Laundromat to gather loose change to purchase detergent, dryer sheets, and gift cards, which are packaged and gifted to clients who can use them to access washers and dryers. On the third Sunday of each month, volunteers prepare a meal in the parish kitchen for approximately fifty men at the Primavera Men's Shelter. When school is in session, volunteers also help with Prince Elementary School's once-a-month food pantry from 6:30 to 9:30 a.m. on the first Friday of each month.
The Prison Ministry at Saint Philip's bears witness to the fundamental humanity of people rejected by society because of the stigma of incarceration. The parish is affiliated with the Diocese of Arizona Prison Ministry and supports Diocese-sponsored programs, including Camp Genesis, which serves children of incarcerated parents, and the Sunshine Club, an inmate correspondence program. Saint Philip's also participates in Prison Fellowship's Angel Tree Project, partnering with incarcerated parents to provide Christmas gifts for their children, and some parishioners volunteer directly through Kairos Prison Ministry. The Prison Ministry meets monthly at 7:00 p.m. on the second Tuesday of every month via Zoom, and all are invited.
Care for God's Creation
The Care of God's Creation is part of The Episcopal Church's stated vision, and the Creation Care Commission at Saint Philip's gives voice to that charge. The commission maintains an extensive set of resources on recycling, reuse, and disposal for the Tucson community, covering batteries, books, clothing, electronics, household goods, household hazardous waste, medical waste, and more. The parish also sponsors a mile-long section of Campbell Avenue north of Skyline Drive through an Adopt-A-Road program, with volunteers fourteen and older cleaning the road twice a year.
On the campus itself, Saint Philip's is part of Tucson Audubon's Habitat at Home Program. Volunteers created a pollinator garden at the entrance to the church office that is watered by rainfall and attracts pollinators. Solitary bees live in the ground in the labyrinth area and have a house in the pollinator garden. In 2023, youth built nesting boxes to attract different birds, and in 2025, Vacation Bible School children worked with parish woodshop volunteers to build four owl houses and four more solitary bee houses, now placed around the campus. The Great Window Nature Area, between the Great Window at the north end of the sanctuary and the north parking lot, has been shaped into a rainwater-harvesting landscape with basins, channels, and a walking path planted with a desert revegetation seed mix.
Beyond the campus, Creation Care partnered with the Outreach Commission, the Adult Formation Commission, and CYFM families on a $12,000 eco-ministry grant from the churchwide Task Force on the Care of Creation and Environmental Racism. The grant funded a project at Prince Elementary School in the Amphi neighborhood, identified as an urban heat island, with a local nonprofit, Watershed Management Group, installing a rain garden, a cactus garden, and a bosque of trees. The plantings are now thriving, attracting pollinators, conserving water, and providing shade.
Adult Formation and Small Groups
Saint Philip's offers a wide range of adult formation offerings throughout the week, organized day by day. Sundays bring the Daughters of the King, an international lay order of women in the Episcopal, Anglican, Roman Catholic, and ELCA churches who take a lifetime vow of prayer and service. The Saint Philip's chapter prays for the parish, its clergy and ministry leaders, and meets on the third Sunday of each month in the Chapel of Saint Benedict after the 10:00 a.m. service.
Mondays offer the Sowing Circle, a women's book club that meets from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on the second Monday of every month in Saint Anne's Center, focused on books written by progressive women authors on faith. Reading between the Lines, facilitated by Fr Richard Mallory, meets at 5:30 p.m. on Mondays in La Paz, blending Biblical scholarship with depth psychology and focused on one of the Lectionary texts for the following Sunday. The Literati Book Club, founded in 1991 by parishioners Maryl Barnes and Wayne Fulton, meets at 7:30 p.m. on the second Monday of every month from September through May in Saint Anne's Center.
Tuesdays bring a Co-Ed Bible Study facilitated by Deacon Susan Erickson at 10:00 a.m. via Zoom, working through a book of the Bible slowly and alternating between Hebrew scriptures and the New Testament. Meet God at the Movies meets at 6:30 p.m. on the third Tuesday of every month via Zoom, exploring the theological depth of a chosen film.
Wednesdays center the program year. Mosaic is the principal formation offering at Saint Philip's, a weekly gathering for fellowship, formation, and prayer. Evening Prayer in the Chapel of St Benedict at 5:30 p.m. is followed by tea, cookies, and fellowship in Saint Anne's at 6:00 p.m. and discussion from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Recent programs have included the six-week series "Christianity, East & West."
Thursdays offer Read, Discuss, and Share, a co-ed book group facilitated by Fr Richard Mallory from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. in La Paz, and a Women's Bible Study that meets at 6:30 p.m. in Saint Anne's Center. Fridays bring the Men's Group, meeting at 8:00 a.m. in La Parroquia for conversations grounded by a spiritual reading. Saturdays gather the Society of the Companions of the Holy Cross monthly, a community of Christian women committed to prayer, spiritual growth, and service.
For younger adults, the 20s & 30s Gatherings group meets weekly for fellowship, friendship, and outreach opportunities. On first and second Sundays, the group gathers for small group discussions following the 10:00 a.m. service. On third Sundays, members meet for Evensong and a Tucson Hop Shop gathering. On fourth weekends, they serve with the Community Food Bank at the El Rio Northwest Health Center on Saturdays and gather for a parish forum after the 10:00 a.m. service on Sundays.
Short reflections on the daily scriptures, written by Saint Philip's clergy and laity, are delivered every morning at 5:45 a.m. through the Daily Bread email reflection series. The parish newsletter, Bell & Tower, is delivered on Friday mornings.
Sacraments and Milestones
The Sacraments of the Church are at the core of Christian discipleship at Saint Philip's. In the Episcopal tradition, Holy Baptism and Holy Eucharist are recognized as the two great sacraments of the Gospel, along with Confirmation, Ordination, Holy Matrimony, Reconciliation of a Penitent, and Unction.
Preparation for Baptism varies by age. For infants and younger children, parents and sponsors meet with a member of the clergy to discuss how they will ensure the child is brought up in the Christian faith and life. Adult candidates for Baptism prepare in a five-week catechism class during the season of Lent, followed by a weekend retreat, and are baptized at the Great Vigil of Easter whenever possible. Solemn Communion, an opportunity for children in third grade or thereabouts to deepen their experience of the Eucharist, is offered after six afternoon sessions of preparation that include exploring Scripture, ancient prayer practices, and a short retreat. Confirmation, Reception, and Reaffirmation are also prepared for in the Lenten catechism class.
Saint Philip's celebrates the marriages of same-gender couples using rites authorized by the Church's General Convention 2015, as approved by the Bishop of Arizona, and in accordance with Arizona law. The parish welcomes couples or individuals who are divorced. Premarital counseling with a member of the clergy is a canonical requirement for all couples. The burial liturgy, characterized by joy in the certainty of the resurrection, is offered to console those who mourn, pray for the dead, and commend their souls to God. The Pastoral CareLine is available around the clock when a death is imminent so that a priest or deacon can administer Last Rites.
The Saint Philip's Campus
The campus at 4440 North Campbell Avenue is anchored by the historic sanctuary, the Bloom Music Center, Saint Anne's Center, the Murphey Gallery, and the La Parroquia, La Paz, and Julian Room meeting spaces. The Children's Courtyard at the north end of campus welcomes new families after the 10:00 a.m. service. The columbarium on the grounds is maintained in perpetuity by the Columbarium Fund, part of the Ministry and Endowment Funds Trust. A Clay Studio on campus offers creative space for parishioners. The parish also operates a "Little Shop" on Sunday mornings that sells manna bags and other items, with all proceeds benefiting the food pantry.
Beyond the campus, Saint Philip's extends its ministry to older adults through Lay Eucharistic Ministers who lead Sunday worship services at assisted living residences throughout Tucson. Services are held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturdays at Amber Lights and Hacienda at the Canyons, and at 11:00 a.m. on Sundays at Desert Springs, The Fountains at La Cholla, and The Forum, with a 10:00 a.m. Sunday service at Villa Hermosa.
Supporting the Parish
Saint Philip's is supported by pledges and offerings from its members, with online giving available through the parish's Breeze system. Donations can be made by credit card or bank account, by qualified charitable distributions from an individual retirement account, and by stock donation through Charles Schwab. The parish also welcomes legacy gifts through the Legacies of Faith program, in which parishioners name Saint Philip's as a beneficiary in their will, retirement account, or life insurance policy. The Ministry and Endowment Funds Trust manages the Kautz Family Music Fund, the Dexter Family Fund, the Ministry Endowment Fund, and the Columbarium Fund. Preservation & Endowment, a separate 501(c)(3), has raised and provided funds for the campus' historic elements since 1994, primarily through estate gifts, with a typical spending target for preservation projects of four percent of the corpus.
Leadership and Governance
Saint Philip's is part of the Episcopal Diocese of Arizona, led by Bishop Diocesan The Right Rev'd Jennifer A. Reddall, the Sixth Bishop of Arizona, consecrated on March 9, 2019. The parish is led by The Rev'd Dr Matthew F. Reese, who serves as Rector. Fr Matthew came to Saint Philip's as Curate in August 2024 and was called as Rector two years later. He came to ordained ministry after a career as a professional musician conducting and performing in ensembles in the United States and England, and has been on the musicology faculty at the Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University since 2018. He was educated at the College of William & Mary, the University of Oxford, and Yale University.
The Rev'd Dcn Elizabeth Clarke joined the parish in June 2026 as Associate for Intergenerational Ministries and Pastoral Care. The Rev'd Alexander Swain serves as Part-time Assistant for Intergenerational Ministries, working Tuesdays and Wednesdays and participating in worship on the second Sunday of the month. The Rev'd Taylor Devine serves as the Part-time Newcomer Coordinator, the point of contact for those new to Saint Philip's.
The Vestry serves as the functional Board of Directors. Senior Warden John Bremond and Junior Warden Bonnie Winn lead the current officers, with Ana Nygren as Treasurer. The parish by-laws, last amended in January 2021, are available to read.
Saint Philip's in the Hills gathers in the beauty of holiness, builds up Christian disciples in their life of faith, and serves the most in need across the city of Tucson. From a small church at the corner of two dirt roads in 1936, the parish has grown into one of the largest Episcopal parishes in Arizona, but the vision that Father Ferguson and the Murpheys set out remains the same. As the parish reads from the Gospel of Matthew: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Regardless of where one is in the journey of faith, Saint Philip's warmly welcomes all.