Our congregation consists largely of regularly attending older members who care deeply about our youth and see them as the future. Many members attend weekly, and while more attend the later musical service than the early quiet one, both services are highly valued by the congregation. We are interested in sustainable growth but do not make it our priority. Only half of our membership has an Episco
pal upbringing, and we welcome all. We don’t receive numerous newcomers, but those who come tend to stay and go on to become a valued part of the community. Many of the current congregation originally came to St. Patrick’s looking for a particular liturgical style, clergy and fellowship that supported their faith. Finding those elements encouraged them to stay as did the sermons and the friends they found while participating in parish life. The message delivered by the person in the pulpit is important to our membership. We lean to the side of the scholarly over the charismatic, but appreciate a spirit of joy in all things. We are very traditional in our worship, but not too formal. We are decidedly apolitical in our communal life, and generally open to questions and metaphor. We embrace the via media (middle way, balance), and we are dedicated to following the Word, and the path we see the Spirit leading, whether or not it is the current trend. For that reason, much of our focus and collaboration is found in the community at large rather than with our fellow neighborhood churches. Our values and vision begin within the walls of our church and we are committed to taking care of our own. We have many active and vibrant programs serving our own community and that of the wider world. Our ministry starts at home and moves outward in myriad directions, with many opportunities to find one’s place of service.
