A Brief History of St

Just minutes south of downtown St. Paul, near West St. Paul, South St. Paul, Mendota Heights, and Inver Grove Heights.

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A Brief History of St. Anne's

TWO PARISHES UNITE

Saint Anne’s was formed in 1985 as a result of the merger of Good Shepherd Episcopal Church of Sunfish Lake and St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church of South St. Paul. The new church located itself at the site of Good Shepherd, but immediately built a new sanctuary. The old worship space became what is now the parish hall. Retired Bishop Varley led the merger and served as priest in the first year.

RAPID GROWTH IN EARLY YEARS

The first rector, the Rev. Anne Miner-Pearson, was called in 1986 and served for 10 years. During her tenure St. Anne’s thrived. By the early 1990’s there were 3 services on Sunday mornings, and the burgeoning children’s and youth programs called for more classroom space. Presented as a way of building the church to accommodate current and future growth, the decision to build an education wing was controversial in the parish. The education wing along with a nursery adjacent to the sanctuary, were completed in 1995. A Patterson combination pipe organ was also build and installed at this time. St. Anne’s still carries a mortgage of approximately $168,000 (as of fall 2007) from this building project.

FIRST INTERIM

Anne left St. Anne’s in 1996 to assume a position at a larger parish. During the tenure of the interim rector, the Rev. Theo Park, St. Anne’s made the decision to be a congregation fully accepting of gays and lesbians in all areas of church life, including ordained leadership. Membership remained basically stable, but as typical during an interim period, the parish did not experience measurable growth.

CHALLENGING TIMES

The Rev. Sharon Mahood was called in 1998. Although Sharon was a brilliant preacher, her leadership style did not fit well with St. Anne’s, and her short tenure is remembered as a rocky and challenging time. Membership, attendance, and pledge income declined by nearly 50 percent. Sharon left in 2001 to take a position with the Diocese of Iowa, and the Rev. John Cowan was appointed as part-time interim priest.

DEFINING IDENTITY, UNITING IN VISION

During his nearly three years with St. Anne’s, John helped the parish stabilize following the challenges of the previous decade. His laid-back leadership style encouraged the parish leaders to assume greater authority and responsibility for the health of the congregation. In addition, his wife, Edie Meissner – a skilled consultant and facilitator – worked with the various groups of the parish to define present identity and vision for the future.

MOVING FORWARD

The Rev. Lydia Huttar Brown was appointed by Bishop Jelinek in July 2004 as a half-time priest-in-charge. Priorities of the parish, as stated in the parish profile, were preaching, church growth, education and strong music and liturgy offerings. During Lydia’s tenure the parish has seen renewed growth and energy. By the fall of 2007 we were able to increase Lydia to full time. The parish extended an official “call” and in November 2008 Lydia was installed as St. Anne’s third rector.

TODAY

Saint Anne’s is a lively small parish of 110 households, with an average Sunday attendance of about 100. Clergy and lay leaders work together in ministry. We have increased our staff, building on the model of a shared ministry team. Music ministry is led by Daniel Pederson, an accomplished composer and gifted church musician. He is assisted by Tony Sofie, organist and pianist extraordinaire. Marilyn Garwood serves as our certified Parish Nurse, providing guidance for our wellness ministry team, as well as coordinating pastoral care ministries. In August 2007 we welcomed the Rev. Patrick Markie as our deacon. Pat works primarily with our outreach/peace/justice ministries, confirmation, and adult education.

Even as we build our staff we still strive to live out the principles of shared leadership and mutual ministry that were learned through the challenges of the past decade.

THESE 4 WALLS AND BEYOND

In November 2005, St. Anne’s welcomed Primera Inglesia Bautista, a charismatic Spanish-speaking Baptist church, to share our space. The relationship was joyful and rewarding for both congregations. They recently were able to purchase their own church building, and with sadness mixed with joy for them, we said goodbye. In January 2008, Spirit of Hope Catholic Community began worshiping at St. Anne’s, on Saturday evenings. These acts of hospitality, together with the creation of our outdoor labyrinth and outdoor chapel and our ongoing commitment to host community groups, are part of our commitment to utilize our physical plant as assets for ministry. We hope to truly be a center of community life, and a “house of prayer for all people.”

In February 2008 we sent our first mission team to Belize, Central America, where we helped with the construction of Holy Cross Anglican School in San Pedro, Ambergris Caye. We also provided classroom support and teacher training. Our support of Holy Cross Anglican School was carried out in partnership with the Mendota Heights-West St. Paul Rotary Club, who provided funds for construction to add to our labor and funds from St. Anne’s. Our second trip to Holy Cross School is planned for March 2009.

St. Anne's was part of the Diocese of Minnesota's pilot project for implementing the Millennium Development Goals in congregations. We raised almost $10,000 and are currently supporting Kiva and Operation Bootstrap Africa, in addition to missions in Belize. To learn more specifics about St. Anne's involvement with these organizations, visit the Outreach page of this website.

MISSION STATEMENT

God calls us to be Christ’s loving arms in the world, spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ to all people through worship, education, ministry, and outreach.