Parish History
Who We Are As A Parish
"A new vision of Ministry that can call us back from a clericalized, institutionalized Church seeking its own preservation and make us all full participants in a ministering community."
Rev. Timothy Sedgwick, Professor of Christian Ethics, VTS
Who are the people who go to St. Mary’s?
The character of the congregation is inclusive and diverse, liberal and conservative, with many shades in-between. Members are accepting, caring, family oriented and informal, with a deep reverence for their God and their church. The average age of adults is about 30. Married couples predominate, with large numbers of young children, and there are many singles and older people. It is a congregation which accepts the presence of active little ones, especially at the 9 and 11:30 services, and it is not at all uncommon for someone other than the family to help hold a child. A cry room and a nursery are also available. We are an extended family to one another because distances from Alaska to the "Lower 48" are great and travel is expensive. Also, because Anchorage has a high transient population, so does St. Mary’s. Newcomers here less than five years are common; old-timers here more than 20 years rare.
- The 800+ communicants come from every conceivable background, and the priest at the Eucharist sets the tone when he or she states, "All are welcome at the Lord’s Table." Perhaps the majority come from a tradition other than the Episcopal, which may be the result of evangelism through community outreach and extensive building usage by outside groups. A person who attends one of the 12-step programs may decide to see what goes on at St. Mary’s on Sunday morning. Or a curious member of the Anchorage Assembly and his family might slip quietly into a back row after hearing St. Mary’s groups testify on some local problem. A young family transferred to town by their company is told by their boss about the Sunday school for youth and teenagers. Young people who attend youth activities with St. Mary’s friends become regular attendees at the services, and sometimes bring their families. A homeless person who might have spent the night on one of the garden benches is looking desperately for a new start on life. A divorced Roman Catholic who yearns for traditional liturgy in an accepting atmosphere comes to one of the 9 o’clock choir concerts.
St. Mary’s communicants are found throughout the community and are avid supporters of their church. A previous rector, who himself was once a member of the Anchorage Assembly, says he can never go to any function in town without running into at least two or three members of the congregation. There are educators, homemakers, construction workers, doctors, painters, lawyers, judges, business owners, sales people, real estate people, bankers, planners, financial advisors, contractors, artists, and oil workers. Such diverse occupations provide St. Mary’s with a bottomless pool of talents.
This collection of gifts and talents has always enabled St. Mary’s to espouse the ministry of the laity. It began with that group of young people asking the bishop to start a mission, and throughout the past 50+ years, members have functioned as lay ministers. A bumper sticker pasted on bathroom mirrors for many years read "You Are Looking At a Minister." Many of the programs running today were initiated by members of the congregation with the rector’s office serving as a clearing house. A survey done to add up donated time to the church showed 50,000 volunteer hours a year are contributed by the members of St. Mary’s to the church and church outreach. Many church members give countless more hours to community endeavors.
For more information, browse through this website to see the many ways St. Mary's people minister to the family, the community, and the world.