Welcome to St. Clare’s Episcopal Church
Whoever you are,
wherever you are on your
spiritual journey,
we welcome you to St. Clare’s
Join us…
as we worship God joyfully
Please join us Sunday mornings at 10:30 AM for worship, which is held both in person and on Facebook.
Morning Prayer and Compline are Monday through Friday on Facebook only. Morning Prayer begins at 8:00 AM and Compline at 7:30 PM.
Our weekday Holy Eucharist is held on Wednesdays at 12:15 PM (in person only) in our Assisi Chapel downstairs. We hold Centering Prayer at 11:30 AM each Wednesday, also in the Assisi Chapel.
Join us…
as we prepare for Advent and Christmas
In addition to Holy Eucharist at 10:30, we offer the following special opportunities
Advent I is December 1st and we will make Advent wreaths in the parish hall following Holy Eucharist. Reserve your Advent wreath-making materials here.
Saturday, December 7th is an Advent Day of Reflection, from 10-2 in the parish hall. Sign up here.
Advent II, December 8th we will celebrate Advent Lessons and Carols at 6:00 PM in the church, followed by hot chocolate and cookies
Advent III, December 15th is our annual parish meeting and covered dish lunch immediately following Holy Eucharist
Advent IV, December 22nd we will offer a live reading of “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens at 6:00 PM in the church
Christmas Eve, December 24th, we will have a Festive Eucharist with 30 minutes of live music prior to the service. Music begins at 7:30 with Holy Eucharist at 8:00 PM
Sunday, December 29th our Holy Eucharist service will be a celebration of Christmas Lessons and Carols, hearing the promise of the Messiah through scripture and hymns
Join us…
As we praise God with song
On Sunday, December 8th we will celebrate Advent Lessons and Carols, a combination of scripture and other readings interspersed with congregational hymns and beautiful music by our parish choir. The service begins at 6:00 PM and is followed by hot chocolate and cookies in the parish hall.
We offer candle-lit Choral Compline each first Sunday of the month at 7:00PM - in person and on Facebook. Compline, or “prayers at the end of the day” is a short, beautiful service in which we give thanks to God for our many blessings and lift up our voices in praise as we close the weekend and look forward to a new week.
Join us…
As we build up the body of Christ through friendship
At St. Clare’s we value friendship. By getting to know one another, we share our Christian journeys and support each other.
Sundays we have a time of food and fellowship after church.
Tuesdays we offer community yoga in the parish hall from 9:00 AM to 10:30 AM - no reservation is required. The current session runs through Tuesday, November 26th. Suggested donations of $10 will go this month to Feed Fannin Holiday Meals campaign.
Join Us…
as we learn how to live like Christ
Adult Christian Formation Opportunities
Sundays
In November Ken Kendrick will present a three-week series on Christian pilgrimage, reflecting on his walks on the El Camino de Santiago. The series will be presented on November 3, 10 and 17 at 9:30 AM in the parish hall.
Weekdays
Our book group is held every Thursday at 4:00 pm by Zoom and explores a variety of writings that inform our Christian faith. All are welcome.
Sacred Ground is a film- and readings-based dialogue on race which is grounded in faith, and which provides a safe environment to discuss and reflect on the role of race in our culture and history. A new session will begin on January 7, 2025. More information may be found here. To register, click here.
Education for Ministry is a 4 year course on the Old Testament, New Testament, current theology, and history of the Church. A new group forms every fall.
More information may be found about all of these opportunities on the Education page.
Building Beds for Children
Partnering with Sleep in Heavenly Peace (SHP), a non-profit organization whose mission is to provide children with beds, St. Clare’s and SHP hosted the first bed build in Union County on March 23rd. Our second build on Saturday, October 12h was held in the parking lot of St. Clare’s and the community built 40 beds.
If you know a local child in need of a bed, it is easy to request one. Please fill out this FORM. The bed frame, mattress, pillow, and linens are absolutely free! To donate, to volunteer or to learn more, click HERE. Watch this space for new bed build dates!
Teaching English to Our Newest Neighbors
English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) is held on Tuesday evenings from 6:00 to 7:30 PM at St. Clare’s for anyone interested in learning to speak, write or read English. Learning the English language helps families with children in school, people wanting to advance their work opportunities, and generally understand and assimilate into the surrounding culture. The classes are free and free childcare is provided. On the first Tuesday of the month we have a family-style dinner at 5:15. If you would like to learn more about the program, or to volunteer, please click HERE.
Making Prayer Shawls and Blankets
Stitiched in Christ, our knit and crochet group, meet weekly in person and again on Zoom. The group makes prayer shawls for persons going through surgery or in times of grief. The group has also made blankets for the last two years for guests at the Hulburt Johnson Friendship House in Murphy, North Carolina. Learn more HERE.
Join us…
as we celebrate the saints of the church.
At our Wednesday 12:15 Eucharist in the Assisi Chapel, we celebrate one of the saints of the church. Our patron saint, Clare of Assisi is celebrated annually in August. Clare lived a life of intentional austere poverty, and with the help of Francis of Assisi founded her own monastic order called The Poor Clares. About who and what we put our trust in, Clare says this:
We become what we love and who we love shapes what we become. If we love things, we become a thing. If we love nothing, we become nothing. Imitation is not a literal mimicking of Christ, rather it means becoming the image of the beloved, an image disclosed through transformation. This means we are to become vessels of God’s compassionate love for others.
O God, whose blessed Son became poor that we through his poverty might be rich: Deliver us from an inordinate love of this world, that we, inspired by the devotion of your servant Clare, may serve you with singleness of heart, and attain to the riches of the age to come; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.