At St. Paul\u2019s Episcopal Church, we believe every person\u2019s story matters because every person is created in the image of God and deeply loved by God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As the Episcopal presence in Claremore, St. Paul\u2019s seeks to reflect the best of the Anglican tradition: a faith rooted in Scripture, nourished through worship, formed in community, and lived out in compassionate service. Guided by the promises of the Baptismal Covenant, we strive to seek and serve Christ in all persons, respect the dignity of every human being, and proclaim the Good News of God\u2019s love not only with our words, but through the way we live. We believe these promises call us to listen deeply to every story, walk alongside one another in faith, and bear witness to the life-changing love of God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our calling is not simply to open our doors on Sunday morning. Our calling is to recognize where God is already at work in the lives of our neighbors and to join in that work with compassion, humility, and hope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We believe ministry begins with a simple invitation:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When people know they are heard, relationships begin to grow. When relationships grow, trust is formed. Within those relationships, people often begin to recognize that God has never stopped walking beside them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our ministries are rooted in the promise that nothing can separate us from the love of God. That promise shapes how we worship, how we serve, how we welcome others, and how we engage our community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
St. Paul\u2019s exists to be a place where people find community, share fellowship, walk alongside one another on their spiritual journey, and experience the life-changing love of God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For some, that journey begins in Sunday worship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For others, it begins over a shared meal, through a conversation, while volunteering together, receiving food during a difficult season, attending a movie night, joining a campus discussion, or simply meeting someone who genuinely cares.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Every journey is different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Every story is unique.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We believe God is already present in each one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At St. Paul\u2019s, we believe God is already at work in every person\u2019s life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many people carry the burden of believing they have been abandoned by God or that their story has placed them beyond God\u2019s love. Others simply struggle to recognize the ways God continues to meet them in everyday moments of grace, hope, compassion, and unexpected community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our calling is not to bring God where God is absent, but to help people recognize the God who has been walking beside them all along.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That is why we begin by listening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As people share their stories, we listen for the places where God\u2019s grace has already been present. Together, we seek to notice the \u201cGod moments\u201d that may have gone unseen\u2014the unexpected kindness, the faithful friend, the open door, the quiet strength to endure, the glimpse of hope that arrived just when it was needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We pray that through these conversations people will discover they have never been forgotten, never been abandoned, and never been beyond the reach of God\u2019s love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our deepest hope is that every person who encounters St. Paul\u2019s comes to recognize that God is still with them, still active in their life, and still inviting them into a deeper relationship marked by hope, healing, and love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We believe God is already at work throughout Claremore\u2014in schools, neighborhoods, community organizations, families, and the lives of our neighbors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our role is not to bring God into our community, but to recognize where the Holy Spirit is already moving and faithfully join that work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We begin by listening because we believe Christ is already present in every person we meet. Every conversation is an opportunity to discover how God has been working in someone\u2019s life long before they ever cross the threshold of St. Paul\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before we create programs, we build relationships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before we offer solutions, we seek understanding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before we ask people to become part of our church, we strive to become part of their story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We believe hospitality is more than opening a door. Hospitality is making room in our lives for another person\u2019s story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To seek and serve Christ in all persons requires first seeing the person before us\u2014not as a project to complete or a problem to solve, but as a beloved child of God whose story deserves to be heard with compassion and respect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We believe God often calls us into ministry through invitations as much as ideas. Sometimes those invitations come from individuals seeking community. Sometimes they come from partner organizations working for the good of Claremore. We seek to respond with openness, humility, and a willingness to walk alongside others in service to our neighbors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Listening always leads somewhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As we have listened to our neighbors, we have discovered both joys and struggles, hopes and fears, needs and opportunities. Those conversations continue to shape the ministries of St. Paul\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Community Food Shelf was established by Claremore Pride as a community outreach effort to help address food insecurity in Claremore. When the organization lost the location that housed the shelf, St. Paul\u2019s was invited to provide a new home and become a co-sponsor of this important community resource.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We gladly accepted that invitation because it reflected our commitment to listening, building partnerships, and serving our neighbors together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Today, the Community Food Shelf continues to serve anyone in need. As this partnership grows, we hope to strengthen not only access to food, but also the relationships that are formed through caring for one another and working together for the good of our community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shared meals, movie nights, and other community events create spaces where friendships develop naturally. These gatherings are often someone\u2019s first experience of St. Paul\u2019s\u2014not as an institution, but as a community seeking to proclaim God\u2019s love through authentic relationships, generous hospitality, and joyful fellowship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
College students often find themselves asking profound questions about identity, purpose, vocation, and faith. Through our relationship with Rogers State University, we seek to create places where students can ask honest questions, build authentic friendships, and discover companions for the journey of faith.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As we have listened to parents in our community, many have shared stories of fear, confusion, grief, and isolation after a child came out as LGBTQ+. Those conversations have revealed the need for a safe, compassionate place where parents can ask questions, share experiences, and receive encouragement from others walking a similar path.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In partnership with Free Mom Hugs and local volunteers, St. Paul\u2019s hopes to respond by creating a support group grounded in listening, mutual encouragement, prayer, and hope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many people have shared that work schedules, family responsibilities, or previous experiences have made Sunday morning worship difficult or impossible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rather than expecting everyone to come to church in the same way, we are exploring a twice-monthly Dinner Church where people gather around a shared meal, prayer, conversation, Scripture, and Holy Communion. Around the table, we hope people will discover that worship and fellowship belong together and that there is always room for another chair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This ministry grows directly from conversations with neighbors who long for Christian community but need a different pathway into it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We will not measure our ministry solely by attendance, budgets, or the number of programs we offer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Those things have value, but they are not our ultimate measure of faithfulness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Success looks like relationships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Success looks like neighbors becoming friends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Success looks like people discovering they are not alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Success looks like someone saying,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThose people genuinely cared about me.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Most of all, success looks like someone who had given up on church finding the courage to say,<\/p>\n\n\n\n