Sunday mornings at 8 & 10 am​ · Details

  39 East Central Street, Natick, MA 01760  ·   (508) 655-5880  ·     Give

St. Paul's Episcopal Church
  • Welcome
    • Welcome from Our Rector
    • I'm New
    • What is the Episcopal Church?
    • Clergy & Staff
    • Vestry
    • Life Events
    • Our Ministries
  • Worship
    • In Person Worship
    • Online Worship
    • Nightly Compline
    • Music
    • Sermons
    • Life Events
  • Grow
    • Finding the In(n)
    • Children & Youth
    • Adult Formation
    • Bible Study
    • Centering Prayer
    • Fellowship Groups
    • Thursday AM Coffee Chat
  • Faith in Action
    • Serve with Us
    • Work for Justice
    • Holy Innocents School, Haiti
    • Our Ministries
  • Connect
    • Prayer Request
    • Join Our Mailing List
    • Clergy & Staff
    • Parish Directory
    • Vestry & Delegates
    • Stewardship
    • Calendar
    • Contact Us
  • Give/Pledge
    • Donate Now
    • Stewardship 2023
    • Pledge Now
    • Stewardship FAQs

Racial Justice

The Anti-Racism Committee formed in July 2020, after the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police on May 25, prompted a national reckoning on race. With God’s help, this committee aims to bring our congregation to a place of deeper understanding and rejection of the racism and white supremacy that pervade society today. In line with the national Episcopal Church, they have focused efforts in three areas - LEARN – PRAY – ACT, so that we may:

  • Learn about the origins, persistent presence, and myriad harms of racism;
  • Pray for healing, hope, strength, and peace; and
  • Act for a more just, equitable community within St. Paul’s and beyond.

For LEARN, parishioners have participated in the Sacred Ground program, developed by the Episcopal Church. Groups of 10 meet to discuss documentary films and readings that focus on Indigenous, Black, Latino, and Asian/Pacific American histories as they intersect with European American histories. The committee also hosts monthly anti-racism activities to discuss movies and books.

For PRAY, the committee developed a prayer for racial justice and reconciliation that has been incorporated into the Sunday morning services and encouraged for private prayer.

Our hope is that learning and praying will lead us further to ACT. Several members of the committee have participated in the Sunday afternoon Black Lives Matter demonstrations on the Natick Common.

Our Delegates to Convention and our rector, Rev. Becky Binns Gettel, were among the sponsors of a resolution asking the diocese to create a committee within the Episcopal Diocese to assist congregations with funds derived from the trade of enslaved peoples to make reparations using those funds. The resolution was passed at the annual diocesan convention in November 2020.


Sacred Ground

Sacred Ground is a film- and readings-based dialogue series on race, grounded in faith. Small groups, called Sacred Ground Circles, are invited to walk through chapters of America’s history of race and racism, while weaving in threads of family story, economic class, and political and regional identity.

The 10-part series is built around a powerful online curriculum of documentary films and readings that focus on Indigenous, Black, Latino, and Asian/Pacific American histories as they intersect with European American histories.

Sacred Ground is part of Becoming Beloved Community, The Episcopal Church’s long-term commitment to racial healing, reconciliation, and justice in our personal lives, our ministries, and our society. This series is open to all, and especially designed to help white people talk with other white people. Participants are invited to peel away the layers that have contributed to the challenges and divides of the present day – all while grounded in our call to faith, hope and love.


Share this page: Racial Justice
Work for Justice Racial Justice

Anti-Racism Steering Committee

Sermons

  • Jul 25 | Sean Fagan
    Sacred Ground
  • Jul 18 | Anne Fagan
    Sacred Ground
  • Jul 11 | Dan Fields
    Sacred Ground
  • Jul 4 | Linda Trum
    Sacred Ground

​St. Paul’s prayer for Racial Justice

Almighty God, our Creator and constant companion, you know our hearts, you see our struggles.
We kneel before You in prayer for racial justice and peace in the world.
Only through your grace, can this be envisioned and attained.
Open our ears, let us hear your message of love, justice and truth.
Open our eyes, let us see one another as you see us, beloved.
Fill our hearts, teach us to love our neighbors as you love us, unconditionally.
Grant peace to the grief-stricken, heal the wounds of loss with your Divine consolation.
Lift up those wronged by a broken system, channel anger into energy for lasting, constructive change.
Restore hope in the face of heartbreak, empower the weary to continue working for racial justice.
Govern our minds, teach us to discern privilege, discrimination and the abuse of power.
Lift our voices, give us words to speak up when racism or injustice deny any soul its dignity and human rights.
Inspire our youth with your vision, empower them to take up the struggle and lead us on.
With the power of the Holy Spirit, work through us all, so that one day,
Justice may roll down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.
In the name of a triune God of great love.

Amen


© 2023 St. Paul's Episcopal Church
39 East Central Street · Natick, MA 01760
(508) 655-5880
Privacy Policy · Powered by Membership Vision

  View Entire Post

Service Times

All Are Welcome!

8:00 a.m. In-person Service:

Early on Sundays, St. Paul's gathers for a simple Eucharistic Liturgy with no music. This service runs about 35 minutes long.

10:00 a.m. In-person & Live-Streamed Service:

Join with the community of St. Paul's Natick as we gather later each Sunday morning for a Eucharistic Liturgy with our choir and music minister. This service runs a little over an hour long.

Our in-person service is available to attend virtually as a Zoom webinar and is also live-streamed to both our YouTube and Facebook pages so that you have a choice of platforms!


We also suggest that if you have been a Covid-19 close contact, have any cold symptoms, or have been traveling during the week leading up to a Sunday morning, you would consider masking for the sake of others.

We encourage each parishioner and visitor to St. Paul’s to do what feels right to them, for their own health and for the health of others around them.

We recognize many people are comfortable without a mask, and others prefer or need to continue to wear a mask, and we support and welcome people to make their own choices on wearing a mask right now.

Location

St. Paul's Episcopal Church
39 East Central Street
Natick, MA 01760

Contact Us
(508) 655-5880

Newsletter Signup

Welcome in Love I'm New Life Events Leadership What is The Episcopal Church?

Whoever you are, wherever you come from, and wherever you’ve been, we welcome you. Whatever your race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital status, we celebrate you.

Whether you wonder what an “Episcopalian” is, or have been one since birth, there is a place for you here. In this place, there is room for your questions, your stories, your laughter, your doubt, your grief, and your most authentic self.

You’ll find kindred spirits here and people who think differently and still love you. We’re here for your spiritual shelter to help you on your journey. There is forgiveness here. And Grace. And Joy. And Love. And God.

You are welcome here. Come as you are.

Welcome Covid Protocols

St. Paul’s Episcopal Church is a dynamic and growing community located in Natick, a western suburb of Boston (also known as Metrowest). We are a diverse group of people, united by a common purpose: seeking to live out lives that respond wholeheartedly to the love that God has for us in Jesus Christ.

You do not have to be a member of the Episcopal Church to participate in worship and ministry at St. Paul’s.

Learn More

Baptism. Communion. Marriage. Funerals. At these special times, we celebrate them as sacraments. According to the Book of Common Prayer, sacraments are "outward and visible signs of inward and spiritual grace, given by Christ as sure and certain means by which we receive that grace." We look forward to sharing with you in these special sacramental moments.

Learn More

Our clergy and staff love and serve the people of our parish and our community. They help all to Welcome in Love, Worship with Joy, Grow in Faith, Work for Justice, Seek and Serve Christ in All Persons.

The vestry is comprised of nine members, three of whom are elected every three years to three-year terms. Additionally, there is a junior and senior warden, a treasurer and assistant treasurer, and a clerk. Vestry members provide leadership and guidance for all of our ministries.

Clergy & Staff Vestry Directory

We Episcopalians believe in a loving, liberating, and life-giving God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We believe in following the teachings of Jesus Christ, whose life, death, and resurrection saved the world. We have a legacy of inclusion, aspiring to tell and exemplify God’s love for every human being; women and men serve as bishops, priests, and deacons in our church. Laypeople and clergy cooperate as leaders at all levels of our church. Leadership is a gift from God, and can be expressed by all people in our church, regardless of sexual identity or orientation.

We believe that God loves you – no exceptions.

Learn More
Donate Stewardship 2023 Pledge Altar Flowers

Thank you for your support of the mission and ministry of St. Paul's Episcopal Church.

You can make an online donation via ACH Bank Transfer, Credit/Debit Card or PayPal account by clicking the button below!

Please note, you may direct your contributions to a variety of funds through the online link.

Donate Now

Stewardship is about more than money. It’s about giving our time, talent and treasure to take care of the world that God has created for us. As God’s people we are stewards of creation. St. Paul’s receives no financial support from the Diocese. Our rector, staff and programming would not be possible without contributions from you.

Consider Stewardship as giving back to God that which God has already given to us.

Our campaign theme is More than Enough, and it comes from the end of Luke’s version of the feeding of the five-thousand. Responding to Jesus’ call, the gathered crowd turns their pockets inside out, shakes out their blankets, rummages through their parcels to find enough to take care of the needs of the community. And what do they realize? That by the miracle of faith and the action on Love, there was more than enough, an abundance of leftovers!

Every gift of wealth, works and wisdom goes toward our ministry and mission, and your gift is essential to us.

Find out more about our 2023 Stewardship campaign

Episcopal churches are self-funded. St. Paul’s relies on Stewardship pledges to fund nearly 80% of the operations of our church life.Your pledge allows the Vestry and Finance Committee to prepare a sound, realistic budget. Thank you for your commitment to St. Paul's. To learn more, visit our Stewardship page as well.

Make your Pledge Online

Altar flowers beautify the Church and are an excellent way to give in memory of, or in honor of a family member or a friend. Currently the cost of Altar flowers are $35 per vase. There are slots available for two vases per Sunday, except on Palm Sunday when there are only palms and on Easter and Christmas Eve when there are multiple donors. After the services, the flowers are given to those who are sick or shut-in, unless otherwise requested by the donor.

Sign up to Donate Altar Flowers