St. Peter's Church: Faith in Action for 250 Years

Chapter 18: “A House of Prayer for All People”

Alan J. Heavens “A House of Prayer for All People” 18 ἀ ere is a good chance that William White would not recognize St. Peter’s immediately if he came face to face with it today. When the saintly bishop died on July 17, 1836, what he called his “other church,” in contrast to Christ Church, had no tower and no spire crowned with a gilt cross. ἀ e tower, spire, and cross came in 1842. While the first two appear to have been part of a successful effort to save the Georgian building from being razed and replaced by a Gothic structure, placing a cross on the steeple of an Episcopal church was a seminal event that began the process, forever contentious and often painful, that created the church of 2011. Inside, the pulpit, the box pews, and the Chippendale altar table would be very familiar to White. ἀ e service would make him uncomfortable, however—especially the emphasis on the Eucharist; the participation of the laity as readers, chalice bearers, and intercessors, or as preachers; the presence of children, who were relegated to Sunday school at another time and place; people standing at prayer instead of kneeling; the vestments of the priests; their blessings with the sign of the cross; and, especially, female clergy. William White might find it difficult to come to terms with the modern St. Peter’s, although he was known for his willingness to compromise when it was expedient to do so. In many ways, the modern church is a more accommodating church to outsiders, to women, to African Americans, to the needy, to the disenfranchised , and to the city and the world around it. Choir and clergy process from the chancel at the conclusion of the Sunday service. (Photo by Alan J. Heavens) Top: Claudia Stowers, the rector’s warden, was elected in 2011. ἀ e last three rector’s wardens have been women. Below: ἀ e Reverend Carol Anthony, assisting priest, speaks to parishioners. 238 St. Peter’s Church: Faith in Action for 250 Years ἀ e parishioners, too, are different today. Most, if not all, have or are achieving great success in their fields, but except for a historically familiar name here and there, they are no longer Philadelphia’s social elite. ἀ e story told in the 1918 Book of Philadelphia of the wealthy communicant who would wait until Heaven to introduce herself to a newcomer is a part of history, if not apocryphal. St. Peter’s is a community that lives its faith. It is a community that has grown to more than four hundred members, with the numbers continuing to increase as people searching for a home, or for meaning in their lives, enter its doors. Ledlie Laughlin has served as the twentieth rector since 1999, in a time as exciting and as challenging as any over the past 250 years. While acknowledging that future generations would be the best judge of his years at St. Peter’s, he has outlined some of the ways he has tried to meet the challenges facing the church and to create an environment in which the church, and its members, can thrive and grow. One way is nurturing a congregation that is open to and embracing of one and all, summarized succinctly by the signs at the church’s open gates: “ἀ ese Doors are Open to You” and “All are Welcome at God’s Table.” ἀ e Reverend Ledlie I. Laughlin III officiates at the Sunday morning children’s service at St. Peter’s House. Chapter 18: “A House of Prayer for All People” 239 Another is the presence and participation of children in every aspect of life at St. Peter’s. When Laughlin arrived, “just a handful of children occupied [the] church school,” which, as in the time of Bishop White and down through history, was held elsewhere during the service so the children wouldn’t disturb the adults. “Now they are at every service,” Laughlin noted. “Our Children’s Service averages forty per Sunday. We have paid nursery care, and a thriving Youth Group.” In addition, Laughlin has made a personal commitment to and taken leadership of financial stewardship, and during his tenure, pledge income has doubled. His efforts have been directed to, as he calls it, “nurturing the church to be a healthy body; notably, developing an independent, mutually supportive relationship with St. Peter’s School; ensuring that the...