A Mountain Church...in the valleySt. Agnes' is located at the foot of beautiful Sewanee Mountain. We call ourselves "a mountain church in the valley" because of our incredible Sewanee Mountain heritage.
The history of this congregation is interwoven with the history of the various Episcopal institutions on the Mountain. St. Agnes' grew out of St. Mark's Guild - an evangelical organization founded at The University of the South in the 1870's. In the earliest days of the congregation, St. Agnes' received care, nurture and leadership assistance from the Community of St. Mary. In recent years, St. Agnes' has been a home-away-from-home church for Sewanee students who prefer a congregation with traditional churchmanship and a faithful embrace of Christian orthodoxy. |
An English Church...in the USAThere's a noticeable amount of English culture and character at St. Agnes'.
Our church facility looks rather English. Through the years almost all of our priests have studied in England (and one was actually from England!). Some of the hymns we sing were first written and published in England. And who wouldn't notice that we serve English-style pudding on Christmas Eve? The English-style culture and tradition we exhibit is rooted in a beautiful history. St. Agnes' is a member of the Worldwide Anglican Communion - a global church family of over 70 million Christians among 163 countries who share a common bond with the Church of England. All churches in the Worldwide Anglican Communion trace our faith history back to the earliest days of Christianity. |
A Traditional Church...in contemporary times
St. Agnes' is a traditional church in every sense.
This congregation meets in a historic house of prayer and not in a theater or coffee bar. We stand for singing, kneel for prayer, and sit for instruction. We have hard-back hymnals and Bibles in the pew racks. You won't see video screens, praise bands, special lighting or special effects during the service. Our goal is not to create a "worship experience", but to worship the Lord in spirit and in truth according to the faithful witness of the church throughout the ages. |