is an Episcopal Church in the Center City district of downtown Rochester, NY. As an Episcopal Church, we are members of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Our Christian denomination dates back to the 16th century, though we don’t so much see ourselves through the lens of “then and now”, but through the lens of “more”: throughout history, especially Christ Church’s, we have become more progressive, more experimental, more rooted in the best of our tradition and yet more open-minded.
Our Rector describes us as theologically progressive and liturgically orthodox. Our worship style is what has sometimes been called “High Church”, which means we celebrate Holy Eucharist (communion) every week. We do a fair bit of chanting and bring out the incense from time to time. Our liturgies, or services, are celebrations, because, theologically speaking, that’s what liturgy is. The exquisite beauty and drama within the liturgical experience at Christ Church engages all of the senses. We have theologically stimulating and faith-filled preaching from our priest, the Very Reverend Ruth Ferguson. We have gorgeous music directed, and even composed, by our music director Stephen Kennedy. He brings a wealth of talent, as well as gifted colleagues & friends to shape our musical experience.
Christ Church Rochester embodies this “then and now and more” identity in our very building, which was the third Episcopal Church in downtown Rochester, begun in 1854-1855. It was expanded along the way, growing larger and grander. The architecture includes buttresses, flying buttresses, and Tiffany Studio tiling, mosaics, and windows.
Located steps away from the Eastman School of Music, Christ Church has a unique partnership with this world class music institution. The Eastman School owns several organs housed in the sanctuary, including The Craighead-Saunders organ, considered to be the most authentic Bach organ in the U.S. They share their music with us and we share our acoustic space with them.
A fun story: few years ago, some cement plaster fell off the ceiling of an aisle. No one was hurt, but the event fired us up for repairs. Even though we are an old parish, we never had deep pockets. We went to the congregation (and everybody else we could think of) for a capital campaign. The restoration created the kind of interior that was imagined in the original sketches from the 19th century, but fresher. It is both old and new at the same time, and it is spectacular.
We, the people, our congregants, are diverse and defy the ordinary. We love that about each other. Finding a place which is a safe space to be your authentic self can be challenging. Christ Church strives to be that space.
If you’re interested in learning more check out these 2 links and the video below.
