All Saints Episcopal Church sits on a quiet stretch of Tarpon Drive where the New River bends through the Collee Hammock neighborhood of Fort Lauderdale. From its founding as a prayer meeting of eight women in 1912 to its present life as a diverse, welcoming congregation in the Diocese of Southeast Florida, the parish has marked more than a century of Episcopal worship in the city. The church is known for the warm welcome offered to every visitor, the sound of its choir at the Sunday Choral Eucharist, a remarkable daily rhythm of prayer that includes Compline six nights a week and Vespers on Thursdays, a Wednesday Healing Eucharist in the chapel on the river side of the building, and a long list of outreach partnerships in Fort Lauderdale and as far away as Guatemala.
Eight Women and a Hundred Years of Worship
All Saints began in 1912 as a mission congregation started by eight women who wanted an Episcopal presence in the young city of Fort Lauderdale. For nine years the congregation had no permanent home, gathering instead in a rotation of rented rooms around town. In 1921 the women purchased property in Stranahan Park and built their first church home there. The little mission grew steadily, and in 1938 the Episcopal diocese declared it financially self-sufficient and re-designated All Saints from a mission to an official parish of the church.
By the late 1940s the congregation had outgrown its Stranahan Park home, and it began to plan a new building on a tract of land on the New River in what was then known as Collee Hammock. Ground was broken, and on November 6, 1958 the present church was consecrated. Today All Saints counts a diverse membership base and continues to welcome all who come through its doors, regardless of age, race, gender, or sexual orientation.
A Gamble-Designed Sanctuary on the New River
The church was designed by Clinton B. Gamble, an architect who was a member of the congregation at the time he drew the plans. He designed the building to honor what had come before even as it pointed toward the future. Several pieces from the original Stranahan Park church were carefully removed and rebuilt into the new sanctuary. A wooden carving of the Lord's Prayer in large gothic script runs along the wooden beams that frame the periphery of the nave. The original altar rail, the altar itself, and the lace altar covering were preserved and now sit in St. Luke's Chapel, a smaller worship space on the river side of the building used for the Wednesday Healing Eucharist. The Good Shepherd stained glass window from the old church was also carried across to the new home.
Inside the main sanctuary, a Rose Window anchors the north wall, and nine stained glass windows line the east and west walls. Each window depicts a different saint or significant figure from Anglican and Episcopal church history. The building sits among mature trees on Tarpon Drive just off the New River. The parish complex also includes Neaverson Chapel, where coffee hour and the parish bridge club take place, and Jensen Terrace, the outdoor gathering area used when the weather is mild.
Sunday at All Saints
Sunday is the heart of parish life at All Saints, and the rhythm is built around two distinct Eucharists. At 8:00 in the morning a quieter Rite II Eucharist is held without music except for a closing hymn. Those who come to the early service often linger for coffee and conversation in Neaverson Chapel afterward.
The principal Sunday liturgy is at 10:30 AM, a Rite II Choral Eucharist in the main sanctuary. Greeters meet each person at the door, hand out bulletins, and answer questions about the service and the parish. The congregation is led in song by the All Saints choir, whose repertoire draws from the traditional and moving literature of the Anglican choral tradition. All are welcome to receive communion or a blessing at the altar rail. The 10:30 AM service is also livestreamed on Vimeo and Facebook Live, with the direct link posted each week on the parish calendar.
After the 10:30 liturgy the parish hosts two parallel gatherings. In person, coffee and conversation spill out into Neaverson Chapel and onto Jensen Terrace. Online, a Virtual Coffee Hour opens on Zoom for those who cannot be present in person, a practice that began during the pandemic and has continued as a way to keep distant members and visitors connected. Bulletins for every service are posted online in advance so that those watching from home can follow along.
A new Sunday Reflections Group meets every Sunday after the 10:30 service for an hour of conversation about the scriptures and the sermon. The group is open to people from all backgrounds and levels of experience. Participants are invited to bring a bulletin and a willingness to share their insights on how the Sunday readings and sermon can be applied to daily life.
Compline, Vespers, and the Healing Eucharist
Beyond Sunday morning, All Saints keeps a remarkable daily prayer rhythm. Compline, the brief office of prayers at the close of the day, is live-streamed at 8:30 PM every night of the week except Thursday. The service is offered on Facebook Live and on the All Saints Vimeo channel, and a Facebook account is not required to watch. Compline lasts about twenty minutes and is one of the most accessible ways for someone to pray along with the parish from anywhere.
On Thursday evenings at 6:30 PM the parish gathers for Vespers, the early evening office of prayer that takes its place between the daytime hours and the close of the day. Vespers is offered in person and is also livestreamed on Vimeo and Facebook Live. The liturgy includes readings from Holy Women, Holy Men, commemorating women and men of faith who have gone before in a life of prayer, and generally takes about twenty minutes to complete.
On Wednesdays at 12:05 PM the Healing Eucharist is celebrated in St. Luke's Chapel. This is a service of prayer for healing, with anointing and the laying on of hands, followed by Holy Communion. Members and visitors are invited to pray for themselves, for loved ones, and for all on the parish prayer list. The service is offered in person and is also livestreamed on Vimeo and Facebook Live. The links for the livestream are posted on the home page each week.
No Matter Who You Are: Welcome and Beliefs
The parish's motto is plain enough that visitors see it repeated in several places around the building: "No Matter Who You Are or Where You Are On Your Spiritual Journey, you are welcome here at All Saints." The words are a working mission statement. The parish describes its calling in language drawn from Paul's second letter to the Corinthians: "We are being called to transform our community in the image of Christ, made visible to all people, by the way we live our life in faith" (2 Corinthians 3:18).
All Saints is an Episcopal parish in the Anglican tradition. As followers of Jesus Christ in a traditional way, the congregation draws on the three-legged stool of Scripture, Tradition, and Reason that is at the heart of Anglican identity. The parish acknowledges two great Sacraments ordained by Christ: Holy Baptism and Holy Eucharist, also known as the Lord's Supper, the Mass, or Holy Communion. It also recognizes certain other sacramental rites under the guidance of the Holy Spirit: confirmation, ordination, holy matrimony (for all persons), and the reconciliation of a penitent. Worship is offered in the language of the people, in keeping with the note in the 1801 Articles of Religion that the church worships "in a language understandeth of the people." The Catechism in the Book of Common Prayer is the parish's go-to resource for those who want to know more.
Five core values shape parish life: living faith in Jesus Christ with joy and a courage of serving; practicing radical hospitality; engaging in moral discourse; sharing gifts freely, responsibly, and creatively in the manner that best achieves parish goals; and celebrating the beauty of ritual. The message on the Newcomers page makes the same point in plainer language: at All Saints, you do not have to leave your mind at the door.
Clergy Rooted in Episcopal and Anglican Tradition
The Rev. Michael Engfer became the rector of All Saints in 2026. A priest for ten years, Father Michael previously led two growing Episcopal congregations, serving most recently as Priest in Charge at St. Christopher's Episcopal Church in Boulder City, Nevada, and before that as Rector of All Saints Episcopal Church in Las Vegas. He is a decorated Air Force Chaplain who served three years on Active Duty and fourteen years in the Air Force Reserve, achieving the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, and was deployed to Germany, Qatar, and Afghanistan. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Bible and Pastoral Studies, three Master's degrees (in Ministry, Divinity, and military leadership), and has completed coursework for a Doctorate of Ministry in Liturgy while finishing a Doctorate of Education in Leadership at Spalding University. His ministry has taken him through non-denominational, Baptist, Methodist, Lutheran, and Episcopal settings, and after an intentional spiritual journey he settled in the Episcopal Church as his final home. He and his wife Kate have four children, Hannah, Rachel, Sarah, and Elijah, and three grandchildren.
The Rev. Dr. Joseph A. Krasinski serves as Assisting Priest-in-Residence. A native New Yorker, Fr. Joseph was ordained a Deacon at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine and ordained a priest six months later at Christ and Holy Trinity Church in Westport, Connecticut. He spent his active ministry of forty years in parishes in Connecticut and was a Consultant for the Diocese of Connecticut for twenty-five years. He holds a Master of Divinity from General Theological Seminary, a Doctor of Ministry in Congregational Development from Hartford University, an MBA in Management from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and a BS in Management from St. Francis College in Brooklyn. He lives in Wilton Manors with his husband Jim Hughes.
The Rev. Carl H. Beasley III is an Associate Priest. Born in York, Pennsylvania, Fr. Carl was educated at St. Albans School, Kenyon College, Virginia Theological Seminary, and Washington College. After four years in the United States Air Force he served parishes in central Pennsylvania and Maryland, and his later ministry was as a school chaplain and religion teacher at Carson Long Military Academy and the West Nottingham Academy. Fr. Carl retired to Fort Lauderdale in 2015 to be near his son Adam, a sports reporter for the Miami Herald.
The Very Rev. Clark Powers is also an Associate Priest. A native of Memphis, Father Clark served as a French Linguist in the Army Security Agency in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War before beginning studies at General Theological Seminary, where he graduated in 1976. He later studied at General and New York University and served as editor of the Ecumenical Bulletin for the Episcopal Church Ecumenical Office. He served as Rector of St. Stephen and St. Martin Church in Brooklyn, then as Rector of St. John's Church in Park Slope, Brooklyn, until his retirement in 2013. He moved to Florida in 2014 and has assisted at All Saints since.
Lou Strennen is the Assistant to the Rector. A member of All Saints since 2001, Lou has served on the Vestry, Altar Guild, Outreach, and Flower Guild, and has served as a Verger and Eucharist Minister. She joined the staff in 2015 as part of the communication team and now assists the Rector directly. A former clinical audiologist, she holds a BS from American University and an MA from New Mexico State University in Communication Disorders.
Children, Youth, and Lifelong Learning
Children and youth are a central part of the parish community, and the church grounds include a dedicated Parish House where most formation happens. Sunday School meets at 10:30 AM, the same hour as the principal service. Children begin their lessons in the Parish House, then are escorted into the sanctuary near the beginning of the Eucharist to be rejoined with their parents for communion.
The youngest children, ages three to six, gather in the front room of the Parish House and use Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, a Montessori-based Christian formation curriculum. Children ages seven to twelve meet in the central area of the Parish House and follow The Sunday Paper curriculum designed by Gretchen Wolff Pritchard. Teens meet in the River Room using the Journey to Faith curriculum. A nursery program is in development and is planned for opening later in the year.
Older youth are invited to serve in the liturgy as acolytes, torch bearers, crucifers, thurifers, and lectors. They also take part in Diocesan youth events and the Kanuga Youth Conference, and they raise funds for mission trips and conference travel.
For adults, the parish offers a deep bench of formation programs. The Way of Love, a series of practices developed by Presiding Bishop Michael Curry as a way of life for every day, is studied via Zoom. Education for Ministry (EfM) is a four-year program of study covering the Old Testament, the New Testament, the history of the Christian Church, and modern theology. Its curriculum and written materials were developed by the School of Theology of the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee. EfM classes meet once a week in the evenings at All Saints with a break for summer holidays. The Journey to Faith Inquirer's Class is the parish's introduction to the Episcopal Church and is offered for eight Sundays each year in the Parish House. Open to members, non-members, and anyone curious, the class is a prerequisite for confirmation.
Laundry Love, the TRUE Fund, and Beds Around the Altar
All Saints runs an unusually wide network of outreach partnerships, and the parish lists a contact person for each one.
Laundry Love of South Florida is a recent ministry sponsored by All Saints. On the second Tuesday of each month from 3:00 to 5:30 PM, volunteers gather at The Laundry Spot, 1410 N Federal Highway in Hollywood, to assist homeless and low-income individuals with washing their clothing and bedding for free.
The T.R.U.E. Fund, Towards the Relief of Urgent Emergencies, provides emergency grants of up to $100 for utility bills, emergency housing, children's clothing, medicine, and medical or dental bills. Recipients are screened by local charitable agencies, and donations can be made through the special offering envelopes in the pew racks or through the online giving page.
Beds Around the Altar, also called Hospitality Week, is an overflow emergency shelter program run in partnership with Hope South Florida. About four times a year, All Saints welcomes two mothers and their children for a week at a time, providing overnight hosts, dinners, help with homework, and a safe and welcoming environment. The program was paused during the pandemic and is being revived.
All Saints is also a long-time supporter of the United Thank Offering, a historic Episcopal program of small daily offerings collected in little blue boxes distributed to worshippers in Lent and brought back on In-Gathering Sunday. Recent collections at All Saints totaled more than $5,000 in a single year. The parish also maintains a Hurricane Relief Fund to provide direct assistance when Atlantic and Caribbean storms cause severe damage, and the Jubilee Fund, drawn from an endowment earmarked for outreach, is disbursed quarterly through the Outreach Team, Finance Committee, and Vestry.
Beyond Fort Lauderdale, the parish has a mission relationship with the Niños Creadores de Historia, Children Create History, school in San Andrés Itzapa, Guatemala. The school provides supplemental instruction to struggling first and second graders in a small rural community. Without this support, most of these children will not make it to the sixth grade. A group from All Saints visited the school in 2019 and continues to support it with carpentry, painting, electrical work, teaching, and cooking.
The Episcopal Church Women and the Wider Parish Life
The Episcopal Church Women, or ECW, deepens the spiritual life of the women of the church and enlists their active support for the programs of the church. By virtue of attending All Saints, every woman is automatically a member of the ECW. The group gathers for an Annual Spring Luncheon, the Annual Mingle and Jingle Christmas fundraiser for the T.R.U.E. Fund, book reviews, and a Monthly Meeting on the second Sunday of each month. The ECW also sponsors periodic seminars on end-of-life planning.
Music is a quiet but essential ministry at All Saints. The choir, under Music Director Dan Bishop, leads the singing at the 10:30 AM Choral Eucharist and draws on the traditional and moving literature of the Anglican choral tradition. Acolytes, lectors, vergers, and Eucharistic ministers serve at the altar and in the liturgy under the leadership of Carol Nissen. The Altar Guild prepares the altar, the linens, the flowers, and the candles. Ushers and the Welcoming Ministry greet worshippers and help the services run smoothly.
Two fellowship traditions fill the week. Party Bridge meets on the first and third Mondays of each month at 1:00 PM in Neaverson Chapel, and is open to players of all ages, members and non-members alike. The Sunday Reflections Group gathers after the 10:30 service for an hour of conversation about the scriptures and the sermon. And each week the parish hosts a Zoom Coffee Hour for those who join the livestream and want to share a few minutes of fellowship with one another.
The All Saints congregation has worshipped on the New River in one form or another for more than a hundred years. Today the parish combines a deep love of traditional Anglican liturgy with a broad embrace of newcomers, a daily round of prayer that reaches well beyond the church walls through its livestreams, and a remarkable network of community partnerships that puts the gospel into practice in Fort Lauderdale and beyond.