A Church on the Hill in Toano
Set along Richmond Road as it passes through the small James City County community of Toano, Hickory Neck Episcopal Church has stood on this site for nearly three centuries. Travelers coming from Williamsburg or Richmond catch their first glimpse of the property from the highway - the historic brick chapel and the newer, larger church sharing one campus of about twelve and a half acres. Inside the parish, members speak of coming to "the church on the hill," a phrase that captures both the property's gentle rise above the road and the way the place has drawn generations of worshippers from the surrounding Tidewater countryside.
The parish describes itself as a group of dedicated individuals passionate about serving the Lord, rooted in the Word of God, the historic creeds, and the witness of Christians across the ages. It is part of the worldwide Anglican Communion, a member of the Diocese of Southern Virginia, and a constituent congregation of The Episcopal Church. Members include people from evangelical backgrounds who are active in Cursillo alongside those who prefer the more ancient liturgy of a high-church tradition. In the words the parish uses to describe itself, the goal is to "restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ."
Roots in 1734, Living in the Present
Hickory Neck traces its roots to 1734, when workmen were hired to build a new Lower Church on an acre of land donated by Mary Holdcroft of Hickory Neck Plantation. The brick building was oriented east and west in keeping with Anglican tradition. Trees were planted in the churchyard around 1738, many of the stately walnuts that shade the property today. In 1742 a brick wall was built around the church, and in 1774 a north transept was added; if a matching south transept had been built, the building would have been cruciform, like Bruton Parish down the road.
During the American Revolution, men from opposing sides camped in the churchyard, and allied forces used the building as a military hospital. After the disestablishment of the Anglican Church in Virginia, services ceased and the building fell into disuse. In 1825 the General Assembly authorized the conversion of the old church into a schoolhouse; the original 1734 section was razed, the 1774 transept was enlarged, and its south end was bricked up. For decades afterward, children attended Hickory Neck Academy, with interdenominational worship sometimes offered in the same walls. Confederate soldiers camped at the site during the Peninsular Campaign in 1862.
In 1912 the James City County School Board deeded the lot and building to the trustees of the Hickory Neck Protestant Episcopal Church, and the Reverend E. Ruffin Jones of Bruton Parish began campaigning for the colonial church to be restored to ecclesiastical use. Regular worship resumed in 1915 and the building was reconsecrated in 1917. The property was added to the Virginia Landmarks Registry in 1972 and to the National Register of Historic Places the following year. In 1980 a parish house, now called the Wilkinson Center for Christian Leadership, was built to accommodate a Sunday School. The parish hired its first full-time rector since the colonial period in 1983, attained parish status again in 1989, and grew steadily enough to commission a new worship building. Construction began in 2005, and the New Chapel was consecrated on June 24, 2006, the same year the congregation's first full-time associate rector was called. In 2008 the historic chapel's interior was renovated and its structure stabilized, allowing both buildings to remain in active use today.
Two Sunday Services, Two Chapels
Hickory Neck offers two principal Sunday services, each in its own building. At 8:00 a.m. the congregation gathers in the historic chapel for Holy Eucharist, Rite I, a more traditional-language service held in the candlelit brick room that has hosted worship on this hill since the eighteenth century. At 10:00 a.m. the parish celebrates Holy Eucharist, Rite II in the New Chapel, with a blended musical program of traditional hymns and service music from The Hymnal 1982, praise and Taize songs, gospel music, and contemporary hymns.
Children's Chapel runs concurrently with the 10:00 service in the New Chapel's narthex for young children ages three to seven. After the Gospel procession, the children step out for an age-appropriate service of lessons, songs, and prayer, then return to the main service at the Peace to join their families for Holy Communion. Nursery care is provided during both the 9:00 formation hour and the 10:00 service, with at least two caregivers present each Sunday.
Visitors are welcome to come just as they are. On any given Sunday you may see some worshippers in suits and ties and others in jeans and t-shirts. Ushers greet people at the doors and are happy to answer questions, hand out bulletins, and help newcomers find their way. Greeters make a point of ensuring no one walks in unnoticed.
Music that Spans Centuries
Music is treated as a central expression of faith at Hickory Neck. Stephen Pruitt, the Minister of Music, joined the parish with experience spanning more than three decades in Lutheran and Episcopal congregations and a specialty in both traditional and contemporary music. He supports the Adult Parish Choir and the Choral Scholars program and is laying the groundwork for a children's music ministry.
The Adult Parish Choir is made up of twenty to twenty-five volunteers, ranging from those with extensive choral and instrumental backgrounds to those with little formal training. The anthem repertoire draws on the wider Anglican and Episcopal choral tradition. Worship occasionally welcomes guest instrumentalists, primarily student musicians from the College of William & Mary, and choral ensembles from the college lead the parish in Choral Evensong several times a year. The Choral Scholars program offers a focused opportunity for college-age singers to deepen their craft while serving the liturgy.
For those unable to attend in person, the 10:00 a.m. service is livestreamed on the parish's YouTube channel and an archive of past Sundays is available there.
Children and Youth from the Narthex to the Nave
Children and youth are woven into the life of the parish from infancy through high school. Sunday School classes meet at 9:00 a.m. in the Wilkinson Center, opening with a musical segment and spanning preschool through elementary and middle-school ages. Younger children are taught in Godly Play classes, which follow a Montessori-inspired approach; those lessons are also live-streamed on Facebook at 7:30 a.m. on Sundays for families worshipping from home. Older children learn about the Episcopal Church's forms of worship and exercise their creativity in arts and crafts projects.
The Youth Group, open to all junior and senior high school students, generally meets twice a month on Sunday evenings from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. in the Wilkinson Center. Evenings include supper, games, fellowship, and discussions about Biblical, spiritual, and societal issues. The youth also take part in events like the Fall Festival and the Winter Emergency Shelter.
Vacation Bible School is offered jointly with Bruton Parish and St. Martin's, the three Williamsburg-area Episcopal churches, on a rotating basis. The week-long summer program serves children from age three through rising sixth grade and welcomes children, grandchildren, friends, and neighbors from across the wider community.
Adults Growing Together
Hickory Neck offers a full slate of formation for adults, both on Sunday mornings between services and on other days of the week.
- The Adult Forum meets at 9:00 a.m. on Sundays in the Wilkinson Center to discuss religious and timely topics. Bible Study also meets at that hour, currently studying the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed and the legacy of the first ecumenical Council of Nicaea.
- Lectio Divina gathers on the second and fourth Wednesday of each month at 10:00 a.m. in the Historic Chapel for open discussion of scripture.
- Spiritual Seekers meets on Tuesday evenings via Zoom to study the Bible and other spiritual topics.
- Discovery Class is a once-yearly, six-week Episcopal 101 course for newcomers, longtime members, and the curious, covering scripture, church history, the sacraments, and spiritual disciplines. It is required for anyone considering confirmation.
- Sacred Ground is a ten-week small-group course for those wanting to engage in deep conversation about race and ethnicity in American history.
- A Women's Retreat is offered one weekend a year for women to gather, study, and grow together.
Pastoral Care and the Wider Parish Family
Pastoral care is a central part of the parish's identity. The Very Rev. Jennifer Andrews-Weckerly writes that the church's hope is to be a place where people can bring their doubts, questions, and concerns and find a greater purpose, and the lay-led pastoral ministries extend that care into the daily life of members.
- Card Ministry sends birthday cards to every member so that no one's special day passes unnoticed.
- Emergency Meals prepares a simple meal for a person or family needing temporary help, while a related Special Deliveries ministry brings homemade or purchased meals and support to new parents in the weeks after a baby comes home.
- The Health and Safety Team shares information about local resources and educational programs to promote the whole person's wellness.
- Stephen Ministry provides one-to-one Christian care from trained laypeople to those who are hurting or going through a difficult time.
- Prayer Advocates pray daily for those in need, whether members of Hickory Neck or not, and anyone may request prayers by calling the parish office.
- Prayer Shawls offers hand-crafted shawls as a tangible expression of care during times of illness or loss.
Community Engagement Across Greater Williamsburg
The Community Engagement Committee and the wider parish support numerous local organizations with time, talent, and treasure raised through fundraisers throughout the year. The list of partners reflects the breadth of need in the region: African Team Ministries, Avalon, El Hogar, Episcopal Relief and Development, FISH, From His Hands, Good News Jail & Prison Ministry, Grove Christian Outreach Center, Habitat for Humanity of the Peninsula and Greater Williamsburg, Meals on Wheels, Sleep in Heavenly Peace, the Salvation Army's Transitional Housing and Angel Tree programs, the United Way Community Resource Center, Williamsburg Faith in Action, Williamsburg Walks the Talk, and the Winter Emergency Shelter. The congregation also participates in the Fall Festival and supports the Angel Tree / Silver Bells program each year.
The Historic Chapel, the Memorial Garden, and Stewardship of Place
Burials have taken place at Hickory Neck almost as long as the building has stood, and the present Memorial Garden is a continuation of that long history. After services restarted in 1915, a few burials were added on the east side of the church. In 1980 a cemetery committee laid out a formal section of the grounds and sold burial plots to parishioners and their families; that section is now sold out. In 1992 a Memorial Garden was designed and established to receive cremains returned directly to the earth without urns or vaults, marked by a large granite monument with a bronze plaque listing those interred. When the parish acquired additional land in 2003, a new section was surveyed and platted in 2007 and 2008, offering traditional burial plots and half-plots for cremains. A Historic Chapel Preservation Fund and a separate Historic Chapel Endowment Fund, both administered by a five-member board appointed by the Vestry, exist specifically for the long-term care of the original structure.
Clergy and Lay Leadership
The parish is led by The Very Rev. Jennifer Andrews-Weckerly, who was elected Rector in 2016. A native of Atlanta raised there and in western North Carolina, she holds an undergraduate degree from Duke and Master's degrees from Virginia Theological Seminary and the University of Alabama's Culverhouse College of Business. She was ordained to the priesthood in 2010 after serving a curacy at Christ Church Christiana Hundred in Greenville, Delaware, and a five-year tenure as Rector of the Episcopal Church of St. Margaret in Plainview, New York. In the wider church she has served on the Diocese of Long Island's Commission on Ministry, on the Diocese of Southern Virginia's college ministries task force and General Convention deputation, and as an officer and former President of the Virginia Seminary Alumni/ae Executive Committee. In 2023 she was named Dean of her Convocation in the Diocese of Southern Virginia.
The Rev. James P. Nickols serves as Rector's Associate. A retired Navy chaplain with forty-eight years of ordained ministry, he joined the parish in the summer of 2022 after many years at Our Saviour's Lutheran Church in Norge and brings multiple master's degrees in divinity, communications, HR management, and Christian spirituality. The Rev. Canon Charles Robinson serves as Pastoral Associate; a former rector of Saint John's Episcopal Church in Suffolk and Vicar of Bruton Parish Church, he joined the parish in 2022 after retiring as Canon to the Bishop Diocesan in 2019.
Lay leadership is exercised through the Vestry, which meets in the Wilkinson Center at 7:00 p.m. on the second Tuesday of each month. Senior Warden Tori Otstot, Junior Warden Len Calabrese, and the rest of the Vestry oversee stewardship, Christian formation, buildings and grounds, worship, community engagement, parish life, evangelism, pastoral care, and the parish's finances.
Joining Hickory Neck
The parish's short answer to the question "how do I join?" is: come to Hickory Neck Church. Anyone and everyone is welcome at Sunday worship and at any of the parish's activities. For those wishing to make a formal commitment, the next step is filling out the Member Registration Form, which lets the parish record baptisms, pray for birthdays and wedding anniversaries, and stay in touch about parish life. Each new member is paired with a Shepherd, a longer-term parishioner who serves as a companion for the early months, and is invited to consider Discovery Class as a way to learn the Episcopal tradition.
The parish's stated values shape that welcome. Hospitality asks the community to create an environment of belonging across generations. Nurture invites every member to discover their own ministry within and beyond the parish. Engagement and Evangelism send the parish into the wider community with the love of Christ. Curiosity, the parish writes, holds the particular history and Anglican identity of Hickory Neck together with openness to the movement of the Holy Spirit and a sense of play and joy in one another.
Supporting the Mission
Hickory Neck accepts online pledges and gifts through a secure Realm portal, and gifts can also be made by check, automatic bank payments, appreciated stock, Qualified Charitable Distributions from IRAs, and planned estate gifts. In addition to the General Fund that supports the annual operating budget, members and friends may direct contributions to a Building Fund, an Endowment/Covenant Fund, and a Historic Chapel Preservation Fund. Stewardship is framed, in the words of 2 Corinthians 9, as cheerful and generous giving of time, talent, and treasure, and the parish's annual Stewardship Campaign gathers the congregation around that shared practice each fall.