A Place of Sanctuary on Three Mile Road
St. Andrew's Episcopal Church sits on the northeast side of Grand Rapids, just a few minutes east of the city center along Three Mile Road NE. The parish describes itself plainly on its front door: "a place of sanctuary; wherever you are in life, you are welcome." That sentence sets the tone for everything that happens inside. The church belongs to the Episcopal Diocese of the Great Lakes, and its worship is rooted in the Book of Common Prayer, colored by the seasons of the church year, and offered in two Sunday services and one midweek service.
The congregation is known for an unusually explicit welcome. The church's name appears on its web pages with pride and transgender flags beside it, and the parish regularly joins the wider Episcopal Church in commemorating LGBTQ+ pioneers such as the Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray, the first African American perceived as a woman to be ordained an Episcopal priest. Members of G.R.E.Y., the joint youth program St. Andrew's shares with neighboring St. Mark's, march together at Grand Rapids Pride, and the parish's rector, the Rev. Molly Bosscher, has preached that Pride "is a giant welcoming table." This welcome is not a side project at St. Andrew's. It is part of how the parish understands the gospel.
That welcome is paired with a steady rhythm of Word and Sacrament. The Book of Common Prayer shapes every service, every four readings follow the lectionary, and the parish keeps the church year with Advent wreaths, Easter lilies, Pentecost flames, and the long green of Ordinary Time. People come to St. Andrew's for the strong preaching, the meditative liturgy, the children's procession with the Gospel book, and a community that takes the call to reconciliation seriously.
Sunday and Wednesday Worship
St. Andrew's celebrates the Holy Eucharist every Sunday. There are two morning services in the sanctuary:
- 8:30 a.m. Holy Eucharist - a spoken service without music.
- 10:30 a.m. Holy Eucharist with music - the principal Sunday liturgy, with hymns, psalms, and spiritual songs led by the choir.
Both services use the liturgy from the Book of Common Prayer. Four readings are read each Sunday - a Hebrew Bible passage, a Psalm, a New Testament epistle (usually a Pauline letter), and a Gospel - and the homily is based on the lectionary texts. Communion is offered at every service. At the 10:30, children may participate in the Gospel Procession, following the Cross and the Gospel book while the congregation sings, and then leave for Celebrate Jesus or the nursery after the reading.
Visitors are welcomed at the door of the sanctuary and handed a liturgy booklet containing all the words and hymns for the service. "Find a seat in our sanctuary; feel free to sit wherever you would be most comfortable," the parish instructs newcomers. At communion, everyone is invited to come forward, and those who prefer to remain in their seats are still part of the worship community. On the first Sunday of the month, the parish shares a meal together after the 10:30 service, and every Sunday after the late service coffee flows in the narthex.
A Wednesday morning service is held at 9:00 a.m. in the chapel. Come in through the office door, down the hall, and to the right. The service follows the Book of Common Prayer; the page numbers are announced, and there is no printed bulletin. Communion is offered. Afterward, the community gathers across the hall in the Lounge for coffee and conversation.
Worship is also livestreamed on YouTube, so anyone unable to attend in person can join remotely.
A Hearing Loop and a Soft Space at the Front
St. Andrew's takes accessibility seriously. The sanctuary is equipped with a hearing loop: those whose hearing aids have a T-Coil setting can switch over and receive the audio feed throughout the service. The same system is available in the Lounge, where coffee hour happens after the 10:30.
For families with young children, the front of the church includes a soft space where little ones and their caregivers can sit, wiggle, and enjoy the service together. The parish's published guidance is simple and unfussy: "Children and their families belong in church. Please don't worry about their questions or their noise. We enjoy them." If a child is having a hard time settling, the nursery is always available - and so is the option to step out with a parent.
A friendly reminder shows up at the entrance on Sundays: if you are not feeling well, stay home and watch online. Cold and flu season comes with the same gentle ask, and masks are welcome. The sanctuary is a place of sanctuary in the deepest meaning of the word.
Children, Youth, and Families
Children are not just tolerated at St. Andrew's; they are part of the liturgy. During the 10:30 service, after the Gospel is read, children are invited to follow the Gospel book in procession, then gather for Celebrate Jesus, a Montessori-based spiritual formation class that returns them to the congregation at the Peace. The class meets in the lounge and is built on "Children in Worship," a model that welcomes questions and treats children as full participants in the life of faith.
From 11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. after the 10:30 service, the parish offers Fellowship and Formation for all ages. Children through fifth grade gather downstairs for "Children in Worship." Middle and high school students often have youth group during this hour. Adults and older youth explore topics that range from the Bible to Spiritual Practices to Climate Anxiety to Allyship. The nursery, staffed by caregivers who have been with the parish for decades, is available throughout the morning for infants and toddlers.
Older youth belong to G.R.E.Y. - the Grand Rapids Episcopal Youth program. G.R.E.Y. is a joint ministry between St. Andrew's and St. Mark's Episcopal Churches, welcoming any sixth- through twelfth-grader from Episcopal churches in the greater Grand Rapids area. The group meets on select Sundays during the school year, alternating between the two parishes, and gathers for weekly formation, monthly social events, and outreach activities. Jeff Brown, the Director of Youth Ministries, serves both St. Andrew's and St. Mark's, and he also teaches a weekly Gentle Yoga class at St. Andrew's on Tuesday evenings from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m.
Several times a year the parish hosts Fellowship and Fun, gatherings that bring families and children together for sledding, beach days, games, and shared meals.
Spiritual Formation, Confirmation, and Book Clubs
St. Andrew's treats learning as a spiritual practice. Throughout the year, classes are offered on Scripture, Spirituality, the Episcopal Church (its history, theology, and liturgy), and the work of being a Christian in the wider world. Recent book club selections give a sense of the range: A Wrinkle in Time, Traveling Mercies, All Creation Waits, St. Benedict's Toolbox, Braiding Sweetgrass, and This Here Flesh. The book club meets both in person and on Zoom.
A Spiritual Reading Group goes deeper, pairing thoughtful reading with a spiritual practice to close each session, again available both in person and online. Confirmation class is offered once or twice a year for anyone who wants to take a next step of faith, refresh an existing faith, or renew a commitment. Those interested can speak with the rector about joining the next round.
The Mission: Believing, Worshipping, Serving
St. Andrew's mission statement is built around three words:
- We Believe - that Christ's invitation is to everyone; every person is a beloved gift. "The past matters to us, the future calls to us, and the Spirit is uniting us in both."
- We Worship - through adaptive traditionalism, grounded in the Book of Common Prayer and colored by the seasons of the church year, with spoken, chanted, and sung services, in person and remotely.
- We Serve - with joyful compassion as a refuge for each other, the local community, and the world, seeking healing for all of God's creation, all people, and the earth.
Faithful to that mission, the parish is explicit about who is welcome. The church's masthead carries both a rainbow flag and a transgender flag, and the congregation regularly joins the Episcopal Church's calendar in commemorating LGBTQ+ pioneers such as Pauli Murray. The parish's preaching consistently calls out injustice - in immigration, in policing, in housing, in care for the earth - while insisting that every human being is a beloved gift of God.
Molly Bosscher was called as rector in June 2019, having served parishes in Florida and Virginia. The Rev. Alex Quick serves as clergy associate, having spent eight years as a hospital chaplain before ordination, and brings a particular sensitivity to grief and pastoral care. Eileen Hoogterp leads music as organist and choir director; she is a long-standing member of the American Guild of Organists and National Pastoral Musicians. Jill Brown has cared for the infants and toddlers of St. Andrew's for more than twenty years.
Reaching Out Across Northeast Grand Rapids
St. Andrew's is rooted in the neighborhoods that surround it. The parish maintains long-standing partnerships with several ministries serving the northeast side of Grand Rapids:
- Family Promise supports families experiencing homelessness and low-income families working toward sustainable independence through a community-based response.
- North End Wellness Coalition (NEWC) provides medical care, mental health support, and resources for healthy living to those facing critical needs.
- North End Community Ministry (NECM) is a shared ministry that provides practical assistance to those in need on the northeast side of the city.
- Supper House, a ministry of NECM, serves more than 125 meals every Tuesday evening from 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at New City Church, 214 Spencer Street NE. St. Andrew's is one of several parishes that host the meal and provides eight to ten volunteers each week.
- NECM Food Pantry offers clients a three- to four-day supply of food and personal care products once a month, set up like a small grocery store so that families can choose what they need.
These partnerships are not occasional service projects. They are woven into parish life, and the parish invites newcomers to participate in them as a natural expression of baptismal vocation.
Sermons, Blog, and a Year-Round Conversation
One of the most distinctive features of St. Andrew's is the depth of its preaching and writing. The rector writes weekly Gospel reflections - published as "Come & See" - that walk through the lectionary texts with literary attention, personal narrative, and theological seriousness. Readings have included reflections on the Parable of the Sower, the Raising of Lazarus, the Prodigal Son, the Wedding at Cana, and the journey to Emmaus, paired with essays on Pauli Murray, Mary Magdalene, Wendell Berry, Mary Oliver, and Dolly Parton.
The sermons are not abstract. They draw on the rector's own life - growing up in the Mississippi Delta, raising two sons as a single parent, traveling to Tanzania to celebrate a decade of companion relationship with the congregation of Mwitikira, learning from her children's garden experiments at Plainsong Farm, watching the Northern Lights over Lake Michigan. They name injustice - in Gaza, in the South Sudan, in Ukraine, in the places where housing is unaffordable and the water is unsafe - and they keep returning to the same conviction: every person is a beloved gift of God, and the church is called to be the Body of Christ in the world today.
Guest contributors also write for the blog. The Rev. Alex Quick, clergy associate, has preached on the Gospel of Matthew and John, with titles like "There May Even Be Dancing" and "Jesus' Invitation: Come." Joel Flint, a field work intern, preached a sermon on Pauli Murray that has become a kind of parish touchstone, linking the priest-poet's witness to the church's call to respect the dignity of every human being. John Atem, a field work intern, preached on the Crucifixion during Holy Week. Rev. Ron Rienstra, Ph.D., a Western Theological Seminary professor and parishioner, preached on Psalm 104 and the immanence of God in creation. The Rev. Mike Wernick and the Rev. Jamie Rye have also contributed reflections, and a former rector, the Rev. Helen Havlik, is among the beloved retired pastors still seated in the pews.
What to Expect on a First Visit
Newcomers regularly ask what to wear. The short answer is: come as you are. The 8:30 is quieter and slightly more spare; the 10:30 has full music and a busier narthex afterward. Children are welcome at both services, and the nursery is always available. Coffee, conversation, and a shared meal on the first Sunday of the month make it easy to meet people.
Parking is available on site at 1025 3 Mile Road NE. The office door on the west side of the building is the entrance for the Wednesday service. The sanctuary door is the main entrance for Sunday worship. Those arriving early for the 10:30 may hear the choir warming up; they regularly include hymns, psalms, and spiritual songs drawn from the Episcopal tradition and beyond. After the service, coffee is served in the narthex and formation classes meet in classrooms downstairs.
Anyone wanting to add their name to the parish mailing list can email the office. Anyone wanting to talk with the rector can reach her directly. Anyone curious about baptism, confirmation, or how to get involved is warmly invited to ask. St. Andrew's takes seriously its self-description as a place of sanctuary, where whoever you are, and wherever you are in life, you are welcome.
Clergy and Staff
- The Rev. Molly Bosscher, Rector. Called to St. Andrew's in June 2019, after serving parishes in Florida and Virginia. She grew up in the Mississippi Delta, has two adult sons, and loves being outside, reading, and dancing.
- The Rev. Alex Quick, Clergy Associate. Born and raised in the Ann Arbor area, he studied at Hope College, the University of Toronto, and the Montreal School of Theology, and served as a hospital chaplain before ordination.
- Eileen Hoogterp, Organist and Choir Director. She and her husband live there, having served parishes in Muskegon, Jenison, Ravenna, Conklin, and Wright before joining St. Andrew's.
- Jeff Brown, Director of Youth Ministries. He lives in Grand Rapids with his wife Angie and two sons, leads G.R.E.Y. with St. Mark's, and teaches a weekly Gentle Yoga class at the parish on Tuesdays from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
The parish office is open during the week, and voicemail or email is answered by Natalie, the parish coordinator. Jill Brown has cared for the infants and toddlers of St. Andrew's for more than twenty years. Asher Davis serves as sexton.
The Episcopal Tradition in Grand Rapids
St. Andrew's is a parish of The Episcopal Church and a member congregation of the Episcopal Diocese of the Great Lakes. The diocesan offices and its bishop provide pastoral oversight and connection to the wider Anglican Communion. St. Andrew's companions in faith include a sister parish in Mwitikira, Tanzania, which the parish has visited and supported for more than a decade, and the neighboring parishes of the diocese with whom it shares youth ministry, clergy formation, and seasonal fellowship.
The Book of Common Prayer is the prayer book of the parish, and the lectionary sets the calendar of readings. Scripture is read in English. Hymns are drawn from The Hymnal 1982 and other authorized sources. Communion is offered at every Sunday service and at the Wednesday morning service; all baptized Christians are welcome at the altar, and anyone who wishes to come forward for a blessing instead is invited to do so.
Getting Involved
There are many ways to plug in. Some parishioners serve at Supper House on Tuesday evenings or stock shelves at the NECM Food Pantry. Some teach in the children's program or lead Youth Group. Some sing in the choir or read Scripture in worship. Some join the Spiritual Reading Group or take a formation class. Others simply show up for coffee on Sunday morning. All of it, in the words of one parish sermon, is "work done in the name of Jesus."
For more information, contact the church office at office@standrewsgr.org or 616-361-7887, visit the church in person at 1025 3 Mile Road NE, or join a Sunday service online.