Saint Paul's Community Church Profile

Who we are and our Core Values 

St Paul’s Community Church is a community of believers joined together with the purpose of worshipping and glorifying the Lord Almighty, and joined to the Anglican Diocese in New England, a diocese in the Anglican Church in North America, under the authority of the Anglican Bishop of New England. We believe in the Holy Trinity; salvation through Jesus Christ, the Son of God, conceived by Holy Spirit, and born of the Virgin Mary. We believe in the Lordship and Divinity of Jesus Christ as revealed in the Bible, both Old and New testaments. We accept as valid and worship according to the 3 historic creeds, four ecumenical councils of the Christian Church, and the 39 Articles of Religion, as observed by the Constitution and Canons of the Anglican Church in North America. We value deeply the historic liturgical tradition of the Anglican Church, because it is Godcentered. However, we also freely accommodate the more contemporary practices that enhance our worship. We are a close-knit congregation of about 60 active families who share a common desire to worship and fellowship together, and value each other as brothers and sisters. We believe each person is a gift from God. We are a diverse mix of generations - from infants to seasoned saints and are a “come as you are” church, where people are invited to belong before they believe, and to believe before they behave. Our children are valued and their participation in our family is crucial to the future of our church and has been fostered with activities, love and care. While our beliefs are conservative, our services have a casual and contemporary taste that accommodate and allow for innovative approaches as the Spirit guides us. We love to worship God through a combination of the traditional and the modern. We mix traditional hymns with contemporary Gospel songs performed by our Praise and Worship team. We believe music is the handmaiden of liturgy and a vital ingredient for a vibrant, lively worship service that makes people want to come to church. We consider ourselves a family. Like any good family, we share the triumphs and setbacks of our lives with each other so that we can praise God together for the former and pray together for the latter. We have successfully established a safe and welcoming space on Sundays in which our parishioners feel comfortable standing up and sharing with the congregation. This family atmosphere is a critical part of our church identity. We have had successes but we also have challenges that we would like to overcome together. Budgetary limitations have hampered our desire to focus more attention on our youth and Sunday school programs. We also would like to extend our mission to the larger community. We believe we have great potential, individually and as a whole, that is largely untapped. We are ready to unleash this potential as we move to the next phase of our church life.

Important values that we hold dear to our hearts

We are a Christ-centered church; we believe God calls us to be centered in Christ. 

We believe God calls us to follow women and men; we value full inclusiveness in choosing those we set apart to lead. 

We value the priesthood of the believer and believe that God calls all people to serve as ministers to, for, and with one another.

We value service to God, other members and the community; we believe that God calls us to be servant leaders and to share our joy and sorrow with our fellow believers.

We value strong Biblical study; we believe that God calls us to study the whole scripture.

We value the whole Bible and believe that God reveals the Bible as our source of faith.

We value acceptance; we believe God calls us to reach out to and welcome all persons in Jesus' name.

Mission Statement

St Paul’s Community Church exists to glorify God. We desire to be led by the Holy Spirit into the community and the world in order to share the glory and grace of God through Jesus Christ. We are an open fellowship of free and faithful Christians, who worship in the Anglican tradition, committed to a journey characterized by serious study, intentional worship, loving and compassionate fellowship, and hands-on ministry. We desire to see the Kingdom of God expand in our neighborhoods, towns, and beyond, and to grow in the practical outworking of mission in our everyday lives.

Parish History

The very first Kenyan church in New England came into existence back in July of 1995 in Malden, Massachusetts. It was founded by 9 members led by the Ven. Peter Gachathi, adopting the name of St. Paul’s Kenyan Community Church. The city of Malden provided the new church with space at the city’s Aging Center Facility located at 176 Pearl Street. The humble beginning would attract Kenyans from all the New England states who would gather every Sunday morning regardless of their denominational backgrounds. The church served as the center for praising, worshiping, praying, networking and social gathering for the small Kenyan population at the time. Estimated membership would grow to about 50 by the year 2000. Sister Churches were set up in Lynn and Lowell under the leadership of Rev. Njuguna Ngotho and Rev.Dr. Major James Githitu, respectively. In 2001, the church moved to St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, located at 26 Washington Street, Malden. Membership grew to about 80. The church welcomed an associate pastor, The Rev. Paul Kimani Mwaniki, in 2003. Later that year, he opened a sister church in Attleboro. Between 2004 and 2007, a major fundsraising campaign was conducted culminating in the purchase of the current church situated at 112 Andover Street in Lawrence. The name was changed to St. Paul’s Community Church. The worshippers had managed to raise a total of $161,000 which was put as a down payment for the total sale price of $460,000. The remainder of the cost was taken up as a mortgage of $299,000. From May 2007 the congregation settled in the new place of worship and embarked on the journey of spiritual and physical growth of the church. Deliberate efforts and sacrifices were put in place to ensure that the church could meet its financial obligations for the mortgage and other day-to-day needs of the church. The efforts paid off in 2015 when the church was able to pay off the mortgage. The church has seen its fair share of successes and challenges in its journey to the present state. The church has remained a close tight community that sees one another as equal. The church, having completed the burden of the mortgage, has since embarked on the spiritual growth of the worshippers. This continues to be an evolving commitment that will be accelerated with the new rector. The current Rector has laid a solid foundation in this cause and is committed to see smooth and successful transition to the next phase of our church’s life.

Parish Ministries

We have several ministries that we would like the new rector to focus on as a matter of priority. We consider these ministries vital for the future success of our church.

Youth program

The youth program is reserved for teenagers and young adults and is comprised of a formal service as well as bible studies. It is currently run by organized volunteers and parents. The format and content of the program have varied over the years based on the needs of the children and the availability of volunteers to take part in the ministry. As a parish we are dedicated to increasing what we offer our youth and are looking for new and innovative ways which can assist us in meeting this goal.

Brigade/Sunday school

We currently have two programs that accommodate our children in learning about the word of God. Small children attend a Sunday school program which is run by a team of dedicated parents led by one of the lay Readers in the church. The Brigade class is for the kids that are too old for Sunday school but not old enough for the youth program. It serves as a transition program between the Sunday school and the youth programs. It is currently run by one of the Lay Readers with the assistance of the parents.

Music Ministry

We believe music is one of the greatest ways of offering worship and praise to the Almighty. We believe music is the handmaiden of liturgy. We would like to improve on our music as a key component to our spiritual lives and a vital ingredient for a vibrant, lively worship service that makes people want to come to church. We recently upgraded our music and audio system and are always striving to increase on the personnel to supplement our praise and worship team. We have a rapidly evolving choir that is determined to lead the way in the use of music as an effective tool to minister to the congregation. We are also constantly investing in the children by providing for percussion and instrument training to ensure the future of our music ministry. We firmly believe that the music ministry provides opportunities for praise and prayer through the gift of music to the congregation.

Fellowships

We enjoy time with our Christian family in fellowship together at events throughout the year. We have luncheons and outings, especially in summer, when we reflect on the blessings among us. We would like to improve and focus on regional meetings to fellowship and study the word of God together.

Organizational Life Services

We have two services on Sunday in the main church: the English service starts 9:45 am to 10:45am; the Kikuyu service 11.00am to 1:00pm. We also have Youth and Sunday school/Brigade services that run concurrent with the Kikuyu service. We have social tea and snack after the service down stairs. The average attendance for our main service is about 60 people

Administration

We currently have a rector as the administrative head of the parish. We also have an assistant rector and three lay Readers who are leaders in the various ministries of the parish. We have a church council (Vestry) which is the governing board of the parish. It is comprised of the rector, 4 officers and 6 members, all elected by the church members. Lay Readers are also part of the vestry. We practice a democratic pattern of government, where issues are discussed and voted on if need be. All important decisions are brought before the whole membership. We have one mandatory annual meeting and other general meetings may be called as necessary. Important issues are addressed during general meetings and these include financial reports, reports from the Boards, reports from the ministers, and sharing of celebrations, issues, and concerns. The ministries of the church are organized into four groups, namely men, women, youth and Brigade/Sunday school. This ensures that as many members as possible are involved in leadership roles. We also organize our activities around 4 regional boroughs which allows members to have fellowship within their geographical region for convenience. Each region has its leader who coordinates the activities of the cell group and liaise with the church leadership for any assistance.

Vision for the Future

We have, over the years, identified some of the most important challenges that continue to confront us in this wonderful journey. The following are some of the challenges that we continue to address:

Ensuring the spiritual and physical well being of the kids in the church are at the forefront of any future plans.

Modernizing the services to reflect the changing dynamics, while still maintaining the traditional liturgical practices.

Revitalizing the English service to be more attractive to more parishioners. • Integrating the locals into the services.

Renovating and expanding the physical facilities to accommodate the changing demographics of the church.

Motivating the members to be more active and participate in more activities in the services.

Serving the community by feeding the hungry and clothing the needy, which is a crucial part of our long-term plan as a way of exemplifying the great commandment and commissioning of our Lord Jesus.

Our Rector

Our current Rector is Rev Morris Mutura. He is our leader who is helping us launch into the next phase of our parish life. With the power of the Lord, we are willing to climb mountains, cross bridges and go through tunnels in order to get where God wants us to go.

Description of Property

Our property comprises two buildings adjacent to one another but with different street addresses. The main church is located on 112 Andover Street and is comprised of the main sanctuary and hall, with a kitchen in the basement. The second building is a two-bedroom church house, with a small hall on the side.

Community – City of Lawrence

Located twenty-five miles north of Boston, Lawrence, Massachusetts, is truly a city of immigrants and industry. Lawrence was built in the 1840's as the nation's first planned industrial city. The massive mill buildings lining the Merrimack River, the striking clock and bell towers and the breath-taking Great Stone Dam are all a tribute to Lawrence's industrial heritage. The harnessed strength of the Merrimack River and its system of canals fueled the Lawrence mills that produced textiles for the American and European markets. By the early twentieth century, with a population of nearly 95,000, the city was a world leader in the production of cotton and woolen textiles in massive mills. Known as the Immigrant City, Lawrence has always been a multi-ethnic and multicultural gateway city with a high percentage of foreign-born residents. The successive waves of immigrants coming to Lawrence to work in the mills began with the Irish, followed by the French Canadians, Englishmen, and Germans in the late 1800s. Around the turn of the century and early 1900s, Italians, Poles, Lithuanians, and Syrians began arriving. The wave of Puerto Ricans and Dominicans started in the mid to late 1900s, and the newest arrivals have originated from Vietnam and Cambodia. The current population is largely Hispanic and has given a Latino slant to the local economy and culture.

Financial Status

We have an operating budget of approximately $100,000. We strive to maintain fiscal discipline with our budget to ensure that our income surpasses the expenditures, thus leaving a surplus that we can tap into in case of emergencies. Our income ranges between $100,000 – $118,000 and is primarily from parishioners. There is potential for income generating projects currently in consideration, including renting the church hall and house. Soliciting for funding from external sources is also part of the long-term plans.

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