WELCOME! Visit Your Neighbor Tour, Sunday, September 10

Join a walking tour of five houses of worship, six congregations on Summit Avenue in St Paul on Sunday, September 10, starting at 12:45 pm.

12:15 Rabbi Spilker has invited us to attend “Shofar on the Roof,” a light and brief 15-minute introduction to the spirit of the High Holy Days. Meet outside. Tour will start in the sanctuary directly thereafter.

12:45 Mount Zion Temple, 1300 Summit Avenue

Rabbi Adam Stock Spilker, Rabbi Esther Adler, Cantor Strauss-Klein, and Cantor Rachel Stock Spilker

Welcome to Mount Zion, the oldest synagogue in the Upper Midwest. You will be visiting our fourth building since our founding in 1856. Placing this building, designed by the internationally renowned modernist, Bauhaus architect Erich Mendelsohn, on Summit Avenue in 1953 was a way of marking the full inclusion of Jews in the fabric of St. Paul cultural and civic life. The congregation was founded before the State of Minnesota by eight German Jewish families and today is about 680 households. In 1897, the Ladies Hebrew Benevolent Society founded Neighborhood House in the West Side Flats to welcome Eastern European Jews, and Mount Zion members continue to support this important work. The congregation conducts an active religious school twice a week, three weekly study groups, a full adult learning and social calendar, and daily services along with Shabbat (Sabbath) and Festival services. After a two year “Mount Zion 2040” strategic visioning process, the Board adopted a new vision: Our Jewish congregation envisions a community and a world where all people experience Shalom (wholeness and peace), Tzedek (justice), Shayachut (belonging), and Simcha (joy). No drinks in the sanctuary. Restrooms available. www.mzion.org

1:30 The House of Hope Presbyterian Church, 797 Summit Avenue

Rev. Dr. Scott Kenefake, Transitional Pastor; Rev. Dr. Julia Carlson, Associate Pastor

In 1914 two Presbyterian congregations who worshiped in downtown St. Paul since 1849 and 1855 merged and moved to the grand new Gothic Revival building on Summit Avenue designed by architect Ralph Adams Cram. Formally dedicated in 1917, it subsequently emerged as The House of Hope Presbyterian Church, a "high church” among Presbyterian churches with magnificent music, a focus on liturgy and preaching, and ongoing learning. The House of Hope organ is the magnum opus of Charles Fisk, one of the first to use “tracker actions.” At the core of House of Hope is a deeply embedded commitment to the greater community exemplified by its major participation in what became Prior Crossing housing for homeless youth, the Jeremiah Program, the Ain Dah Yung Center, Habitat for Humanity and the community garden. The church is home to a choir school, maintains an art gallery, continues to host programs in all of the arts and sponsors a Speaking Series and Theological Seminar featuring the outstanding thought leaders of our time. Drinks allowed in sanctuary. Restrooms available. www.hohchurch.org

2:15 St. Paul’s United Church of Christ, 900 Summit Avenue

Rev. Sarah Brouwer, Lead Minister and Rev. Eli'jah Carroll, Associate Minister; Moderator Rick Panning; Geoff Olson, organist, host

Building completed in 1952, Mid Century. Original Organ, Wicks Organ Company, brought up from the old church; additional pipes added in 1952 by the Hunt Organ Company. SPUCC was started 143 years ago by German Immigrants. The current building was constructed because the previous building in downtown St. Paul was torn down to build an approach to the state capitol. The congregation was part of the German-American Evangelical and Reformed Tradition, which was a denomination formed in the wake of the Reformation as some German Protestants reformed beyond Lutheranism. Five streams of Christian denominations in the United States came together, officially, in 1957, and St. Paul's Church joined the United Church of Christ. Of interest, the congregation almost closed 12 years ago, having gotten down to about 30 members. But, they decided to revitalize, called their first female Senior Minister, Norma Rae Hunt, and now number at approximately 350, including children. The St. Paul Childhood Center, a renowned program for infant through Pre-K is located in our building. Our programs consist of Worship, Music and Spiritual Life; Belonging and Community; Social Justice and Outreach; and Faith Formation across the age span. SPUCC acknowledges its position on historic Dakota land in a Land Acknowledgement. Drinks allowed in sanctuary. Restrooms available. www.spucconsummit.org

Holy Presence Catholic Community

Rev. Colleen Woodley and Rev. Joan Flood

This Old Catholic community holds services in the chapel of St. Paul’s. We are a Community of The Old Catholic Church but our style and thoughts are far from Old! Our name, Holy Presence. was born in the midst of the pandemic. After prayer and contemplation, the thoughts of the things we were most in need of were the presence of the Divine and the much-missed presence of each other. The name Holy Presence was born in the summer of 2020. The Old Catholic Church has its roots in Northern Europe. The seat of leadership is in Utrecht, Netherlands. Old Catholics have many of the same beliefs as the Roman Catholic Church, however, we ordain women and therefore have inclusive rights for all to the sacraments. We are a small denomination but we enjoy a close, relational and Spirit filled, loving community. We have a vigorous schedule of prayer and worship. We celebrate two Masses each week, one virtual and one in person. We have two virtual evening prayer meetings each week and a virtual Rosary each Wednesday. We are members of Interfaith Action of Greater Saint Paul and actively support Walking With a Purpose, Neighbors Inc, Second Harvest, Hallie Q Brown and Casa Guadalupana. www.holypresence.org

3:00 St. Thomas More Catholic Community, 1079 Summit Avenue

Rev. R.J. Fichtinger, S.J., Pastor; Rev. Peter Etzel, S.J., Associate Pastor; Kellen O'Grady, Director of Liturgy and Music

Church building is considered Romanesque Revival. The parish was founded in 1888 with the construction of the building completed in 1925. The organ is Casavant, Op. 1153 (1926). The parish of St. Luke merged with the parish of Immaculate Heart of Mary and, in 2008, was renamed St. Thomas More Catholic Community. We have many thriving ministries including our parish school, social justice programs (immigrant support, racial equity, & care for creation), young adults group, Ignatian Spirituality programs, free store, and music ministry. We are a parish of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Paul & Minneapolis run by the religious order the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). Drinks allowed in sanctuary, water only in front area. Restrooms available. www.morecommunity.org

3:30 St. George Greek Orthodox Church, 1111 Summit Avenue

Father Perikles Kallis (“Fr. Perry”); Mr. Stephen Arsenault, host

Byzantine building style. First service in current church edifice July 05, 1968. First church edifice was 1939. Missions and Benevolence Ministry (participation at Loaves and Fishes at St. Matthews CC, FOCUS MN on Rice St.), Philoptochos (women’s philanthropic ministry), MEOCCA Intro to Orthodox Christianity cooperative catechism program hosted at St. George in the fall and winter (12-weeks each semester), Icon writing (painting) classes hosted at St. George in the winter. No food or drink in sanctuary. No restrooms available because of concurrent program in building. www.stgeorgegoc.org