Rector
The Rev. Anne Featherstone
Anne came to St. Columba's in 2015 from a parish in Albany. She preaches most Sundays, keeps her sermons to twelve minutes, and sings tenor in the Pearl Street Singers when nobody is looking.
The parish
158 years at Pearl and North Willard
Built by quarrymen and singing ever since. Here is who we were, who looks after things now, and what we promise each other.
Our history
A parish that kept its choir through everything
The roof has been replaced three times. The music list has been printed every week since 1923.
1868
Stone from Isle La Motte
Quarrymen and their families build the church from gray lake-island limestone and form the first choir.
1891
The Hook & Hastings organ arrives
Thirty-one ranks, shipped from Boston by rail and still played every Sunday.
1923
The choristers' school begins
Twelve boys, a stipend of a dime a week, and the first printed music list.
1974
Girls join the trebles
Among the first parish choirs in New England to admit girls as choristers.
1992
The warming shelter opens
The undercroft becomes a winter shelter for twelve guests a night, December to March.
2023
The organ is restored
Two years of work, paid for entirely by gifts from people who love the sound.
Clergy and musicians
The people you'll meet
Everyone below answers their own email. Write to whoever fits.
The Baptismal Covenant
What we promise, in the Prayer Book's own words
Episcopalians don't sign a confession. At every baptism the whole congregation renews these five promises instead, answering each one: I will, with God's help.
The teaching and the table
Will you continue in the apostles' teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in the prayers?
Book of Common Prayer, p. 304 · Acts 2:42
Turning back
Will you persevere in resisting evil, and, whenever you fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord?
BCP p. 304
Telling it
Will you proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ?
BCP p. 305
Christ in everyone
Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself?
BCP p. 305 · Matthew 25:40
Justice and dignity
Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?
BCP p. 305 · Micah 6:8
The rest of the week
What the parish does when the choir goes home
Music is what people hear about. Most of the parish's volunteer hours go somewhere else, alongside neighbors who were doing this work long before we were.
- Undercroft Warming ShelterDec–Mar, nightly
Twelve guests a night, a hot supper and two volunteers who stay till morning.
- OldNorthEndLunchTableTuesdays, noon
Soup and bread for anyone, cooked by the Altar Guild in the parish hall kitchen.
- Champlain Welcome CircleSince 2009
Parishioners help newly arrived families with leases, school forms and the first winter.
- Lake Dunmore Choir CampEvery July
A week of singing and swimming for choristers, free to every family.