Welcome
Thank you for visiting the St. Ann Chapel web site. St. Ann Chapel is a unique, and we think, special place, for both its historicity and spirituality. Completed in 1953, it was built by Clare Boothe Luce, wife of Time magazine founder Henry Luce, in memory of her daughter, Ann Brokaw, a Stanford student who died in an automobile accident her senior year. The chapel speaks of the great love that Clare had for her daughter, in its design and furnishings, and in the "maternal" theme that pervades the chapel, from the statue over the entrance of St. Ann and her daughter, a young St. Mary to its womb-like interior. This sense of love is taken up by the congregation and the liturgy and lifted to God "in the beauty of holiness" which defines our worship.
St. Ann Chapel is a parish of the Anglican Province of Christ the King, a nationwide body of traditional Episcopal churches dedicated to maintaining the worship, discipline, and doctrine of the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. Our beliefs are those things contained in Holy Scripture, the historic Creeds, and the teachings of the Apostolic and Church Fathers – in short, the beliefs that the Church has always held. Of course, times change. But the enduring truths of the Church speak to the issues of our day, just as they have addressed the problems, hopes, and fears of every generation since the first century. And just as there really is "nothing new under the sun," there is no new Savior, only Jesus Christ, "the same yesterday, today, and forever." He is the way, the truth, and the life.
We use the 1928 Book of Common Prayer, because of its beautiful and majestic language, but also because a church prays what it believes – change the prayers and you change the theology. We’ve found that the prayers of the 1928 BCP present clear, powerful and holy expressions of Christian faith, prayers that transcend our world and lift us into the presence of God where we can worship and adore Him. For the same reason we use the 1940 Hymnal, for after all, hymns are prayers.
Our choir consists of trained, professional voices specializing in chant, polyphony, and sacred music from all ages. Much of the 11:00 service is sung: propers, Kyrie, Gloria, Sanctus, the Lord’s Prayer, and the Creed. The center and focus of our worship service is the Holy Eucharist, where everyone, priest and lay, offers himself to God in conjunction with Christ’s offering of himself. We have a coordinated and organized Sunday School program, and nursery is available. We welcome and encourage families to participate in our worship.
St. Ann is an active and growing parish. We invite you to view the pictures on the web site, and, more especially, to visit us in person.
May God’s peace and blessings be upon you,
Rev. Charles Dillon
Vicar
St. Ann Chapel