St. Mary of the Snows Anglican Church

What are services like?
WE’RE MISSION-DRIVEN. WE’RE ANGLICAN. St. Mary of the Snows is a church with a rich history dating to 1898 in Eagle River. With a new and larger building purchased in 2013 we have a new energy and an expanded focus. We are called to be a real and tangible blessing to our community. We’re not another church for the sake of ourselves or for the sake of churchgoers. We are a church for the sake of others. Being Anglican means many of our practices and priorities are ancient. We follow an ancient liturgy and take communion together. We value the time in the church’s history before it started to divide out into different groups. We love our historical connection and the fact that we worship as the earliest Christians did. Being mission-driven means we reach out to the world around us instead of hoping to drag in the world (outreach instead of in-drag). Like missionaries, we are "sent” to greater Eagle River in order to share the good news of what Jesus has done and wants to do in all of our lives, our city, and our world. We are connected to the Anglican Diocese of Quincy, which is a part of the Anglican Church in North America.

What is the community like?
WE’RE NOT JUST A CHURCH WE'RE A COMMUNITY WHO TOGETHER FOLLOW WHAT JESUS TEACHES, MODELS, AND BELIEVES. 1. WE HAVE A SIMPLE FOCUS: DISCIPLESHIP Discipleship is a lifestyle of following Jesus. Discipleship undergirds everything we do at St. Mary's. It’s a simple focus, yes,but it’s the one focus that powered the early church’s incredible growth and fruit in that hostile Roman world. We don’t do consumeristic Christianity. Through Bible studies, teaching, preaching, and hands on ministry we do discipleship. 2. WE VALUE PEOPLE Our church is highly relational—we value people more than we value things. That’s why our strategy as a church has been to get people together. Strategically, this approach is purposely different from getting church stuff together. Like Jesus did, we’re investing in our people. Our greatest resources are our energy, creativity, and love for God and neighbors. Our church membership isn't just the people in our comfortable chairs on Sundays. It's all the people we reach out to seven days a week throughout the Northwoods. 3. WE HAVE WORK TO DO We have a vision to start a disciple-making movement in Vilas County. We want to be a healthy church with a rhythm of gathering together weekly to worship(UP), doing life together by being a tangible part of each others’ lives (IN), and serving the community in tangible ways (OUT). Together as we grow we will cover an amazingly diverse collection of networks and neighborhoods with God’s love and blessing. 4. WE’RE ANGLICAN, AND OUR PRACTICES ARE ANCIENT More than Catholic. More than Protestant. More than Evangelical. More than Charismatic. Drawing from our Christian historical and biblical roots and richness, we are all of these as an Ancient-Future faith community. We desire to help others find a life of meaning, hope, forgiveness and purpose through the Gospel of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Join us for worship as we celebrate through WORD, SACRAMENT, & THE HOLY SPIRIT. We express our faith in and love for Jesus in ways Christians have since the time of Jesus. We are evangelical in our preaching and teaching, a blend of traditions in our worship, and spirit-filled. We have a weekly healing service Wednesdays at 5.

What if I'm not a Christian?
WHAT WE'RE ABOUT LOVE GOD. LOVE EACH OTHER. LOVE THE WORLD AROUND US. A tripod with all legs extended is balanced and level, able to be what it was made to be and function as it was designed. Similarly, we see areas of focus for those who follow Jesus. These three things in balance in our lives let us be and do what we are designed to be and do. They are: • Love God • Love Each Other • Love the World Around Us What these 3 mean for us— We love God by coming together to worship and to daily practice the disciplines of prayer and reading the Bible. As Anglicans, our worship gatherings include some ancient ways early Christians worshiped God, and our daily disciplines may include ancient frameworks for prayer. We love each other by doing life together as a healthy extended family might. We eat together weekly. We frequently meet each other for coffee. Our pastor's office hours called Cafe Padre are held Thursday mornings at 10:30 at Eagle River Roasters. We celebrate with each other and support each other when needs arise. We pray for one other and serve each other. We love the world around us by working together to let God really bless others though us. We have established The Rock Mission Center in our new building. The Salvation Army, Northwoods Share Needs Ministry, Community Dinners, and Paper Products Pantry are already here and there are more ministries to come. We also live openly Christian lives as we do the things we love together out in the community. Some of us work as volunteers with the Headwaters Council for the Performing Arts. Others serve on the board and work as volunteers at the Vilas Food Pantry. Some of us support the local library while others work internationally. Some of us are invested in online communities. All of us seek to be the vehicle for God to bless in the places where we work and play.