Story of The Crossing

In 2005 when Rev. Stephanie Spellers was hired as a minister at The Cathedral Church of St. Paul. Charged with young adult outreach, she gathered eight 20-to-30-somethings in November 2005 for dinner and worship. Some of the original group came from St. Paul’s and others did not. What all of them had in common was a hunger for a new kind of church and a positive vision. Rather than just deconstructing institutional church practice, Rev. Steph wanted a group that would construct something new. At each meeting, a member of the group would share a spiritual practice that meant something to them, like yoga, singing, or art. By spring 2006, they were ready to expand their vision and open the community to growth. On April 20, 2006 they held their first worship gathering in the sanctuary at St. Paul’s.

The Crossing began as a group of searchers seeking authentic relationship with each other and God in a modern, dissociated world. Starting from a premise of radical welcome, the Crossing quickly grew into a church cherishing music, ancient ritual, and modern vernacular. As the Crossing took shape, it grew fully into an Episcopal congregation, and the Eucharist became a central part of worship. Those initial conversations morphed into a loose leadership style affectionately referred to as “scrum.” The Crossing is now governed by a Council including the Priest, treasurer, members of the leadership circles, and at-large members elected from the community. There have been several priests and ministers, music directors and seminarians, postulants and members since the beginning, but the Crossing has remained an Emergent Church in the truest sense: the values of Radical Welcome, music, ritual, and Eucharist that emerged from those first meetings have remained central to the Crossing’s identity.