St. Mary’s Church, Hamilton Village, is an Episcopal Church located on the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

campus in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. It calls itself the Episcopal Church at Penn to emphasize its campus ministry. The parish is part of the Episcopal Church in the

Diocese of Pennsylvania The Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania is a diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America encompassing the counties of Philadelphia, Montgomery, Bucks, Chester and Delaware in the state of Pennsylvania. The Diocese has 36,641 m ...

. In 2020, it reported 225 members, 51 average attendance, and plate and pledge financial support of $95,097. The church is a remnant of the Hamilton VillageHistory of Hamilton Village
/ref> neighborhood that existed in

West Philadelphia West Philadelphia, nicknamed West Philly, is a section of the city of Philadelphia. Alhough there are no officially defined boundaries, it is generally considered to reach from the western shore of the Schuylkill River, to City Avenue to the nort ...

prior to being subsumed by the University. The land was given to the church by the Hamilton family for whom the town was named.

Background

Founded in the early 19th century to serve as a summer congregation for Philadelphians who were vacationing west of the

Schuylkill River The Schuylkill River ( , ) is a river running northwest to southeast in eastern Pennsylvania. The river was improved by navigations into the Schuylkill Canal, and several of its tributaries drain major parts of Pennsylvania's Coal Region. It fl ...

, it soon had year-round services. The current building dates from 1872 and the parish hall from 1896. During the mid-19th century the parish became a focal point for the

Anglo-Catholic Anglo-Catholicism comprises beliefs and practices that emphasise the Catholic heritage and identity of the various Anglican churches. The term was coined in the early 19th century, although movements emphasising the Catholic nature of Anglican ...

movement, which the Rector and congregation supported. St. Mary's played a leading role in supporting African-American civil rights, the anti-war movement of the Vietnam era, women's ordination within the Episcopal Church, and the lesbian/gay community's quest for full acceptance. A former rector, the Rev. John Scott, was known for having performed an

exorcism Exorcism () is the religious or spiritual practice of evicting demons, jinns, or other malevolent spiritual entities from a person, or an area, that is believed to be possessed. Depending on the spiritual beliefs of the exorcist, this may be ...

of the Philadelphia campaign headquarters of

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

, and was the founder of the Philadelphia Third Order Franciscans, a worldwide lay religious community. In the 1970s the parish was host to the local chapter of

IntegrityUSA Integrity USA was a nonprofit organization affiliated with the Episcopal Church in the United States. It was founded in 1974 to promote the inclusion of Q members and their Straight allies, allies for equal access to Episcopal liturgy, rites, bu ...

, immediately after the chapter's founding, and before the chapter moved to Center City.August-September1976 [HTML]
/ref> Due to its proximity to the Philadelphia Divinity School (which has now merged with Episcopal Divinity School and closed its facilities in Philadelphia), many seminarians often attended services here in the days immediately preceding the ordination of the Philadelphia Eleven and the eventual admission of women to the priesthood in 1976. The parish hall houses a nursery school and The Bearded Ladies Cabaret. The sanctuary is often used for concerts. The Rev. Mariclair Partee Carlsen was called as Rector and Episcopal Chaplain to the University of Pennsylvania in March 2013.

External links

St. Mary's Church Official Site

St. Mary's Nursery School Official Site

The Gatherings Concert Series

Guidebook to St. Mary's Church, Hamilton Village (1946)
from Philadelphia Studies
Directory for St. Mary's Church, Hamilton Village, for 1928

Directory for St. Mary's Church, Hamilton Village, for 1929

Directory for St. Mary's Church, Hamilton Village, for 1932

Directory for St. Mary's Church, Hamilton Village, for 1948

Directory for St. Mary's Church, Hamilton Village, for 1949

References

{{Reflist

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

Churches completed in 1872 19th-century Episcopal church buildings

University City, Philadelphia

Background

See also

External links

References