St Andrew's Episcopal
Historic church with round tower and thatched roof among trees.
About us

A parish, not a project

Founded 1842. Still here, still open, still arguing about the flowers.

Who we are

An ordinary parish church

St Andrew's is a parish of the Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Connecticut. About two hundred people are on the roll and a hundred and twenty are here on a normal Sunday — students, families, a good number of people in their eighties, and a steady trickle who wandered in once and stayed.

We are broadly central in churchmanship: sung Eucharist, robed choir, real bread, and a sermon that assumes you can think. We are not fashionable and we are not trying to be.

You do not need to believe anything in particular to come. A fair number of regulars would struggle to sign up to every line of the Creed, and they are as welcome as anyone.

Clergy and staff

The people who do this

An older man with white hair wearing a red shirt

The Revd Anna Whitfield

Rector · here since 2019

Previously a hospital chaplain. Preaches without notes, which she says is the only way she can tell whether it is any good.

woman in white crew neck shirt smiling

Dr Miriam Okonjo

Director of Music · here since 2016

Runs the choir and the 1897 Hutchings organ. Will teach anyone to sing who is willing to turn up on Thursdays.

man in black crew neck long sleeve shirt

The Revd Thomas Bell

Curate · here since 2025

In his first post after ordination. Looks after the youth group and the food pantry, sometimes simultaneously.

History

Nine centuries of other people’s work

  1. 1842

    Consecrated

    Built on land given by the Burr family, for a congregation that had been meeting in a barn on Beach Road for eleven years.

  2. 1878

    The west rose

    Installed in memory of the parishioners lost in the yellow fever epidemic. Still the best thing in the building.

  3. 1897

    The organ

    Hutchings of Boston, opus 412. Rebuilt in 1962 and again in 2011, and still speaking with most of its original pipework.

  4. 1971

    The undercroft

    Dug out to house the food pantry, which has run every week since without missing one — including through 2020.

  5. 2018

    Step-free access

    Paid for by a legacy. It should not have taken us until 2018 and we know it.

Safeguarding

Keeping people safe

Everyone who works with children or vulnerable adults here is screened and trained, and that training is refreshed every three years. Our safeguarding policy is reviewed annually by the vestry and a copy is on the noticeboard in the porch.

If you are worried about anyone — a child, an adult, or yourself — speak to our Parish Safeguarding Officer, Helen Vasquez, on the number below, or contact the Diocesan Safeguarding Team directly. You do not have to go through the clergy, and you will be taken seriously.

If someone is in immediate danger, call 911 first. Tell us afterwards.