About St. Peter’s, Charlotte, North Carolina

Organized in 1834 and recognized as a parish in the Diocese of North Carolina in 1844, St. Peter’s was the first Episcopal Church in Charlotte and considered the “mother church” of the region. Area churches including St. Martin’s, Holy Comforter, St. Mark’s, St. Michaels, St. Paul’s in Monroe, and Christ Church all trace their roots to St. Peter’s. The current building at Seventh and Tryon Streets was completed in 1895, having begun construction under the direction of then rector and later Bishop Joseph Blount Cheshire, Jr. in 1893. The Parish House and chapel were added in 1912; the nave renovated in 1951 and again in 2010; and an education and office building added in 1998. When the church was completed in 1895, the vestry acted to open its doors every day as a sanctuary for the people of Charlotte, a practice that continues today.

St. Peter’s impact on the community stretches to the Civil War when the church raised money to provide Bibles and Prayers Books for soldiers. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the congregation established two hospitals: St. Peter’s Hospital for the poor of the community and Good Samaritan Hospital for African Americans. Both hospitals were later incorporated into what is now Carolinas Medical Center. Grants assisted St. Peter’s in starting Thompson’s Orphanage, now Thompson Child and Family Focus. More recently the St. Peter’s Soup Kitchen, established in 1979, grew to include a number of downtown churches and now operates as the Urban Ministry Center, serving the region’s poor and homeless. Other outreach organizations launched from St. Peter’s include The Samaritan House (post-operative respite for individuals who are homeless), Chamber Music Charlotte, and the Augustine Project (a literacy program). In 1955 St. Peter’s leadership established an endowment, now with over $8 million pledged in legacy gifts. Each year the endowment provides further funding for community organizations in need and as catalyst for parish initiatives.

A rich choral tradition dating to at least the 1920s, involved separate choirs for boys, girls, and adults. Choirs for young people were re-established in 1992 as the Choir School at St. Peter’s, now serving over 100 choristers between the ages of 7 and 18 from across the region. The St. Peter’s Choir for adults has forty volunteer members.  The 2010 renovation of the church included the installation of the Van Ness Hamrick Organ, C. B. Fisk Opus 136, a three-manual mechanical action pipe organ.

St. Peter’s Christian formation programs for young people are nationally recognized and emulated by many other churches in the region. Our Catechesis of the Good Shepherd and Journey to Adulthood programs prepare young people for engaged, Christian lives in the twenty-first century. The teens participate in mission trips, outreach camps, and pilgrimages each year.

A lively, energetic, and welcoming congregation, St. Peter’s is a traditional, Eucharist-centered parish in the heart of center city Charlotte. Congregation and choir join in singing the songs and psalms of the church from the earliest Christian chant to hymns and anthems recently composed. Holy Eucharist, Rite II is celebrated each weekday at 12:10 p.m. On Sundays, Holy Eucharist, Rite I is celebrated at 8:00 a.m.; Holy Eucharist, Rite II is celebrated at 10:30 a.m.; evening worship, including Taizé and Choral Evensong, takes place at 5:00 p.m.