Mission

In response to God through Jesus Christ, St. George’s sustains a sanctuary of worship and a spiritual home in the Episcopal tradition.

We believe in guiding people on their journey in faith and in their relationship with Christ by and through worship. We offer the best of our hearts, hands, and minds in worshiping God in the beauty of holiness. We believe that transforming this world, so that it becomes the kingdom of heaven on earth, is best accomplished by people who are spiritually nourished in worship on Sundays and then sent forth to do God’s work during the week.

Worship

Worship in the Episcopal tradition involves all the senses of sight, touch, hearing, smell and sound, and our bodies are engaged in worship by changes in posture from sitting to standing to kneeling. We bring the beauty of God’s creation and human creativity into our worship through the arrangement and use of flowers, colored glass windows, vestments, artwork, metalwork – the best we can offer to God from the gifts that God has given us. Our prayers are from the different strands of Christianity that have been prayed for over 2,000 years, ranging from ancient to modern. Our services are drawn from the Book of Common Prayer, descended from the first efforts during the Reformation to offer worship in English and that could be understand and shared by all people. At every service there is a balance between words that are said every week, and words that are unique and special to that particular service. We are a Biblically-based church. Over 90% of the words used in our prayer book worship are Scripture quotations or words inspired by Scripture.

St. Augustine said the person who sings once prays twice. At St. George’s, our congregational hymn singing is the most important part of our Rite II service. Other music includes psalm singing, chanting of the parts of the service, and special musical offerings. We are ably led by a mechanical action (tracker) pipe organ that dates from 1890 and has been specially installed and adapted for use at St. George’s. Other instruments such as piano, brass and percussion are used on occasion.

History

Durham follows the pattern of most New England towns in that its first faith presence was the Congregational Church. It has worshipped here since the town’s origin in the 17th century. Although Episcopalians began gathering for home worship in the 1880’s, it was not until 1948 when Bishop John Dallas organized St. George’s Mission. The University of New Hampshire provided Ballard Hall for worship space while the congregation gathered resources for their own church. Land that had been the formal gardens for the Smith Estate was purchased, along with the gardener’s residence, which is now the rectory. The estate’s mansion, affectionally named “Red Tower,” continues to stand across the street from the church today. Ground was broken in 1953 and the church was dedicated on September 26, 1954. Funds were provided by the congregation, the diocese, and a generous grant from the United Thank Offering. Early clergy leadership included Clinton Morrill, Randall Giddings, Jonathan Mitchell, and Charles Web, along with the support of Bishops Dallas, Charles Hall, and Philip Smith. Albert Snow was vicar and, upon the mission attaining parish status, rector from 1959 to 1995. Thomas Vanderslice was then interim rector until 1997 when Michael Bradley was called as the second rector. Fr. Bradley led some major improvement projects during his tenure, including the replacement of the malfunctioning original pipe organ with the beloved 1890 tracker pipe organ in use today. He also oversaw a major renovation of the building to better serve the community and improve handicap accessibility. He served through November of 2019 when Celeste Hemingson was called to lead the parish through the next transition. Our current rector, The Rev. Nathaniel Bourne, was called in 2021 and began his ministry in June of that year. Today, St. George’s continues to be a thriving place of worship and fellowship. We invite you to be a part of our future! 

Clergy and Staff