Get to Know: St. Peter's Episcopal Church, Ladue

St. Peter's Episcopal Church is nestled in the beautiful and affluent suburb of Ladue, just west of St. Louis. The church itself is quite beautiful, with a bright and open worship space. And the affluence of the community can be seen in St. Peter's history of generosity in caring for its members and its neighbors.

The parish was founded in 1868 as a mission of Christ Church Cathedral and was established as a parish in 1872. St. Peter's found its home in two different locations in the city before settling at the corner of Ladue and Warson Road in 1949.

With its own beginnings as a branch of the Cathedral, St. Peter's went on to sponsor or help plant several additional West County parishes between 1956 and 1965, including the Church of the Good Shepherd in Town & Country, St. Matthew's in Warson Woods, St. Timothy's in Creve Coeur, and St. Martin's in Ellisville.

In 1986, St. Peter's founded Haven of Grace to help young, pregnant and homeless women in St. Louis. By 1994, demand for services provided at Haven of Grace had grown a great deal, with volunteers helping from a variety of denominations. The agency shifted from exclusive support from St. Peter's to a broader base of community-wide support. St. Peter's is still involved with the ministry today through financial support and church members serving on the Board of Directors.

The Rev. David Hodges, who was called as St. Peter's new rector in 2021, said the parish has a real desire to make an impact in the wider community through outreach ministries. "This is a church that gets outside of itself and looks for ways to utilize our resources of people and finances and connections in the community to help address the needs and pressing concerns of the St. Louis area," said Fr. David.

St. Peter's recently provided a bridge loan to the Tabernacle Church in Florissant to develop a community center in their North St. Louis County community. Fr. David says St. Peter's continues to look for additional ways to support that effort, and others like it.

Along with their heart for outreach, St. Peter's is dedicated to offering spirit-filled experiences for its own members. The Ladue parish is known for its music program, offering three different choirs for adults and children that sing at the 10:30 services as well as special events. St. Peter's also offers monthly Evensong services and occasional organ vespers.

St. Peter's also offers a vibrant formation program for children, youth and adults, all of which are now re-establishing themselves after the pandemic. The parish is planning a fun Vacation Bible School program for the summer of 2022. Along with Sunday school, St. Peter's offers Playgroup during the week, which they describe as a "pre-preschool" for children between 20-months and 3-years old.

From its outreach projects to its internal ministries, Fr. David says St. Peter's has a wonderful infrastructure to build on. "The challenge comes in how we navigate the uncertainty of what life in general and church life look like as we continue to move out of the pandemic. This is a somewhat unique environment. But people have the same spiritual needs -- they want to be fed, and they are committed to making a difference in the community."

Vital Stats:

Church name: St. Peter’s Episcopal Church

Address: 110 North Warson Road

City: Ladue

Phone: 314-993-2306

Email: [email protected]

Website: http://specstl.org/

Worship Services: