Eileen McAvoy

St. Mary of the Angels

St. Mary of the Angels Church was founded in 1918 as an Anglo-Catholic parish in the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles. Fr. Neal Dodd, our founding rector, was moved by the Lord to address the spiritual needs of the fledgling Hollywood motion-picture community. His mission work met with much success, and in 1930 our present building was erected. In the 1950s and 1960s, the second rector, Fr. James Jordan, established a national reputation for St. Mary's as one of the country's leading centers of Anglo-Catholicism. In 1971, Fr. Jordan unexpectedly died of a heart attack and was succeeded by Fr. John Barker months later who was then succeeded by Fr. Gregory Wilcox in 1985. Following over two decades as Rector, Father Wilcox resigned in 2006 and, following a year of intense reflection and search, the Parish called the Reverend Father Christopher Kelley, as the fifth, and current, rector in the 100-year history of the parish. Through all its history, worship has been central to St. Mary's life. The recitation of the daily offices of Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer and the daily offering of the Mass provide the focus for our parish. Our worship is in the Anglo-Catholic tradition, with the rich ceremonial of western Catholicism, the beauty of the Tudor Book of Common Prayer, and the musical heritage of ancient chant and great choral compositions. For us, these are not venerable antiques, but the living vehicles of our present-day worship. Through them we proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ and celebrate His Presence as "Emmanuel, God with us."