The story of St. Augustine by-the-Sea is a dramatic California tale. The mild climate, rollerblades and joggers surrounding us in Santa Monica suggest a carefree way of life that belies the serious concern we show for others in our church family, and the world we live in. We are serious about both our worship and our community life, praying together and for each other, and through out many activities achieving an intimacy that many members have failed to find in other places.

We are as old as our city, as varied as its population, and engaged with its problems; notably the homeless, the sick, the elderly, and the poor. The church has a rich history of personal involvement and corporate philanthropy.

Our history goes back to 1875, when Episcopalians in Santa Monica grouped to form a new congregation, just as the city itself was taking shape, but it took many years to raise the $3000 necessary to build the wooden gothic-style church they envisioned. Thanks to the railroad price wars, Santa Monica's economy boomed. The town grew to 1500 permanent residents, brick building began going up, and on August 28, 1887 (the Feast of St. Augustine of Hippo, son of Saint Monica for whom our city is named), the first service was held at the newly built church.

The church continued to grow into a strong, self-assured community presence until disaster struck. On March 9, 1966, the congregation watched helplessly as an arson fire gutted the 78 year-old church. When it was over, members picked through the rubble of the interior, salvaging a few blackened artifacts and the unity needed to begin again.

The congregation met for worship at the public library while plans for the new church were developed. Dedication services for our present church building were held on Saturday, October 28, 1967, to a crowd so large that tickets had to be issued in advance for attendance. They saw for the first time the sanctuary we love so much today - its spaciousness and light, the brightly colored, contemporary stained-glass windows, the spectacular Great East Window, "The Fire of the Holy Spirit" - its flames leaping upward as the dove of the Holy Spirit descends. And to the west, Jesus standing two stories high over a modern day Santa Monica.

The 70's and 80's were marked by engagement of the parish directly in the social activism of the era, which included actions for worldwide peace and justice, equal rights for minorities and women, gays and lesbians, support for the homeless, and interfaith advocacy. The first AIDS Healing Mass in the country was held in 1985.

We have been richly blessed by the leadership of a number of caring and gifted pastors including, The Rev. J. Carlyle Gill, one of the first ordained women priests in this denomination in 1979 and the Rev. Malcolm Boyd, an openly gay priest/activist who served as Writer and Priest in Residence from 1981 to 1996. Malcolm is the author of some 28 books including the spiritual classics: Are You Running With Me Jesus, and Gay Priest: An Inner Journey.

Through their presence and preaching, as well as that of other dynamic ministers, lay and ordained, this church has developed an identity as an open and inclusive community. Our mission statement (2000) reads: The mission of St. Augustine by-the-Sea is to include all people and challenge them to follow Jesus Christ.

Saint Augustine, our patron, remains alive to us today: his struggles with his conscience, his rigorous search for the truth, and his conversion give us support in our individual faith journeys and our witness, as the People of God, to our community and world.

We are a member of the Episcopal Church of the United States, which is part of the World Anglican Communion

Legend has it that Joseph of Arimathaea, the Jewish elder who provided his own grave for the burial of Jesus, left Palestine shortly after resurrection and arrived in Glastonbury (England) bearing the gosphel and the Holy Grail.

St. Augustine is part of the lineage of that primative Celtic and later Anglican Church (Church of England) and is thus related to one of the three historic Catholic churches: Orthodox, Roman and Anglican.

Shaped by the Protestant Reformation of the 16th Century, our worship emphasizes a balance between sacrament and preaching. As the "bridge church", we are in a place where both Catholics and Protestants feel right at home. Our heritage is one of spiritual diversity in which rationalists, charismatics, evangelicals, social activists, mystics, and catholics are seen as part of an extended family. By this, we are self-defined as a comprehensive church.