Meet Saint Margaret's, Waxhaw
Saint Margaret’s, Waxhaw, is a vibrant church community located in the South Charlotte region of the Diocese of North Carolina. Situated in the town of Waxhaw, its membership includes parishioners from Waxhaw, Weddington, Marvin and beyond, drawing worshippers from both Union County and upper South Carolina. Established as a mission in 1983, the church grew along with the surrounding area and constructed its current building in 2004. The property was built on one of the highest points in all of Union County, and thus its striking beauty continues to draw visitors and new members alike as more and more people choose to worship and serve in this parish community.
[Image: Members of St. Margaret’s, Waxhaw, sort clothing at the Community Shelter of Union County. The church’s relationship with the shelter led to the creation of their new mattress ministry. Photo courtesy of St. Margaret’s, Waxhaw]
The mission of Saint Margaret’s is to “Love Jesus, Love your Neighbor, Bless the World.” The faithful people of this parish seek to live out that mission through worship, prayer and Jesus-centered service to the surrounding community. Our worship is reverent, intentional and grounded in the Anglican tradition through its ancient prayers and traditional hymnody. We pray for everything, about everything and, through our life of prayer, we have come to see the wonderful things Jesus has planned for us. Transformed by worship and guided by prayer, we then go into the surrounding community and seek to serve where God has led us, helping to do our part to build Jesus’ Kingdom on earth, as it is in heaven.
Saint Margaret’s is blessed to have members from all walks of life. On any given Sunday, you can expect to find young and old alike, long-time members and new visitors, those who work and those who are retired. We have people who have been life-long Episcopalians and those who still haven’t quite figured out when to sit, kneel or stand! Our youth and children are vitally important to our community, and, because of this, we are blessed to have a vibrant youth program and children’s ministry. Central to the growth of our parish is the welcoming nature of its people, and thus this church has been blessed by a steady increase of membership, worship attendance and ministry.
While the pandemic has certainly been difficult, Saint Margaret’s has been resolute in its call to prayer and its service to the wider needs of the community. While being limited in worship, our relationship with our partner organizations such as Common Heart, Community Shelter of Union County and Turning Point have been deepened. Prayer request emails are rampant, as we continue to pray for one another, even as we remained physically distanced from one another. And while all of this has been a wonderful witness to our commitment to the work of Jesus Christ, this has been hard! We are ready to return to worship together, ready to pray and learn together, and ready to continue the good work begun in us by serving our brothers and sisters who are in need during these difficult times.
More than anything else, the people of Saint Margaret’s are thankful. While these last 15 months have been difficult, and so many have suffered such deep losses in their lives, Saint Margaret’s is thankful that we have been called together in this wonderful place to do God’s work. God has been so generous with His blessings. Saint Margaret’s is doing its best to share those blessings with others!
