Welcome to
Saint Margaret’s Episcopal Church
Saint Margaret’s Episcopal Church is an exciting, vibrant, growing, and sacramentally centered parish in the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina and a member of the worldwide Anglican Communion! Located in Waxhaw, North Carolina, we are located just south of Charlotte in one of the fastest growing counties of the state. We believe that this church is a special church; a church in which you will feel the presence of Jesus in a real and dynamic way.
About Us
Worship with us!
- Wednesday morning Eucharist at 11:00 am
- Sunday worship services: 8:15 am & 10:30 am
- Sunday School for all ages: 9:30 am-10:15 am (September – early May)
Newsletters
“How is your prayer life?” It is a simple question with profound importance. One of the obvious charismata of Saint Margaret’s is our intentional life of corporate prayer, and this parish gift is built upon the foundation of the countless individual prayers of its parishioners. Nothing good ever begins without prayer, so my question for each of us today is, “How is your prayer life?”
Prayer is the first spiritual reflex of a follower of Jesus. Our Lord spent a significant amount of time in prayer, and He encouraged His disciples to do likewise.
The discipline of an ongoing prayer life is vitally important to our spiritual health. Prayer is how we connect with Jesus and ask for His help, comfort, and guidance. It is also a time to set aside distractions and focus on cultivating a closer
relationship with Him. We pray because our struggles and needs truly matter to Jesus.
Every human being who has ever lived, or ever will live, was conceived into this world by God our Father and is loved so deeply that He sent His Son for all of us, that we might be in right relationship with Him. All are invited into this union with Jesus, and all have value through Him. It is only when we embrace this divine truth that we can begin to heal this fractured world.
Paul’s message to the Corinthians, as well as the consistent theme throughout his letters, is an encouragement to hope in Jesus even in the midst of hardship, for our victory has already been secured in Christ. Through His triumph on the cross, and through our baptism into His life, death, and resurrection, we live in hope, confident that no temporary struggle can withstand the promise of eternal life given to us through Jesus Christ. In the midst of chaos, Jesus still reigns. When suffering abounds, the healing balm of Christ continues to restore. Where strife multiplies, Jesus is still at work, recreating all things and fulfilling His purposes. Our call is not to despair but to say Yes as we are invited into God’s divine activity.
From the very beginning, followers of Jesus understood their lives to be woven together for the common good. They joyfully gave of their resources to build God’s Kingdom. Two thousand years later, we too are called to come together, through prayer, through the use of our spiritual gifts, and through our financial support, to follow Jesus and carry out His purposes.
a team of 24 youth and adults traveled to Limón, Costa Rica to participate in a mission week through our companion Diocese, the Diocese of Costa Rica. This was Saint Margaret’s sixth trip to Costa Rica but our first time traveling to and serving in Limón (on the Caribbean side of the country, about a 3 hour drive from San Jose).
The team spent their week at San Marcos Escuela, an all-ages private school run by the Diocese. In addition to being a school, San Marcos is next door to its namesake church and has become a destination for other Episcopal churches in town and the community at large due to its gathering spaces. With it being a community destination, part of the team spent several days replacing about 50 yards of sidewalk in front of the school in order to provide safer access to the entrance. They broke apart the top layer of concrete, hauled it away and then swept the surface clean. They then worked together to shovel the needed materials into a concrete mixer and walk the cement down the sidewalk, wheelbarrow by wheelbarrow. Team members learned from experienced contractors how to mix, haul, lay, and smooth the concrete. After they finished the sidewalk, they took those new-found skills to the back of the school where they did a similar job for a play space/patio.
In the weeks leading up to VBS, our amazing volunteers worked hard to transform the hallways into the Alaskan wilderness, creating an immersive adventure for the children. As we kicked off the week, kids “trekked into the wild” for a time filled with faith, fun, and fellowship—diving into games, crafts, music, and hands-on activities that all pointed to one powerful truth: No matter what, we can always trust Jesus.
Each day brought something special:
- In Deep Bible Adventures, children stepped into the stories of Scripture and saw God’s faithfulness come to life.
- At Imagination Station, they explored creative science experiments and made calming Northern Lights bottles and snowflake handprints—reminders that each of us is uniquely created by God.
- Glacier Games kept the energy high with wild outdoor fun, while Tundra Treats kept everyone fueled (and a new favorite was born: fruit dip!).
Our local outreach focus this year was supporting the Saint Margaret’s Food Pantry and our partners at Common Heart. Children generously brought in food and kid-friendly snacks throughout the week, learning that even at a young age, they can make a difference in our community.
It was a joy to see the building come alive with smiles, laughter, and the light of Christ as children discovered that Jesus is our unshakable guide—real, loving, trustworthy, and forever with us. Whatever life brings, we can follow Him with confidence.
Soon, the school year will end, and many of us will begin to spend more time with family, travel to see friends, and take a little time to rest and refresh. The church even takes on a slower pace during these next two months. Preschool has ended, Sundays have less activities, and the staff all use this time of year to try and fit in some well deserved vacation time. It is a welcome time for rest, reconnection, and fun with those we love, and I can say without a doubt that I am ready for the long days of summer.
First, let me say that during this time of year, I spend more time in prayer. The lighter calendar allows for more time for me to spend in prayer and reflection. I share this with you so that you know that I will be praying for you and your families with great intentionality this summer. I will be praying for your safe travel, for wonderful times at play, and for incredible experiences along the way. I hope that you will pray for me, too, as a community that prays together is such an important calling of our common life together.
If you were able to be with us in worship on April 27, you heard a wonderful sermon preached by Reverend Sarah on the 20th chapter of the Gospel of John. If you were not with us, I do hope that you will take some time and listen to her sermon on our parish YouTube channel. In part, Reverend Sarah focused on God’s peace that was given to the disciples through the gift of the Holy Spirit. What struck me was her encouragement to not wait for life circumstances to change to find peace, but to embrace the peace already within us, even if we are experiencing times of uncertainty or chaos.
If you asked Christians today what the most important day of the year was, most would likely respond with Christmas Day. Our modern society has done a powerful job of building up the Christmas season, turning it into what now seems like months of celebration and hecticness, so much so that many of us need a vacation to recover from all the activities that have so consumed our lives during that season. But as much as I love Christmas, its season, and the celebration of the Nativity of our Lord, the most important day of the year is Easter, and Easter (along with Holy Week) is now almost upon us.
People look at me strange when I say this, but the season of Lent is my favorite time of the year. Lent is a season of repentance, sacrifice, and reflection, and for most of us those do not sound like very exciting endeavors. It is easier to get excited about warmer weather, spring flowers, and the beginning of baseball season, but the exercise of self-denial and reconciliation can seem like a time for us to endure before the joyous season of Eastertide rather than forty days to deepen our faith.
You each have gifts that have been given to you by Jesus through His Holy Spirit. Do you know what your Jesus given gifts are? Are you using them for the benefit of the church and the surrounding community? Do you seek and serve Christ in all others and combine your gifts for the greater good? I would suggest to each of us that one of the primary tasks we have in this life is to find God’s calling for us, acknowledge the gifts that we have from Him, and seek how we are to use those gifts for His purposes. And, as we strive to do that, to encourage each other, knowing that we are all of one body, and of the one and same Spirit. Each one of you is important. Each one of you has gifts. Each of you has an important role to play in building God’s kingdom. Let us, as one body and one Spirit, build the kingdom of Jesus together.
It is the beginning of a new calendar year, new possibilities are hoped for, and new blessings await us all. On the church calendar this is the Feast Day of the Holy Name, in which the Church universal reminds us of the centrality and power of the name of Jesus. It is through His name alone that we find life, healing, and comfort, and my hope for each of us in this new year is that we will be sustained by the power of Jesus, that we will be led deeper into His presence, and that in all our trials and all our blessings we will seek Jesus and Him alone.
In the third chapter of Acts of the Apostles, Peter is asked by a beggar who was lame from birth for money. Having none to give Peter says to the man, Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk. The man thought he needed money to survive, but what he truly needed was true healing in the Name of Jesus. The power of Jesus, and the invocation of His Name, was evident in the first century, and the church has borne witness to this His power ever since. One thousand years later, Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, a Cistercian monk, mystic, and abbot of the abbey in Clairvaux wrote about the power and beauty in Jesus’ most Holy Name,
The sweet Name of Jesus produces in us holy thoughts, fills the soul with noble sentiments, strengthens virtue, begets good works, and nourishes pure affections. All spiritual food leaves the soul dry, if it contain not that penetrating oil, the Name Jesus. When you take your pen, write the Name Jesus: if you write books, let the Name of Jesus be contained in them, else they will possess no charm or attraction for me; you may speak, or you may reply, but if the Name of Jesus sounds not from your lips, you are without unction and without charm. Jesus is honey in our mouth, light in our eyes, a flame in our heart. This name is the cure for all diseases of the soul. Are you troubled? think but of Jesus, speak but the Name of Jesus, the clouds disperse, and peace descends anew from heaven. Have you fallen into sin? so that you fear death? invoke the Name of Jesus, and you will soon feel life returning. No obduracy of the soul, no weakness, no coldness of heart can resist this holy Name; there is no heart which will not soften and open in tears at this holy name. Are you surrounded by sorrow and danger? invoke the Name of Jesus, and your fears will vanish.
To think of Jesus is to think of the great, infinite God Who, having given us His life as an example, has also bestowed the necessary understanding, energy and assistance to enable us to follow and imitate Him, in our thoughts, inclinations, words and actions. If the Name of Jesus reaches the depths of our heart, it leaves heavenly virtue there. We say, therefore, with our great master, St. Paul the Apostle: If any man love not our Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathema.
Beloved of Saint Margaret’s, in this new year of possibilities and blessings, let us not seek silver or gold, but Jesus. Let His name be upon our lips and His presence in our hearts, that we might follow Him and be made more into His likeness.