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June 12, 2025

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Spy Highlights

St. Paul’s Church Goes to the Beach: A Chat with Eric Schless

August 27, 2022 by James Dissette

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With some decline in church membership nationwide, religious organizations have sought creative ways to share and celebrate their message. St. Paul’s Church has come up with a unique way to share their message, complete with a Chesapeake Bay panorama and early morning sunrise.

What better way than having a Sunday morning Church on the Beach service at Rock Hall Beach?

Vestryman Eric Schless regards St. Paul’s Sunday service at Rock Hall Beach not so much as a membership drive, but a way to refresh the context of the church message and enhance the spirit of community.

“All of us here now believe that the relevance of Christian message is greater now than it’s ever been with all the divisiveness. There’s a lot of need for compassion, understanding, and acceptance. We thought, maybe there’s a different way to deliver that message,” Schless says.

It’s working. With an expected participation of 30-50, more than 80 showed up for the July service.

And, if you watch this video in time, you can attend tomorrow’s service (August 28). If you miss tomorrow’s, another will be held September 25. Both are from 8:30 to 9:30. Rain location will be 20919 Bayside Avenue in Rock Hall.

St. Paul’s was established in 1692 as one of the original thirty Church of England parishes in Maryland.

The Spy caught up with Eric Schless last week to talk about the success of their new experiment and the importance of finding new ways to deliver the church’s message.

This video is approximately six minutes in length.For more about St. Paul’s, go here.

 

Editor’s Note: Mr Schless would like to correct the offerings figure he mentioned: $800, not $8,000. The collection went to the Rock Hall Elementary Schoo afternoon snack program.

 

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Filed Under: Spy Highlights

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