Church With Your Toes in the Sand

Yes, there's a church on Fripp Island — and in season it meets on the beach. St. Helena's, Sundays at 9. Come as you are; you'll be welcome.

Sunday morning on Fripp has its own little parade. Golf carts humming down Tarpon Boulevard. Beach chairs coming out of garages. A thermos of coffee riding in more than a few cupholders. All of it headed the same place: the sand in front of the Beach Club, where every Sunday at 9:00, church starts.

There's no steeple out there, and no pews. There's a worship team tuning up, the Atlantic rolling in a few yards off, and rows of chairs settling into the sand. Some folks come because it's their church. Some come because they're here for the week and Sunday morning still matters. Some just wander over to see what the music is. All three kinds are welcome — that's kind of the point.

(When the weather turns, or the off-season settles in, the same service moves indoors to the church at the front of the island. Same flock, same hour — just with a roof.)

Yes, Fripp Island Has a Church

The service belongs to St. Helena's Anglican Church — the Beaufort parish founded in 1712, one of the oldest congregations in America, still worshiping in its historic sanctuary on Church Street. Three centuries in, the parish's most relaxed service isn't in Beaufort at all. It's here: a contemporary service of Holy Communion, every Sunday at 9:00 a.m. In season, it meets on the Fripp Island beach. When the weather or the off-season calls it, the service moves inside to the church at the front of the island.

And you don't have to live here to be part of it. Tell the folks at the Fripp Island gate that you're headed to church, and they'll let you through. Islanders, renters, week-long visitors, Beaufort neighbors — there's no membership card for a beach chair. If Sunday morning is part of your life back home, it can be part of your week on Fripp, too.

The Pastor on the Beach

The service is led by the Rev. Todd Simonis — Pastor Todd to everyone out here. He's the one preaching most Sundays (his sermons are posted on the church's website afterward, if you want to listen ahead), and he's as much a part of the island as of the church: the kind of pastor who learns your name fast and asks how your week's going like he means it. If you're new, stick around two minutes after the last song and say hello. That's how most people here got started.

What a Sunday Morning Feels Like

The Fripp Worship Team leads the music — guitars and voices, songs you can follow even if you don't know them yet. The service itself is a real service of Holy Communion, with Anglican roots going back centuries, but nothing about the morning feels stiff. Most Sundays, the loudest thing out there is the ocean. Kids fidget and dig in the sand. Nobody minds.

There's no pressure built into it, either. Sit in the back row of chairs. Come in whatever you wore to walk the beach. Head out when you need to. Plenty of islanders will tell you it's the calmest hour of their week — the week just starts slower when it starts facing the water. And if you've been away from church for a while, or you've been meaning to find your way back, this is about as easy a door as there is to walk through.

Want Pews With Your History?

On a rainy Sunday — or when you just want the full 300-year-old experience — the mother church in Beaufort is an easy drive off the island. At 505 Church Street, St. Helena's holds traditional services at 8:00 and 10:30 a.m. in the historic sanctuary, plus a contemporary service at 9:15 a.m. in the parish hall. The 9:15 and 10:30 services stream online, too. Beach church on the pretty Sundays, Beaufort church when you want the whole story — that's a pretty good rotation.

Quick Answers

Is there a church on Fripp Island? Yes — St. Helena's Anglican holds a Sunday service on Fripp every week at 9:00 a.m. In season it meets on the beach in front of the Beach Club; in bad weather and the off-season, it moves indoors to the church at the front of the island.

Can visitors attend? Absolutely. Residents, renters, and vacationers are all welcome — and if you're coming from off-island, the gate will let you through when you say you're headed to church.

What should I bring? A beach chair or blanket, and whatever you were already wearing. It's church — on a beach.

If Sunday morning has been missing since you got to Fripp — or for a lot longer than that — there's room in the sand. See you out there.