WW: How would you describe St. Francis’? What is it about your parish that makes it special?

SHAND: I’m sure every rector would say this, but I can say it’s made up of wonderful people trying to live their lives in this complicated community of Washington and at the same time worship God and practice their faith in ways that are real. There’s a phrase in the Prayer of Thanksgiving after communion, when we talk about “doing all such good works God has prepared for us to walk in.” And that notion is what a lot of people here are trying to figure out. How do we do that in this world?

WW: It seems as if St. Francis’ is doing a lot. I know you take part in the Loaves and Fishes program and you provide transitional housing on a periodic basis.

SHAND: Loaves and Fishes is a partnership that goes back to before I was here, which is since 1987. St. Stephen and the Incarnation was looking for partners to help with its food program. We assist so that every month that has five Sundays, they get to take that day off. The food is prepared here and taken to St. Stephen and the Incarnation’s kitchen to be served. And that’s a tangible contact between a parish in the suburbs and a parish in the city.

WW: In your long service as rector, what changes have you seen?

SHAND: St. Francis, like many parishes in the Episcopal Church and in the Diocese of Washington, has seen a decline in average attendance. One of the reasons for that in this church and others is the fact that we’re competing for people’s time. I can look out the window and see a bank on every corner, and these banks are open on Sunday. To some, Sunday is like any other day. Families are making a conscious decision when they come to church on Sunday, rather than going to athletic events or travel.

WW: And yet it seems as if people are participating in other ways. They may not come to church every Sunday, but they’re very involved in outreach programs.

SHAND: People are looking for ways to demonstrate their faith. That’s one of the things I’ve always been conscious of here. When people come to church on Sunday, because of where they work and what they do for a living, they do have an opportunity to affect an enormous amount of good in the community and in the world. So, you want to give people a genuine renewal, you want to feed them the bread of life. You want them to be renewed, be strengthened, and I happen to think Anglican worship is one of the ways of doing that. People will say, “I like to come to St. Francis’, because it helps me with the real world.” And I’ve always taken strong exception to that. I say, “Listen, that’s not accurate. That’s a fallen world. The real world is what one hears in God’s word. Truth is what is said here. What you’re saying is you need help to deal with the fallen world.”

WW: What about the young people in your parish?

SHAND: One of the real strengths of St. Francis’ is its youth ministry. Our program attracts people from within the parish and from outside the parish. We have waiting lists to go on the different mission trips. This year they’re going to an Indian reservation in South Dakota. Twice they’ve been down on the Gulf Coast. For the last 12 years, St. Francis’ has concentrated on youth ministry and it has been one of the real bright spots in this church.

WW: You see lots of reasons to be optimistic about the coming generation.

SHAND: Oh, I do, indeed. And what’s important to say is they’re not the church of tomorrow, they’re the church of today.

WW: I understand you have a very accomplished music program at St. Francis’.

SHAND: Gary Davison is emerging as one of the genuinely gifted and talented composers of church music. This summer he will be in England, where he has been engaged as composer-in-residence by the Exon Singers for their 2011 summer festival in Devonshire in July, and his music will be featured on BBC Radio 3. We are so proud of him and we appreciate the responsibility and opportunity we have to contribute to the legacy of Anglican music by encouraging Gary in his work.