St. Cyprian’s Episcopal Church

St Cyprian was a 3^rd century Bishop of Carthage. He was originally a Pagan who converted. His career before conversion was basically a lawyer. He was executed by the Romans for religious reasons.
First of all, not that I have no business being in a church, but i certainly have very little business at that. This review is purely for the space and the musical event that I attended. I have not been to services here and do not know the measure of the priests that administer to the building and flock.
St. Cyprian’s has opened itself up to be a venue for live music. Appears they are doing this once or twice a month. The church itself is a mid century building of little uniqueness or charm. The ceiling is lovely knotty pine classical structure, much akin to those of the middle ages. The stained glass is meager and unimpressive. Everything else just sort of is. The main floor is the worship space. the second floor or basement level is the kitchen and general meeting room with low ceilings and no windows. For this event they were offering delicious baked goods and beer and wine. Now I have to say I am only really comfortable getting drunk in a Catholic church. But seeing that this is Episcopalian church– kind of like Christianity light, I got over it and enjoyed my flask of Irish whiskey and a couple of beers.
There is something brilliant about hearing live music in halls such as these. The acoustics can not be beat. There were 4 musicians– Guitar, fiddle, stand up bass and latin drums. Basically Irish music with a heavy world twist. The brilliance of it is that you can here every instrument with perfect clarity. Nothing is lost. The sound fills the room and is ambrosia for the ears. The flip side is the audience. Never a more staid group you will find, clearly the building plays a huge factor here. Music needs to be felt and enjoyed rather than stoically appreciated.
The staff and event goers all seemed very pleasant. The musicians fantastic in their ability and cordial in their nature. I can not in good faith recommend a church for an event space of this nature. Readings, classical music, or neighborhood councils, absolutely! And I am appreciative of St. Cyprian’s for opening their doors to music and a wider array of activities to truly integrate with the neighborhood. In the end of the night it was an enjoyable time and I look forward to when the band plays in a much livelier enviorn.

Cyprian’s has a small but growing congregation and new leadership working to keep the church relevant. It’s a beautiful building with great acoustics and will be a terrific host for a music series in 2011.

A small, intimate congregation with an African American heritage in the Episcopal tradition. Fine music. Catholic liturgy. A warm atmosphere that is inclusive.