Although I spent eight hours exploring Soulard, not every neighborhood adventure will be quite so dense. On Sunday, August 9, I spent a good chunk of the day in Tower Grove East with my partner, Ari (who has much lower adventure stamina than I do). Tower Grove East is a mostly residential area located east of Tower Grove Park (as the name suggests). I come here every Sunday for St. Brigid’s, and I figured I’d stop by a couple other spots in the neighborhood as well and complete a post for STL79. I’ll come back in autumn to follow up on the local community garden and orchard, since that day it was 95-degrees outside.
St. Brigid’s Orthodox Mission
Mother Abby and her mom, Debby, have been living in Tower Grove East for the past five years, and in this specific house (that also serves as their church) for the last three. Together, they run St. Brigid’s Orthodox Mission, a parish of the Orthodox Catholic Church of America. The purpose of the mission is to provide access to the sacraments to those who may be unwelcome in mainline Orthodox or Catholic spaces, such as queer people. The goal is to be an inclusive space for people interested in Eastern Christianity. It’s not necessarily a “queer church”, but as Mother Abby puts it, “anytime you’re inclusive in an exclusive culture, queer church is kind of how it goes.”
The mission started as an evening prayer service called Vespers at Trinity Episcopal Church in 2023, but the goal was to have a space of their own. Mother Abby, who also has a background in masonry, built a chapel in her basement while she was a deacon (she was ordained as a priest this past Spring). The chapel is intimate and adorned with icons and art of all kinds. It’s a beautiful sacred space crafted lovingly by Mother Abby and Debby.
I asked Mother Abby about her dreams for the space, and she said that her goal isn’t about expanding to a ton of people, but to have a dedicated space that tends to the spiritual and physical needs of the community. A regular space for cooling and warming, food, and care. Ideally, they would expand the mission to another building across the street to open as the church and community center.
When asked about her relationship with the community, Mother Abby replied, “I love this community. For the vast amount of people, it’s a good community.” It’s the kind of community where neighbors will borrow tools and ingredients from each other. It’s a community that she cares for, and she wants to expand that care through the mission.
After the liturgy (i.e. the service/mass), we all sit together and chat over water and potato chips in the living room at the entrance of the house. The house itself is filled to the brim with knick-knacks and antiques. It feels like a collection of lost things, which fits nicely with the mission.
As we spend time in this post-eucharist fellowship, I ask everyone present what they “want the people to know”.
Mother Abby responds:
“We’re a community that is trying to live the gospel and bring the sacraments to the people. We’re not caught up in the idea that people are unworthy of Christ’s love. We want to be a community that’s not separate from the immediate community around us. It’s the only way to really be a church.”
Elaine, one of the consistent parishioners, chimes in: “Thank you for being a church where I can be.”
I ask Elaine and Debby if they have anything they’d “like the people to know”. Debby responds, “That I love them!”
Elaine responds:
“Wipe front to back. Tip 20%. Tell bus drivers you don’t have money. Never fight a man shorter than you, cause they have nothing to lose.”
If you are interested in watching a livestream of the service, it usually starts around 2pm CT (give or take) on their Facebook page. If you want to join in person, doors open at 1:30pm CT every Sunday at 2917 Minnesota Avenue in Tower Grove East.
Buzz’s Hawaiian Grill
After a long conversation about theology and church history at St. Brigid’s, Ari and I decided to go on a little trip to Hawaii. One of the only restaurants firmly in Tower Grove East (i.e. not on the neighborhood borders), Buzz’s Hawaiian Grill operates as an authentic Hawaiian joint, connected directly with a bar, the Tick Tock Tavern. I visited a college friend who lived in Hawaii several years back, where I tried poke for the first time, and have yearned for proper Hawaiian poke ever since. I was able to fulfill that dream here. It was pretty good! Ari got a Dole Whip which they thoroughly enjoyed. They were convinced it was made on location with fresh pineapple, since the flavor was so spot on. I was not convinced (although I also didn’t try it).
We didn’t really get to connect with anyone since they were pretty busy and the patrons didn’t seem in the mood to talk to strangers, but we had a nice little meal. I plan to come back again to get a drink at the bar next door, where I believe I could probably get some juicier Tower Grove East insight from the bartenders and patrons. I stopped in for a second at the Tavern, and the vibe was a bit more upbeat than at Buzz’s.
Jay International Food Co
While Jay International Food Co borders Tower Grove East and South Grand (where most of the commercial life is happening), it was on the east side of South Grand so I’m counting it. Ari and I ended our very relatively chill Tower Grove East experience with a little grocery shopping.
The selection here was very cool, spanning the globe as the name implies. Rather than being divided by country, it was just divided by type of food item and each section was filled with a diversity of global origins. It was pretty exciting. We didn’t get the chance to talk too much with anyone here, but we did coincidentally run into Mother Abby and Debby! Seems like this is the place to be in Tower Grove East.
We ended up getting a solid selection: Bosnian burek, Japanese tamari, yellow jalapenos, Chinese long beans, smoked herring and pickled herring, and two of Ari’s favorites: Armenian string cheese and El Miagro’s corn tortillas. We will be back.
The Tower Grove East Verdict
High: St. Brigid’s is always a delight. What a beautiful community and inspiration in faith.
Low: We didn’t really get to talk to strangers today, womp womp.
Buffalo: It was funny running into Mother Abby and Debby again at the market. It really nailed down for me that St. Brigid’s was the core of this day for sure.
Overall Vibe: This reminded me of the Waverly neighborhood in Baltimore (which I’m sure doesn’t mean anything to most people reading this.) It’s residential, a little crunchy, and community-oriented. It’s walkable to a lot of city and commercial life, but functions as its own quiet community space apart from the thing. I would definitely be down to live here.
And Ari’s final remarks: “It was sleepy and pleasant.”
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