This historic South Philly church has two ministers of rock and roll

As sextons of historic Gloria Dei Church in Queen Village, Paula and Jim Minacci prepare the centuries-old church for weekly service, tend to the tilted tombstones in the leafy cemetery, and clear cobwebs from the creaky church hall. Despite the caretaking duties, the couple have earned another title at Old Swedes’, as Pennsylvania’s oldest church is known.

The Minaccis are its ministers of rock and roll.

Living in an 18th-century brick house on the church grounds, they have maintained the bucolic property, tucked off Columbus Boulevard and Christian Street, for nearly 25 years. Even with help from the National Park Service, that means polishing the sanctuary where Betsy Ross was married and digging fresh graves in the rambling graveyard that accepted its first soul around 1708.

It also means hosting dozens of musical performances all year long to raise money for the church. That’s not a duty imposed on them: The Minaccis came up with the Sexton Sideshow all on their own.

Featuring local artists of all genres, the events range from low-key music brunches to annual one-man performances of Jesus Christ Superstar and a Memorial “Dei” picnic with bands performing on three stages. Their holiday tribute show for the music of the Coen brothers’ O Brother, Where Art Thou?, which brings dozens of musicians to the church sanctuary, has become a mainstay.

On Nov. 1, one of the longest-running events — the Day of the Dead Graveyard Boogaloo — returns after a COVID-era hiatus.

After so many years of hosting musicians in a place that feels untouched since Ben Franklin (allegedly) hung a lightning rod on the steeple, Old Swedes’ has gained its own musical lore. Famously, the Philly rock band Low Cut Connie performed their first show at Old Swedes’ in 2010.

“It’s a hippie church. And I’m, like, an atheist Jew. I was like, ‘Are we really doing this here?’ But they and their whole community are just the most openhearted people that I know in Philadelphia,” said Adam Weiner, Low Cut Connie’s front man. “They love music. They love community. And when I had nobody else that was interested in my music, they gave me a home there.”

That’s in part because the Minaccis have made Old Swedes’ their home.

The couple had been living in nearby Pennsport with their young son, Dillon, when they took the sexton jobs in 2000. Drawn by the welcoming feel of the small congregation and peaceful remove of the property, the family settled into their new home in the graveyard, built around 1750.

Jim, 62, who also works as an associate at Walmart, unpacked his robust record collection. Paula, who is a former artistic director of a dance academy in Northeast Philadelphia, hung art. Dillon practiced baseball and basketball in the parking lot, and played among the tombstones.

“I was the only kid in South Philadelphia who had a yard,” said Dillon Minacci, who is now 33, and production manager at the legendary Antone’s Nightclub in Austin, Texas.

Greeting the steady stream of visitors and dog walkers who stroll through the quiet, ruminative grounds, Paula and Jim got to work.

“The place didn’t look as nice as it does today,” said Jim Minacci. “It needed a lot of TLC.”

The church also needed people in the pews.

The Minaccis turned to music. What started with a few performances of Dillon’s music class from Bluebond Guitars quickly grew into Sexton Sideshow, and a lineup of music, dance, and theater performances showcasing local talent.

“We realized we could do this as fundraising for the church,” said Jim Minacci. “There was always a sense that we needed to raise money and put people in the seats.”

The performances were also a way to build new connections around their new home, said Paula Minacci.

“It was about bringing art and community together,” said Paula Minacci. “We see the joy in a space like this, and we were inspired to see people really enjoying music here.”

The first Sexton Sideshow event was held around 2007. By New Year’s Eve in 2010, when Low Cut Connie played their first show, 400 people packed the grounds.

“And of course, in the last 14 years, the number of people that have come up to me and said that they were there exceeds the number of people that were there,” said Weiner, who has returned to Old Swedes’ to play solo shows and added that the band may eventually release a live recording of that first concert.

The events have become a lifeline for Old Swedes’, said the Rev. Christopher Micklewright, who said the congregation has recently grown to include 40 people.

“The music shows certainly have brought in a lot of people who wouldn’t normally find themselves in a church, and have made this for many people a space of calm, of peace, and of joy,” Micklewright said.

The Day of the Dead event will include the Big Trip Band on the Graveyard Stage and a liquid light show on the Sanctuary Stage DJed by Joanna and Tony Trov, of the Passyunk Avenue merch shop South Fellini. DJ Hannah Taylor will play in the church hall. Tickets are $20. Paula Minacci will decorate the graveyard with plastic skeletons and pumpkins for the kids.

In December, the O Brother, Where Art Thou? tribute will return to the sanctuary — an especially haunting performance in an already haunting space.

“It’s kind of become a Philly institution,” said Dan May, a Philly singer-songwriter who sings “O Death” in the show, always a highlight. “There’s nothing really I know that compares to it. They’ve created a ministry of music.”