St. Thomas's Episcopal Church (New Haven, Connecticut)

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St. Thomas's Episcopal Church
St. Thomas's Episcopal Church (New Haven, Connecticut)
41°19′55″N72°54′48″W / 41.33194°N 72.91333°W / 41.33194; -72.91333
Location New Haven, Connecticut
Denomination Episcopal Church
Website www.stthomasnewhaven.org
History
Founded1848 (1848)
Consecrated October 8, 1939
Administration
Diocese Diocese of Connecticut

St. Thomas's Episcopal Church is a parish church of the Episcopal Church located in New Haven, Connecticut. Founded in 1848, the original English Gothic church was completed in 1855 on Elm Street, on the site of a temporary chapel the parish built in 1849. St. Thomas moved to its present site on Whitney Avenue in 1939.

Contents

History

Early years

On February 24, 1848, a meeting was held by sixteen lay Episcopalians in New Haven, Connecticut, to discuss the opening of a third Episcopal church in the city. [1] The first services were held in a room that belonged to Center Church on April 23, 1848, where they remained until 1849. [2]

Elm Street 1849–1939

The rector purchased a lot on Elm Street that year, [3] and began construction of a temporary chapel. Five months later, the first services were held in the chapel on August 12, 1849. [4] The congregation decided that a new, larger church would be built on the site of the existing chapel, and the last services in the chapel were held on March 12, 1854. [5] One month later, the cornerstone of the new church was laid, with Bishop John Williams in attendance. In the meantime, services were held in Brewster Hall. [6] The completed church was consecrated on April 19, 1855. [7] It was constructed in the English Gothic Revival style out of Portland brownstone. [8] A parish house was not built until 1888. The cornerstone was laid on May 21, and the building was dedicated on February 3, 1889. [9]

In 1893, the composer Charles Ives served as an organist at the church. [10]

Relocation to Whitney Avenue

In 1923, the rector proposed that the church relocate to another part of New Haven, as since the founding of the church, Elm Street had become entirely commercial. [11] The congregation purchased a lot on Whitney Avenue, between Ogden and Cliff Streets in 1923. [12] There, a new parish house was constructed in 1931. [13] A new church was constructed there, and consecrated on October 8, 1939. [14] The new buildings were designed by Allen, Collens & Willis in the English Gothic style. [15]

Founding of St. Thomas's Day School

In 1956, the Rev. William R. Robbins and Dr. Dorothy Asch [16] established St. Thomas's Day School, a private elementary school on the grounds of the church. [17] In 1992, the church added a new wing to the parish hall to accommodate the growth of the school. [18]

Leadership on same-sex marriage in the Episcopal Church

In 2005, during the rectorship of the Rev. Michael F. Ray, the vestry of St. Thomas's adopted a resolution calling for the church to treat all couples equally in administering the sacrament of marriage. Because Connecticut's Episcopal bishop Andrew Smith prohibited churches in the state to perform same-sex marriages at that time, the result was a moratorium on all marriage ceremonies. [19] [20] [21] The moratorium lasted for two years, ending when the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut permitted churches to bless same-sex unions. [22]

Rectors

StartEndName
18481891 The Rev. Eben Edwards Beardsley, DD
18921934The Rev. William A. Beardsley, DD
19341949The Rev. Robert S. Flockhart, DD
19491984The Rev. William R. Robbins, S.T.D.
19852015The Rev. Michael F. Ray
20152023The Rev. Keri T. Aubert
2024presentThe Rev. Alan C. Murchie, Priest-In-Charge

References

Citations

  1. ↑ Beardsley 1941 , p. 2
  2. ↑ Beardsley 1941 , p. 23
  3. ↑ Beardsley 1941 , p. 26
  4. ↑ Beardsley 1941 , p. 27
  5. ↑ Beardsley 1941 , p. 32
  6. ↑ Beardsley 1941 , p. 33
  7. ↑ Beardsley 1941 , p. 39
  8. ↑ Beardsley 1941 , p. 43
  9. ↑ Beardsley 1941 , p. 62
  10. ↑ Sherwood Magee, Gayle (2008). Charles Ives Reconsidered. Champaign, Illinois: University of Illinois Press. p. 27. ISBN   978-0-252-07776-0.
  11. ↑ Beardsley 1941 , p. 87
  12. ↑ Beardsley 1941 , p. 88
  13. ↑ Beardsley 1941 , p. 89
  14. ↑ Beardsley 1941 , p. 98
  15. ↑ "Building | St. Thomas's Episcopal Church". Archived from the original on 6 June 2010.
  16. ↑ "Dr. Dorothy Asch".
  17. ↑ "History".
  18. ↑ "Building | St. Thomas's Episcopal Church". Archived from the original on 6 June 2010.
  19. ↑ https://www.nhregister.com/news/article/Gay-marriage-divides-church-11648976.php
  20. ↑ Gordon, Jane (6 March 2005). "A Debate Filled with Faith". The New York Times.
  21. ↑ Cowan, Alison Leigh (14 January 2005). "A Moratorium on Weddings". The New York Times.
  22. ↑ "History". Archived from the original on 6 June 2010.

Sources


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