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St. Thomas' Episcopal Church is a congregation of the Diocese of Fond du Lac located in Menasha, Wisconsin. The congregation has 900 baptized members and an average Sunday worshipping attendance of 250. It is part of the Lake Winnebago Deanery.
The church's 1963 building was designed by Harry Weese.
The roots of the congregation begin in 1853 with services held in the Menasha area. In 1859, St. Stephen's was organized. In 1866, the roots of a new congregation were planted and in 1868, Trinity Church was organized in Neenah.
Over the next 50 years, these congregations in the "Twin Cities" were usually served by the same priest. Often when one congregation was healthy and vital, the other would struggle. This position reversed many times over five decades. In early 1914 discussion about uniting these two congregations into one began in earnest.
On Christmas Day, 1914, the first union service was held and on Easter Day, 1915 a new congregation was formally established. Junior Warden Harry Price, who had worshipped in St. Thomas Church Fifth Avenue, New York, persuaded the Vestry to name the new congregation after it because of its beauty. St. Thomas was formally incorporated on September 8, 1915.
Over the next 90+ years, the congregation experienced growth in membership, programs and property. A new church building was occupied in 1916. Boy Scout Troop 3 was founded in 1922. Stained glass windows were installed in the 1930s. By the 1940s, baptized membership exceeded 500 from over 200 families. A new Parish Hall replaced the Parish House and Gymnasium in the 1950s.
The 1970s saw development of strong lay leadership in the congregation and community. The 1980s experienced personal and corporate spiritual renewal and a strong healing ministry. The 1990s and 2000s saw development of team ministries and outreach programs.
In 1961, fire destroyed the west 1/3 of the church building. By 1963, a new 'addition' by Chicago architect Harry Weese was dedicated which integrated the old sanctuary and nave as a chapel to a modern sanctuary and nave of concrete, wood and copper. it is regarded as among Weese's most "noteworthy" buildings. [1] Architecture critic Ian Baldwin calls St. Thomas Episcopal, an example of "Weese’s most poetic work," writing that "It seems to match the best work of Marcel Breuer, who at the same time was also building spare, dramatic Béton brut churches in the upper Midwest." [2]
Formation and children's ministries have always been a vital part of the congregation. Mission and outreach ministries have been present throughout the history of the congregation. Double Portion, a feeding program, is a part of St. Thomas serving 100 guests a lunch each week. There is also a food pantry.
The current Interim Rector is Fr. Andy C. Lilegard, who has served as rector since 2024, who was granted the position after a long period with an interim rector from 2023-2024.
These are the clergy who have served at St. Thomas. Rectors:
Other Clergy:
Aran Walter, Associate Priest 2013-
Lisa Ueda, Deacon 2020-
Rodger Patience, Deacon 2010–2016
Bob Frees, Deacon 2002–2007
Ed Smith, Associate 2000's
Vicki Natzke, Assistant 2000's
Lon Pearson, Assistant 1990's
Wayne Bulloch, Assistant 1980's
David Fine, Assistant 1970's
Jackson Kemper in 1835 became the first missionary bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. Especially known for his work with Native American peoples, he also founded parishes in what in his youth was considered the Northwest Territory and later became known as the "Old Northwest", hence one appellation as bishop of the "Whole Northwest". Bishop Kemper founded Nashotah House and Racine College in Wisconsin, and from 1859 until his death served as the first bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Wisconsin.
Harry Mohr Weese was an American architect who had an important role in 20th century modernism and historic preservation. His brother, Ben Weese, is also a renowned architect.
The Diocese of Fond du Lac was a diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, encompassing the northeastern third of Wisconsin. The diocese contained about 3,800 baptized members worshiping in 33 locations. It was part of Province 5. Diocesan offices were in Appleton, Wisconsin as were the diocesan Archives. Matthew Gunter was its final bishop. On May 4, 2024, the diocese voted to be disestablish itself and reintegrate into the Diocese of Wisconsin.
St. Paul's Cathedral is the mother church of the Episcopal Diocese of Fond du Lac and is located in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin which is the see city of the diocese.
John Henry Hobart Brown was the first bishop of the Diocese of Fond du Lac in the Episcopal Church.
Russell Edward Jacobus was the seventh Bishop of the Diocese of Fond du Lac in The Episcopal Church. Jacobus was consecrated as bishop on 24 May 1994. Prior to becoming bishop, he served as Rector of St. Matthias Episcopal Church in Waukesha, Wisconsin. At the close of Diocesan convention on October 20, 2012, he announced his intention to retire one year hence, on October 31, 2013.
St. James' Episcopal Church, named for James the Greater, is a historic Episcopal church located in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. The only Episcopal church in Manitowoc County, St. James' is a "broad church" parish in the Diocese of Fond du Lac. It is the oldest continually operating congregation in Manitowoc County, first meeting in 1841. and organizing in 1848. The current church building, an example of Gothic Revival architecture, was consecrated in 1902. The congregation is active in community service and social justice ministries.
All Saints Episcopal Church is a historic Episcopal church in Appleton, Wisconsin. A parish in the Diocese of Fond du Lac, it is the only Episcopal church in Appleton. The congregation first met circa 1854 and organized in 1856. The current church building was consecrated in 1905.
Trinity Episcopal Church is a historic Episcopal church located in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The only Episcopal church in Oshkosh, Trinity is in the Diocese of Fond du Lac. The congregation first met in 1850, organizing as Trinity Episcopal Church in 1854. The current church building, which was constructed in 1887, is an example of Richardsonian Romanesque architecture. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
Charles Chapman Grafton was the second Episcopal Bishop of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.
The Church of the Holy Apostles, Oneida, Wisconsin, United States, is a mission congregation of the Episcopal Diocese of Fond du Lac located on the Oneida Reservation of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin.
Harwood Sturtevant was the Episcopal bishop of the Diocese of Fond du Lac.
William Hampton Brady was a bishop in the American Episcopal Church.
William Waters (1843–1917) was an American architect who designed numerous buildings in Wisconsin that eventually were listed on the National Register of Historic Places. He was responsible for designing much of historic Oshkosh, Wisconsin. He was also responsible for designing the Wisconsin building for the Columbian Exposition. Waters died in 1917 and is buried at Riverside Cemetery in Oshkosh. After his death, Oshkosh honored him by naming the intersection of Washington Avenue and State Street as the "William Waters Plaza".
Albert Arthur Chambers was the seventh bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Springfield, serving from 1962 to 1972. He then retired in part because he opposed revising the Book of Common Prayer and ordaining women as priests, which would be expressly authorized by the General Convention in 1976.
St. Agnes-by-the-Lake Episcopal Church, Algoma, Wisconsin, United States, is an Anglo-Catholic mission congregation of the Episcopal Diocese of Fond du Lac. The congregation first met in 1877, becoming an organized mission in 1897.
Matthew Alan Gunter is the ninth and current bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Wisconsin in The Episcopal Church. He assumed this post upon the 2024 merger of the Dioceses of Eau Claire and Fond du Lac with the Diocese of Milwaukee. From 2014 to 2024, he was the diocesan bishop of Fond du Lac. Prior to becoming bishop, he served as Rector of St. Barnabas Episcopal Church in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, and as Assistant Rector of St. David Church, Glenview, Illinois.
Oliver Sherman Prescott was a prominent American Anglo-Catholic priest and activist who was active in the foundation of the Society of St. John the Evangelist. He was born in New Haven, Connecticut, and baptized by Harry Croswell at Trinity Church on the Green in that city. Prescott attended Trinity College, Hartford from 1840 to 1842 and Yale College from 1843 to 1844; he was graduated from the General Theological Seminary in New York in 1847 and made a deacon that year at Trinity Church in New Haven. He considered himself a protégé at the General of Professor Clement Clarke Moore.
Albert Julius duBois was an influential American Anglo-Catholic priest during the 20th century.
St. Alban's Church, Olney was a church of the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania in the Olney section of North Philadelphia. Through the ministry and influence of its most significant rector, Archibald Campbell Knowles (1865-1961), St. Alban's was considered a major Anglo-Catholic parish of the American Protestant Episcopal Church. The building is inscribed as landmark No. 56 of the Philadelphia Historical Commission. The cornerstone for the congregation's second building was laid on January 24, 1915, and it was consecrated on June 20, 1915 by Bishop Reginald Heber Weller of the Episcopal Diocese of Fond du Lac. Its architect was George T. Pearson in the Philadelphia firm of Sloan & Hutton; his other work includes St. Luke's, Germantown, Market Square Presbyterian Church in Germantown, buildings at the Philadelphia Cricket Club, college buildings throughout the United States, and several railroad stations and hotels in Virginia.
Curtiss, A. Parker (1925). History of the Diocese of Fond du Lac and Its Several Congregations. Fond du Lac, Wisconsin: P.B. Haber Printing. Compiled Under The Direction of The Bishop, in Commemoration of its FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY
Church Committee, St. Thomas (1940). History of St. Thomas Episcopal Church, Neenah-Menasha, Wisconsin: 1915-1940 (PDF). Neenah, Wisconsin.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
