Saint Andrew's
Episcopal Church
History
Saint Andrew’s Episcopal church
began in 1892 under the jurisdiction of the Right Reverend Henry Niles Pierce,
Bishop of Arkansas. Distance, age and the pressure of duties in Arkansas
prevented Bishop Pierce from giving other than the slightest supervision and
smallest fragments of time to Oklahoma Territory, which included Stillwater. In
1891, Bishop Pierce had sent the Reverend Charles Whitcomb Tyler to establish
missions to the white settlers in what was to become the state of Oklahoma.
Reverend Tyler lived in Guthrie and from there went to Stillwater, Chandler, El
Reno, Kingfisher, Tecumseh and Norman. The Reverend Gerald Francis Patterson, a
classmate of Tyler’s from the seminary at Nashotah, Wisconsin, was based in
Oklahoma City. These two seminarians were the only Episcopal clergy in the
territory.
On his first visit to Stillwater in
January 1892, Reverend Tyler found nine communicants and made plans for regular
services. Mr. H. E. Hand was lay reader and Professor A. C. Magruder of the
Agricultural College was in charge of the music. Reverend Tyler also organized
a women’s guild and appointed a committee to buy lots suitable for a church
building. This would be a challenge for people so busy building a new state to
take on the added burden of acquiring proper church facilities. The Oklahoma
and Indian Territory Churchman, a monthly newspaper produced and distributed
by Tyler and Patterson, mentioned Stillwater in the March issue, 1892: the
church had purchased land they needed. By subscription from within and outside
the area, they began raising money for the building of a chapel. In the issue
for April 1, 1892, the Stillwater Gazette noted that the church had
purchased lots 5 and 6 in block 21 west of the courthouse (610 South Duncan, the
present location of Strode Funeral Home). The land had belonged to William J.
and Catherine Hodges. Meanwhile, H. E. Hand, a lay reader, held Episcopal
services in the Presbyterian Church, beginning in August or September, 1892.
At
this time two major events occurred in the life of the national Episcopal Church
that would be significant for the church in Stillwater. First, the National
Convention created five new missionary districts, one of which included both
Oklahoma Territory and Indian Territory. Second, the Right Reverend Francis Key
Brooke became the first Missionary Bishop of Oklahoma on January 6, 1893. Now
that Oklahoma had its own bishop, he could administer confirmation more easily
and frequently and thus increase church membership. In April 1893, Bishop
Brooke appointed a committee to oversee the building of the new church in
Stillwater. It took two months to complete the 20 by 40 foot building of native
sawed oak and it cost $600.00. To emphasize its purpose as a mission, the name
chosen was St. Andrew’s, in honor of St. Andrew, the first missionary. Edwin C.
Witerell, a candidate for the priesthood, became vicar in September. He then
began conducting regular Sunday services at 11 a.m. and 5 p.m., with Sunday
school at 4 p.m. On the morning of September 10, Bishop Brooke conducted the
first service of Holy Communion in the new building. He also confirmed two more
members of the congregation.
On
June 10, 1923, The Reverend Alvin Scollay Hock became vicar of St. Andrew’s.
Under his leadership the congregation moved the church building to a new site in
1925, where it would be known informally as “St. Andrew’s by the Campus.” Both
interior and exterior alterations occurred; on the inside there was a new
chancel and extra space for a choir; on the outside, there were new, more
ecclesiastical windows, plus a Tudor style half stone and half stucco facing
over the original exterior. Two new parish rooms and a new vicarage built onto
the church completed the complex. The entire relocation and remodeling cost
$14,500. Proceeds from the sale of the old property on South Duncan were
applied to the new building fund. Known to the whole community as “Father
Hock,” he remained in charge of St. Andrew’s from 1923 to 1949. He took an
active part, not only in the life of the congregation, but also in that of the
college and the town. Besides teaching classes for college students at the
church, Father Hock himself became a student and earned both a Bachelor and
Master of Science degree from Oklahoma A&M.
As the diocese flourished, so did
St. Andrew’s. After the Reverend Albert J. Ettling succeeded Father Hock as
vicar on April 20, 1949, the church continued to expand its buildings and
programs. Since the Ettlings had several children and needed a larger home, the
congregation purchased a new vicarage at 1303 West Fourth Avenue. The old
vicarage attached to the church new housed an office and church schoolrooms.
The new parish hall built in 1951 (at a cost of $5000) contained more rooms for
classes. Monthly teachers’ meetings were held in the Ettlings’ home. To better
serve the women of St. Andrew’s, the women’s guild divided into afternoon and
evenings groups – St. Andrew’s Guild and St. Catherine’s Guild, respectively.
In addition, Virginia Murphy became the first director of the now independent
Altar Guild. On November 2, 1951, Dean Winslow Robert Chilton Powell of Omaha,
Nebraska, was consecrated as the first Bishop Coadjutor of the diocese of
Oklahoma. Two years later, Bishop Powell assumed the office of Chief Bishop.
This same year, the Reverend Richard C. Allen, born in Cushing, became the first
native-son priest to serve as vicar in Stillwater. Under his leadership, St.
Andrew’s realized a cherished goal when it achieved parish status January 26,
1954. Changes in the facilities continue. A new sacristy was built in 1953.
After a house at 2011 West Sherwood became the vicarage, the kitchen of the
original vicarage at Third and Knoblock became the priest’s office in 1955 and
the study became the church office. On August 1, 1957 and on January 8, 1958,
the Reverend Wayne N. Metz became rector at St. Andrew’s.
The
increasing number of college students made it necessary to hire a chaplain to
assist the rector. From July 1958 to July 1962 the Reverend John Door filled
this position. The Reverend Edward Rankin served from September 1962 to June
1969. Even with the expansion over the years, the old church only seated 150 to
170 people normally. Furthermore, there was no space for two meetings to be
held at the same time. The congregation fortunately had purchased property just
north of the church, the site of the old University Cleaners. In addition to
increasing the size of the building, a contemporary design was chosen to take
the place of the old Tudor style church and appeal more to the students. The
architects were Phil Wilber, F. Cuthbert Salmon and Christine, his wife. All
three were members of St. Andrew’s. Included in the plans was the church itself
with seating for 300 persons, a university-educational wing, and a parish hall.
The total estimated cost was $350.00. Groundbreaking ceremonies took place
Sunday, October 6, 1963. During the construction of the new church, services
were held in the Methodist Student Center. The first service in the new
building took place on October 11, 1964. On Sunday, February 21, 1965 the Right
Reverend Chilton Powell, Bishop of Oklahoma, held the dedication of the new
church.
With enlarged facilities, the women
of the church could now expand their activities, too. They established St.
Andrew’s Exchange, predecessor of the current thrift shop, in November 1966.
From one room in the basement of the educational wing, the shop later moved to
the garage apartment next door. In June 1970, the shop moved to its current
location in the former rectory on West Third. With the addition of a stockroom
in 1983, the proceeds from the shop continue to support St. Andrew’s projects
plus many city and state agencies.
In July 1970, the parish also
welcomed the Reverend William V. Powell and his family to Stillwater. Noted for
his leadership in Christian Education, not only in the parish, but also as a
member of the National Executive Council, Father Bill guided St. Andrew’s to new
growth in its parish life and within the community. After a tornado damaged the
church on Friday, June 13, 1975, Father Bill had to conduct services in the
basement of the educational wing for several months, but never missed a
service. On November 2, 1975 services resumed in the sanctuary. Water damage
to the organ required its replacement. The new tracker action organ, built by
Roy Redman of Fort Worth, was completed in December 1977 and dedicated on
September 10, 1978. With the construction of the parish hall in 1980, the
original plans for the St. Andrew’s buildings were complete.
Major changes to the appearance of St. Andrew's also took
place in the 1980s. In the educational wing, a chapel was dedicated in December
1981, in memory of Dee Reyburn. At the entrance to the Sanctuary, a stained
glass "Eucharist Window," designed by Pepe Mendes and given as a memorial to
Paula E. Maddox, was dedicated April 28, 1985. Inspired by this, designs by Tom
Philippe were chosen in 1986 for the
ten stained glass windows
and lamps found on the East and West walls of the Sanctuary. Two years later,
on November 6, 1988, Bishop Powell presided over the dedication of needlepoint
kneelers for the altar rail. The kneelers were worked by women of the church
and given in memory of Clara Belle Woods. The opening and dedication of
"Narnia", the children's library on the second floor of the educational wing,
took place September 17, 1989.
In 1987, the parish paid off the
mortgage on the main buildings. The same year Father Bill retired on December
31st.
Our current priest is Reverend
Robert Fellows, who arrived in August 1988. One year later, Reverend Mary
Hileman arrived to serve as part-time chaplain to the university students, while
also serving as vicar at Ascension in Pawnee. St. Andrew’s celebrated Reverend
Mary’s ordination to the priesthood on December 16, 1989 and in July 1991 the
diocese made her full-time chaplain for OSU.
In 2004, Saint Andrew's began
remodeling the church buildings. The first major renovation was the Parish
Hall. New floor tile was laid, the kitchen was completely remodeled with new
cabinets and appliances, and both of the men and women's bathrooms were
completely remodeled and updated to meet the new ADA requirements.
In 2005, the Education Wing began
receiving its updates. The first floor bathrooms were remodeled and retiled to
meet the ADA requirements followed by remodeling the Canterbury Room. New
windows were installed on both the first and second floors.
