Called to the Way of Love 1869-2019
Presiding Bishop Michael B. Curry's congratulates the people of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Duluth on their 150th Anniversary: |
Celebrating 150 years
of loving God and our neighbors!
The strength and longevity of St. Paul's comes not from it's strong stones and glass, but from the people over these past 150 years who have been the foundation and life of St. Paul's! We had a wonderful weekend of celebrations October 25-27, 2019. Enjoy the photos of the festivities below taken by Matthew Denney:
Remembering the first service held in St. Paul’s Church on December 25, 1869
Christmas 2019 was a remembrance and honoring of the 150th anniversary of the first church service held in the original St. Paul’s Episcopal Church on Lake Avenue and 2nd Street. It was held on Christmas Day, 1869. Newspaper accounts recall “Christmas Day was spent in Duluth appropriately, but soberly. The Episcopal Church (it wasn’t named St. Paul’s until a year later, it was just called Jay Cooke’s church) was the principal scene of attraction in the morning- a good audience attending the first formal services of worship in the new structure. …We congratulate all our citizens upon having already one completed church in Duluth; and it is a real gem..”
Special thanks to Bob Silverness for his research and Carrie Miller, the Altar Guild and Bruce Sederberg who recreated some of the decorations that were used in 1869. It was a beautiful sight as evidenced by the photos below, and the smell of fresh pine was wafting through the sanctuary! There was also a special surprise for children similar to what was distributed in the early years of St. Paul’s. Our bells rang out at the beginning and ending of the services as well; as they did 150 years ago. Some of the hymns sung at the services were the same ones sung 150 years ago.
Christmas 2019 was a remembrance and honoring of the 150th anniversary of the first church service held in the original St. Paul’s Episcopal Church on Lake Avenue and 2nd Street. It was held on Christmas Day, 1869. Newspaper accounts recall “Christmas Day was spent in Duluth appropriately, but soberly. The Episcopal Church (it wasn’t named St. Paul’s until a year later, it was just called Jay Cooke’s church) was the principal scene of attraction in the morning- a good audience attending the first formal services of worship in the new structure. …We congratulate all our citizens upon having already one completed church in Duluth; and it is a real gem..”
Special thanks to Bob Silverness for his research and Carrie Miller, the Altar Guild and Bruce Sederberg who recreated some of the decorations that were used in 1869. It was a beautiful sight as evidenced by the photos below, and the smell of fresh pine was wafting through the sanctuary! There was also a special surprise for children similar to what was distributed in the early years of St. Paul’s. Our bells rang out at the beginning and ending of the services as well; as they did 150 years ago. Some of the hymns sung at the services were the same ones sung 150 years ago.
Christmas Eve Service Remembering the first service 150 years ago
Sesquicentennial Dinner, High Tea and 150th Anniversary Worship Service
Photos of the 150th GIFT Night, History Walk, Proclamation of St. Paul's Episcopal Church Day in the City of Duluth, and Children's Activities taken by Sue Van Oss:
The Original St. Paul's
St. Paul's Episcopal Church was the first church building in Duluth, a wooden structure located at Lake Avenue and Second street downtown. and the first service was held on Christmas Day 1869. In 1911 the congregation announced their desire to erect a new church building in it's present location at 1710 East Superior Street. The New York City architect firm of Cram, Goodhue and Ferguson designed the new church in a Gothic Revival style; similar to Canterbury Cathedral in England. It was crafted of local stone with beautiful stained glass, slate roof and limestone trim. In 1998 a $1.35 million renovation project was completed.
From Lost Duluth: Landmarks, Industries, Buildings, Homes and the Neighborhoods in Which They Stood by Tony Dierckins and Maryanne C. Norton (Zenith City Press, 2012)
