WISCONSIN RAPIDS – Have you ever wondered how an organization of any kind, including a church, remains open for 150 years? It requires generations of committed people, each in turn owning a single vision. This year, St. John the Evangelist Episcopal Church is celebrating that kind of vision among its members, but also its friends.
A small group of Episcopalians who lived in Centralia, Rudolph and Grand Rapids would come together in the 1870s. They had a dream: an Episcopal Church they could call home. They began by meeting in people’s homes. That was followed by building a small wooden church. The materials came from the forests of its members, like Daniel Rezin. Over time, the congregation would call a priest to lead them and join the new Diocese of Fond du Lac.
The vision remained and lived on in the generations that followed, though there were rough times. But people like Isaac and Charlotte Witter stepped up, providing encouragement and resources to see St John’s through and, eventually, even building a new stone church on Oak and 3rd streets.
On July 19 and 20, St John’s will be opening its doors to the community. Everyone is invited to walk through the church, seeing the beauty of the historic building and hearing the beauty of its organ.
While there, the church’s current members will take visitors back in time, portraying the witness of Isaac and Charlotte Witter, Father Beuford and Kathleen Marceil, Father Joe Dunlap, Marian Fey, Lynne Tormoen and even Bishop Samuel Seabury (the first Bishop of the Episcopal Church).
The open house will be 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, July 19, and noon to 4 p.m. July 20. After the tours, you can sample the cranberry walnut pies St. John’s is known for and the chocolate chip cookies from the recipe box of Lynne Tormoen. And you are invited to share your stories as a visitor or friend of St John’s, or a first time visitor.
There is no charge, and all are welcome. Our address is 320 Oak St., across from the Post Office on Grand Avenue in Wisconsin Rapids.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here