Put-in-Bay Church News July 2014
St. Paul’s church launches capital campaign for 150th anniversary. This year, St. Paul’s stands at an exciting milestone in the history of our parish. In honor of our 150th Anniversary, St. Paul’s invites all connected to the islands to learn about St. Paul’s exciting plans for preservation and how we will ensure St. Paul’s will continue to serve the local community in the future. The presentation will occur at St. Paul’s on Sunday, July 13th, at 11:45 am, following the regular Sunday worship service.
The presentation will also include some of our well-known “Strawberry ShoreCake.” To honor our 150th Anniversary, the parish leadership decided now is the time to invest in our future. St. Paul’s joined many other congregations from across our diocese who are part of the Planting for Tomorrow – Growing in Faith Today campaign sponsored by the Diocese of Ohio. St. Paul’s will receive 70% of the first $150,000 raised.
The remainder will help create a camp and retreat area near Wakeman, Ohio. As part of the partnership, the diocese also provides the advice and administrative support St. Paul’s needs to carry out this significant fundraising effort.
An important note is St. Paul’s church will receive every additional dollar raised above our $150,000 goal. The parish has set a Challenge Goal of an additional $100,000 beyond our initial goal. St. Paul’s reached the initial $150,000 goal in mid-June, and people connected to St. Paul’s and the Bass Islands continue to pledge new gifts each week. Now, St. Paul’s seeks community support to reach the additional $100,000 Challenge Goal.
The detailed campaign brochure is on St. Paul‘s web page http://stpaulpib.com/. The information describes how the parish will maintain and sustain our historic church, which is an island landmark. Meeting our goal allows St. Paul’s to care for immediate and essential needs, including energy efficiency improvements. Reaching the Challenge Goal will support upgrades to the office and other deferred maintenance. St. Paul’s recognizes one of the most important projects facing the congregation is the preservation of the stained glass windows, which are 75-120 years old.
This is especially important for the “Follow Me” window behind the altar. This window, created by F.D. Sweeney in 1902, was given to St. Paul’s by Laura Cooke Barney in memory of her mother, Dorthea Cooke. Evaluation and preservation of each window will need to occur in the coming years. This church has touched countless lives, and St. Paul’s hopes everyone who has found it a place of quiet and comfort will join in plans to prepare for the future.
As the first church built on South Bass Island, St. Paul’s knows many people spend time in summer homes and residences connected to the earliest church members and the land they cultivated. We appreciate your prayerful consideration of becoming a part of the plan to maintain and sustain this vital island landmark.
St. Paul’s campaign committee would happily answer any questions in person or by phone. Please call our parish office at 419- 285-5981. Pledge cards are available at the church. Checks can be made out to “Planting for Tomorrow” and sent to St. Paul’s, P.O. Box 248, Put-in-Bay, OH 43456
150 Years Ago – Rev. J. Miles Kendrick arrives on the Bass Islands-Rev. John Miles Kendrick arrived at Put-in-Bay in July of 1864 to offer regular worship services at the request of the residents. He’d visited in April and was invited to return. Rev. Kendrick and his new wife, Sarah H. Allen Kendrick, stayed at Cooper’s Inn the first year as the energetic minister helped establish the congregation.
Rev. Kendrick, the son of John Kendrick and Julia Guitteau Kendrick, was born in Gambier, Ohio, on May 14th, 1836. After completing his A.B. Marietta, 1856, and A.M. Marietta, 1859, he taught school from 1856-1857. He studied law in Marietta, Ohio, and practiced law in New York for two years. Returning to Ohio, he studied for the ministry before joining the 33rd Ohio Volunteers in 1861.
He served for two years, rising to the rank of Capt. and Assistant Adjutant General, U.S.V. Completing his enlistment, he prepared for the church at the Theological Seminary of the Protestant Episcopal Church, Gambier, graduating in May 1864.
His first ordained position was serving the Bass Islands and establishing St. Paul’s. Later in his career, he would serve churches in Ohio, Kansas, and Southern Ohio before being appointed Missionary Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church for New Mexico and Arizona in 1889. For more information, you can find quite an article about him on Wikipedia on the Internet.
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