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On Sunday, Feb. 4, St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, 2233 Woodbourne Avenue in Louisville’s Highlands area, will celebrate 150 years as a place of worship, a center for community activities and an engine of outreach.
Special service and luncheon planned
On Sunday, Feb. 4, St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, 2233 Woodbourne Avenue in Louisville’s Highlands area, will celebrate 150 years as a place of worship, a center for community activities and an engine of outreach.
Beginning as a mission of St. Paul’s Church, St. Andrew’s first service was held on Sunday, Feb. 1, 1857, in the first of its church buildings located on Chestnut Street between Ninth and Tenth streets. In the mid-nineteenth century, Louisville was growing, and by1868 St. Andrew’s was ready to move to a new and larger building at Second and Kentucky streets. Through several renovations and expansions, the church remained at that location for more than 68 years.
True to its origins as a mission, during those years St. Andrew’s planted three missions of its own, beginning with what was then called St. Luke’s Colored Mission in 1883. Ten years later, they founded what soon became St. Stephen’s parish at Shelby and St. Catherine streets. In 1906, still another mission grew in southern Louisville, Emmanuel, now called Resurrection.
Despite planting these new churches, by the time of the First World
War, St. Andrew’s had some 700 communicants. Disaster, however, awaited. First, the national exodus from cities to suburbs, which began shortly after the war, moved more than 500 communicants outside the central city. Then, as if delivering a coup de grace, in early 1937, several of the structures on the church campus were so undermined by the Great Flood, that the congregation decided to follow the population and move to a temporary location at Bardstown Road and Richmond Drive.
At the same time, St. Andrew’s purchased land at Woodbourne and Ellerbe avenues, hoping to complete their new building quickly. World War II intervened, however. When the foundation and basement were completed, the lack of building materials stopped construction. The basement served as worship and education space until 1946 when the current sanctuary and Parish Hall were completed. The first service in the new sanctuary took place on the first Sunday in February 1947, just 60 years ago.
Like most American churches, St. Andrew’s flourished during the post-war period. Under the leadership of the Rev. Dr. Andrew Anderson, church school classes and worship services bulged with enthusiastic members. A unique organ was installed and a dynamic music program flourished. Outstanding murals and original stained glass windows added to rich Anglican services involving all the senses.
By 1965, currents of change sweeping through the Episcopal Church also affected St. Andrew’s. New understandings of worship introduced in the revised Book of Common Prayer, changing attitudes toward the roles of women in church leadership, and finally the ordination of women coupled with the explosive political situation in the country, led to a steep decline in membership in all mainline Protestant churches. St. Andrew’s membership was diminished by all those elements as well as the increasing tide of migration to distant suburbs.
Following Anderson’s retirement, the Rev. Dr. Frank Cayce was called as rector of the much diminished congregation. Cayce, in the best St. Andrew’s tradition, set about turning the parish into a center of outreach and activity. Several clergy persons were invited to join the staff as part-time assistants while also functioning in other capacities. Among other new programs, the Rev. Monty Tiller created a family counseling center at St. Andrew’s working through the Highlands Community Ministries. Community groups such as the Boy and Girl Scouts, Alcoholics Anonymous, Highlands Theater under the direction of St. Andrew’s member Andy Biesel and various dance groups began to use the church building as headquarters.
By the time of Cayce’s retirement in 1983, church membership was beginning to climb. The Rev. John M. Hines, who became rector upon Cayce’s retirement, continued to expand the programs of non-church groups, including, for a time, the Friends’ Preschool, using the church campus.
Under Hines’ leadership, St. Andrew’s became deeply involved in diocesan programs, acting as host for many diocesan events. The parish also began a continuing program of work with the Kentucky Refugee Ministries and has sponsored several refugee families.
Following Hines’ retirement in 2000, the Rev. Whit Soards served as interim priest until the Rev. Steve Wilson was called in 2001. Wilson resigned in 2004, and the Rev. Ben Maas followed him as rector in 2005.
Maas has overseen several improvements to the church building. An elevator was installed, and recent work has greatly enhanced the appearance and usability of the church undercroft by adding classrooms and a children’s chapel as well as improving the music rooms.
Despite the buffeting of the theological storms of recent years, St. Andrew’s remains a strong center of broad Anglican thought, neither conservative nor radically liberal. The combination of strong clergy leadership, an innovative program of Christian formation, and community outreach continue to make it an attractive home for those seeking a place to grow spiritually while also contributing to the life of the community.
Because of the significance of the coming anniversary, St. Andrew’s will have only one service, at 11 a.m. (EST) Feb. 4. The Rt. Rev. Edwin F. Gulick will baptize, confirm, and receive new members of the congregation. The service will be followed by a luncheon to which all friends of St. Andrew’s are invited.
