About St. Peter's Episcopal Church
St. Peter’s Mission Statement
In our mutual mission and ministry, we:
Celebrate in worship
Grow in spiritual maturity
Reach out to each other and the larger community
Promote responsible stewardship
Share our resources
Clergy
Rector – The Reverend Canon Deborah Dunn
The Reverend Faye Hogan, our Pastoral Associate,
oversees the pastoral care program at St. Peter's.
Lay Leadership
Staff
Joe Ardizzone, Outreach/Office Coordinator
Omar Jimenez, Building Manager
Linda Clarke, Director of Christian Education
Kathleen Hacker, Organist & Choir Master
Terri Oneschuck, Bookkeeper
Judy Brenneman, Vestry Clerk
Vestry
Marty Cavenagh—Senior Warden
Sam Johnson—Junior Warden
Pat Baker
Gretchen Gibson
Anne Lathouwers
Duane Peterson
Anita Rockstroh
Maggie Swain
Joanne West
Youth Representative
Michael Lavelle
Volunteer Leadership
Position Temporarily Vacant, Altar Guild Director
Sara Macdonald, Lector/LEM Coordinator
and Prayer Team Coordinator
Ernie Houston,
Acolyte Director
Pat Peterson, Treasurer
Anne Lathouwers and Dave Rapson,
J2A Leaders
Terri and Vic Oneschuck, Rite 13 Leaders
Anita Rockstroh, Good Samaritan Shelter &
Food Bank Coordinator
Nancy Kohler, Keys Editor & Publisher
Esther Moon, Women of St. Peter’s
Coordinator
Kirk Irwin, Men’s Breakfast Fellowship Coordinator
Facilities
St. Peter’s Parish property is located on a corner in the downtown Santa Maria area across the street from the city’s central shopping area, close to the city hall and court buildings.
The Church is a charming Old English style building with a wooden spire topped with a rooster weather vane. The building was erected in 1932 and has a seating capacity of 180.
Multiple stained glass windows are present on all sides of the nave, which adds an ever changing colored glow to the sanctuary. The oak wood pews show the rich grain of the wood. The choir seating is behind the pulpit on either side of the chancel with the organ recessed behind the choir on the Epistle side. A small baptistry is located in an alcove at the rear of the church.
When entering the Church complex, you pass through a walled courtyard with the Church building on the left and the Parish Hall on the right. Parish offices, a working Sacristy, Nursery and rest rooms are located off of the enclosed hallway from the Church to the Parish Hall.
The Parish Hall, named Parke Hall after a former Rector, was added in 1959 and serves as a gathering place for parish social events and meetings. Parke Hall features partitioned Sunday school classrooms, a children’s library, and a large central area serving as a gathering place for Sunday morning coffee hours and parish events. The kitchen opens into the Parish Hall and has a commercial sized stove and double oven. A small guild room also opens into the Parish Hall. It is used by various groups for meetings.
History
On June 28, 1997, St. Peter’s Parish celebrated one hundred years of Episcopal presence in Santa Maria with a Centennial Gala Celebration. The first service was conducted by Bishop
Joseph Horsfall Johnson in the Christian Church.
It is fairly accurate to say that some Episcopal activity took place in Santa Maria prior to 1900 and continued on an intermittent basis in various locations until 1913, when the Reverend
Arthur C. Dodd became the first Vicar of St. Peter’s Mission.
During the summer of 1913, the Right Reverend G. Mott Williams, Bishop of Marquette, Michigan, was involved in a serious accident while driving over San Marcos Pass. He was brought to Santa Maria for hospitalization and recuperative treatment. His attending physician was Dr.
Robert Brown, a parish member. During his convalescence Bishop Williams developed a keen interest in St. Peter’s and was troubled by the lack of a church structure.
When Dr. Brown refused payment for his treatment, Bishop Williams collected $90 insurance money and gave it to Dr. Brown as the beginning of the St. Peter’s building fund. Six years later with help from the Women‘s Guild, a Guild Hall was built at 402 South Lincoln, where we are today. When Mr. Dodd left in 1919, no services were held and there was no one in charge until
Mortimer Chester became Priest-in-Charge in 1922, staying until February 1924.
Clergy who have subsequently served at St. Peter’s are listed below:
- Frederick C. Miller 1924-1927
- Arthur C. Dodge 1928-1930
- Edwin Moss 1931-1935
- Robert B. Godden, Jr. 1935-1940
- Alfred C. Bussingham 1940-1947
- Robert Bonhall 1947-1951
- A. Leonard Wood (Interim) 1951
- Edwin W. Smith 1951 - 1953
- A. Leonard Wood (Interim) 1953
- J. Stanley Parke 1953-1972
- William S. Chalmers (Priest-in-charge) 1972-1973
- Barry E. Woods 1973-1981
- J. Stanley Parke (Interim) 1981
- S. Herbert Shears (Interim) 1982
- B. Shepard Crim 1982-1984
- S. Herbert Shears (Interim) 1984
- George R. Mackey 1985-1999
- Lorne Weaver (Interim) 1999-2001
- Beverly Factor (Interim) 2000
- Mary Goshert 2001-2006
- Deborah Dunn (Priest-in-charge to Rector) 2007-present
The Guild Hall stood on the east end of the lot with its entrance facing north on Cook Street until 1932 when it was moved to the southwest corner of the lot. On September 24, 1932, the cornerstone was placed for the sanctuary building at 402 South Lincoln Street, and the opening service was held on December 24, 1932.
St. Peter’s Mission voted to become a parish on January 13, 1947. The entrance to the church was moved in 1960 from Lincoln Street to the south side of the building, opening to the courtyard. The baptismal font was then placed in the original entrance alcove. The Parish Hall was built in 1959.
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