Christ Church (Episcopal), Fort Meade, Florida
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Christ Church | |
 Christ Church (Fort Meade, Florida) | |
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| Location | Fort Meade, Florida |
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| Coordinates | 27°45′8″N 81°47′46″W / 27.75222°N 81.79611°WCoordinates: 27°45′8″N 81°47′46″W / 27.75222°N 81.79611°W |
| Built | 1889 |
| Architect | J. H. Weddell |
| Architectural style | Carpenter Gothic |
| NRHP reference # | 76000605[1] |
| Added to NRHP | May 6, 1976 |
Christ Church (Episcopal) is an historic Carpenter Gothic church in Fort Meade, Florida. It is located at 1 N. Cleveland Avenue. On May 6, 1976, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
A History of Christ Church Episcopal
On a rainy Sunday morning, 26 September 1886, a missionary priest of the Episcopal Diocese of Florida led a small group of Christians of the Anglican tradition in the celebration of Holy Communion in the "parlors of the Bullock residence at Main and Washington Streets" in Fort Meade. He had traveled all the way from Palatka to be with this small band. That evening he again met with these folks and others who were able to come since the rain had stopped. Thanks to the hospitality of the Methodist Church there were able to meet in their house of worship (formerly on what is now Church Street).
Thus was the small but enthusiastic beginnings of Christ Church – only the second Episcopal Church in all of Polk County and the first historical liturgical expression of the Christian Faith to be established in Fort Meade.
In addition to new residents from the Northern States many in this young congregation were new to the United States coming from England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales and Canada. They brought the Anglican tradition of their home Church, the Church of England, with them to be the focus of their life in the new country. Most of the notable and professional people in town would be found worshiping at Christ Church on any given Sunday.
The first visit by the bishop of the Diocese of Florida, The Rt. Rev. Edwin Gardner Weed, was on December 22, 1886.
By early 1887 their numbers were enough to consider the building of a church of their own. Up to this time they had continued to worship in the Methodist Church building as well as the schoolhouse.
In 1887 Bishop Weed appointed the Rev. George S. Fitzhugh, missionary to south Florida, as priest in charge of the congregation. It was at this time that the Church was formally organized as a mission of the Episcopal Church. The name for the new mission was selected, officers elected and a building committee was established.
When Bishop Weed made his visitation in March 1888 he gave a donation of $1,000 toward the cost of the building the church. Construction was begun and completed in 1889. In early 1890 it was fully furnished. The complete cost of construction was just over $1,600 – a great sum in those days. It remains to this day the oldest church building, of any denomination, in active use in Polk county.
The church was designed by the Rev. J. H. Weddel, architect, in a style familiar in Florida while maintaining the "essentials" of the Anglican tradition as found in English churches. The focal point of all Episcopal Churches is the alter where Holy Communion is celebrated as the center of our corporate worship.
The bell, cast in Ireland, ordered in 1891, cast in 1892 and hung soon thereafter. It remains the only church bell in Fort Meade.
Christ Church flourished as did Fort Meade until economic and world political conditions forced many businesses and people to leave by the early 1900s. The Church continued holding a small congregation together until soon after the Second World War. In 1948 the decision was made to close the church and sell the property. It was sold to a local Christian congregation. Unfortunately they could not maintain payments on the property and it reverted again to the Diocese.
In the early 1960s the church was re-opened with the encouragement of the Rev. Russell S. Carleton, rector of Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Bartow. The Church was re-activated in the residence of Mr. & Mrs. Childs and functioned under the pastoring of the Rev. Alford Bruce Lauenborf a retired priest living in Fort Meade. Christ Church was put on the National Register of Historic Places May 6, 1976.
In 1992 the Diocese subsidized the salary of a full time priest for Fort Meade. This arrangement continued for two years but without noticeable gains in membership the plan was abandoned. Supply priests, notably the Rev. Tyrrel Dear, served the congregation until the Rev. Al Jenkins, rector of All Saints' Episcopal Church Lakeland, petitioned the diocese to allow that parish to have oversight of Christ Church. Again, although efforts were well directed and well carried out, it wasn't enough to breathe vitality into the congregation. There seemed nothing left but for the church to once again close and the property would be sold.
It was at this time that All Saints' Academy in Winter Haven made the offer to move the building to its campus on Rt. 540 for use as a chapel. In this way the historic building would still be used for Anglican worship. The offer was made to relocate the congregation there as well. Reluctantly the small remaining congregants agreed to the proposal sanctioned by the diocese. Not so the people of Fort Meade. A loud cry went up to keep the historical building right where it had been for the past 109 years. Their concern was heard by the diocese and a new possibility for continued life of Christ Church in Fort Meade was launched.
In May 1998 The Rev. William Hazelett, retired priest in the Diocese, came to serve as supply priest until final arrangements were made to move the church building. However, during that summer the Holy Spirit moved in such a way that the congregation more than tripled in size – the financial contributions much more so. At the meeting of the Diocesan Board in Orlando on 17 September 1998 it was decided that Christ Church would remain in Fort Meade to continue in the ministry for which God intended it.
Today, Christ Church still thrives as the oldest active church in Polk County, Florida. The church continues to be a place of worship and an important historical icon of Fort Meade, Florida.
National Register listing
- Christ Church (added 1976 - Building - #76000605)
- 1 N. Cleveland, Fort Meade
- Historic Significance: Event, Architecture/Engineering
- Architect, builder, or engineer: Atkins, Thomas A., Weddell, Rev. J.H.
- Architectural Style: Carpenter Gothic
- Area of Significance: Religion, Exploration/Settlement, Architecture
- Period of Significance: 1875-1899
- Owner: Private
- Historic Function: Religion
- Historic Sub-function: Religious Structure
- Current Function: Religion
- Current Sub-function: Religious Structure
References
- ↑ National Park Service (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
External links
- Polk County listings at National Register of Historic Places
- Florida's Office of Cultural and Historical Programs