Saint Saviour’s Episcopal Church
350 Sound Beach Avenue
Old Greenwich, Connecticut 06870

The history of Saint Saviour’s Church dates back to 1918. In that year, a group of forty people asked the Reverend H. Baxter Liebler for assistance in establishing a place of Episcopal worship in Sound Beach, now called Old Greenwich.

Father Liebler began services when the Presbyterian church generously granted the use of their small building on Sound Beach Avenue. Years later, that building was sold and became the Albertson Memorial Church. Father Liebler, the newly appointed rector of Saint Paul’s Church in neighboring Riverside, took charge of the “Sound Beach Mission” in October 1918. After making some temporary alterations to the borrowed building, the Mission held regular services there for several years while a fund was slowly raised for a permanent location. In 1923 the proceeds from the sale of a donated lot were combined with accumulated savings to purchase the site upon which Saint Saviour’s Church stands today. The original chapel, designed in the Spanish Mission-style, commanded wide attention when it was first erected by Father Liebler’s own hands with help from some Mission members and the Boy Scouts. This tiny chapel served as the Mission’s sanctuary until 1930 when the Mission voted to become an Episcopal parish. Father Liebler was formally chosen to be its first Rector. New funds were raised to begin the construction of a larger parish church on the same site. Building the present Mission-style church became possible when Mrs. Blanche Sauers Weed presented a large gift of money in memory of her husband. The newly constructed church was consecrated on November 9, 1934. By 1943, having served Saint Saviour’s for twenty-five years, Father Liebler resigned to begin his long service of missionary work among the Navajo Indians in Utah. Following its founder’s resignation, Saint Saviour’s was served by two rectors in relatively brief succession: the Reverend Thomas L. Brown and, a year later, the Reverend Victor A. Menard.

 

In 1946, the Reverend Arnold B. Craven was elected Rector. After six years of living in off-site housing, Father Craven built a rectory on adjoining property behind the church. Completed in 1952, it is a modernstyle two-story residence. In the later years of Father Craven’s tenure, a number of parishioners from The original chapel of Saint Saviour’s Church (above) circa 1925. Albertson Memorial Church (left) where Saint Saviour’s parish first held services. — 12 — Laying of the cornerstone, Saint Saviour’s Church, 1924 Saint Paul’s Church in Riverside began to attend Saint Saviour’s Church and its membership increased. In 1963, after seventeen years with Saint Saviour’s, Father Craven resigned and moved to England to take up studies at Oxford.

 

In 1963, the Parish called the Reverend Charles T. Knapp as its next Rector. Arriving at Saint Saviour’s during the latter years of his ministry, Father Knapp reconciled two groups: parishioners who favored the high ceremonies of the past and those who wanted less elaborate services. Amid simpler furnishings, Father Knapp continued the use of incense to celebrate the major church feasts. In addition to his role as a reconciler, Father Knapp was a mover and shaker. By his initiative, the church was physically expanded to include the present alcove and the wing that houses classrooms for the Church School and the Nursery School. The alcove, the wing and the Great Hall below it were built in 1970 at a cost of about $240,000, one-third of it paid by a special capital fund bequeathed by Mrs. Weed. (Another fund bequeathed by Mrs. Weed exists today to supplement general parish income.) Soon after the completion of the new wing, Father Knapp recruited Betty Smith to organize a nursery school that operates to this day. During his final years at Saint Saviour’s, Father Knapp carried on admirably despite deteriorating health. He retired in 1974.

In seeking its sixth rector, Saint Saviour’s calling committee established several guiding principles. They determined to continue a traditional style of liturgical worship as it had evolved under Father Knapp’s direction. They wanted the style of worship to be recognizable to all current and future Episcopalians and parishioners in the area. They also proposed that Saint Saviour’s be known as the parish church of Old Greenwich. The Reverend Robert J. Miner was elected Rector late in 1974. Under Father Miner’s leadership many long-needed repairs were made—upgrading buildings and grounds while carefully preserving the unique ambience of Saint Saviour’s and its architecture. The Undercroft was renovated and a new social room was added to its eastern end. In 1993 the Saint Saviour’s School of Dance was established under the directorship of Doreen Thompson. Father Miner was active in various kinds of service to the greater community. In the later years of his term he phased out of local parish activities in favor of participating in national ecumenical activities. In recognition of this ecumenical work, he was named an honorary Canon of the Cathedral in Hartford in 1999. In the year 2000, the Reverend Canon Robert J. Miner retired from parish ministry.

In 2002, the Reverend Doctor Victoria Miller was called to be Rector and ratified by the Parish.

History

 

 

Formation and Foundation 1918—1946

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Building a Rectory and Parish Changes 1946—1963

 

 

 

 

Reconciliation and Rapid Growth 1963—1974

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Parish Church of Old Greenwich 1974—2003