History of St. Andrew’s

The Church of St. Andrew the Apostle was founded on Sunday, March 15, 1896 in Peoria, Illinois on the southeast corner of Perry and Cornhill Streets as a little storefront mission. Pastoral guidance for this effort, as well as for the subsequent founding of St. Stephen’s Church, was led by the Rev. Father Sydney G. Jeffords, one-time rector of St. Paul’s Church and a priest noted for his missionary endeavors.

The mission’s tenure at Perry and Cornhill was brief thanks to the generosity of John Birket, an early Peoria settler. He had bequeathed to the Bishop of Illinois, in his 1870 will, a tract of land to be used for a parish church, an academy, and a cemetery.

In 1897, the Norman-Romanesque building located on the corner of NE Madison Avenue and Mary Street, just three blocks from the site of the founding of the mission, was constructed for the almost unbelievable sum of $20,000. Its rounded arches, open hammer beam trusses, and massive walls are typical of this revival style of architecture and are intentionally characteristic of a typical parish church building to be found in Northern France or Southern England shortly before the Gothic style was developed. The construction is of Indiana limestone with a finish-brick interior. In 1900, the large two-story rectory faced with matching Indiana limestone was erected next to the church building at the cost of $10,000.

St. Andrew’s Church was consecrated by the first Bishop of Quincy (which Diocese was erected in 1877), the Rt. Rev. Alexander Burgess on the Feast of St. Thomas the Apostle December 21, 1897, the cornerstone having been laid in September of that year. The Rt. Rev. George Franklin Seymour, the first Bishop of Springfield, was the preacher at the consecration. Father Samuel Gardner Welles, who served from 1897 until 1900, was the first Rector of St. Andrew’s. His father had been the third Bishop of Milwaukee and his son, the Rt. Rev. Edward Randolph Welles II, was the Bishop of the Diocese of West Missouri from 1950 until 1972.

Following the tenures of the first three Rectors, St. Andrew’s experienced some very difficult times, particularly during the World War I years and the depression, and became an “aided parish”. On August 1, 1954, Fr. Theron R. Hughes, SSC, then less than a year out of seminary and having been ordained a Priest for only a few months, arrived in Peoria to serve both St. Andrew’s and St. Stephen’s Churches. It was then that St. Andrew’s began a period of sustained growth. The rectory was completely renovated in 1959, some major repairs and improvements were made to the church building, the number of communicants increased, and the financial situation was significantly improved. More than $100,000 had been spent for renovation and improvement by August of 1968 when Fr. Hughes left to become Vicar of St. Timothy’s Church, Griffith, Indiana.

On December 18, 1968, Fr. Vincent H Butler began his tenure as Vicar of St. Andrew’s. The momentum for growth continued under his able leadership. St. Andrew’s Day Care Center was opened in the early part of 1969 with financial help from the Diocesan Episcopal Advance Fund and the local Episcopal Church women’s group. Only four children attended initially, but after 1972, the Center operated at near capacity, serving some twenty to thirty-five children each day. In the spring of 1969, St. Andrew’s became involved in the Northside Action Council which was concerned with the urban problems and renewal. The number of communicants continued to increase, and the financial picture was looking considerably brighter. On December 21, 1985, the Feast of St. Thomas the Apostle, the eighty-eighth anniversary of the consecration of St. Andrew’s Church, and less than a year before he retired in July of 1986, Fr. Butler was instituted as Rector of the Church of St. Andrew the Apostle; parish status had been regained.

During July and August of 1986, significant renovation and repair work were accomplished in the Rectory. The second floor was made into an entirely separate and complete apartment – to be used as the priest’s residence – which was, in fact, the arrangement of the space as the building was originally constructed. The first floor was re-designed to be the parish house and included a new Chapel of Our Lady of Walshingham (used almost daily for the Divine Office and weekday celebrations of the Mass), a reception area, priest’s study, office, and combination meeting room, sacristy, and kitchenette.

St. Andrew’s fifth Rector, Fr. Gus L. Franklin, SSC, came to Peoria on September 1, 1986, from the neighboring Diocese of Springfield. Work continued on the parish house and an intentional program of major physical improvement was undertaken. Alcoa aluminum roofs were installed on both buildings, a lift was installed, a ramp with railing and landscaping was built to provide access to the tower door by the lift, much of the yard was graded and sodded, additional landscaping and tree planting were done, both buildings were air-conditioned, as well as equipped with new heating systems, and a new garage was erected where the old had stood.

Regular essentially daily celebration of the Church’s liturgy was the norm once again, the Sunday bulletin was also a weekly newsletter, a parish-wide shepherding ministry was operative, a regularly scheduled and clearly defined program of Christian Education for all ages was implemented, and the Great Vigil of Easter and First Mass of the Resurrection was now, in fact as well in theory, celebrated as the most significant event in the life of the parish family. In 1992 a new Allen Digital Computer Organ (MDS-35) with a two manual AGO drawknob console, antiphonal division, and state trumpet was purchased and became the successor to St. Andrew’s historic tracker pipe organ (installed in 1897). The original organ is still in working order.

During this time the parish was instrumental in getting Habitat for Humanity started in Peoria, and the church building became a SHARE food distribution center. St. Andrew’s Vestry also began serving as the administrator of the St. Stephen’s Mission Fund for outreach.

Fr. Michael J. McKinnon became the sixth Rector of St. Andrew’s in September of 1998. He officiated at the Sunday Celebration of the Holy Eucharist at 7:30 a.m. using the Rite I Liturgy of The Book of Common Prayer preceded by Morning Prayer and Solemn High Mass at 10:00 a.m. Fr. Michael instituted a Sunday 6:00 p.m. Neighborhood Family Worship: Prayer, Praise & The Lord’s Supper aimed at gathering the neighborhood (those who had not previously experienced liturgical worship, who had not sacramentally encountered the Risen Lord Jesus Christ, and those who had yet to hear the Catholic Faith proclaimed) with the people of St. Andrew’s to worship God as one family. He initiated a Prayer Walk through the local neighborhood on Friday mornings following the 9:00 a.m. Mass.

Fr. Michael’s love and concern for the youth of the Parish Family was evident and he established M.A.C.O. (“Marked as Christ’s Own”) a youth group for young adults grades 7-12 which met weekly to share a meal, each other, and fellowship followed by “Come & See” – a voluntary discussion on the faith and life of the church.

During Fr. Michael’s tenure, new adult and children’s Sunday school rooms were added as well as a new nursery. Many physical improvements were made to both the interior and exterior of the church property including: a handicap-accessible chapel and restroom; handicap seating in the Nave, new lighting, fire-alarm system, stairwell and elevator; and a painted mural depicting and emphasizing Christ’s ministry and love for children. 35 to 40 new members were added to the church family throughout Fr. Michael’s years of service at St. Andrew’s.