St. Agatha's Episcopal Church is a historic Carpenter Gothic

Episcopal Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United State ...

church located at 144 Circle Drive, in

DeFuniak Springs DeFuniak Springs is a city in Walton County, Florida, United States. The population was 6,968 as of the 2020 Census. The county seat of Walton County, the city also serves as a hub for many residents in surrounding communities. In 2019, MSN's ''I ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

in the

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. It is a

contributing property In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distri ...

in the

DeFuniak Springs Historic District The DeFuniak Springs Historic District is a U.S. historic district (designated as such on August 28, 1992) located in DeFuniak Springs, Florida. DeFuniak Springs, originally Lake DeFuniak, was named after Fred DeFuniak, the chief executive of ...

History

In the late 1880s, the Rt. Rev. Edwin G. Weed, third bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Florida, found three families of Episcopalians when he visited DeFuniak Springs and from that nucleus St. Agatha's was born. The first baptism was in 1890 in a private home. Construction of the church building began in 1895. At Easter when the women of the mission wanted services in the unfinished church they asked the men of the church to read

Morning Prayer Morning Prayer may refer to: Religion *Prayers in various traditions said during the morning * Morning Prayer (Anglican), one of the two main Daily Offices in the churches of the Anglican Communion * In Roman Catholicism: ** Morning offering of C ...

. The men refused stating that the church had not yet been consecrated and no men in the parish had yet been licensed as

lay reader In Anglicanism, a licensed lay minister (LLM) or lay reader (in some jurisdictions simply reader) is a person authorised by a bishop to lead certain services of worship (or parts of the service), to preach and to carry out pastoral and teaching f ...

s to conduct services. The women took matters into their own hands. They decked the lath that was awaiting plaster with flowers and greenery from floor to ceiling. They proceeded to read Morning Prayer. This was long before women became eligible to be licensed as lay readers. The church has the only pipe organ in the county. It was built by a parishioner and completed in 1990.St. Agatha's history
/ref> Over the years, the building deteriorated and some repairs were made. Vinyl siding was added to avoid high painting costs. However some of the wood underneath the vinyl rotted. The rains eroded the foundation and the leaded glass windows began to bow. From 2000 to 2007, with the help of matching grants from the state Bureau of Historic Preservation, St. Agatha's was able to restore its original exterior. Independently they made other repairs needed to restore the church interior and Parish House. The church was rededicated on December 9, 2007.St. Agatha's Re-Dedication Program
/ref> St. Agatha's has had few full-time priests. The attendance is only around 30-40 people. However, in 2011 members were able to purchase the Charles Murray home to the south of the church. It served as the vicarage for a short time allowing the former vicarage to be used as the parish hall, church office and classrooms. When that priest retired, the Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast established a School for Ministry there early in 2017. The home, also a contributing site in the DeFuniak Springs Historic District is available for church and community meetings, seminars and retreats since the School for Ministry students are present only one long weekend each month. This historic structure also needs repair and a grant has been submitted for this purpose. The church is still a functioning organized mission in the

Episcopal Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast The Episcopal Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast is a diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, part of Province 4. The diocese was created in 1970 from portions of the adjoining dioceses of Alabama and Florida. Its te ...

References

External links

*
St. Agatha's Re-Dedication Program

St. Agatha's history
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Agatha's Episcopal Church Churches in Walton County, Florida Episcopal church buildings in Florida Carpenter Gothic church buildings in Florida Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Florida Historic district contributing properties in Florida National Register of Historic Places in Walton County, Florida 1896 establishments in Florida Churches completed in 1896

History

See also

References

External links