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O


ur church was organized on St. Stephen’s Day, December 26, 1811. Planning for building an Episcopal church in Middlebury began in 1815. However, it took years of fund raising, sweat equity and barter, and the leadership of the parish’s first rector, Benjamin Bosworth Smith (1823–1828), to make it happen. The church was consecrated in 1827, and Benjamin Bosworth Smith went on to become Presiding Bishop.

Built on public land in the middle of town, the original Norman style building of local limestone still stands. In 1835 the congregation purchased the Revere bell that rings before Sunday worship services and on other occasions. The Johnson tracker organ, repaired and upgraded from time to time, was purchased in 1875. A chapel was added in 1879 and rebuilt after a fire in 1960.

St. Stephen's on the Green; Circa. 1860
St. Stephen's on the Green; Circa. 1920

For the first hundred years or so, St. Stephen’s alternated between periods of prosperity and poverty, at one time supporting missions in two outlying towns, and at other times unable to afford the services of a rector. But it persevered—and refurbished and remodeled with astonishing regularity.

In the 1950s, faced with a crumbling foundation and low funds, the women of the parish instituted the first Peasant Market to raise the money necessary for repairs, and the men founded the St. Stephen’s Construction Company to do the work. The excavation for the parish hall and kitchen in 1951 and the renovation of the rectory in 1991 serve as actual and metaphorical proof of the continuing commitment of the parish to the fabric as well as the spirit of the church.

In the recent past, when difficulties within the parish and with the diocese created tensions, the parish remained intact. Testimony to this is the fact that during this period we undertook a successful campaign, Stones for St. Stephen’s, to add onto and remodel the church building. Consecrated in 1998, the building now houses a new chapel, an elevator, meeting rooms, accessible office space and altar, and rest rooms on every floor.

St. Stephen’s has hosted some distinguished visiting preachers, who have been both forthcoming and inspiring on social and religious issues. Bishop Paul Moore, for instance, raised both roof and social consciousness with his rousing sermon at the 175th anniversary of the church in 2002.

Today the parish is building on its strong sense of faith and community, and we “look expectantly to a new day.”

 
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