History
The Episcopal Church began in the British Colonies as the Church of England, also called the Anglican Church. When the colonists broke with England, the churches here could no longer be part of the former organization. These colonial churches organized as The Episcopal Church.
The Latin word for bishop is episcopus, thus the Episcopal church is defined as being governed by or having bishops. In fact, the governing structure of the Episcopal Church is very much like the governing body of the United States — a representative democracy — as many of the founders of this country were also part of this newly formed church.
In the 1960s, St. Andrew's had three priests - Fr. Gruetter, Fr. Brown & Fr. Reasner.
In 1890 St. Andrew’s began as a mission of Trinity Episcopal Church, Downtown Toledo. Our first home was in a borrowed hall near the Milburn Wagon Works in the Auburndale area of Central Toledo. The first service was in April of 1890. By the fall of 1891, we built a chapel building at the corner of Milburn and Auburn.
St. Andrew’s achieved full parish status at that location in 1937.
A few years later (1942), fire destroyed the church building and it was necessary to make use of a temporary home in St. Mark’s Episcopal Church on Collingwood Boulevard in Toledo’s Old West End.
Rebirth in a New Location
As soon as a suitable location in West Toledo could be identified and purchased, construction of a new St. Andrew’s began. The first service at our present location was celebrated November 1, 1943, even though the church was only partially completed. The building and parish membership continued to grow.
A major expansion in 1958 brought the building to its present configuration. In 1993, we added a small elevator and made other enhancements to make our space more accessible. We enjoy our location in a residential neighborhood – close to the University of Toledo and a variety of shopping areas.
Liturgical Traditions
When St. Andrew’s began as a mission in 1890, the vision was to be a “High Church.” At the time, that meant a parish with Anglo- Catholic liturgical traditions. More than 100 years later, we continue to celebrate the Holy Eucharist at all of our church services, and use incense, bells, music and pageantry to enhance many of our liturgies. We also have diverse liturgical experiences, and are a comfortable home for people of varied backgrounds.