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• 1 media/Christ the King Episcopal Church, Huntington exterior.jpg 2019-07-17T18:28:30-07:00 Christ the King Episcopal Church, Huntington 65 image_header 2024-10-13T12:55:50-07:00

  
  Adapted from Christ the King's website: http://episcopalchurch-huntington.org/
        Episcopalians first organized a church in Huntington under the leadership of Bishop David Buel Knickerbacker on 19 May 1884. The Rev. William Naylor Webbe, rector of Trinity Church, Fort Wayne, conducted the first known service. Calling the diocesan mission Christ Church, its lay leaders included T. A. Carhart, warden; David Moriarty and George Moses, vestrymen; C. R. McCullough, secretary and treasurer; and Mrs. Carhart, assistant treasurer. In spike of a promising beginning, the mission struggled to continue with a dwindling membership. The Rev. William Burk and the Rev. Otway Colvin, both of Trinity Church, Peru, conducted occasional services. The surviving parish register of this first congregation contains records from 1884 to 1898 with some gaps. In 1900, Archdeacon Torrence reported to the diocese that Huntington has “a neat little church,” but no services had been held for more than a year. For a time, the building was rented to a Quaker meeting. By 1902, after regaining control of the building, various supply clergy held services on alternate Sundays, and the diocesan building commission held a mortgage of $283. The following year the archdeacon reported a leaking roof. It was repaired, but the mortgage remained unpaid until 1904. From 1913 to 1918, James A. Baynton, the archdeacon, held services, but they would cease after Baynton left the diocese.
          In the 1920s, the mission of Christ Church was reconstituted under the rector of Trinity Church, Peru, as well as the diocesan archdeacon, the Ven, Joseph Gubbins. The Rev. George Jewell, a missionary at Hartford City and Kokomo, also held services, but they were discontinued with the onset of the Great Depression. From 1938 to 1939, the Rev. Raymond M. O'Brien held services, followed by the Rev. Clarence Reimer and the Rev. Philip Shutt, but the mission closed in 1943. These services had been conducted in the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers building on Market Street.
          On September 11, 1949, several Episcopal families formally petitioned Bishop Reginald Mallett to establish a new mission church at Huntington. The Rev. David Reid of Marion arrived and held services in Engineer’s Hall. The response was strong enough for Reid to continue weekly services, and eleven people were confirmed on November 6, 1950. After receiving approval for diocesan mission status, the congregation purchased a house for $8,000 at 904 Jefferson Street and converted the downstairs into a chapel, with another house at 916 Jefferson Street becoming a vicarage. During the tenure of the Rev. John T. Russell from 1952 to 1954, the congregation officially adopted a new name, Christ the King. Upon his death in 1984, Russell left the church $5,000 in his will, which was applied toward purchasing the present organ.
         On July 18, 1958, the congregation purchased the Ayres home, a large Victorian house at 1224 North Jefferson Street, and converted it into a chapel. The first service in the new location was celebrated on September 7, 1958. The present crucifix, now located in the baptistery, was then located at the altar.
         In 1976, Bishop Walter Conrad Klein requested that a new building be erected that more befitted a church. Choosing to remain at 1224 North Jefferson Street, the congregation demolished the Ayres house and built the present A-frame edifice. Ground was broken on November 25, 1968, and the cornerstone was laid on August 9, 1969, with the Rev. Ian Schlotterbeck as vicar. In the cornerstone, the congregation placed a copper box containing a cross, a Holy Bible, the Book of Common Prayer, a record of the founders, and the original church petition, which listed the 24 founders of 1949. The new edifice was dedicated on December 7, 1969. In March 1970, the present Christus Rex was hung on the east wall for Easter. It was hand-carved by woodworkers in Oberammergau, Germany, as a gift from the Morrett family.
         In the summer of 1969, a new entrance and baptistery were constructed as a first phase of an expansion plan. As the congregation continued to grow in number and faith, Christ the King became a parish of the diocese in 1994. Construction of the parish hall with five classrooms took place in the spring of 2001.
   

  B. P. Runkle (deacon), 1884
  William Naylor Webbe, 1884-1885
  William Burk, 1885-1886
  Otway Colvin, 1891-1894
  George Torrence, 1900-1902
  James A. Baynton, 1917-1918
  Joseph Gubbins, 1920-1921
  George Jewell, 1921-1929
  Raymond M. O'Brien, 1938-1939
  Clarence Reimer, 1940-1941
  Philip Shutt, 1942-1943
  David A. Reid, 1949-1951
  Hugh Neil Barnes, 1951-1952
  John Tennyson Russell, 1952-1953
  Horace L. Varian, 1954-1956
  Carl Richard Bloom, 1957-1960
  John Ralph Ansell Patston, 1960-1965
  Rodney Wells Jarchow, 1966-1967
  Ian Schlotterbeck, 1968-1974
  Peter D'Alesandre, 1976-1980
  John Miles, 1982-1984
  Jack Clark Bliven, 1984-1985
  Curtis Evans Ross, 1987
  Margaret Ann (Griggs) Harker, 1993-2004
  Monroe Richard Miller, 2005-2014
  Theodore Neidlinger, 2014-

  
  
  Christ Church Parish Register, Huntington, 1884-1898
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Episcopalians first organized a church in Huntington under the leadership of Bishop David Buel Knickerbacker on 19 May 1884. The Rev. William Naylor Webbe, rector of Trinity Church, Fort Wayne, conducted the first known service. Calling the diocesan mission Christ Church, its lay leaders included T. A. Carhart, warden; David Moriarty and George Moses, vestrymen; C. R. McCullough, secretary and treasurer; and Mrs. Carhart, assistant treasurer. In spike of a promising beginning, the mission struggled to continue with a dwindling membership. The Rev. William Burk and the Rev. Otway Colvin, both of Trinity Church, Peru, conducted occasional services. The surviving parish register of this first congregation contains records from 1884 to 1898 with some gaps. In 1900, Archdeacon Torrence reported to the diocese that Huntington has “a neat little church,” but no services had been held for more than a year. For a time, the building was rented to a Quaker meeting. By 1902, after regaining control of the building, various supply clergy held services on alternate Sundays, and the diocesan building commission held a mortgage of $283. The following year the archdeacon reported a leaking roof. It was repaired, but the mortgage remained unpaid until 1904. From 1913 to 1918, James A. Baynton, the archdeacon, held services, but they would cease after Baynton left the diocese.
  In the 1920s, the mission of Christ Church was reconstituted under the rector of Trinity Church, Peru, as well as the diocesan archdeacon, the Ven, Joseph Gubbins. The Rev. George Jewell, a missionary at Hartford City and Kokomo, also held services, but they were discontinued with the onset of the Great Depression. From 1938 to 1939, the Rev. Raymond M. O;Brienb held services, followed by the Rev. Clarence Reimer and the Rev. Philip Shutt, but the mission closed in 1943. These services had been conducted in the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers building on Market Street.
  On September 11, 1949, several Episcopal families formally petitioned Bishop Reginald Mallett to establish a new mission church at Huntington. The Rev. David Reid of Marion arrived and held services in Engineer’s Hall. The response was strong enough for Reid to continue weekly services, and eleven people were confirmed on November 6, 1950. After receiving approval for diocesan mission status, the congregation purchased a house for $8,000 at 904 Jefferson Street and converted the downstairs into a chapel, with another house at 916 Jefferson Street becoming a vicarage. During the tenure of the Rev. John T. Russell from 1952 to 1954, the congregation officially adopted a new name, Christ the King. Upon his death in 1984, Russell left the church $5,000 in his will, which was applied toward purchasing the present organ.
  On July 18, 1958, the congregation purchased the Ayres home, a large Victorian house at 1224 North Jefferson Street, and converted it into a chapel. The first service in the new location was celebrated on September 7, 1958. The present crucifix, now located in the baptistery, was then located at the altar.
  In 1976, Bishop Walter Conrad Klein requested that a new building be erected that more befitted a church. Choosing to remain at 1224 North Jefferson Street, the congregation demolished the Ayres house and built the present A-frame edifice. Ground was broken on November 25, 1968, and the cornerstone was laid on August 9, 1969, with the Rev. Ian Schlotterbeck as vicar. In the cornerstone, the congregation placed a copper box containing a cross, a Holy Bible, the Book of Common Prayer, a record of the founders, and the original church petition, which listed the 24 founders of 1949. The new edicife was dedicated on December 7, 1969. In March 1970, the present Christus Rex was hung on the east wall for Easter. It was hand-carved by woodworkers in Oberammergau, Germany, as a gift from the Morrett family.
  In the summer of 1969, a new entrance and baptistery were constructed as a first phase of an expansion plan. As the congregation continued to grow in number and faith, Christ the King became a parish of the diocese in 1994. Construction of the parish hall with five classrooms took place in the spring of 2001.
  
  Clergy:
  
  William Naylor Webbe, 1884-1885
  William Black Burk, 1885-1886
  George Davis Adams, 1888
  Otway Colvin, 1890-1894
  Willis Darwin Engle, 1897-1898
  James Augustus Baynton, 1913-1918
  Joseph William Gubbins, 1928-1930
  George Arthur Peters Jewell, 1930
  Raymond Mansfield O'Brien, 1938-1939
  Clarence Charles Reimer, 1941-1942
  Philip L Shutt, 1942-1943
  David Reid, 1949-1951
  Hugh N. Barnes, 1951-1952
  John T. Russell, 1952-1954
  Horace Lytton Varian, 1954-1956
  Carl R. Bloom, 1956-1960
  John Ralph Patston, 1960-1965
  Rodney W. Jarchow, 1966-1968
  Ian J. Schlotterbeck, 1968-1975
  Peter D'Alesandre, 1975-1980
  Arnold Hoffman, 1980-1981
  John Miles, 1982-1983
  Jack Bliven, 1984-1985
  Curtis E. Ross, 1987-1993
  Margaret Harker, 1993-2004
  M. Richard Miller, 2005-2014
  Theodore Neidlinger, 2014-

• 1 media/St Michael and All Angels South Bend exterior 16 Apr 2019.jpg 2019-07-24T07:31:16-07:00 St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church, South Bend 31 image_header 2024-07-12T13:48:00-07:00 St. Michael and All Angels was founded in South Bend in 1956, when Bishop Reginald Mallett gave his house at the corner of Jefferson and Ironwood to become a new mission for the Cathedral. The church was formed in response to a request to have a mission serve South Bend residents living in the south and east of the city. To protect the Cathedral from losing too many members, Bishop Mallett set the boundaries for the new mission and ordered Cathedral parishioners living east of Miami Street, east of Twyckenham Drive, and west of Ironwood Drive to join the venture, cancelling their membership at the Cathedral. The Rev. Horace L. Varian of St. James, a former major in the 100th Bomb Group during World War II, was called to be its first vicar.
  
  Much work had to be done to make the former residence into a church. Openings between the living and dining rooms and the center hall were made larger. Parishioners partitioned the sun room and draped it in order to turn it into a sacristy. Varian took up residence on the second floor with a living room, kitchenette, bedroom and bath.The remodeling cost $2,500.
  
  Response to the new mission proved strong from the beginning. When Varian conducted the first service on 28 October 1956, fourteen attended at 7:30 and 176 at 9 A.M. Many parishioners donated items for the church, such as candlesticks, vases, a missal stand, a chalice, paten, and a paschal candle. The church house quickly exceeded its capacity, and the Cathedral made plans in 1957 to build a church while at the same time granting St. Michael parish status. Varian was forced out as priest in 1958 for sexual misconduct and defrocked the following year by Bishop Mallett.
  
  On 29 September 1959, under the leadership of the Rev. Dwight Filkins, church leaders completed and dedicated a modern, rectangular-shaped building at 2117 East Jefferson Boulevard under a design by Charles Palmer of the architectural firm of Andrew Toth. Many parishioners contributed or manufactured items for the new building. A crucifix hung over the altar was carved by the Italian artist Aldo Tambolini, then on the staff of the University of Notre Dame. The parish purchased a rectory for Fr. Filkins at 609 Preston Drive. Several rectors followed Filkins, including Charles Dibble, George V. Johnson, and Hugh C. Edsall. During this time the vestry negotiated plans to build a rectory, and in 1964 it agreed to pay Glenn Nunemaker, a parishioner, $20,800 to construct it. Edsall, who arrived in 1963, was a popular priest but resigned from the parish abruptly in 1969 when he divorced his first wife and married a parishioner.
  
  During the 1960s, the women of the parish organized two guilds. St. Anne's Guild managed the parish gift shop, while St. Martha's provided camp and conference scholarships and raised funds for the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. In 1966, the parish established the Seminarian Assistance Fund. The vestry deposited $10 into the fund each month for use by a future seminarian. The Episcopal Young Churchmen (EYC) also established a chapter in the parish and undertook social projects.
  
  During the 1980s and 1990s, the parish experienced considerable growth under the leadership of the Rev. Dabney Smith. The parish attracted as members a number of faculty on the staff of the University of Notre Dame. In 1997, a new edifice was built at 53720 Ironwood, south of Cleveland Road. The contemporary-styled church was designed by the South Bend architectural firm of Mathews-Purucker-Anella and featured a high-vaulted ceiling with extensive windows and seating for 325. Perhaps its most striking feature was its baptismal font of grey slate, deep enough for full immersion for infants and a wading pool for adults. The font reflected evolving views about how baptisms should be performed at this time and the sacramental value of full immersion. Bishop Gray consecrated the building on 14 September 1997 and baptized his grandson at the service. The new church also featured a 16th-century stained glass window from a country church in France, which was placed near the font. A second phase of construction brought more classroom and kitchen space to what was arguably the most contemporary-designed church edifice in the diocese.
  
  Beginning in 2009, the parish was ably served by the Rev. Matthew Cowden, who was elected Bishop Cadjutor of the Diocese of West Virginia in 2021. The congregation sponsors a free lunch program and partners with the Food Bank of Northern Indiana to provide food to the needy.
  
  Clergy:
  
  Horace Lytton Varian, 1956-1958
  Dwight A. Filkins, 1958-1961
  George V. Johnson, 1962-1963
  Hugh Crichton Edsall, 1963-1969
  Paul Edward Leatherbury, 1969-1986
  Dabney Smith, 1989-1998
  M. Randall Melton, 1999-2008
  Matthew D. Cowden, 2009-2021
  Mark Van Wassenhove (interim), 2022-2024
  Jennifer Fulton, 2024-
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• 1 2020-10-19T07:57:09-07:00 Rev. Horace Lytton Varian, Jr. 4 plain 2020-10-21T13:13:10-07:00 The Rev. Horace L. Varian Jr. was born in Baltimore on 31 July 1918, the son of Horace Lytton and Edith May (Burton) Varian. He entered the Army Air Corps in 1941 and was assigned to the 100th Bomb Group, where he became a Major. After the war he entered Seabury Divinity School and was ordained a priest by Bishop Mallett in 1952. Mallett assigned him first to the Church of the Good Shepherd, where he served from 1952 to 1954. He moved to Christ the King, Huntington, where he served until 1956, and then he became the first rector of St. Michael and All Angels in South Bend in1956, serving to 1958. He was also in charge of the youth summer camp at Howe. It became evident during this time that Varian was mentally ill. The Standing Committee urged his removal from the priesthood, and Bishop Mallett defrocked him in 1959. The two remained friends, however, and kept up a correspondence after Varian moved to New York City to work in a restaurant. Varian's sexual problems were treated as a mental illness and not as a crime, with Bishop Mallett describing it as "infantile behavior." Varian died in Newton, Massachusetts, on 15 August 1988. He was buried in Loudon Park Cemetery in Baltimore.