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Parish Mission
The MISSION of historic Saint Michael’s Episcopal Church, as part of the Anglican communion, is to worship God, to proclaim the love of Christ in the world, and to seek justice for all people:
Parish History: Bell, Music, Windows, Archives, Today
From its founding in 1714 by a small band of sea captains (of the original thirty-three benefactors, twenty-nine were seafarers from Marblehead), until the present day, the rich historical tapestry of St. Michael's has been intimately interwoven with the history of both Marblehead and the country. The church building is a unique blend of indigenous meeting house architecture and Anglican forms given greatest expression by Sir Christopher Wren; a “bridge” building type seminal in the history of American ecclesiastical architecture.
A Revere Bell
St. Michael’s first bell was hung in 1718. When news of the
declaration broke out in 1776, it was rung so hard by fervent patriots that
it cracked. A new bell was installed in 1802, but was damaged beyond repair
in 1817. A third bell weighing 839 pounds was purchased from the Paul Revere
Foundry in 1818 for $244. The bell is inscribed “Revere & Son Boston
1 8 1 8” and still hangs in the tower today. A major renovation was undertaken
in 1994 to replace worn bearings and to preserve the rusting cast iron supports.
Today, the Revere bell at St. Michael’s is heard regularly throughout Marblehead’s
downtown during Mass, and is rung during patriotic celebrations such as
Independence Day.
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St.
Michael's in 1714
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Music
Music has
long been an integral part of worship at St. Michael’s. The Reverend Peter
Bours (1753-1762), a Harvard graduate and fervent advocate of ”high churchmanship”,
acquired the first organ in 1754 and established church music as a fundamental
part of the liturgy. Later, rector Thomas Fitch Oliver (1786-1791) was the first
to establish a church choir and to institute chants such as the Venite, the
Te Deum, and the Nunc Dimittis. In fact, on Christmas day 1787, the St. Michael’s
choir sang a rendition of the Venite thought to be the first instance of chanting
in the newly formed United States. Under Robert Parker (1922-1925), the music
at St. Michael’s flourished with the addition of a notable organist, Alexander
Cleary. Under Mr. Cleary’s excellent tutelage, the St. Michael’s boys
choir became known as one the finest in all New England. Later, a Church School
Band program was launched, providing 32 boys with a free musical education,
and providing the town with a popular resource for various functions and celebrations.
The present tracker organ dates from 1974, and, although it is an entirely new
instrument, it is housed in the restored case from the 1833 Hook organ. This
instrument, by the late C. B. Fisk of Gloucester, was designed to sound like
its eighteenth century predecessors. Its quality and tone, heard regularly in
concert performances, are admired throughout Boston’s North Shore.
Stained-Glass Windows
The present stained glass windows, four each on the East and West
walls, were installed in 1888. The second window from the rear of the church
on the East wall, known as the Senate Window, was presented to St. Michael’s
by members of the General Court of Massachusetts in honor of Senate member Samuel
Roads, Jr. Mr. Roads served St. Michael’s as its Parish Clerk and was Marblehead’s
first historian, the author of The History and Traditions of Marblehead.
Archives and Preservation
One of the more unusual enterprises has been
the formation of a parish archives. Begun in 1974 and formally constituted in
1976, its organization, preservation and exhibition of parish records and historical
collections from the eighteenth century to the present, all of which have undergone
professional conservation treatment, has become a national model. In 1983 an
environmentally controlled room was built in the Parish Hall to house the collections,
which are open by appointment to the interested visitor. Requests are received
regularly for church records concerning births, marriages, deaths and related
genealogy.
Two other historical projects are worthy of note. A re-clapboarding of the entire church in 1978 revealed previously unknown architectural and decorative art details of the original 1714 church building and subsequent modifications. Among them were two wooden trompe l’oeil window caps, painted to simulate glass, and believed to be the oldest examples of their kind in the nation. An eighteenth century wall sconce, with its glass globe largely intact, was also recovered and professionally restored. These and other recovered treasures were featured in a Currier Gallery of Art exhibition and catalog.
A second project was an archaeological investigation from 1975 to 1980 to confirm the existence and history of the rare colonial crypt beneath the church. The remains of nearly twenty-five people, the position of burial plots and associated artifacts were found and documented. A major discovery was identifying the original location of the crypt door in the southeast corner of the church foundation. Four small redwood coffins were constructed to contain the remains, which were interred in a vault-like enclosure.
St. Michael's Today
What distinguishes St. Michael's today is the particular emphasis the parish places on its corporate worship. St. Michael's is liturgically centered, stressing its historic Anglican ritual, spirituality, and musical tradition. From these roots flow stewardship, evangelism and mission, not as separate entities, but as a holistic outgrowth of corporate life.
It was the Anglican liturgy that brought together a small band of seafarers who founded St. Michael’s in 1714. Their successors today, inheritors of a rich and sacred tradition, find corporate worship at the heart of Christian life, and the continuity with an illustrious past as a source of unity and strength, and an anchor to windward for the future.
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Saint Michael's Episcopal Church, Marblehead, Massachusetts
Last date updated: June 4, 2006.