Bishop Seabury Anglican Church

Bishop Seabury Anglican Church is a historic Anglican church located in Gales Ferry, Ledyard, Connecticut. Founded in Groton in 1875 as part of the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut and named in honor of Samuel Seabury, the congregation left the Episcopal Church during the Anglican realignment and is now a member of the Anglican Diocese of the Living Word in the Anglican Church in North America. In leaving the Episcopal Church, Bishop Seabury lost in litigation seeking to retain its building, and since 2018 the church has been located in the former Gales Ferry Methodist Church, built in 1857, a contributing property to Gales Ferry Historic District #2.[1]

Bishop Seabury Anglican Church
formerly the Gales Ferry Methodist Church
The former Gales Ferry Methodist Church pictured circa 1906.
LocationGales Ferry, Connecticut
CountryUnited States
DenominationAnglican Church in North America
Websitewww.bishopseabury.org
History
Founded1875
Dedicated1857
Architecture
StyleVernacular
Administration
DioceseLiving Word
Clergy
RectorThe Ven. Jay Cayangyang
Gales Ferry Methodist Church
Part ofGales Ferry Historic District #2 (ID02000865)
Added to NRHPAugust 22, 2002

History

Bishop Seabury Church history

Bishop Seabury Memorial Church was founded as a mission in Groton in 1874 by the Rev. R. M. Duff, the incumbent at St. James Episcopal Church in New London. Its first building was dedicated in December 1875. The congregation received parochial status in the 1950s during the rectorate of the Rev. Roger Dissell. In the 1960s, the growing church acquired land in suburban Groton and built a modern sanctuary there.[2]

The church called the Ven. Ronald Gauss as rector in 1975, and he served for 30 years. Under Gauss, Bishop Seabury grew and became part of the spiritual renewal movement in several Connecticut Episcopal churches. The church also dedicated a new sanctuary in 1998.[2]

In the early 2000s, as part of the Anglican realignment, six of these Connecticut churches, Bishop Seabury among them, sought delegated episcopal pastoral oversight from another bishop.[3][4] After this request was denied, the congregation of Bishop Seabury voted to leave the Episcopal Church and affiliate with the Church of Nigeria's Convocation of Anglicans in North America. After several years of litigation over ownership of the property, courts ruled for the Diocese of Connecticut, and Bishop Seabury vacated the Groton property in August 2012 and began worshiping in rented space.[5] In 2014, the diocese sold the church building to a Baptist church.[6]

History of the building
Bishop Julian Dobbs consecrates Bishop Seabury Church in 2018.

The Gales Ferry Methodist Church, founded in 1803, built its first building on the present-day site at 6 Hurlbutt Road in 1815. The oldest part of the current building dates to 1857, with the rear addition being built in 1854.[7]

In the 1960s, the Methodist church relocated to a newly constructed facility and the historic church became a funeral home. From 2011 to 2018, the former church housed retail stores.[8]

In 2018, after renting at nearby schools and hotels for several years, Bishop Seabury Anglican Church purchased the building. After renovations, it consecrated the space in December 2018.[8]

Architecture
The Old Gales Ferry Schoolhouse adjacent to Bishop Seabury Anglican Church

According to the National Register of Historic Places listing for Gales Ferry Historic District #2, the church is a "tall gable-roofed frame vernacular" structure.[1] Mounted on a high brick foundation, the gable end faces the street. The facade includes two sections, front and rear, each with three bays. A steeple documented in historic photographs no longer exists. The front entrance is approached by a stairway and flanked by tall windows.[1]

A one-room schoolhouse dating to 1868 is also on the church parcel of land; both church and school are contributing properties to the historic district.[1]

References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bishop Seabury Anglican Church.
  1. "Gales Ferry Historic District #2. Ledyard, CT". National Register of Historic Places. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
  2. "Our History". Bishop Seabury Anglican Church. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
  3. Taylor, Frances Grandy (July 16, 2004). "Six Episcopal Parishes Seek Conservative Ties". Hartford Courant.
  4. Dufresne, Bethne (July 17, 2004). "Churches Want A Conservative Bishop". The Day.
  5. Straszheim, Deborah (August 3, 2012). "After A Long Fight, Bishop Seabury Church Holds Last Service In Building Sunday". Patch.com. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
  6. "Bp. Seabury Goes Low Church". The Living Church. August 15, 2014. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
  7. "Former Gales Ferry Methodist Church (1857)". Historic Buildings of Connecticut. April 24, 2016. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
  8. "Bishop Seabury celebrates new location with history". The Day. November 9, 2018. Retrieved January 19, 2023.

41°25′42″N 72°05′00″W

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