A History of St. Michael & St. George

Welcome! Located in St. Louis, in the close-in suburb of Clayton, we are a parish made alive in Christ and celebrating this life through the Anglican liturgy and sacraments with vibrant preaching and teaching, and beautiful, traditional music. Ours is a welcoming community and we're extremely family-friendly.

The parish family is a lively mix of lifelong Episcopalians and members raised in a number of other denominations and religious traditions. We hope that if you haven't done so already, you'll join us soon!

 

Stewardship

Growing In Generosity

A History of St. Michael & St. George

Most Episcopal churches have just one name. But ours is special. We have two names and have since 1928 when St. George's Church in St. Louis joined forces with The Church Of St. Michael And All Angels in Clayton on the site of our church today.

St. George's Church dates to 1845 in the city of St. Louis. It had three locations as it followed the westward movement of the population of the city. The Church of St. Michael and All Angels was organized in 1913 and located on the edge of the 1904 fairgrounds just west of what is now Forest Park. The merger of the two parishes to become The Church of St. Michael & St. George occurred in 1928. We've been going strong ever since.

Timeline
1845-1928: Original location of St. George’s Church was on the northwest corner of Locust and Seventh Streets. Eighty-three years reflect the life of a tumultuous river city church.
1912-1928: St. Michael & All Angels was organized as a mission congregation on the campus of Washington University. Bishop Tuttle, the fourth Bishop of Missouri, conceived the idea. Miss Susan Mount, a wealthy parishioner at St. Paul’s Chapel of Trinity Church, New York City, donated fifty thousand dollars to start the church.
1912: The Rev. George Norton, St. Michael & All Angels first vicar, arrived.
1913: On Christmas Day, services were held for the first time in the English gothic building.
1914: The Rectory was built and paid for by Bishop Tuttle. The Christian Education program boasted one hundred children, and expansion of the parish was contemplated.
1926: The Rev. Dr. Karl Morgan Block became rector. The congregation outgrew the church’s seating capacity. Several schemes for enlargement were once again contemplated. Then, hearing of St. George’s imminent dissolution due to demographic shifts in population and the economy, St. Michael’s invited the older congregation to merge with them.
1928: In October, the parish was rededicated as The Church of St. Michael & St. George. The altar from St. George’s is the one used in St. Mary’s Chapel, with the cross and candlesticks from St. Michael & All Angels. The processional crosses from both former parishes are still used in the morning services every Sunday. In order to enlarge the church to about twice its original size, the 1700-ton, two-story building was raised from its foundation and moved. The church was enlarged to provide seating for 660 by extending the nave three bays to the west. The church and parish hall were then connected to each other by the new three-story Jay Herndon Smith Memorial Tower.
1938: The Rev. Dr. Block became Bishop Coadjutor of the Diocese of California. The new rector, The Rev. John Francis Sant, would lead The Church of St. Michael & St. George for the next 25 years.
1963: The Rev. Jack E. Schweizer, who died in 1977, succeeded The Rev. John Sant.
1969: The St. Michael School was founded to provide Grace-filled education for children of the parish and community.
1974: The Spencer Truman Olin family contributed the Petty-Madden organ and twelve-rank antiphonal organ.
1978: The Rev. Edward L. Salmon became the fourth rector of The Church of St. Michael & St. George. During this time much needed office space was added, as well as the Page and McAfee Memorial Gardens, the Gallery Walk and St. George’s Chapel.
1990: The Diocese of South Carolina elected The Rev. Edward
Salmon as Bishop.
1991: The Rev. Kenneth J. G. Semon was called as fifth rector and served for five years.
2000: The Rev. Andrew J. Archie was called to lead this parish into the new millennium.