Two Centuries in the Heart of Oswego

In February, 1822, a mission church, known as Christ Church, was founded in Oswego by a group of forward thinking pioneers., led by its first Rector, Rev. Amos Pardee. who remained with the Church until 1824. He was followed by The Rev. John McCarthy from 1826 to 1845. During that time, the location of the first church edifice was in the southeast corner of what was then known as the public square and what is now known as West Park or Franklin Square. The land itself was given to the Parish by the Village of Oswego and the cornerstone was laid on May 9,1829.

As the Parish grew so did the issues facing the Church as a whole. A movement seemed to take place to determine if the Church was to be a “High Church” or an “Evangelical” Church. No consensus was reached and the result was a split of the Parish whereby a group split from Christ Church to form the Church of the Evangelists and locate on the east side of the City. As we know these two Parishes continued to work side by side as part of the Episcopal presence in Oswego until 1971 when they agreed to join together again and established the Church of the Resurrection.

The property upon which our current church rests was purchased in 1853 and the cornerstone was laid in October 1854, and the first service in the new church was held on January 4, 1857. The building itself cost $31.000.00. In 1858, Sunday School first began and there was such an interest in it with so many children in attendance, that a small wooden Chapel was constructed to the south of the main building.to accommodate the Church School. By 1882 there were 200 children attending Church School and it was determined that new facilities were needed. The old chapel was removed, an additional lot was purchased and by April 4, 1884, the new Chapel was in use in the same location as our current Chapel of today. As with all stone structures, problems arose and in 1904 it was decided to remove the upper 50 feet of the Tower with the hope that it would someday be rebuilt. That never occurred.

The Church, like the nation as a whole, suffered through tragedies and triumphs during these times and the Vestry attempted to keep pace with the times. After nearly a century of voting for Vestry members by “men eligible”, the women of the Church were given the right to vote in Parish elections in April, 1916. Our Church was a forerunner in the movement to allow women to be leaders of the Parish and in 1976 women were approved to be ordained to the priesthood. We were fortunate to have among us The Rev. Kathleen Adams-Sheperd and in 1984, she became our Priest in Charge,. Since that time we have had many women serve, not only on the Vestry, but as Wardens.

In the fall of 1944, the Meade Family made a sizable donation which was used to redo the Chapel and on October 12, 1947, the Meade Memorial Chapel was dedicated. In the early 1950’s the Vestry decided that there was a need for additional space for social activities and in 1955, the Great Hall was finished. It served as a major social setting for events throughout the City of Oswego. In the early 1970’s it became increasingly evident that the stone structure of Christ Church was in bad condition and it was determined that the entire edifice needed to be taken down. The Building was demolished in 1973 and the grounds of the original Church are now the lawn and the resting place of Brig. Gen. Julius Hayden and his wife, Sarah Pardee Hayden. Sarah was the granddaughter of the original Rector of Christ Church, Amos Pardee.

At the same time conversations were being held between the Vestries of Christ Church and the Church of the Evangelists in an attempt to bring the two Churches back together. In 1971, it became official and the Church of the Resurrection was formed. In the 1980’s the Great Hall was remodeled to become a worship space since at the time, our congregation had grown large enough to need more seating than was available in the Chapel. In 1997 a major capital campaign was undertaken so that the Chapel could be enlarged and a new suite of offices could be constructed to the north of the Chapel. Today, we are fortunate to have two(2) worship spaces - the Great Hall and the Chapel. At the same time, a new bell tower was constructed at the Cayuga Street entrance to house one of the original Kingsford Bells, which was donated to the Church by the Norfleet family.

Over the past 200 years our Church has been fortunate to have been served by 27 clergy persons which has kept the Episcopal tradition alive and well in Oswego. It has been one of continual growth providing an influence for good not only in the church itself, but in the Oswego community as a whole. Our tradition shows the faithful work of our clergy, past and present, as well as the loyal devotion of thousands of worshippers, both past and present. Each one has left a mark on our Church. We, as the current curators of the episcopal tradition in Oswego, face the same issues as those who came before us. With God’s help we will continue to face the future with faith, hope and determination that the forces of good will prevail in our world.