Episcopal Church of the Redeemer Cairo IL

Redeemer Episcopal Church is a parish in the Diocese of Springfield which is a constituent member of the worldwide Anglican Communion.

Redeemer Episcopal Church is a community of Faith, Hope, Love, and commitment where dreams come true in Jesus Christ, our Lord.

“Our mission is to restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ.” (The Book of Common Prayer pg. 855)

Our Ministries as outlined in the Book of Common Prayer is:

To continue in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in the prayers. To persevere in resisting evil, and, whenever we fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord. To proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ. To seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbors as ourselves. To strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being.

We invite all the people in our Community to come and participate in these ministries and be part of this Jesus’ Movement.

Our duty as Christians is to follow Christ; to come together week by week for corporate worship; and to work, pray, and give for the spread of the kingdom of God.

 

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https://churchoftheredeemercairo.org/  

 

 

6th and Washington Avenue  

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Origin of Church of the Redeemer

During 1840 , when there were only four or five families in early Cairo who were communicates in the Episcopal Church, occasional services were conducted in a little chapel in one of the Holbrook houses, by J.P.T. Ingraham. By 1857, with considerable growth in the population of Cairo, a movement began to organize a church.

The Church of the Redeemer (Episcopal) traces its beginning with a December 1, 1840 letter from Rt. Rev. Philander Chase, Bishop of Illinois, to J.P.T. Ingraham, appointing him “a lay reader among the Episcopalians of Cairo.” At a meeting on April 18, 1841, with the Bishop presiding the Parochial Association of Christ Church Cairo was formed and was followed by the organization of the Church of the Redeemer on November 3, 1862, and incorporated on April 25, 1864 under the title “Rector, Wardens, and Vestrymen of the Church of the Redeemer, Cairo, Illinois.”

First Cairo Episcopal Church

The first Episcopal church building, a substantial frame structure measuring 44 x 70 feet with a wooden tower, was erected in the 400 block of Fourteenth Street at a cost of about $7000. One historical account reported it to be the most elegantly finished inside and furnished of any church in the city, including an organ costing $2000.

The property was donated to the church by the Trustees of the Cairo Trust Property.

Funds for construction started with a subscription drive May 2, 1858. The foundation was partly laid when it was destroyed by the great flood of 1858. Reconstruction was started and the structure was enclosed in the fall of 1862 and was immediately occupied by the government during the Civil War as a hospital. It was then finished and occasional services were conducted by Rev. S.Y. McMasters and other army chaplains.

On November 5, 1862, the Rev. I.P. LaBaugh was called to the pastorate and accepted. The Fourteenth Street church was consecrated by Bishop Whitehouse on April 25, 1864. A Sunday school was established in 1863 with H.H. Candee as the first superintendent, a position which he held well into the next century. The school was described in “The History of Cairo” as “one of the flourishing and successful ones of the city” at a time when the parish had more than 200 communicates.

Construction of Church Of The Redeemer

Construction of the first Church of the Redeemer, on the corner of Washington Avenue at Sixth Street, commenced September 28, 1886 with the cornerstone laid December 7, 1886.

The church was finished on April 9, 1888, at a cost of $30, 899.49, including furnishings and memorials.

The beautiful brown stone edifice with slate roof, cupola, and gold gilt cross, had the first services April 10, 1888, and was consecrated on November 13, 1892 by the right Rev. George F. Seymour, Bishop of Springfield.

Diocese of Cairo

About the time Fr. Frederick A. DeRosset became rector of the Church of the Redeemer, the Rt. Rev. Charles Reuben Hale, D.D., L.L.D. became Bishop Co-Adjutor of the Diocese of Springfield.

The Rev. Hale was Dean of Trinity Cathedral at Davenport, Iowa, when he was elected to the espiscopate, and as consecrated July 26, 1892. He was given the title of Bishop of Cairo.

He resided in Cairo until the time of his death on Christmas Day, 1900. The Church of the Redeemer, during the time of the residency of Bishop Hale, was known as the Bishop’s Church, and no official action has ever been taken to cause it to be changed. He left a bequest in his will of $10,000 for the future Diocese of Cairo.

Original Civil War Era Episcopal Church Building Still Standing

The original church building on Fourteenth Street was sold to Bishop Seymour on July 2, 1886 for $2000 to be held in trust for “St. Michael Mission” (colored Episcopal) and was used for many years for that purpose.

The $2000 started a building fund for the Sixth Street Church. The corner lot at Sixth Street was occupied by one of the most substantial houses in that part of the city and the residence was moved to the adjoining lot on Washington Avenue and became the rectory which is still in use.

The Fourteenth Street Church property was finally sold by the bishop to the Roman Catholic diocese of Belleville for use as St. Columbia’s Church and School (for colored) for many years before being closed. The wooden structure is still standing (1988).

Parish House

In the early 1900’s, the parish had the good fortune to again have the services of their former rector, Fr. Frederick A. DeRosset who began a building program that resulted in a new Parish House adjoining the church on Sixth Street.

The large red brick structure included a beautiful chapel and was completely furnished by members of the Henry H. Candee family.

The Parish House, constructed in 1912 during the 50th Jubilee Celebration of the Church of the Redeemer, was razed in 1988.

1953 Fire Destroys Church

Prize possessions in the original Church of the Redeemer at Sixth and Washington included a Johnston Tractor organ purchased at the World’s Fair in St. Louis, MO. The organ won a gold medal for its tone.

Priest vestments of red brocade silk, hand embroidered by nuns in Belgium were also purchased at the World’s Fair.

Other valuable articles included altar linens imported from Belgium, imported nativity figurines from Germany, large life size crucifix, and stained glass windows.

All of these prize possessions were in the Church Saturday morning, November 7, 1953, when fire gutted the interior of the church. Lost in the fire was the organ, vestments, altar linens and the large crucifix.

Rebuilt Church of the Redeemer Consecrated By Bishop Charles ASA Clough, June 23, 1958

The rector of the parish at that time, Fr. Ellsworth B. Stone, who served the parish longer than any other priest, formed a building committee which included the vestry, and immediate steps were taken to find an architect and contractor.

Architect Gale Henderson of St. Louis and contractor Kenneth Evans, also of St. Louis, were given the task of rebuilding the church in a Tudor-Gothic design, using all of the original walls.

Many stained glass windows were salvaged, others reconstructed, a new organ purchased, and new heating and air conditioning plant installed at a cost of well over $100,000.

On a beautiful Monday morning, June 23, 158, the Church of the Redeemer was consecrated by Bishop Charles Asa Clough, Bishop of Springfield.

History of Church Bell

The bell which rang out to signify the consecration was once a prized possession on the James Montgomery, a steamboat once used as a Civil War troop transport to carry soldiers to the Battle of Belmont.

When the boat sank in 1861, Captain Halliday secured the bell for the Fourteenth Street church which was being remodeled and enlarged, partly through the contributions of soldiers stationed at Cairo in the first year of the Civil War. It was reported that a thousand silver dollars were used in the casting of the bell adding to its beautiful tone.

In 1874, the bell was found to be badly cracked and it had to be recast. A quantity of “virgin” or bar silver was donated by the Governor of Arizona, A.P.K. Safford, a brother of A.B. Safford of Cairo.

In the 1953 fire, that same bell was removed from the ruins of the Church of the Redeemer and stored until the church could be rebuilt. It is no installed in the present belfry.

From the time of the 1953 fire to 1958, Masses and all other services and parish functions were held in the adjacent Chapel and spacious Paris House.