St. Hugh of Lincoln Episcopal Church Idyllwild CA

Our mission: We are here to enable questioning, open-minded people to discover for themselves the significance of Jesus Christ.

Our joy: Welcoming fellow travelers on "the Way" and walking with them while sharing—by word and example—the Good News of God in Christ.

Description: An Episcopal Church in the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego located in the mountain community of Idyllwild, CA and serving all the mountain communities surrounding Idyllwild.

 

Download St. Hugh of Lincoln Episcopal Church vCard with Service Times

Click here to contact the church  

Download Vicar Father Bill Doggett vCard

Click here to contact Father Bill Doggett  

 

https://www.sthughsidyllwild.org/  

 

 

The church is located across from Fern Valley Road and South Circle Drive (entrance to the parking lot is on Tahquitz Drive).  

Please share parking information and/or parking experience!  

 

 

 

The Beginnings of St. Hugh's Episcopal Church By Hazel Bilder, Church Historian December, 1980

In Idyllwild, as with most mission origins, small groups of Episcopalians, lacking a nearby church in which to worship, met in homes and, during the summers, in the out-of-doors. At first, rarely did they have the benefit of a priest in attendance.

According to the late Rev. Roy F. Schippling of Good Shepherd, Hemet, groups began to meet in 1954 with some degree of regularity at the local Community Church Fireside Room. Retired priest, the Rev. David Soltau, officiated during the summer months when he was in residence in his mountain cabin. Upon his departure from the area, the Rev. Schippling took over at the same location, also only during the summer. This was in the years 1956 through 1957.

Later the Rev. John Lathrop began officiating. His first communion service was held on a Sunday in June, 1958, at the outdoor Hoffman Grotto on Scenic Highway 243, about one mile west of the village center of Idyllwild.

As told by Mrs. Phyllis Rhea, when she and her husband Mark arrived to live permanently in Idyllwild, in 1966, an Episcopal Preaching Station was in progress. This Station was located on Boy Scout property on Lower Pine Crest Avenue. The services were held in a one-room cabin, fireplace heat being used when needed.

At that time the lay reader was Laurie Morewood-Clark. He had commenced his faithful all-year-round duty as lay reader in 1960, continuing until about 1976, when illness forced him to retire. It is reported that he never missed a Sunday service during all these years. At times he had to trudge through deep snow, carrying all the worship supplies needed in a suitcase. During such periods attendees were few. The more regular ones were Phyllis and Mark Rhea and Grace and Gordon Gardner. They, too, plowed through snow in winter to reach the place of worship.

In addition to his devotion to the Episcopal service, Morewood-Clark contributed the communion vessels, altar cloths, prayer books, etc. He brought fresh flowers when in season. Otherwise, he kept a supply of dry plants so the altar would never be "naked." Laurie Morewood-Clark was the one who had suggested the name of St. Hugh's for this budding church.

When the Boy Scout property was sold, services at that location had to be discontinued. Upon request, and for a small donation, Ann Lay agreed to offer a small one-room cottage on the Idyllwild Institute Fiesta campus. This was hardly any more adequate than the vacated Boy Scout cabin. Worship services were held there from 1970 to near the end of 1977.

Miscellaneous priests supplied at this location until the Rev. Canon Missioner Charles Conder assigned the retired Rev. James E. McLain of Hemet to hold communion services two times a month. He did so for several years until ill health forced him to retire. (After his death, a Memorial Garden later was dedicated to him on June 11, 1978. Bishop Robert Wolterstorff officiated, with the Rev. Lawrence Pierson assisting.)

Eventually, St. Hugh's was established officially as a mission by the Diocese of San Diego. This occurred on September 22, 1974. Canon Conder officiated on this auspicious occasion.

The petition to organize the mission had been approved several days earlier, on September 18, 1974, by the Standing Committee of the Diocese of San Diego, at St. Paul's Cathedral, San Diego, California.

Petitioners from Idyllwild who appeared before the Committee were Laurie Morewood-Clark, Phyllis Rhea and Helen Matthews. The petition being granted, St. Hugh's became a mission, carrying with it the honor of being the first mission in the relatively new Diocese of San Diego. (Incidentally, from its inception, St. Hugh's has been a self-supporting mission.)

Mrs. Rhea, who had been appointed clerk of the new mission, listed in the minutes of September 22, 1974 the names of fifteen clergy who, up to this time, had been supply priests.

Because the building loaned to St. Hugh's was small, cold in winter, and otherwise inadequate, the Women's Guild, known as the Friends of St. Hugh's (a mere handful of women), sought land to purchase upon which eventually a worship building could be constructed.

The search was discouraging and utterly frustrating, the over-riding impediment being the small treasury balance. Canon Conder, on learning of the women's objectives, explained that with the cash balance on hand (hardly $500), the possibility of financing a land purchase was remote. He said an infusion of as much as $50,000 (a bank balance of that amount) would be essential as a first step. It was a disappointing disclosure but the parishioners at that meeting, being practical people, understood the realities they were up against.

Undaunted, however, the women continued their search, in a low-key manner to be sure, until one day Mrs. Rhea learned from a realtor friend of a house for sale that had possibilities. Greatly in favor of this one-acre parcel was that it was so zoned that it could be used as a place of worship without the need to apply for a zone variance

But at $90,000 (already reduced from the asking price of $100,000) this was hopelessly beyond the means of St. Hugh's.

However, the parishioners, being excited over this find, took photos and presented them to Bishop Wolterstorff as well as to Canon Conder. These men became instantly jubilant over this place becoming the permanent home of St. Hugh's. Conon Conder came up to inspect the property and reported his favorable findings to the Bishop.

Luckily there was on hand $30,000 at this particular time in the Diocese treasury that was earmarked for mission expansion. This cash came from the dissolution and sale of St. Paul's Church in San Jacinto.

Canon Conder then informed St. Hugh's that this money, plus an equal amount the Diocese could loan at a low interest rate, would constitute two-thirds of the amount needed to make the purchase. If the congregation would pledge the remaining $30,000 (over a three year period), the purchase could become a reality. Without any formal fund drive, the pledges were made to the required figure. However, $12,500 was needed immediately and Canon Conder managed to borrow this money. It was an interim loan, without interest, which was fully paid back in two years.

The initial escrow deposit, it should be noted, came from $500 in the St. Hugh's bank account and $500 from the Rheas. This then started the ball rolling.

In rapid succession, early in 1977, all the moneys were put together and into escrow. Upon fulfilling the demands of the escrow, the first service in the house-converted-to-a-church was held on December 4, 1977, Canon Conder happily officiating.

In a letter Canon Conder sent to St. Hugh's, dated December 7, 1977 he wrote in part, "What an exciting year for St. Hugh's - a dream come true, and the seemingly impossible challenge has been met by faith."

Following a period when the Rev. Lawrence Pierson of Oceanside held communion services twice a month, the Rev. Robert H. Larkin was appointed by the Bishop as St. Hugh's first Resident Honorary Vicar. He and his wife Catherine moved to Idyllwild early in 1980. As a result, weekly communion services were instituted and the first Sunday School came into being. During the summer months an early Sunday service was added.

The Rev. Larkin had taken an early retirement from Trinity Church, Redlands, on a vision disability. The Larkins recently built a log house in Pine Cove on land purchased years earlier. Thus they were located only about three miles from the church.

From a mailing list of 15 addresses when St. Hugh's first settled in its permanent home three years earlier, the list has expanded to 40.

Later, major interior improvements were made. Two walls of a bedroom were removed, consequently increasing the seating capacity and also making a sacristy directly accessible from the chancel area.

Because of the inflationary price increases of property generally, and particularly of the strategic and central location of the property, its current evaluation is estimated to be in excess of $150,000. The total indebtedness stands today at only $27,000. This achievement can properly be called "A Miracle on a Mountain."

The Episcopalians in Idyllwild, and of St. Hugh's church, are forever grateful to Bishop Wolterstorff and to Canon Conder. Without their encouragement and generosity St. Hugh's would still be homeless—a wondering waif in the woods.