A Brief History of St. Patrick’s Episcopal Church

The first service of St. Patrick’s was held on July 25, 1962, in a storefront building on Sonoma Highway in east Santa Rosa. Seventy-nine people were in attendance. During the next 17 years, the mission experienced many ups and downs in membership and was led by four vicars: The Rev.Cameron Harriott, The Rev. Lloyd Gary Rupp, The Rev. Harold Parrott, and The Rev. Melvin La Follette.

The mission committee was on a continual but unsuccessful search for property in order to relocate. In 1974, Constance and Sherwood Coffin donated three acres of land in Kenwood to St. Patrick’s, with the stipulation that a permanent building be built within 10 years. In 1975 it was decided to leave the storefront and at last establish our church in Kenwood by sharing space in the Kenwood Community Church. In spite of this, the congregation was losing membership. Average Sunday attendance was less than 40.

The Rev. John Bogart became our vicar in 1979. The senior residential community of Oakmont was just up the highway from Kenwood, and Father Bogart used “golf course evangelism” to attract a number of Episcopalians to the church. Within two years the congregation had doubled. A committee was formed, and money was raised to build a new church, holding 200 people. On August 22, 1982, St. Patrick’s Kenwood was dedicated by Bishop John Thompson.

The next few years saw a high level of activity. By 1985 the attendance at St. Patrick’s had tripled, and we achieved full parish status. The following year the “Common Room” was added to the back of the church to provide more space for the Sunday School.

The Parish Hall was dedicated in April 1989. It included a full kitchen, three rooms in back for the Sunday School, and an efficiency apartment upstairs for the sexton. Two rooms were added to the original church building to provide more adequate office space and a larger sacristy. One month later the Memorial Garden was dedicated for the burial of ashes.

The Rev. Bogart retired in 1990. The Rev. Cliff Kent was the interim for one year before The Rev. Hugh Stevenson arrived as rector in 1991. We continued to grow. We dedicated the Education Building in 1996 to meet the needs of the thriving Sunday school. A beautiful stone Celtic cross was dedicated at the front of the church in 1998.

In 1995 our new electronic Allen organ was installed, and for over 20 years our music director was the very fine organist Robert Young.

By the turn of the century our demographics began to change. Children who had made up our vibrant Sunday School and Youth Group grew up and left for college. Home prices went up, and fewer families could afford to live in Kenwood and the surrounding area. In 2003 we began the more relaxed family service at 9 a.m., in hopes that this would attract younger people. While that specific goal has not been realized, this service has become an important component of spiritual fulfillment for many in our congregation. Today our young families are few in number, but they provide a special light and joy to our congregation, and we continue seeking ways to meaningfully enrich their faith experiences.

Fires devastated the Santa Rosa area in 2017 and again in 2019, coming very close to the church and evacuating hundreds from the Oakmont area where many members lived, and the assault on the whole nation, California included, by COVID. St. Patrick’s resorted to Zoom worship for many months, and only now is experiencing an in person return to church.

The parish celebrated two anniversaries in 2022, 60 years as a congregation and 40 years in the current church building located in Kenwood, thanks be to God!