St. Agatha's Episcopal Church
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| St. Agatha's Episcopal Church DeFuniak Springs, Florida |
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| (U.S. Registered Historic District Contributing Property) |
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| Location: | 144 Circle Drive |
| Built/Founded: | 1896 |
| Architectural style(s): | Carpenter Gothic |
| Governing body: | Episcopal Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast |
St. Agatha's Episcopal Church is an historic Carpenter Gothic Episcopal church located at 144 Circle Drive, in DeFuniak Springs, Florida in the United States. It is a contributing property in the DeFuniak Springs Historic District.
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[edit] History
In the late 1880s, the Rt. Rev. Edwin G. Weed, third bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Florida visited DeFuniak Springs in order to found a new mission. He found three families of Episcopalians and from that nucleus St. Agatha's was born. Construction of the church building began in 1895. The first service was held on Easter 1896 when the women of the mission read Morning Prayer, which was rather unorthodox since the church had not yet been consecrated and no men in the parish had yet been licensed licensed as lay readers to conduct services. This was long before women became eligible to be licensed as lay readers.[1]
Over the years, the building deteriorated and some repairs were made such as adding vinyl siding which proved counterproductive since much of the wood underneath rotted. In the 2000's, with the help of grants from the state Bureau of Historic Preservation, St. Agatha's was able to renovate the building to restore its original exterior and make other repairs needed to restore it to its original condition. The church was rededicated on December 9, 2007.[2][3]
St. Agatha's has had few full time priests and even today the attendance is only around 50 people. It is still a functioning mission in the Episcopal Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast. Its vicar is the Rev. John Charles Scott.[4][5]
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