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A Brief History of Saint Paul's
162 Years of Christian Ministry in Manhattan, Kansas
- Manhattan’s first Episcopal service was held in 1857, just three years after the city’s founding, and St. Paul’s formed in 1858 as the fourth Episcopal Church in Kansas.
- Stone work for the building was complete by 1860, and the unfinished church was used for hay storage during the Civil War.
- The first service was held in the finished church building in 1867;
- Manhattan’s first pipe organ was installed in 1878;
- a 1600-pound bell installed in 1884;
- and the rectory (now the Encore Shop) was completed in 1909.
- St. Paul’s expanded its nave in 1930 to add what is now the choir and chancel areas, and the beautiful Christ window above the altar.
- The 1951 flood left two feet of water in the Common Room and twenty tons of mud in the basement.
- The Encore Shop opened its doors c. 1960 and has provided innumerable people with gently used clothing and supplies for nearly sixty years.
- Changing times saw the first female senior warden, chalice ministers, and acolytes in 1980.
- Deacon Charles Pearce became St. Paul’s first vocational deacon in 2000, followed by Deacon Sandra Horton-Smith in 2013, and Deacon Yvonne Amanor-Boadu in 2021.
- Charles Pearce became the Archdeacon for our diocese in 2007 and retired from both diocesan and parish ministries in 2020.
- Fr. Patrick Funston became rector in July 2013 and resigned in 2020 to become Canon to the Ordinary for the diocese.
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Saint Paul's Stained Glass Windows
Restored to Original Brilliance in 2017
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After our windows were refurbished in 2017, we noticed that they now cast a light pattern from the windows on the east wall onto the north wall. Before being refurbished, the windows had been covered in plexiglass that had become yellowed and nearly opaque, this was the first time to see these dazzling light patterns had shown in at least 40 years. The low sun during the winter months projects the moving light across the wall. Charles Pearce took a series of hundreds of photographs of the light patterns early one morning and strung them together to make this movie.
Saint Paul’s Episcopal Church
601 Poyntz Avenue
Manhattan, KS 66502
785-776-9427
Sunday Service Times
8:00 Holy Eucharist (Rite I)
9:00 Adult education
10:00 Holy Eucharist (Rite II)