Kevin Kerr
DUNCAN — All Saints’ Episcopal church has officially kicked off it’s 75th anniversary year with a dinner held Nov. 1.
Father Joe Running said that he thinks this will be a good year for the church, and that the goal for this year’s celebration is to look forward, instead of dwelling on the past.
However, the church’s past could easily be used as an example of how the church has persevered.
All Saints’ began meeting as a church in 1932 in the home of Annie Laurie Smith, and only had around 8-10 members at the time. Several letters were written to Bishop Thomas Casady, the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Oklahoma from 1927 until 1953, with the intent of purchasing land in Duncan for a church building. In March of 1933, Casady officially acquired the deed to the property, and plans began for building an Episcopal church in Duncan.
In a funny incident in 1934, a letter was written to Casady again regarding their new property, saying that a man had been allowing his cattle to graze on the lot of land they had acquired. Casady replied, suggesting that the man pasture his cow somewhere else, and that it was his belief that “the cow won’t give better milk by virtue of eating grass off church lots.”
Officially in December of 1934, ground was broken for the church, and on April 7, 1935, All Saints’ Episcopal Church held it’s first official service. The church was then officially founded on Nov. 1, 1935
Running said that churches will normally celebrate the beginning of a new year of the church on the day of their saint.
All Saints’ isn’t named after a specific saint, such as St. James or St. Joseph, so they celebrate on All Saints Day, also known as Halloween.
The Church has had several face-lift and additions in the past and has also added many new members, growing from the original 10 to almost 130 current members today.
The church was not officially a parish until 1950 when the church acquired a barracks building from Fort Sill and moved it to Duncan. Eventually, the members of the church made a down payment on a vicarage just east of the church, and welcomed their first resident priest in 1951.
The church has a full list of activities planned throughout the next year to keep the “ball rolling” as Running put it, including a choral evensong performance in February performed by a group from the Episcopal Cathedral in Oklahoma City, and will be open to the general public.
In May, the church will hold their Pentecost Picnic, and on a date to be determined, the church will be holding a “Boot-scootin’ Western Dinner and Party.”
“It’s a way to give people a chance to learn to do some dances and things of that sort so they can dance during our big celebration later,” Running said.
The church’s big celebration will be Oct. 30, 2010, at the Simmons Center. Running said that this will be a big event for the church.
“There’s going to be good food, good music, and dancing,” Running said. “It’s really going to be our big celebration event for the anniversary.”
Running said that he hopes this landmark will help the members of the church look forward rather than dwell on the past.
“There are many long-standing members of this church, and it’s fun to look back at photos and videos and see the people back then that were a part of the church, and see where they as well as the church are now,” Running said. “But I think this celebration will also be fun, and a good way to help mark an important time with the church.”
