 The mission of Our Saviour is: LOVE each other as Christ SERVE others according to our gifts WITNESS the Holy Spirit among us CELEBRATE as People of the Risen Lord
The Rev. Craig Kuehn (craig@oursaviourpv.org) began his ministry as rector at Our Saviour in 1999. He is also Dean of the Southeast Deanery of the diocese. Listen to Fr. Craig's radio show, Healthy Marriages and Families, on KFOK 95.1 FM, streaming at kfok.org, Mondays at noon. Read fr. Craig's blog at: http://cid-42318322ecd25daa.spaces.live.com/blog/ History
A continuing beacon to the Placerville community, Our Saviour Parish was organized by the Rev. Charles Caleb Peirce on July 20th, 1861 in the midst of the California Gold Rush. Our Saviours’ first services were conducted by Fr. Peirce in the Old Court House in Placerville. Mr. Peirce (he disliked being called, Father) expected to find St. Mary's Episcopal Church, begun in 1857. Unfortunately, the parish could not be found. There is no record of its demise.
The new congregation continued to use the Court House as a place of worship and it was not until 1864, that a move to erect a church building was initiated. The ladies of the church on the 4th of July of that year held a “faire”. They donated the proceeds from that event for the building fund. This was the first of many Faires the Episcopal Church Women (ECW) held.
Following this were a series of events; the final effort occurring in May of 1865 when a three-day faire and bazaar was held, netting $1,200. At this time the lot on Coloma Street was purchased and work on the church building begun.
Fr. Peirce looked for and found good in all people. The following excerpt from C. E. Upton’s book, The Life and Work of the Rev. C. C. Peirce, illustrates this facet of his character…When my Church was building in Placerville, and $1,500 was still needed to complete the work, four saloon keepers offered to canvass the town and raise the money. On their offer being accepted, two canvassed Lowertown and two Uppertown, with the result that more money than enough was raised by them in one afternoon. There are some excellent and high-principled saloon keepers, as I can attest.
The Mountain Democrat in June, 1865, told how the El Dorado Lodge of Free & Accepted Masons laid the cornerstone of the Church of Our Saviour. On December 23rd, of the same year, the newspaper reported: “The opening of the new, elegant and beautiful Episcopal Church on Coloma Street will take place this Saturday evening with the annual distribution of books by Rev. C. C. Peirce”.
Bishop Kip of San Francisco consecrated the building on April 15th, 1866. The completed church cost about $10,500.
Architect William Patton of San Francisco designed the structure. Mr. O. Taylor of Placerville built the parish building. When Fr. Peirce died on March 14th, 1903, schools and businesses closed in his honor.
The first renovation of the church was in 1927. The cost of the work amounted to $10,000. In 1938, the second restoration of the church building was undertaken. The $4,000 project included repairs to the outside of the building, new paint and a new roof for the nave. The interior also underwent extensive repairs. A coal- burning furnace was added and the brickwork at the front of the church was laid. The paneling for the sanctuary was designed and installed. In 1957, chimes were given to the parish in the memory of Fr. Peirce and other additions, such as the aluminum roof, were added.
In 1976, the house behind the church was purchased and demolished to provide a much-needed parking lot. The old rectory next to the church was torn down and a new one-story building was erected with classrooms and office space.
In 1982, more was accomplished. New composition shingles were installed following a storm that blew off half of the old tin roof. This happened during Holly Faire that year! The stained glass windows were repaired and three new beautiful ones were installed. Also a hand carved Corpus was hung on the plain wooden cross above the sanctuary.
The Sunday school building that was built in 1976 was not adequate to meet the needs of the growing parish so a new two-story building was erected with a capital funds drive raising about $110,000 and completed in 1999. A round stained glass window honoring the ministry of the Rev. Canon James Burnett and featuring the risen Christ was installed in 2003. A columbarium was installed in 2005.
On this hill overlooking downtown Placerville, Church of Our Saviour continues to be the landmark in the area that it has been since it was built.
In 1976, the church was placed on the National Register of Historic Places for its architectural and religious significance. It is the oldest continually occupied church building in the county.
We are looking forward to celebrating our 150th anniversary in 2011!
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