In the beginning...

     Twenty one people worshiping in the G.A.R. Hall (formerly the Central Schoolhouse) on Bourne's Rock, Cohasset, organized themselves as Saint Stephen's Church in 1896. They called the Rev J.B. Thomas as their Rector.

     After two years, the Rev. Milo H. Gates became Rector and mobilized the will and finances of the little congregation to build a church on Bourne's Rock. The corner stone was laid in December 1899, and was in fact the door-stone of the old schoolhouse.

     Bishop William Lawrence dedicated the church in 1900. At that time the church lacked its distinctive tower which would reach completion in 1907. Bishop Lawrence wrote of Saint Stephen's: "In architecture and material it forms an integral part of the rock which dominates the town and which for solidarity and beauty and spirit of romance is beyond any church that I know in the country."
Past Rectors

     In 1904, the Rev. Howard Key Bartow became Rector. During this time, the parish organized the Bonnie Bairns summer camp on King Street in Cohasset, which later became a hospital for city children from 1908 to 1913, at which time the Boston Floating Hospital took it under its jurisdiction.
     The fourth Rector of Saint Stephen's was the Rev. Charles C. Wilson in 1921. His tenure lasted 30 years. He was known for the force and sincerity of his personal commitment to the people of Cohasset. A Roman Catholic resident once said of " Father Charles " : " That man has done more for more people in this town than anyone will ever know".
     In 1921, Saint Stephen's directed a small summer chapel in Minot's at the corner of Ocean and Collier Avenues. Dr. Milo H. Gates, then the Dean of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, still kept a house in Cohasset and led many of the services. This summer mission led to the establishment of Saint Luke's Church in Scituate in 1956.

The history of a church is more than a listing of its rectors. It is the story of its people who sacrificed and loved, who laughed and shed some tears, who offered praise to a caring God.

The succession of rectors gives a time frame in which the ministry of the people of God at Saint Stephen's was and is being carried out.

     In 1924, the first installation of 28 bells in the church tower took place. By 1928, the carillon had grown to 51 bells. Mrs. Hugh Bancroft gave the carillon in memory of her mother, Mrs. Clarence W. Barron, the wife of the financial publisher. While work on the carillon was in progress, MIT engineers estimated there were 10,000 tons of granite in the bell tower alone. In 1989 the Carillon was renovated and brought to " concert pitch " with bells now numbering 57.
     In 1951, The Rev Wilson retired and the Rev. Bradford H. Tite became Rector of Saint Stephen's. The Church had become so crowded at this time that church school classes were held across the street in rooms rented from the Community Center.
     In 1955, the Church dedicated the Charles Chase Wilson Parish House in memory of the former Rector. An emphasis on mission which has a long history at St. Stephen's was continued. Even in the midst of a major building program the Church gave a sum equal to the Diocesan Quota for the mission of the Church in the World.
     The sixth Rector, the Rev. F. Lee Richards, came to St. Stephen's in 1960. He brought qualities wonderfully suited to the times. His was a contemporary faith. He was driven by the conviction that, to survive at all, the church must return to the forefront of human affairs. The church sponsored a Cuban refugee family and brought them to this area to start new lives.
     The Rev. Paul Clerk was called to be Assistant to the Rector in the areas of church school and adult education and also to make his special training available to less affluent churches in the region.
     In 1970 Rev Richard D. Muir became Rector. The parish concentrated on adult education and responsible discipleship. St. Stephen's with Cohasset churches, sponsored a Vietnamese refugee family who began their new life in Cohasset. The Social Service League moved into St. Stephen's at this time, continuing an emphasis on health care that began with Mr. Bartow at the beginning of the century.
The Rev. Roy Cedarholm, Jr. joined the church staff shortly after Rev. Muir became Rector. He also taught at Cohasset High School and was committed to the concerns of youth in the town. Church school teachers learned much from him about the contemporary philosophy of Christian education.

In Recent Times

     Our immediate past rector, The Rev. E. Clifford Cutler came to Saint Stephen's in 1985. The parish with no Sunday School determined to have a full church school program in place within the first year. A curriculum was found that could be taught as a "one room school house," three or four people agreed to be teachers, and began. Our first church school coordinator was Donna Williams, followed by Susan Pile who served in this capacity for seven years, and now Nancy St. John and Lee Dickson. New families came. Teachers could see that they were doing something important. The church school program grew and what began with six children in ten years grew to over a hundred.

Mary Martha Learning Center
     In March, 1987, a one time gift of $30,000 was made to help purchase a setting in Hingham for the Mary Martha Learning Center, a short term residence and school for young, unwed mothers and their infants. The Center grew and has become a model in the state for this kind of care.

Affordable housing
     Affordable housing has been an interest throughout. The Selectmen asked Cliff Cutler to chair the town's Fair Housing Committee which he did from 1986 until the Committee disbanded in 1989. At the same time the parish involved itself with the organization South Shore Habitat for Humanity from its inception in 1986. Parishioners have wielded hammers and saws renovating and building affordable homes one house at a time. The rector had the pleasure of helping to officiate at the tenth anniversary of South Shore Habitat in 1996. Beginning in 1990, two parishioners, Barbara Power and John Seavey were instrumental in urging the town to sell the Bates Building to Habitat for $1. The organization then renovated the building into two condominium homes which were dedicated in 1993.
     Cliff was asked to write an Op-ed piece for the Mariner and observed that the building had one time been a school house. "The town was schooled in caring," he said, "as two consecutive town meetings endorsed the use of the Bates Building for affordable housing. Caring residents over three years shepherded the dream of affordable housing taking it first to town clergy, then to the selectmen, to town meeting, and finally seeing it brought to fruition through the auspices of Habitat for Humanity, an ecumenical non-profit housing ministry concerned with decent housing for God's people in need.'... Whereas many years ago children went to the Bates Building to learn the three R's, today we have gone there to learn a lesson in caring." We are foremost a worshiping congregation and much of our life centers around prayer.

Watching one hour with Jesus
     In 1992 we started a tradition of a twenty-four hour prayer watch from 3 p.m. on Maundy Thursday to 3 p.m. on Good Friday. This continues to be a significant spiritual experience for the parish, "watching one hour with Jesus."

The Persian Gulf War - another opportunity for prayer
     The Persian Gulf War was another opportunity for prayer. As the build-up of troops and air and naval forces began in the Persian Gulf, the parish in October, 1990 instituted an evening prayer service for peace. The prayer we used was written by George Appelton, former Archbishop in Jerusalem and was in use by churches in the Gulf: "O God of many names, Lover of all nations, We pray for peace, In our hearts, In our homes, In our nations, In our world, The peace of your will, The peace of our need, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen." A town-wide ecumenical prayer service was held at Saint Stephen's on January 16, 1991. After our prayer upon return home we heard the news that the allied forces had begun their attack upon Iraq with laser-guided bombs and cruise missiles. Our Wednesday evening prayer for peace continues to this day.

The renovation of the carillon 1989
     In 1989 the carillon in the church was renovated making it, today, one of the finest in the world. $630,000 was raised, over $120,000 by 233 members of the town and parish. On September 24, 1989, we "baptized" the Stephen bell (blessing it with water) praying that "in this generation and in those that are to come, its voice may continually call your people to praise and worship." The bell was named and the inscription read: "Vocor Stephanus/ Ictus lapidibus pro Christo mortuus/ Ictus ferro laudes eius sono" - "I am called Stephen/ Struck with stone I died for Christ/ Struck with iron I sound his praise." The renovated carillon was rededicated on the feast of Saint Dunstan, May 19, 1990. The Right Reverend David E. Johnson in his sermon observed that the "bells are like St. Dunstan. The bells we celebrate, this carillon, are contemplatives in action.' In a very real sense, I imagine the bells in their silence as listeners, absorbing the word of God and the word of God's people as they pray, as they walk by in the streets; they are a motionless silence of the creative force, focusing into their elliptical shape, human need and Divine Action. Then, the moment of proclamation, their voices are heard, they communicate the good news, to the ends of the world.'" Some things in our Christian way of life never change.

Reaching out to aid disaster victims
     In 1906 the congregation took up a collection for relief of all who suffered from the San Francisco earthquake which occurred on April 18, measured 8.3 on the Richter scale, and caused $350 million in damages. Eighty-seven years later a similar relief effort was taken up in response to severe flooding in the Midwest. Heavy rains in 1993 caused record-breaking flooding along the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. At its height the Missouri River crested almost 50 feet above its banks. 12 million acres of cropland were ruined. The flooding caused $12 billion in damage. Gertrude Hooper with Wardens Dick Avery and Gordon Stevenson organized flood relief sending $7000. to Saint Stephen's Church, St. Louis, MO.

Upholding the sabbath
     Another reflection of concerns then and now had to do with an attention to sabbath, that is rest from the "busy-ness" of life. The Reverend Howard Bartow out of concern for family time on week day evenings beginning in 1904 organized shop owners to close by 7 p.m. except on Saturdays and the nights before holidays.
     Eighty-three years later town clergy asked for a ban on Sunday morning events on town property. The Selectmen refused though in a Patriot Ledger Editorial Cliff Cutler was quoted as accurately describing the plight of many modern American families: "We live in such hectic, frenetic days that we need to set aside some time that is free for families to take a breather."
     Two years later, Christmas Eve fell on Sunday. Stores opened on Sunday as early as 7 a.m. Again, the Ledger quoted extensively: "I think the stores have every right to open. But it's a fundamental flaw in our society that we don't allow any time for rest and reflection. We need some time in the week for a break in the commerce. Particularly around Christmas, it's important to have time to recapture a sense of balance. There's not time to really think about the purpose of the holiday. Everyone's scurrying around, buying and preparing."

     The history of St. Stephens continues, forged out of the faith, and hope and love which you and others our community bring. Ours is a god of history who meets us where we are and continually calls us to into a new life.
Home St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, 16 Highland Ave., Cohasset MA 02025 USA
Tel: 781-383-1083