A year before the city of Sunnyvale was incorporated, on October 26, 1911, a meeting was held among 14 women from Trinity, San Jose, and 5 Episcopalian women of Sunnyvale, to form a guild, and to join together in Evening Prayer. A week later they met again and decided to hold a rummage sale, to raise money to fund an Episcopal mission. On December 19, 1911 the Rector of Trinity, the Rev. Halsey Werlein, Jr. and his choir director, Clarence Urmy, held a worship service in the Masonic Hall, attended by 55 people. The rector declared the Mission duly opened, and it was named St. Thomas, both because it was near the Feast of St. Thomas, (on the 21st) and also because some present doubted whether the mission could survive.
Clarence Urmy was placed in charge of the new mission. The Warden was Dr. William Patterson, and the treasurer was L.F. Barnes. Services were held at 4:00 pm on Sundays in the Masonic Hall on South Murphy Avenue. By the end of the first year, the Ladies Guild had $307.15 in the bank, and paid for the purchase of a lot on North Murphy Avenue, putting the receipt from the payment of the mortgage in the alms basin on Christmas Day, 1912. In December 1915 that lot was traded for a lot on the corner of Sunnyvale and McKinley owned by C.E. Stowell. Immediate plans were made to build the church.
Mr. Epps was the Warden that year, and he had considerable experience in building. All the parishioners contributed labor, and many gave materials as well. Some local merchants contributed materials, and people who were not parishioners also worked on the building. The Guild sewed vestments and altar linens. The stained glass window over the altar was a gift from St. Matthew's, San Mateo, and there was a round wick oil stove which stood in the middle aisle. The total cash outlay for building the church was $700, including a loan paid off by the end of the year.
On November 26, 1916, the Bishop of California, the Rt. Rev. William Nichols, dedicated St. Thomas Parish Church, assisted by the Rector of Trinity, and the Rev. E.T. Brown of San Jose and the Rev. C.A. Manwaring of Santa Clara. That was the year that Charles T.C. Smith first came to St. Thomas. He taught high school and lived in Mountain View, and to reach St. Thomas, he walked half a mile to the train station, rode to Sunnyvale, and walked a mile to the church. There were few cars in those days; El Camino Real had just been paved, with only one lane in each direction.
St. Thomas continued to be associated with Trinity, San Jose, and therefore the Rector of Trinity was our priest. In 1918, the Rev. A.W.N. Porter was rector; in 1926 the Rev. Mark Rifenbark was rector. Later in 1926, the Rev. E.H. Maloney, rector of Trinity, Menlo Park, took over our 7:30 pm service on Sunday evening and attendance was about 25. From 1933 to the late 30's the Rev. Britton D. Weigle was assigned as priest to serve both St. Thomas and Christ Church, Los Altos. Services were held every other Sunday evening. The Guild remained active, meeting the 2nd and 4th Thursday afternoons, keeping the St. Thomas spirit alive. During this time a winter storm took 1/3 of the shingles off the roof, and rain ruined the vestments.
Meanwhile, the City of Sunnyvale assessed the church about $1000 for the paving of Sunnyvale and McKinley Avenues. The Ladies Guild went to work to raise the money, and met every payment, saving the church. At one point the Vicar of Christ Church, Los Altos, proposed that the church be sold to pay for a vicarage for Los Altos. Charles Smith writes that he went to his first diocesan convention in 1938, where he heard Bishop Block say, 'All the missions and parishes have paid their assessments in full, except Sunnyvale, which has paid nothing!" So Charles found the treasurer of the diocese, found out that our assessment was $5.00, and paid it himself. There were five Sunday services held in 1941, and then in December Bishop Block held a meeting with the leaders of St. Thomas and Christ Church. He appointed the Rev. Albert Olson as Vicar of Christ Church, with responsibility to hold services on Sunday mornings at 8:30 at St. Thomas.
In 1946, a priest of the Old Catholic Church who had been an Army chaplain, affiliated with the Diocese of California. He was retired from the Army with a full pension, and volunteered to serve the neediest parish in the diocese. The Rev. Col. Sutherland was part-time vicar for 7 months, until he had a heart attack while leading worship, and had to retire again. Due to his leadership, attendance had jumped from 5 to nearly 50, and the first 11:00 am services were held at St. Thomas. The Rev. Long took services for a year, and then the Rev. David Gilmore of Los Gatos continued in 1947.
On June 1, 1947, Bishop Block met with the officers and members of St. Thomas, and accepted us as a regularly organized mission of the Diocese. When it was brought to the Bishop's attention that the church was holding Sunday School without restroom facilities, the Bishop said that wasn't decent. He directed Charles Smith to contact an architect, and send the bill to him. The architect said there was no room to build inside the church, that to build a wart on the outside would be unsightly, and he recommended a wing the full length of the east side, with a kitchen, social hall and restrooms.
In the spring of 1951, the Rev. Kenneth Eade graduated from CDSP and was appointed Vicar of St. Thomas. He was ordained deacon in August, got married in September, and was ordained priest the following February. A house next door to the church had been purchased for a vicarage, and with a full-time clergyman in residence, attendance began to grow. Sunday school classes were held in the church, the sacristy, the vicarage, and the garage of the vicarage. The yearly budget was approximately $5000.00. A group of men decided it was time to build that wing on the church, and spent Saturday afternoons dismantling an old building in Palo Alto for the lumber, doors, electrical and plumbing materials. Everyone pitched in to dig ditches, nail wallboard, lay tile, build, and paint. At one end was the kitchen and at the other the restrooms, with a social hall in between. The cost was $900.00. In the backyard of the vicarage were cherry trees, from which the vicar collected and sold the cherries to pay for acolyte robes, tracts, and other necessities.
The Rev. Richard Byfield arrived in June 1953 to be our second vicar. He found 45 families when he began his ministry, and increased the membership to 200 families. He led the development of Adult Education classes, introduced the Seabury Series to the Church School, and organized the men's club.
A choir was formed during the early 1950's, and the first choir director was John Hagopian.
In 1955 it was becoming apparent that the church property in downtown Sunnyvale was increasing in value, as the city expanded, and that in the future the mission might need a larger church. Bishop Block encouraged us, and provided money from the Centennial Advance Fund and other sources for the purchase of two and a half acres on Sunset, as well as a new vicarage on Iowa.
Before we were able to build on the new property, a dispute arose between the City Planning Commission and the City Council, about whether to extend McKinley Avenue through our property. Russell Schildt was our legal counsel, and attended many meetings with the city on our behalf, without fee, until the matter was resolved. This delay was fortunate, in that Bishop Block held a "Baby Bond" campaign in 1954, which raised $15,000 toward the new building. Later a building fund campaign raised $30,000, and construction (of what is now Cowans Hall) began in the spring of 1956. The new church was completed in January 1957, and the first worship service was Dick Byfield's farewell, as he left to serve on the Diocesan staff. The Vicar's salary was $3600 per year.
In March our third Vicar, the Rev. Allan McMahan arrived with his family. He organized the Bishop's Committee to oversee the building, the landscaping, and memorials. Bill Lloyd built a Children's Chapel in the education wing (now the Office), which included the children's altar we still have. While we were trying to sell the old church, it was rented to a Lutheran congregation, and finally sold in 1959 for $35,000.
In the summer of 1960, Allan McMahan was called to St. Matthias, Seaside, and the church was without clergy for 3 months. The wardens and Bishop's committee had everything organized, from the church school to the pledge drive to the junior choir, which impressed the Rev. Warren Debenham when hr arrived in October of 1960. The church continued to grow during the 60s, filling the pews to overflowing; chairs often had to be set up in the Family Room. In 1960, Barbara Tolhurst became the choir director, and Joyce Kelly was the organist.
In 1962, the West Valley Parent Preschool began to rent space from St. Thomas for their cooperative nursery school program. In December 1962, the Guild held a rummage sale, and everyone was quite upset in January when the $600 profit could not be found.
In 1963 the Vicar was approached by Mrs. Alden Fisher, known as Mike, who suggested that mosaics be commissioned for the walls of the sanctuary. An artist's estimate of the cost was prohibitive, so Mike suggested a do-it-yourself project. She enlisted the help of her former art teacher, Dr. Ross Teller, who gave a 10-week course. The congregation were asked to submit ideas for the mosaics, and the theme of the life of St. Thomas and his Work with Christ, was chosen. Two more 10-week classes were necessary to complete the 6 mosaics. Meanwhile, the members of the parish contributed tiles, crockery, colored glass, old jewelry, marble, slate, pebbles, buttons, and marbles. Approximately 1500 hours of labor, but only $60 of expense, went into the project, and the mosaics were dedicated in May, 1964.
In 1965 parishioners became aware that there were people in Sunnyvale who needed emergency help from time to time. The FISH organization was started to provide food, clothing, furniture and transportation to these people. After a few years, the church ran out of storage area, and FISH was moved to the Congregational Church on Bernardo, and became an ecumenical effort, which continues to the present. Also in 1965, St. Thomas became a parish (a self-supporting church, not needing financial aid from the diocese), due to the retirement of the loan, and to the increased membership. Warren Debenham then became the first rector of St. Thomas, and he was assisted by Fr. Rouillard, a Native American priest, and Dean McCoid, a vocational deacon. During this time, Christine McLetchie became the Choir Director, and also played the organ.
The attainment of parish status allowed the Vestry to begin making plans for the building of the church. The architects Worsley, Rankin and Williamson were engaged, and the artist Keith Boyle of Stanford University was commissioned to design and execute the altar panels. Architects, artist and contractor worked together from the beginning, and the church was designed to express joy, mystery, and fellowship. Fonny Ho was the Consulting engineer, and Les Burdick was in charge of the Building Committee. Many parishioners contributed expertise and labor to the project, especially Rudy Schmidt who made the cross that hangs over the altar, and the Vestment Sewing group, who sewed all the hangings for the altar, pulpit, and lectern, as well as stoles and chasubles. Perhaps the most unusual feature was the shallow moat that surrounded the church, symbolizing the entrance to the Christian life through the water of baptism. The church was completed and dedicated in December 1966, which was 55 years after its founding.
The continuing increase in membership, to 325 families, led to the call for an associate rector. In 1968 the Rev. William Cowans came to St. Thomas as associate. At the same time, two parishioners were called to ordained ministry. After a year at CDSP in Berkeley, the Rev. B.J. Hoover returned in 1968 to St. Thomas as a worker priest, and in 1969 the Rev. Robert Williams as a vocational deacon. In 1969, St. Thomas and St. Andrews Saratoga participated in a program to bring Sioux Indian children from south Dakota, to live with families and attend school in Sunnyvale for a year. Charla Rose Tenfingers, Agnes Randall, Jenny Eagle Bull, Gerald Fills the Pipe and Deborah Black Elk came to St. Thomas families. At about this time there was a recession in the defense-related industries in Sunnyvale, which led to a decrease in church membership. There were also more calls for emergency assistance. Sunnyvale Community Services was created to meet this need in 1970, and rented office space at St. Thomas during the first months of its operation. This same year, Karen Whiteley became the organist, and Paul Slattery directed the choir. Then in 1972, Jane Marguerite Russell took over the choir. The Wednesday Bible Study was also created that year , as the result of a Billy Graham crusade in our area.
In early 1974 Warren Debenham was called to St. Albans, Albany, and in the spring, amid some controversy over matters of worship and theology, the vestry called the Rev. William Cowans to be the second rector. Bishop C. Kilmer Myers presided at his induction as rector. In the next few years, the parish participated in the use of Trial Liturgies, leading up to adoption of the 1979 Book of Common Prayer. Several parishioners were trained to be leaders of the Bethel Bible Series, and the whole parish participated in Bible Study. The land behind the church was transformed into a Bible garden under the leadership of Lillian Maylard, with fruit trees, flowers and shrubs of the Holy Land, and a statue of St. Francis. Claribel Dare began as organist in 1978, and continues to the present.
In 1979, under leadership of Carol Campbell and Marjory Hanrahan, the small library was expanded.
Since the building of the church in 1966, the parish had carried a mortgage, and in 1981 it was finally paid off. It is traditional that a church cannot be consecrated until it is fully paid for. On the Feast of Pentecost, June 7, 1981, The Rt. Rev. Shannon Mallory, first Bishop of the Diocese of El Camino Real, officiated at the consecration of St. Thomas Church. There were a trumpet, trombone and bagpipes, as well as Senior and Junior Choirs. The first reading from Ezekiel was read in Hebrew by the Cantor of Congregation Kol Emeth; the Cope worn by the Rector was given to the parish as an anonymous gift; and there was a luncheon served in the Courtyard. Harold Anderson was the Senior warden and Brenda Jones was the Junior Warden at that time. We have an audiotape of that service in our Library. Jane Marguerite Russell stepped down as Choir Director, and her place was taken by Winnie Stribling. The Handbell Choir was started by Winnie, and a 4 octave set of Malmark bells were purchased from memorial funds and other donations.
It was during that same year that the Rector, Bill Cowans, and Harold Anderson, led a Bible study on the parable of the Sheep and the Goats from Matthew 25. The first result of that study was the creation of a Home Ministry program, to offer help to parishioners in need of care after surgery, or transportation, or companionship. The second result was the establishment of a jail ministry, led by Gary Letson. and the third result was a Thanksgiving meal served to the hungry at Thanksgiving 1982, leading to the creation of Our Daily Bread (ODB) on March 7, 1983. Plans were made to serve a free hot lunch three days a week to whomever was hungry, in the expectation that perhaps 25 or 30 people would come. Harold Anderson and Teresa Morse led this effort, establishing two policies that are still in effect today: the only question we ask of our diners is, “Are you here for lunch?” and we don't require the diners to listen to a Christian message. From the beginning we were fortunate to attract Ed Rogers to Our Daily Bread; he has served as Headwater and greeter all these years, providing welcome and a personal word to our diners. In 1983 our parishioner Ruth Schmidt died, who had served as church secretary for more than 20 years. Taking up her duties was Teresa Morse, who served as secretary through 1989.
In 1985 the rector called the Rev. Joan Cottrell as Associate, and she was ordained to the priesthood in December at Grace Cathedral. The Rev. Sjoerd Bonting, a worker priest from the Netherlands, also joined the staff. Michael Fay took over as Director of the Handbell choir, recruiting many new members and organizing concerts. He collected donations to purchase the 5th octave of Bells. In this same year, two classrooms were combined to provide space for many more books. The library was given by Dave and Carol Campbell in memory of Carol's parents, Rita and Herb Gardner. This move made available the corner space in the church, next to the sacristy, which was turned into the Chapel of the Resurrection. It was given by the rector's mother, Mrs. Agnes Cowans, in loving memory of her husband, William, who was also a priest, and was designed by Norman Burdick. At this time the nursery school left, and offices were built in the space they had occupied in the office wing. Patricia Pietrzyk had been directing a junior choir, and now moved up to direct the senior choir, and continues to the present.
In 1986, the whole year was given to celebrating the 75th anniversary of St. Thomas, with an anniversary banquet in May. In 1987, the Rt. Rev. Morgan Porteus, retired Bishop of Connecticut, came to give the Holy Week sermons. One year later, he and our Associate, Joan Cottrell were married at Grace Cathedral, and they went back to Massachusetts to live. Later that year, the rector called the Rev. Patricia Rome Robertson as Associate; she had moved to our area from Massachusetts. Beginning part-time in 1987, and then full time in 1990, parishioner Rosie Harris kept the office and the church in order as secretary, until 1996.
In 1990, under the leadership of Maria Ridgway and Chris Schmidt, seven Chinese families from Hong Kong began meeting for worship once a month. Becky Shan pursued her call to Holy Orders, and gradually the group coalesced into the Chinese Episcopal Church. At the end of 1994, the Chinese church was invited to move to St. Jude's, Cupertino, and became a diocesan mission called Holy Light Episcopal Church.
In 1991, St. Thomas was the first host church for the Rotating Shelter program that was developed to address the problem of homelessness. Twelve churches were recruited to provide shelter and meals, each for a month, for 15 homeless men. Cupertino Community Services provides the oversight, job counseling, and shelter supervisors, while the host church provides breakfast, sack lunches, and dinners, as well as space to roll out sleeping bags. The majority of the men in the shelter have been able to find jobs and rent rooms or apartments by the time they leave the program. We have continued to participate in this outreach program until the present year [2001], when we have had to take an intermission due to the demolition of the Family Room.
In 1992 Pat Robertson was called to be Vicar of St. Ambrose in Foster City. A committee was formed to search for another associate rector, but by the time they were ready to do interviews, the parish could no longer afford to pay an associate.
In 1993, When Michael Fay left St. Thomas, Jay Nickel became director of the Bell choir serving until 1994. Also in 1993 Bill Cowans had surgery, and the Rev. Margaret Irwin filled in for several months while he recuperated. At the end of 1994, after 22 years of ministry at St. Thomas, Bill retired, and the Parish Hall was renamed Cowans Hall in his honor.
The Rev. Ruth Eller came in 1995 to serve as Interim Rector for a year. She held a History Night, and introduced the parish to a variety of liturgies and musical styles. In the fall, the roof on the church was leaking so badly that it was necessary to replace it quickly. The funds were donated without a formal campaign, and the roof put on before the November rains came.
In April of 1996, the Rev. Wendy Smith, Ph.D., was called as third Rector, and was instituted by Bishop Shimpfky on June 25th.
In 1998, a Master Planning committee was created to look at the ministries we expect to be doing in the next 10 to 15 years. On the basis of input from the whole parish, Wendy and the Vestry decided that our priorities are ministry to children and youth, pastoral care, and outreach to others. In order to meet these priorities, we have initiated a process of renovation and building, both to improve the quality of the space we have, and also to provide additional space for programs for children and youth.
In January of 1999, the Bishop asked Wendy to be Chair of Diocesan Council, and she continues in that position at present. In June 1999, she called the Rev. Michael Ferrito as Assistant to the Rector on a half-time basis. In September, Harold Anderson held his 80th Birthday Brunch at St. Thomas, with parishioners and friends from near and far. Kedith Wickware and Scott Whisler resurrected the Handbell choir to the delight of many parishioners. In the spring of 2000 we initiated our Loaves and Fishes Capital Campaign to pay for the renovations. At the same time, Our Daily Bread ran its own fundraising campaign. Meanwhile, the Columbarium Committee designed and installed, with the help of Jim Woods, our own columbarium in the southeast corner of the church. At present [August 2001] the first phase of renovation, the expansion and rebuilding of the kitchen, is in process. The second phase, in 2002, will be the construction of the education wing behind the church; and the third phase will be the renovation of the office wing and parish hall.
Over the years, St. Thomas has raised up many parishioners for Holy Orders: the Rev. Jeffrey Frost (1988), the Rev. Richard Pedersen (1989), the Rev. Mary Louise Reed (1991), the Rev. Becky Shan (1993), the Rev. Mary-Elizabeth Pratt-Horsley (1995), the Rev. Patricia Trytten (1996), the Rev. Anne E. Ryder (1996), and the Rev. Sue Thompson (2000). We currently have three Postulants for Holy Orders: Maria Ridgway, Sheldon Hutchison, and Lindsay Jacobson.