⛪ Rededication of Christ Episcopal Church

The following remarks were delivered by Mayor Michael Newhard during the Nave Rededication at Christ Episcopal Church on Sunday, April 26, 2026.

Greetings Bishop Heyd, Rector Carswell, and friends.

I’m honored to be here today to share a few words with you on the rededication of this historic nave.

In 1867, this church was completed and consecrated. It was designed by New York City architects, the Jardine brothers, and built by local master carpenter Henry McElroy in the Carpenter Gothic style, befitting its rural setting and Mr. McElroy’s talents.

The result is a beautiful spiritual home that has enhanced our community for 159 years. And by that, I mean more than its walls.

Christ Church is a visual landmark whose presence extends far beyond this corner property. Its striking presence stands with a quiet strength.

This is the country cousin to the carved Gothic cathedrals—a true American architectural form that embodies a craftsman’s skill combined with an exuberance of spiritual aspiration.

Time and age, of course, bring the need for repair. And the extent and nature of those repairs depend on many things: funds, skill, available materials.

Repairs can restore what is broken, serve as temporary bandages, or, in some cases, make matters worse. And here, beneath the aluminum skin, it seems the full range was revealed—from the best of intentions to the most challenging of realities.

Projects of restoration are not for the faint of heart.

The Vestry and Rector Carswell were, above all, brave. They understood the importance of undoing what had been done incorrectly and restoring the wooden sheathing and details that had been lost. To recognize a problem and address it directly is, in itself, a study in leadership.

This effort also stands as a public example—a model of true historic preservation, something that has become all too rare in a world of quick fixes.

With the guiding hands, intelligence, and skilled experience of Dave Woglam and Company, the many missteps of the past were corrected.

This was a herculean effort. After months of scaffolding, untold discoveries, and careful restoration, this remarkable edifice—this beautiful nave—has been brought back to life.

It is only fitting to say we are blessed.

As stewards of something so tangible and significant, this project represents more than the reclamation of wood.

It reaches into something deeper and more enduring.

It speaks to the past and to the future, to great hope, and to a living continuum of the most essential ingredient of all: faith.