The Church That Would Not Stay Still

It is hard not to notice up on the hill at the corner of Palm Street and Hardy Drive. There are not that many English Gothic Revival-style structures in Lemon Grove, or in the entire county for that matter.

According to the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego website, this is the third stop for the church. It was originally built downtown in 1887, on the corner of 8th Avenue and C Streets. The church was named St. Paul’s and had the distinction of having the first pipe organ in the city. The building also featured the first installed heating system in San Diego. Apparently those pews could get cold.

St. Paul’s stayed downtown for 61 years, until 1948.  That is when the congregation moved to a new church on Nutmeg Street and 6th Avenue. The old St. Paul’s building was moved, literally, next to SDSU, where it became St. Dunstan’s Episcopal Church. Are you following all of this so far?

For the move, the building was cut into 10 pieces, like a cake. It was transported on trucks to College Avenue, where it was then reassembled. The church had purchased two huge lots for $4,750 and, when it was done, had spent another $40,000 on the move. It was a big deal at the time, with the local paper pointing out that the church had originally cost only $7,750 to build.

The reconstruction must have drawn crowds. According to a story in the publication The Parish of St. Dunstan, The First 25 Years, when the cross was being placed on the steeple of the chapel, a man was heard to say, "You wouldn't find me crawling up that tall steeple with a cross in my arms." To which a bystander replied, "You wouldn't find me crawling up that steeple without a cross in my arms!"

SDSU was expanding its campus due to exploding growth, and bought the church property in 1967. When the new St. Dunstan’s was built in 1969 in San Carlos, the old building was again taken apart and moved. This time it went to Lemon Grove, where it became the new St. Philip-the-Apostle Episcopal Church. Unfortunately, the original stained-glass windows, dating from the 1880s, went to St. Dunstan’s church.

The parish in Lemon Grove raised the money for the move and actually got the building for free from SDSU. Things were going well until a fire in 1972 destroyed parts of the church, including the altar. Once again, the community raised funds to rebuild St. Philip-the-Apostle. The church also survived a failed attempt to fire bomb the building four years ago. Are you noticing that this church has a real will to live?

I went to St. Philip-the-Apostle last Sunday and enjoyed a mass, in Spanish, by the Rev. Carlos Garcia. The interior of the church is stunning and serene, with light shining through beautiful stained-glass windows. My regret is that my Spanish is not better: he was inspiring the congregation and even getting some laughs. When I spoke with Rev. Garcia later, he told me that the service in Spanish was the most popular, with attendance of 80 to 100 every week. That Sunday, I saw many families with happy, but fidgety, kids dressed in their best go-to-meeting clothes, hoping the end was near and lunch would be coming soon. Church never changes to a child.

St. Philip-the-Apostle Episcopal Church, also known as Iglesia Episcopal San Felipe el Apostol, is located at 2660 Hardy Drive in Lemon Grove. Rev. Carlos Garcia leads a Sunday morning mass in English at 9:30 a.m., followed by one in Spanish at 11 a.m.