1955:
St. Faith's Church began in January 1955 as Faith Church, meeting in
the carport of Major and Mrs. H.W. Hofmann with a congregation of 23.
Within a year, a Vestry Committee was appointed by Bishop Louttit and
the congregation, renamed St. Faith's, and was meeting in the "Green
Cathedral," a construction shack near the site of what is now the
Cutler Ridge Elementary School. In 1956, the Rev. Dr. Arnold R. Verduin
became the first Vicar of St. Faith's. Then in 1959, the Rev. Newton
C. Wilbur came from Maryland with his family to succeed Father Verduin.
Soon thereafter, the last payment was made on the land on which the
Church was to be built.
1960's:
St. Faith's Day School opened in 1960 with 25 kindergarten children
and one teacher. The Day School was very successful and grew into a
Preschool that served the community for over 40 years.
In 1961, worship services moved to the Cutler Ridge Community Center
(on the site of what has become the Southland Mall) while the Parish
Hall/Chapel and the first Education (East) Building were constructed.
Father Wilbur was installed as rector in 1964 when St. Faith's became
a self-supporting parish. The second Education (West) Building and the
Parish Office Building were completed that year.
1970's:
In 1968, the State of Florida acquired a part of our property for construction
of the Homestead Extension of the Florida Turnpike. Our plan had been
to build our permanent church on that section of the land. Consequently
the congregation voted to remodel the Parish Hall/Chapel into our current
church. This project was completed in 1974. St. Faith's was a successful
parish with a well-received Day School.
1980's:
Father Wilbur retired in 1981 and Father Jeffery Ditzel was called as
our next rector until December of 1987. Father Ralph Johnson served
as our interim priest from December of 1987 until the summer of 1989.
1990's:
Father
Gary Verell was called in July of 1989 to be the parish's 3rd rector.
Fr. Verell invigorated the congregation with new life and purpose. He
challenged St. Faith to think beyond what 'had always been' and to look
to the future.
We were struck by Hurricane Andrew in August of 1992. Although our
parish was directly in the path of the storm, the physical damage to
the church buildings was minimal. We were grateful to the members of
St. Andrew's, Boca Raton, who arrived that first Saturday and several
subsequent ones, to clear away glass and cut a pathway through fallen
trees to the church and begin to put classrooms back together again.
Soon thereafter, the 82nd Airborne set up temporary quarters in the
West Building. They too cleaned up debris and cleared trees and kept
out looters. The Day School was able to open only a few weeks later.
The complete clean up took months, and during that time plans we drawn
up for rebuilding and expansion. The Parish Hall was enlarged and remodeled,
with new kitchen and bathroom facilities. The West Building classrooms
were remodeled and the playgrounds were expanded. Bishop Schofield dedicated
the newly renovated buildings in November of 1994. In 1996, recognizing
that our parish office building had become too small, we began plans
for the present Administration Building, which was completed in 1997.
The Rev. Alejandro Hernandez was assigned to us as Assistant Rector
in March 1997. He was ordained in Cuba and needed help with English
and liturgics. He had to leave his family behind and we worked vigorously
to find some way to get them to the United States. They finally arrived
in November 1999. Just prior to their arrival Fr. Hernandez was appointed
as Rector of Holy Cross Church in Miami.
In
1998 we had another cause for rejoicing. For many years land totaling
five and a half acres adjacent to our property had passed through hands
of many developers but remained vacant. We had long wanted to buy the
land but the price was always too high. One Sunday, the vestry presented
to the congregation the possibility that by our own efforts we might
be able to buy it. Within nine days, the people of St. Faith's raised
the funds and the congregation purchased the land.
Fr. Verell retired in November 1998 after nine an a half years of successful
service. We had accomplished many things during that period that was
a testiment to Fr. Verell. The Parish Hall was dedicated as 'Verell
Hall' in his honor.
In
July 2000, the Rev. Donald P. Sullivan became our Rector. Fr. Sullivan
served the parish for nearly 8 years. During this period the Rev. Cyril
White began to assist our parish with services and sermons that were
always a joy to listen to. Fr. Sullivan was active in the community
and promoted St. Faith's in the Cutler Bay area. We continued to hold
our annual events such as the Halloween Carnival and Easter Egg Hunts.
During this period, St. Faith's created the columbarium within the church
which has become an important focal point for many of our parish families.
Fr. Sullivan retired, and moved to Key West.
In
March 2008, the Rev, Jennie Lou Reid became our 5th Rector and our adventures
continued. Mother Reid faithfully served as our Priest and Rector for
9 years before retiring on March 1, 2017. During her tenure we gained
a new partner in our long-standing church school by leasing the school
facilities to 'The Village of Early Education'. Significant improvements
were made to the school facilities and we re-established the zoning
approvals to allow the school to continue. We established an annual
silent auction fund raising event that was held each year. The Liz White
Endowment fund was established with a significant bequest in 2016, and
that endowment fund will provide support to the Parish for years to
come. Mother Reid retired March 2017.
Father Michael
Picou served as our priest from April 2017 until December 2023. During
this six year period Fr. Mike kept us smiling and rejoicing every Sunday.
St. Faith began sponsoring Boy Scout Troop 248, who have become an intergral
part of the weekly life at the Parish. The scouts meet Tuesday and Thursday
evenings in the Parish House, and sponsor regular events for training
and development..
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