When St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church formed 75 years ago, the Bishop hoped for a Sunday School enrollment of 40 children at the end of the first year. Edina church members predicted that they would meet that goal on the first day.
The actual number far exceeded anyone’s expectations: 56 children attended the first Sunday School class in April 1937.
Based in the Country Club District, the Episcopal church succeeded because it reached out to Protestants in the entire community. “Edina’s new church is for Edina. And that means everybody who resides in this community regardless of denomination. Whether you happen to own a fine house, or whether your means are modest, you and your family can always count on a warm welcome at St. Stephen’s,” church leaders announced in the local newspaper.
Within months, the congregation outgrew its meeting space at Wooddale School and looked for a site for a new church building. They decided on the land across the street. “It was all sand and every kind of weed you could think of was growing there,” recalled Clint Christopher at the church’s 50th anniversary. “There wasn’t even any water in creek at the time. It was the drought of the thirties.”
The corner lot at Wooddale and 50th had one great advantage: it was within walking distance for most parishioners. After years of traveling long distances to church, often on rutted roads, residents could soon walk to services.
Within a year, Edina had raised enough money to build a church. When the cornerstone was laid on September 18, 1938, more than 100 children and their Sunday School teachers posed at the construction site. St. Stephen’s exceeded expectations once again.
