Key West’s showpiece church
St. Paul’s gets another makeover
BY TERRY SCHMIDA
The leaders of Key West’s most prominent and oft-photographed house of worship have been taking steps recently to welcome parishioners and tourists alike back with changes that will be visible both inside and outside of the venerable Duval Street institution.
Newly refurbished pews are scheduled to be installed in the church sanctuary by the end of the week.
And most recently a group of churchgoers held a fundraising party to help restore and protect the large 1920s-era stained glass window, entitled “The Tree of Jesse,” that fronts Duval Street.
An “Extravaganza Committee,” including Joe Mather, Greta Ford, Carolyn Blackwell, Linda Acevedo, Lenny Whitley, Sandy Higgs, Wynn Steinkamp, Isabel Viera, Mary Haffenreffer, Sheila Barker, Linda Sparks and Tina Johnson organized the Sept. 12 shindig, which raised more than $33,000 towards the cost of the $55,000 project.
“The window is a memorial to the Porter family,” said committee member Sandy Higgs. “Among the many members was Dr. Joseph Y. Porter, one of the foremost experts on sanitation and hygiene in the United States and the first health officer of the State of Florida. The theme [of the earthly family of Jesus] is among the earliest in stained glass art history, developed in France in the 12th Century. There are more than 2,000 pieces of glass in the three panels that make up this window alone.
“The windows have two layers of stories to tell,” Higgs went on. “The first and most obvious, is the Biblical account of Christianity circling the largest windows just above all others. They symbolize the Virgin birth to the Resurrection. The second narrative, found in the dedications and tributes, tells something of the trials and triumphs of the community of Key West.”
The committee is in the early stages of planning for another event to raise the balance of the funds needed to enhance the window, and protect it from the elements.
Eventually, the church leaders hope to restore all of St. Paul’s stained glass displays.
The leaded frames around the glass were weakened by the April, 1956 blaze which destroyed the neighboring First Baptist Church, on Eaton Street.
A complete description of St. Paul’s prized panes was compiled by the late historian Winifred Shine Fryzel in her book “The Golden Cockrell: The Art, Symbolism & History of the Stained Glass Windows of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Key West, Florida,” which is available for purchase at the church.
In recent years, St. Paul’s large pipe organ was rebuilt.
The church was constructed in the early 1920s, and at one time had the largest, and wealthiest congregation in Key West, according to Monroe County historian Tom Hambright.
“Florida’s first millionaire, William Curry, was a parishioner, and he donated the biggest bell that’s still in use over there,” Hambright said. “They still call it ‘Big Bill.’”
For more information on how to help with the church window restoration fund, call Sandy Higgs at 305-797-6992

 

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