All Saints Episcopal Church, Waveland (Jensen Beach, Florida)

Parish church
name = All Saints Episcopal Church

Waveland
2303 N.E. Seaview Drive

Jensen Beach, Florida


dedication = All Saints
denomination = Episcopal
tradition = High Church, Evangelical
parish = All Saints
deanery = North Palm Beach Deanery
archdeaconry =
diocese = Southeast Florida
The Rt. Rev. Leopold Frade, Bishop
province = IV
vicar = The Rev. W. Frisby Hendricks, III
deacon = The Rev. Jane Hostetter
honpriest =
director =
organist =
warden =Senior: Dick LaQuerre
warden1 =Junior: Oscar Stuber
website = [http://www.allsaintsjensenbeach.com/ All Saints' Episcopal Church website]

All Saints' Episcopal Church, Waveland, is an historic Carpenter Gothic church built in 1898 on Crossroads Hill in Waveland, now part of Jensen Beach, Florida It is the oldest church building located in what is now Martin County, Florida. It is also the northernmost parish in the present-day Episcopal Diocese of Southeast Florida. When the church was built the land it is on was in Brevard County. From 1910-25, it was in St. Lucie County. Since 1925 it has been in Martin County. Its vicar is the Rev. W. Frisby Hendricks, III. [http://www.allsaintsjensen.com/history.htm]

History of the parish

The first Episcopal church services in the Jensen Beach area were held on November 23, 1894, when the Rt. Rev. William Crane Gray, Missionary Bishop of Southern Florida, came down the Indian River by boat to Eden and preached in the schoolhouse there. Later the same day he walked down to Jensen and preached in the parlor of the Al Fresco Hotel. That simple beginning resulted in the formation of two parishes: St. Paul's in Walton north of Eden and All Saints' in Waveland south of Jensen. [Thurlow, Sandra Henderson "Historic Jensen and Eden on Florida's Indian River" (2004) Stuart: Sewall's Point Company, pp. 166-167]

All Saints Cemetery

All Saints Cemetery, sometimes called Waveland Cemetery or All Saints Waveland Cemetery, is the only cemetery in Jensen Beach and is non-profit. Although controlled by All Saints Church, it is non-sectarian and serves as the community's cemetery.

Old section

The old section runs from Dixie Highway, S.R. 707, west up the hill to the church property. Upright markers range from plain wooden ones (which unfortunately are no longer legible) to elaborate granite and marble ones.

New Section

The much larger new section abuts both the old section and the church property on their north sides and runs from Dixie Highway up and over the hill to the Florida East Coast Railway tracks. It is a lawn area and only allows stone or bronze markers which are flush with the ground.

Mausoleum and Cremation Sections

Since the land in both the old and new sections that lies between the foot of the hill and Dixie Highway is too low for standard in-ground burials, it is now being used for Mauseolem and Cremation Sections.

Alleluia Cross and Outdoor Altar

The Georgia granite Alleluia Cross and Outdoor Altar, are located 65 feet east of the eastern wall of the church on the west side of the parking lot overlooking the cemetery and Dixie Highway below and the Indian River to the east. They were given by the Rt. Rev. Wallace E. Conkling, (1896-1979), retired bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago, in memory of his wife, Constance Lillian (Sowby) Conkling, who died on March 9, 1969, and whose ashes were interred beneath the altar.

The east side of the cross is inscribed vertically "ALLELUIA", while the west side is inscribed "JESU MERCI." Bishop Conkling was bishop in residence at All Saints' for many years and after he died on August 27, 1979, his ashes were also interred under the outdoor altar. The base of the cross is inscribed on the west side: "Wallace Edmonds Conkling / The Bishop of Chicago / 1941-53 / August 27, 1979 / Constance Sowby Conkling / his wife / March 9, 1969." The Diocese of Chicago gave money to All Saints' to provide for the care of Bishop Conkling's grave.

The parish's Easter Sunrise Services are held there each year. Other services such as the Blessing of the Animals are also held there from time to time. The cross itself has a twin in the cemetery of St. Gregory's Abbey, Three Rivers, Michigan.

ee also

*Episcopal Diocese of South Florida, All Saints' original diocese.

Resources

*Thurlow, Sandra Henderson, "Historic Eden and Jensen on Florida's Indian River" (2004) Stuart: Sewall's Point Company,ISBN 0-0630788-6-0

References

External links

* [http://www.allsaintsjensenbeach.com/ All Saints' Episcopal Church website]
* [http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/fl/martin/cemeteries/allsaints.txt List of Inscriptions in Old Section of Cemetery, compiled by Myrtle M. Dyer, circa 1948]