Tuesday, April 3, 2012

VIRGINIA: Changed along the way, St. Stephen’s comes home


From Virginia-

More than a few tears were shed and smiles shared by the members of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Heathsville, Virginia, this Palm Sunday, following the resolution of a five-year legal dispute with another congregation over ownership of the property.

One of those members, Meade Kilduff, was baptized in the 131-year-old building in 1918. At the time, Kilduff’s mother traveled over two days by train and by boat in the dead of winter from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to her hometown of Heathsville for Meade’s baptism. Years later, Kilduff would return to raise a family – and to worship in St. Stephen’s.

That’s why this past weekend was a homecoming for Kilduff and other members of the congregation, as they returned to their historic church after worshipping in temporary spaces for the past five years. “I am so overwhelmed,” said Kilduff. “I didn’t realize how much I loved it until I came back. It is so beautiful.”

More here-

http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/2012/04/02/changed-along-the-way-st-stephens-comes-home/

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