In the final months of World War II, a group of faithful Episcopalians living in North Stamford’s woods hadn't been able to attend Sunday services for months. Wartime gas rationing had made the 16-mile roundtrip to St. John's in downtown Stamford impossible to justify.
But rather than waiting until the war ended and normal life resumed, local resident Audrey Logan organized the formation of the Episcopal mission of St. Francis in North Stamford. The first services were held with folding chairs on Logan’s front lawn at 109 Mayapple Road.
But after several rainy Sundays, the little community began to look for a building.
They found an abandoned building, owned by the Universalist Society, at 503 Old Long Ridge Road. Constructed in 1834, Stamford’s oldest church building, once a space where farmers and factory workers from Long Ridge Village once gathered to pray, had been unused for years.
Given permission to use the vacant church, the people of St. Francis rolled up their sleeves. They cleaned the building, cut back the high weeds and growth around the front columns, and opened the front doors. About forty people came every Sunday. Inspired by what they saw, two sisters — Mary Gilmoor and Lucy Newton — purchased the building and donated it to the Episcopal Church in Connecticut.
On Christmas Eve 1945, the first service of St. Francis Episcopal Church was celebrated in what is now known as “the Historic Church.” In 1946, Bishop Frederick Grandy Budlong consecrated the building and the parish officially joined the diocese.
Sunday School was once held in the parish house down a path, which also hosted movies, plays, concerts and Boy Scout meetings.
The first rector was The Rev. W. Keith Chidester (1947 to 1959), followed by The Rev. Edward W. Mills (1959 - 1965), The Rev. Robert M. Dresser (1965-1977), The Rev. Richard Mayberry (1978-2007) and The Rev. Mark Lingle (priest-in-charge 2008-2015; rector 2015-2024). The Rev. Joseph “Joe” Rose was called as St. Francis’ sixth rector in 2025.
In the 1960s, the parish purchased six acres at 2810 Long Ridge Road, on which Assisi Hall and a parking lot were built. After years of growth, parishioners raised $1.1million for a capital campaign in 1999 to build a new worship space at the location. Longtime parishioners Joe Mygatt and Jo Anne Cone were chosen as the architects of the larger worship space.
Using a design intended to offer flexible worship configurations and extraordinary acoustics, construction of what is now known as the “New Church” began in August 1999. Bishop Andrew Smith consecrated the new church building nestled in the woods of Long Ridge Road in October 2000. In 2008, the sanctuary was enhanced with a Konzelman electric action pipe organ.
The New Church celebrates 10 a.m. Sunday services with Holy Eucharist, a choir and Godly Play. Meanwhile, with its historic character preserved, the 192-year-old Historic Church continues as the home for 8 a.m. Sunday services and special services such as Thanksgiving, Good Friday and Christmas Lessons and Carols.
At St. Francis, we honor the past as we embrace the future. Hebrews 12:1 calls followers of Jesus to remember the “great cloud of witnesses” — the faithful souls whose lives continue to inspire and guide us. As part of St. Francis Episcopal Church’s 80th anniversary celebration, longtime parishioners gathered to share stories of beloved members interred in the Historic Church’s columbarium. Their memories remind us that the Church is a community that spans generations, united in Christ and bound together by God’s enduring love.
This video honors the women and men whose prayers, service, and generosity helped shape St. Francis into the community it is today. As we celebrate 80 years of ministry, we give thanks for their witness, honor their legacy, and recommit ourselves to the work they entrusted to us.