St. Michael's Church (Pawtucket, RI)

The group of people who became the first congregation of St. Michael’s church first met in 1718 at the house of William Walker, at the intersection of Hope and High streets in Bristol, R.I. This group split from the local Congregational church at a time when the Rev. James MacSparren was the focus of controversy, and in 1720, the group petitioned the Bishop of London and the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel for a rector.

The first Rector, James Orem, arrived in 1721 to find a church building almost complete, built on property at the intersection of Hope and Church streets, which was donated by Col. Henry Mackintosh . One year later, Orem accepted a chaplaincy with the Royal Navy, and was succeeded by the Rev. John Usher . During Usher’s tenure, the Vestry was established as the governing body of the church and money was raised to purchase a church bell.

In 1734, Nathaniel Kay left the church a sizable bequest. It included the Point Farm, which was made into a school for “ten poor boys,” and a sum of money that was used to supply communion plate and help pay the rector’s salary. At this time, there were still some hard feelings between the Episcopal and Congregational churches in Bristol, and this led to disagreements over taxation. These were not resolved until the 1740s.

Usher was the rector of St. Michaels’ until he died in 1775. His son, John Usher Jr., helped hold the church together during the Revolutionary War, when it was impossible to call another rector from England. Usher Jr. continued to call vestry meetings in secret even after British soldiers torched the church building in 1778. By 1786, the congregation began to rebuild, and in 1790, St. Michael’s joined Trinity church of Newport, King's Church of Providence, and St. Paul's of Narragansett in founding the Episcopal Diocese of Rhode Island .

In 1791, John Usher Jr. was finally ordained, and continued as rector of the church. In 1800, the church called the Rev. Albert C. Clarke to take over, but after a power struggle in the vestry, Clarke found himself serving as Usher’s assistant. It wasn’t until Usher died in 1803 that the church truly came under new leadership – the leadership of the Rev. Alexander Viets Griswold .

Griswold left a parish of three churches in Litchfield County, Connecticut to become rector of St. Michael’s in 1804. In 1810, he was also elected the first and only bishop of the “ Eastern Diocese,” which was made up of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. He was consecrated in 1811, but he continued to serve as parish rector at St. Michael’s until 1830. He led the church through religious revivals in 1812 and 1820, which greatly increased the number of congregants.

Another prominent leader in St. Michael’s history, the Rev. John Bristed served the church from 1830 to 1843 and presided over construction of a new, larger building in the same location. This third building was burned down in 1858, and the cornerstone of the fourth and present building, built in the “Gothic Revival” style, was laid in 1860. The roof collapsed before it was finished, however, so it was not consecrated until 1861.

In 1867, Dr. George Lyman Locke succeeded a series of rectors – James Welch Cooke, Joseph Trapnell, William Stowe, and Lewis P. W. Balch – each of whom served only a few years. Locke served for the next 52 years and left behind a series of historical discourses chronicling the church’s legacy in Bristol. He saw the construction of the Parish house in 1877 and the Chantry in 1912. However, he also saw the church split over the issue of raising money by selling pews. In 1875, those who believed pews should be free and accessible to all built their own place of worship, Trinity Church in Bristol, R.I.

Lock was followed by the Rev. Anson B. Howard, who served as rector of St. Michael’s beginning in 1919. Quiet and scholarly, Howard did not take to the administrative tasks of being rector, and left after 10 years. In contrast, Canon Anthony R. Parshley, the next rector of St. Michael’s, was remarkably socially and politically active, and served from 1929-1947. He championed the enfranchisement of women in the congregation and the expansion of programs for youth.

During World War II, Canon Parshley presided at many community, fraternal, military, and ecumenical services. He also wrote monthly letters to service men and women, worked in a local factory, and organized the relief committee, which sent support to the original St. Michael’s church in Bristol, U.K. In 1947, he resigned to become Archdeacon of the Rhode Island Diocese .

Later that year, former Navy Chaplain Daniel K. Davis accepted the position of rector, and soon shouldered the responsibility of Diocesan Youth Advisor as well. He was a consistent proponent of Christian education and church activities like the annual bazaar. In 1952, he resigned all Diocesan offices to focus on congregational life of St. Michael’s. He was succeeded by Canon Delbert W. Tildesley, who served as rector of St. Michael’s from 1954 to 1982.

In 1968, the church celebrated its 250th anniversary. The event was commemorated by a lecture series, the reintroduction of the Parish Monthly newsletter, speeches by Sen. Claiborne Pell and Gov. John Chaffee, and the construction of a multi-purpose building. This building finally met the needs of the expanding church school. The rector’s responsibilities also expanded when Roger Williams Junior College [now Roger Williams University ] moved to Bristol, R.I. in 1969, and the rector of St. Michael’s became the chaplain at the college.

During the 1960s and 1970s, St. Michael’s fostered relationships with other churches in the global community. It hosted visiting bishops from other countries and helped build a school in its sister diocese of Haiti . In 1977, the church entered into an ecumenical agreement with St. Mary’s Catholic Church . Along with other churches in the community, St. Michael’s also increased programming for youth, starting a coffeehouse called The Flower Pot and Lenten programs on sexuality and drinking.

Meanwhile, Tildesley was very active at the Diocesan level. He served on the Standing Committee from 1979 to 1983, at a time when the ordaining of women and changes to the liturgy were hotly debated. In 1979, when the Bishop of the Diocese of Rhode Island, Bishop Frederick Hesley Belden, resigned, Tildesley served on the search committee that eventually nominated Bishop George Nelson Hunt to take his place.

The Rev. Clifton Daniels took over as rector in 1984, and served as rector until 1996. In 1993, the church celebrated its 275th anniversary with a year’s worth of activities, including a performance of T. S. Eliot ’s Murder in the Cathedral, a visit from Bishop Julio Holguin of the Dominican Republic, and the catalog and display of historical artifacts.

From the guide to the Records of St. Michael's Church, Bristol, 1718-1999, (University of Rhode Island Library Special Collections and Archives Unit)