ADDRESS: 40 Windham Center Road.
AFFILIATION/DENOMINATION: Episcopal, connected to the Diocese of Maine under the leadership of the Rt. Rev. Stephen T. Lane.
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HISTORY: In the summer of 1971, a group of Episcopalians gathered around the dining room table in the home of Bob and Kit Ogg. Jerry Koll, a lay reader, led Morning Prayer. In November 1971, Bishop Frederick Wolf sent the Rev. Graham Pierce to celebrate the first Holy Eucharist.
Having outgrown the Oggs’ home by Easter of 1972, the congregation moved to a chapel by the water in North Gorham, and, in June 1973, St. Ann’s was admitted as a mission church by the Episcopal Diocese of Maine.
The Rev. Jay Dean became part-time vicar late in 1973. Soon thereafter, the Ogg family donated 5 acres of land for the present church building.
On Nov. 30, 1974, the first Sunday of Advent, Wolf and Dean began the service in the chapel, after which the congregation walked to the new building and celebrated communion.
On March 2, 1975, St. Ann’s was dedicated and consecrated by Wolf. The Rev. Richard McIlveen arrived as interim priest in 1976.
The first full-time priests, the Revs. John and Elizabeth Habecker, came in November 1977 and served until December 1980. (Elizabeth Habecker was the first woman to be ordained an Episcopal priest in Maine.) St. Ann’s Memorial Garden was established in 1978 with a gift from Cecil Wheeler in his wife’s memory.
Pierce returned as interim until January 1982, when the Rev. Michael Hartwell became the second full-time rector. Upon Hartwell’s departure in December 1984, the Rev. John “Jack” McCall served as interim.
A December 1985 groundbreaking was held for an addition that doubled the space within the building; the Rev. George Richard became St. Ann’s third full-time rector in February 1986.
1987 was an especially eventful year. On Jan. 20, Bishop Edward Chalfant dedicated the addition, which included the present sanctuary and foyer and the church school rooms in the undercroft. At the May annual convention, St. Ann’s attained parish status. The small Sunday school program expanded, and “St. Ann’s is on the move!” became the church motto.
In January 1988, the Rev. Gwyneth Bohr became interim priest. The Rev. Ralph Demaree served as interim beginning in January 1989.
The Rev. Charlotte Dudley Cleghorn became the fourth full-time rector in December 1989, ministering to the people of St. Ann’s for seven years.
The Rev. Samuel Henderson served as interim priest from September 1996 until the Rev. H. Roy Partridge, a professor at Bowdoin College, was called as part-time rector in November 1997.
Partridge guided St. Ann’s until August 2005; the Rev. David Illingworth was interim priest until January 2007.
Numerous supply priests conducted services until, in August 2007, the Search Committee called the Rev. Timothy J. Higgins to be St. Ann’s fifth full-time rector.
In 2008, the parking lot was redesigned and paved, and a new storage shed was built. The landscaping was upgraded, new flooring was laid upstairs, the narthex painted and the ceiling replaced.
Ninety-five households now worship at St. Ann’s, and there are about 40 activities or committees where members can volunteer their time. Sunday school registrations in 2009 topped a record 50 participants.
There is a lively middle school and high school Youth Group, and a family breakfast is served at 9 a.m. on the first Sunday of every month.
WORSHIP SERVICES: 8 and 10 a.m. Sunday; nursery care always available at the 10 a.m. service. Sunday school for grades K-12 is from 9:45 to 10:30 a.m.
FUTURE PLANS: Because of a growing congregation and stable financial situation, St. Ann’s has a full-time rector for the first time in 10 years. The vestry has charged a steering committee with looking at the possibility of a renovation or new addition, to add more fellowship space and classrooms to accommodate the increased Sunday school attendance.
CONTACT: Cynthia Baker, parish administrator, at 892-8447; Web sites: www.stannschurch.us.com or www.episcopalmaine.org.
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