WHAT IS ST. ANDREW’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH ABOUT?

St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Panama City, Florida is located in a serene and picturesque area on St. Andrew Bay. We have an active and enthusiastic congregation and clergy. Our members run from infants and preschoolers to senior citizens. Several families have 3 and even 4 generations participating. We have an active choir that leads us in traditional and contemporary hymns of praise.

We have recently called a new Priest-in-Charge, the Rev. Dr. Margaret S. Shepard, who is helping us discover what our special talents are and how God wants us to work to expand His Kingdom. She has engendered a new spirit of joy in our worship and is dedicated to helping us achieve our mission—to encounter God and have our spirits formed through Christian worship in Episcopal tradition, community, mission and education.

HISTORY

Early Years

The earliest records we have for St. Andrew's indicate that the present congregation was organized in 1914 under the name of Christ Church. The next year Christ Church became St. Andrew's Church after the patron saint of fishermen.

In 1955 St. Andrew's began to plan for a new church structure with an A-frame design. The old white frame church building was moved across Baker Court where the offices and educational  facilities are now located and was used as the chapel and preschool educational area from 1958 to 1972 when it was sold for $1.00 to the Greek Orthodox Congregation on Baldwin Road.

About 1984 the church was expanded to include an attached chapel, larger sacristies, larger choir room, a narthex on each side, a covered walk way on the East side of the church; the sanctuary was expanded, moving the altar more toward the center of the sanctuary, and the seating arrangement was redesigned.

Later Years

In the spring of 1995, the Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast initiated its “Fulfilling the VISION” Campaign to strengthen diocesan ministries. In the fall of 1996, St. Andrew's kicked off its own VISION FOR MINISTRY campaign to raise $130,000 for the diocese and the local parish. As a result of this effort, Byrne Hall was razed and a new modern fellowship hall built in 2000; it is still called Byrne Hall after one of our beloved early priests, the Rev. Tom Byrne. During the week the education complex is being used by the Renaissance charter school, and other meeting rooms are used by Narcotics Anonymous and Al-Anon.

St. Andrew's now stands ready for the 21st century with new and renovated facilities and a fresh vision of God's mission for us in Bay County, Florida.