St. Patrick's Episcopal Church
The Joseph Community Center, six miles from the current location of the church, was rented at $5.00 a week to hold the first services. The first Morning Prayer was held at 11:00 A.M. Sunday, October, 23, 1955. Twenty-eight persons attended, eleven being from La Grande. D.B. Hall preached on "How a Mission is Established". Those attending indicated they wanted a service each Sunday, so the lay readers agreed to come to Joseph to conduct services.
New lay readers were obtained to help fill the need. These were Jack Chapman, an Eastern Oregon State College student, James Walter, an insurance salesman, and William Flynn, manager of the men's section at a department store. The eight divided into pairs to work together and so two could drive to Joseph together. The first Holy Communion was celebrated by the Rev. Kopp on November 20, 1955, when 21 persons received the sacrament. Evidently one lady wept after receiving Holy Communion because it was the first time she had done so in 17 years. Holy Baptism was later administered, confirmation classes started, Bishop's committees elected, and a six member choir, woman's guild, and acolytes trained. Average attendance at regular Sunday services averaged 32 for the first 18 weeks. Fifty-two people signed a petition for acceptance as a mission. In April 1956 St. Patrick's was admitted to the Convocation of Epsicopal Missionary District of Eastern Oregon.
Early attendees in Joseph probably used the side door to the Hell's Canyon Hall (now the location of the Joseph Community Center) since on the porch of the main entrance in big block letters was the official name of the community center, "Hell's Canyon", the canyon bordering Idaho and Oregon and the deepest in North America. Going to church in Hell's Canyon?
On August 26, 1956, the Rev. Kopp celebrated Holy Eucharist, and on September 1, 1956 the Rev. Bob Anderson, Jr. began his stay as vicar, lasting until October 1, 1962. During his years of service, St. Patrick's prospered. The average Sunday attendance was around 40, with one source of information indicating there were 141 church members. Also during this period the present church was constructed next to the Enterprise School in Enterprise, Oregon, population 2,000. On August 31, 1960, with Bishop Lane Barton of the Missionary District of Eastern Oregon, the church building was dedicated. Why St. Patrick was chosen as the patron saint and why the church was located in Enterprise and not Joseph are not fully known. The Rt. Rev. Lane W. Barton named St. Patrick's Church at a Bishop's Committee meeting at the home of Dr. Del and Lois Parker in the spring of 1956 or 1957. The church warden in 1960 was John W. Lyman. During this time, an outdoor chapel at Wallowa Lake was begun. It still offers Sunday service today during July and August.
On January 5, 1967, in the local weekly newspaper, The Wallowa County Chieftain, a biographical sketch was written about the vicar at that time, the Rev. Loren H. Bush. The article noted that after the Rev. Anderson, Jr. moved on, the Rev. Stanley Compton served for two years. The church register indicated the Rev. Compton served from October 21, 1962 to July 12, 1964. The Rev. Bush, according to the Cheiftain article, graduated in Music Education from the University of Oregon in 1956, attended the Church Divinity School of the Pacific at Berkeley, California, served four years at Myrtle Creek and Riddle, Oregon, four years at the Church of the Good Samaritan, Corvallis, Oregon, before coming to Wallowa County.
From May 11, 1969 until September 28, 1970 there was no resident vicar. Bishop Spofford Jr., Rev. Richard Thew, and lay readers held services at the church. On September 28, 1970 the Rev. Bill Watson became the vicar. He was shared with the Lostine Presbyterian Church. According to newspaper articles there was a group of young church members who kept the church "vibrant". The Rev. Watson continued until November 14, 1977.
From November 15, 1977 onward Ed Carroll, Ginny Hayden, Ann Magill, Stewart Graham, and the Reverends Dick Thew, Frank Cooke, and Bishop Spofford filled in. On March 12, 1978, the Rev. Michael Bohoskey came to St. Patrick's. He and his new bride lived in the church's cabin up Hurricane Creek. By the time the Rev. Bohaskey arrived attendance had settled to around 12 each Sunday. The Rev. Bohaskey's last service was December 31, 1978. From January 7, 1979 lay readers Ann Magill, Gwen Kendall, Marilyn Shilue, Ann Hayes, Bob Farrell, Marian Shell, and the Reverends Dick Thew, Ken Chrysler, Robert Haberle, Rober Anderson, Jr., Carol Rose and Bishop Spofford served St. Patrick's. Brad Hall, John S. Spong, and Franklin Evenson also officiated.
On February 14, 1980, Oregon's Statehood day, and St. Valentine's day, the Rev. Dennis Schmidt of Grace Lutheran Church became the shared vicar. Dennis served until October 18, 1987, when he moved to Baker's Lutheran Church. Attendance on Sundays did not improve, with at least two Sundays on which no one attended. Things improved for St. Patrick's between October 18, 1987 and December 17, 1998, as the Reverends Dick Thew, Frank Cooke, Brother John OHC (Gary Mattson) and Ken Chrysler provided services with the following lay readers officiating at other times: Gwen Kendall, Marilyn Shilue, Lorrane Sasser, Marty Sasser, Rich Attebury, Bob Farrell, and Helen Netos.
On December 17, 1998 during a special evening service the Right Reverend Rustin Kimsey, then Bishop of the Diocese of Eastern Oregon commissioned our new Mutual Ministry team. We are now proud to have the Rev. Rich Attebury meeting the needs of the congregation as he was ordained as a local priest on this night. Other members of the ministry team include: Ann Hayes; Don Chestnut, Mildred McAnulty, Gwen Kendall, Fran Guentert, Nancy Attebury, Roxy Chestnut, and Phyllis Connor. Don Chestnut, Fran Guentert, Gwen Kendall fill the roles of Lay Readers. St. Patrick's now averages about 20 members per Sunday with frequent visitors.
December 10, 2006 marked the last official Eucharist conducted by the Reverend Rich Attebury as he moves on into semi-retirement. Our prayers go with Rich and his wife Nancy as a new door opens in their lives. We look forward to their visiting us in the future.
