Our history is rich and diverse.
We have put together an abbreviated list of highlights to outline our church’s history.
- 1958 saw the first step toward the establishment of St. David’s through informal discussions of interested People.
- On July 10, 1960, the first service was held in the old Municipal Hall on Kiel Avenue. In November, the church was declared The Episcopal Church of Kinnelon – a Mission of the Diocese of Newark and The Rev. Spence Dunbar was appointed the first Vicar, a position he held until resigning in June 1965.
- In May 1961, the property was purchased and ground breaking ceremonies were held on June 9, 1962.
- First services were held in the new church on March 13, 1963.
- The founding parishioners named the Church after David, Patron Saint of Wales, due to the similarity of topography between Wales and Kinnelon.
- In March of 1966 The Rev. H. John Van Duyne was appointed St. David’s second Vicar and served until 1967 when The Rev. Edward Johnston was appointed the third Vicar.
- In 1972 St. David’s was incorporated as a Parish and The Rev. Johnston was called to be the first Rector, a position he held until 1979.
- Tony Hoeltzel was St. David’s first Seminarian. He served from 1970 – 1971.
- Henry Cheney was St. David’s second Seminarian. He served from 1971 – 1972.
- In 1974 the Memorial Garden was established in memory of Patricia Brownlee Allmendinger.
- In 1975, Joan Ludwig, an English Teacher at Kinnelon High School, became St. David’s first woman to serve as a lector in worship services. It was a time in the church when women serving in a variety of leadership roles was only beginning to come into practice. Mrs. Ludwig helped to open the door to women leading at St. David’s in myriad ways through the years. Now, more than 40 years later, she still reads in church, and continues to participate in countless other ways.
- From 1979 to 1980 The Rev. Norman S. Rice was assistant and in 1980 The Rev. Albert D. Jousset, Jr. became St. David’s second Rector and served until 1983.
- In October 1981 ground was broken for the new addition to the church and it was completed in August of 1982.
- During a period from June of 1981 to June of 1982 The Rev. Elizabeth Canham was assistant. She was the first Englishwoman to be ordained in the Episcopal Church.
- The Rev. Kenneth W. Poppe was called as the third Rector and served from 1983 to 1989.
- The Willing Hands Workshop for developmentally -disadvantaged young adults was established in 1986. Its ministry continued until being closed by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
- The Rev. John C. Fisher served as an interim Rector from 1989 to 1990.
- The Rev. Elaine M. Kebba was called as St. David’s fourth Rector in 1990 and served to 2002.
- The Jewish Congregation of Kinnelon worshipped as a tenant of St. David’s, 1989-2012.
- Jane Tomaine was St. David’s third Seminarian. She served from 1993 – 1995.
- Lucy Ann Dure was St. David’s fourth Seminarian. She served from 1997 – 1998.
- The Rev. Dr. William Rich was interim Rector from September 2002 to August 2003.
- The Rev. Dr. Jill McNish served as interim Rector August – October 2003.
- The Rev. David DeSmith was called as St. David’s fifth Rector in October 2003.
- Sr. Shane Phelan, CSJB, fifth Seminarian, from 2007-2009
- Deborah Sathya Stephen, our sixth Seminarian, 2008 – 2009
- We celebrated our Jubilee Year in 2010.
- In June of 2017, the Rev. David DeSmith retired following 14 years of faithful service.
- In February of 2018, the Rev. Jon M. Richardson was called as Priest-in-Charge. On April 12, 2019, with the unanimous support of the Vestry and the Bishop’s approval, he was called as St. David’s sixth Rector.