By Kate Hill
Staff Writer
This fall, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church on Mill Street in Cazenovia will celebrate its 175th anniversary.
St. Peter’s parish was established in November 1844. Four years later, the congregation erected the sanctuary that stands today.
Several years ago, in anticipation of the 175th anniversary, the congregation launched a capital campaign to raise money for the restoration of the church’s historic buildings.
Using funds from the campaign, along with a grant from the Sacred Sites Program of the New York Landmarks Conservancy, the church initiated a large-scale renovation project in 2013.
According to The Very Reverend Jeanne M. Hansknecht, rector of St. Peter’s, the sanctuary/nave was last renovated in the mid 1950s.
The most recent renovation of the church began with structural work, the installation of tie rods in the nave, and work on the foundation and support for the nave.
The renovation also involved the painting of the exterior and interior of the sanctuary; the restoration and updating of the church’s historic organ; and the replacement of several roofs, including the 1970s cedar shake roof over the sanctuary.
The organ — which includes some of the pipes first installed in the church in the 1870s — was installed by the Schlicker Organ Co. of Buffalo in 1954.
Kerner & Merchant Pipe Organ Builders of East Syracuse completed the recent restoration and the digital conversion of the organ console.
Woodford Brothers of Apulia Station completed the roof work and Salt Point Services of Cazenovia painted the interior of the sanctuary.
In May 2016, Cazenovia Preservation Foundation (CPF) recognized the church’s restoration efforts with an architectural award.
This year, St. Peter’s continued its renovation project by painting the interior of the parish hall and refinishing the parish hall floor.
Since arriving in Cazenovia, Hansknecht has strived to enhance the relationship between the church and the surrounding community.
According to the reverend, the church buildings serve as an important resource for the entire community.
“Members of the Cazenovia community use our buildings every day,” Hansknecht said in a press release. “CPF has its offices in our building, and recently Cazenovia Resources for Independent Seniors (CRIS) moved into our building. Our greatest mission in Cazenovia is The Key Consignment Shop, which gives the Church a presence on Albany Street.”
The Key of St. Peter’s began in 1960 as a way to provide funds for CazCares through rummage sales after Sunday services. Today, it offers clothing and housewares to the public at reasonable prices.
“The Key provides an income source to consigners, intergenerational volunteer opportunities, and grants to local nonprofit agencies that provide assistance to those in need,” Lorie Riedl, executive director of The Key, said. “In 2018, The Key put close to $90,000 back into our community.”
The Key has also developed partnerships with Cazenovia College, Wanderers’ Rest and the Community Action Partnership (CAP) for Madison County.
“The list of outreach efforts will continue to grow as does the support The Key [provides] to the community and St. Peter’s, reinforcing the importance of St. Peter’s to Cazenovia for the past 175 years,” Riedl said.
St. Peter’s is also an active member of the Cazenovia Welcomes Refugees steering committee. Recently, the church worked in partnership with Cazenovia College to present dinner dialogues about racial reconciliation in Cazenovia.
“The church’s role in the world is to be an agent of reconciliation,” Hansknecht said. “In other words, our purpose, our mission, is to do what Jesus did. We are to love God and we are to love our neighbors. Those acts of love manifest themselves in our beautiful and transformative worship and in our striving for justice and peace for all people both locally and globally. St. Peter’s role in Cazenovia [specifically] has been about forming relationships with other community organizations and institutions working in collaboration with them to help alleviate suffering.”
With the help of Music Director Ida Tili-Tribicka, St. Peter’s is developing a free concert series that will enable the public to enjoy performances by world-renowned musicians in the church’s sacred spaces.
“With so much harshness in the world infiltrating our daily lives, fracturing us, I have found that people are thirsty for that which is beautiful, for that which is peaceful, for that which is transformational,” Hansknecht said.
St. Peter’s will celebrate the completion of its renovations and its 175th anniversary with a special Choral Evensong Service on Sunday, Nov. 10 at 4 p.m.
The Rt. Rev. Dr. DeDe Duncan-Probe, 11th Bishop of Central New York, will serve as the officiant.
Tili-Trebicka will lead the choir and guest vocalists.
The service will begin with a recital by Augustine Sobeng on the church’s restored organ.
The Evensong Service is free and open to the public. A reception will follow in the parish hall.
“The Episcopal Diocese of Central New York recently went through an extensive visioning process,” Hansknecht said. “The resulting draft statement is ‘A world healed by love.’ That’s what I imagine as well. My hope is that St. Peter’s will live into the vision by continuing to pay attention to the needs of her neighbors, to the thirsty among us, and serve as an agent of Christ’s reconciling love.”
To learn more about St. Peter’s, visit stpeterscaz.org/index.html.
