Church of The Holy Spirit's History
This new entity, formed from the former St. John’s by the Sea and Christ Church was created by a vote of the Annual Convention of the Episcopal Church of Connecticut in 2008. In the beginning it was difficult. Since Rev. Canon K. Dexter Cheney had served both parishes in their former buildings, he was helpful in uniting people within the new parish. One of the first uniting factors, which pre-dated the merger, was the participation of women from both parishes in a women’s retreat which is still strongly attended today.
Upon Rev. Cheney’s retirement, the parish called Rev. Dr. Lisa DiNunno Hahneman as its rector. She nurtured the development of a strong outreach program and church school. During this period, the parish created its vegetable garden which provides fresh produce to WHEAT in the summer. The garden is now part of the Good News Garden program which flows across the United States. Volunteers serve breakfast once a month at Columbus House and the parish participated in Abraham’s Tent, an overflow homeless shelter program, in conjunction with Temple Beth El Kaiser from Westville. Other outreach activities included sponsoring yearly visits from Bike to Build, a group of bike riders who helped build low-income housing while touring on bicycles. The parish continues to support WHEAT and the high school pantry with non-perishable food, hygiene, and laundry supplies. In addition, we support the Board of Education program to gather backpacks and school supplies for children.
Like many churches in our community of West Haven, we have seen our attendance dwindle. In 2020 when the Covid 19 virus hit, communities around the world were forced to close to in-person church services due to the highly contagious virus. However, we did not stop having Sunday services. Thanks to modern technology, zooming on our computers became the new way to conduct our weekly services and other meetings like vestry and book clubs, etc. Presently, as the pandemic becomes more under control, we have opened our doors again as well as providing Facebook access to our Sunday services. Also, we have been able to re-establish many of our outreach programs and fairs. Furthermore, we offer our church building to several outside organizations for meetings, such as AA and NA, and are sponsors of Troop 899. We share our sanctuary with the Presbyterian Church of Ghana. Our two halls are available for rental.
Holy Spirit is located in the West Haven Green Historic District. It is also listed on the Connecticut Register of Historic Buildings
The members of this parish comprise a strong faith community. As we look to the future, we hope to continue to keep The Church of the Holy Spirit open to welcome all who seek God's love and grace as well as provide outreach services to our West Haven community.
Clergy of Episcopal Church of The Holy Spirit
The Rev. Canon K. Dexter Cheney...... 2004-2008
The Rev. Dr. Lisa D. Hahneman.......... 2009-2017
The Rev. Marcus Halley....................... 2019-2021
The Rev. Dr. Kevin Olds...................... 2021-2022
The Rev. Thomas C. Jackson...............2024-present
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