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English
Roots
The
rich history of St. John in the
Wilderness began over 140 years ago --
just before Minnesota was admitted as
the 32nd state in the Union. The story
begins in the worldwide panic year of
1857 in the "Old Bailey"
criminal court of England with the
sentencing of Sir John Paul to 14 years
of exile in Australia for
misappropriation of funds in his bank
with regard to some Danish bonds. Sir
John's only son Aubrey felt so disgraced
that he also quit England and was
determined to make his home in a country
not ruled by Great Britain.
With
his wife Laura, Aubrey ventured to the
United States eventually settling in the
tiny community of White Bear Lake,
Minnesota. When the young couple arrived
at White Bear they decided to drop the
"Paul" from their name and
became known as John and Laura Aubrey.
Without betraying their origin, they
settled in the local community on equal
terms with the rough men of the frontier
and competed with Indians in pursuit of
game.
However
it was Mrs. Aubrey who made the greatest
and lasting impression in the tiny
village. Laura had a splendid education
and was a member of the Church of
England. She became the first teacher in
White Bear, teaching first in her own
home and later in a log school house.
Mrs. Aubrey also organized a Sunday
School and occasional church services in
her home but soon attempted something
more. She was determined the community
should have an Episcopal Church and set
about raising construction funds.
Mrs.
Aubrey asked friends in England for
assistance and raised nearly $1000.00 by
that method. Then she organized a church
raising bee, interesting even Indians in
the work. The Aubrey's provided the land
from part of their farm which is now the
location of the Church Cemetery. Laura
had the satisfaction of seeing the
completed church dedicated by Bishop
Whipple, the first Bishop of Minnesota,
on August 29, 1861. St. John's was the
first church in the White Bear area.
Laura
Aubrey
In
1868, John and Laura received word of
the the death of John's father and
returned to England to assume the
baronetcy title as Sir Aubrey John and
Lady Paul. It was only then the
residents of White Bear learned that for
10 years they had been associating with
titled aristocracy. Her lasting monument
is St. John's in the Wilderness
Episcopal Church. (The actual name is
interesting in that early documents
refer to both St. John in the Wilderness
and St. John's in the Wilderness. At the
time of its founding, the White Bear
area was indeed considered to be in the
wilderness. However, other documents
point to John the Baptist in the
wilderness and the apostrophe has been
removed from the name. Likewise there is
confusion on who suggested the name. One
source has Mrs. Aubrey as the person and
the other has Mrs. Andrew Bell
Patterson, wife of the first Minister in
charge.)
Early
Growth
After
the Civil War, the tiny village of White
Bear began to grow as a fashionable
resort town on the northwest side of
White Bear Lake. The Church decided it
should move closer to the center of the
growing new town. In 1874, The Rev.
George A. Keller was successful in
raising $300 to purchase land at the
corner of First Street and Clark Avenue.
In March of that year, the building was
moved from its foundation and pulled
across frozen White Bear Lake to its
present location where it was used until
1925.
The
Old Church
The
congregation outgrew the small structure
and in May of 1925, the old church was
deconsecrated and demolition was begun.
Some of the timbers and planks were
salvaged to build a summer cottage on
the lakeshore. A little over a year
later, the Rt. Rev. Frank A. McElwain
dedicated the present church on June 20,
1926. Many items from the old church
were incorporated into the new structure
with the most prominent being the
baptismal font and the splendidly carved
wooden eagle on the lectern. The church
bell was also move to the new bell
tower.
A
little over 20 years later, the mortgage
having been paid in full and there being
no financial obligations on the church
building, the church of St. John in the
Wilderness was consecrated on Feb. 22,
1948. The building has remained debt
free to the present time. In addition to
the beautiful worship space, the
building included a two story parish
hall. On the second floor was an open
auditorium with a stage were many
dances, skits and shows were held. On
the main floor was a dining hall and a
kitchen.
The
Present Church
Expanding
the Church
In
the post war growth the 1950s, White
Bear experienced a tremendous population
increase which also affected St. John in
the Wilderness. It became obvious the
church had outgrown its parish hall
(three Sunday Services eased the space
crunch in the church). In 1959, land
east of the church was purchased and a
successful capital funds drive secured
funds for the erection of a new parish
hall, education wing and renovation and
remodeling of the old parish hall. The
new wing was dedicated in 1961.
St.
John in the Wilderness provided a
rectory for the priest from 1910 to
2001. The first rectory was a small
house directly across First Street from
the church. A new rectory was built in
1964 which abutted the church cemetery
(close to the site of the original
location of the church). St. John's was
one of the very few churches in the
diocese to provide housing for the
priest. When Father Joe Campbell moved
from the rectory to a town house, the
church decided to sell the rectory
rather than to rent and maintain the
property.
The
Music in the Wilderness
The
original "pump" organ was
replaced by a three rank pipe organ in
1939. The pump organ is in the
Fillebrown House which is maintained by
the White Bear Historical Society. 1984
saw the dedication of a new 14 rank
Patterson organ. The installation of
this instrument was plagued with
problems that continued for the life of
the organ. First the company went
bankrupt and a new builder had to come
aboard midstream. Throughout its life,
the organ was plagued by gremlins at the
most inappropriate times.
St.
John contracted with Casavant Freres for
a new organ that was first played in
worship in August of 2000. Formally
dedicated on Oct. 1, 2000, the Casavant
fills the second level of the bell
tower. "An instrument of 19 stops,
St. John's organ is remarkably
versatile, colorful and rich in
contrasting timbre." (Dr. David
Gehernbeck, organist & choirmaster,
St. John in the Wilderness). There are
two choirs at St. John's: The Chancel
Choir sings at the traditional
service, and a Youth Choir sings for the Family
service.
Sources
2001
Annual report
St.
John in the Wilderness 125th
Anniversary program
2001
Organ dedication programs
St.
Paul Pioneer Press 26-Jun-1936
and other clippings where dates
are missing
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