Holy Spirit Episcopal Church

To Know Christ And Make Him Known

Taking the leap of faith - Building

The congregation finally decided that we would no longer be poor stewards of the Lord’s money by paying rent. We would stop paying rent and become debt holders. In May 1991, we closed the purchase of our present property and building. Then known as the Canyon Pet Clinic, it had been vacant for several years, except for the Chugiak-Eagle River Food Pantry.  Back in 1984 we established a building fund to construct a permanent church building. Our efforts permitted us the opportunity to purchase the building and property.

Less than 10 days after we moved in, one third of our new building was severely damaged by an arson fire. Fortunately, we had transferred our insurance coverage to the new building, and it paid for construction of a sanctuary at the rear of the building. While we waited through the construction, we held services in the front of the structure.

We continued to grow and in 1993 the congregation selected Rev. Greg Kimura as its full time Vicar. Fr. Kimura was a young Alaskan from Eagle River whose Japanese American family helped to build our Eagle River church family. We needed to complete a larger facility. We increased our fund-raising efforts through fish fries, steak dinners and auctions. We prayed and asked for God’s guidance. He seemed to have a plan.

In 1994, we receive a $50,000 grant from United Thank Offering, along with a promise of a loan from the Diocese of Alaska for $90,000. These commitments along with our local building fund of $120,000 helped us to take a leap of Faith and commit to enter into a phased contract in May of that year.

It wasn’t easy. We had no as-built drawings for the building. The government was slow to respond. City and state rules conflicted. We did additional engineering and architectural work to satisfy the bureaucrats. After six months the necessary permits were in hand. Construction began in April 1996 as soon as the ground thawed. We estimated to have our new sanctuary by the end of September 1996. But once again, the Lord has his own plan. Water utility problems caused delays. A disastrous wildfire in the Big Lake area took away construction workers and available construction materials.

By October, progress was beginning to show marked improvement. In early November, progress exploded. The slab heating system became operational. Roofing went on and insulation was installed. Electrical and plumbing went in and wallboard was installed, tapped and made ready to paint. On Monday November 18, the largest turnout of congregation’s members resulted in the sacristy being moved to the new location and the old one demolished to make way for the narthex and the floor prepared for carpet.

The new sanctuary was about 95% completed with a painting party scheduled for Tuesday, November 26,1996. The first service scheduled was for Christmas Eve, 1996 and the Diocesan Council and Standing Committee was to meet at Holy Spirit on December 12, 1996.

  • Mail: PO Box 773223
  • Street: 17545 N Eagle River Loop Rd
  • Eagle River
  • Alaska
  • 99577

(907) 694-8201
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