Brief History
Christ Episcopal Church was established in 1830, when Bishop Philander Chase invited The Rev. Ethan Allen to Ohio to engage in missionary activity. He arrived in Dayton in October, conducting services in the courthouse. By the following spring, Christ Church was ready to launch. It was on May 28, 1831, that 103 persons signed Articles of Association. By 1833, the Church was holding services in its own building on South Jefferson Street between Fourth and Fifth. Christ Church moved to its present location on First Street in 1879.
The decision was made in 1966 to remain in the downtown area even though the building showed damage from the Great Flood of 1913. (The 1913 Flood extended through much of the Midwest and most of Dayton was under water. The water in Christ Church rose four feet on the first floor.) A basement was dug out and the church was completely renovated, given a face lift, and services were held again in the sanctuary in November of 1967.
Christ Church has long been a missionary congregation that fonnded other Dayton area Episcopal parishes: St. Andrew’s (on Salem Avenue) in 1889: St. Margaret’s (now on Free Pike) in 1896; St. Paul’s, Oakwood, in 1929; and St. Mark’s (on Woodman) in 1938. St. Paul’s in turn helped to establish St. George’s in Centerville in 1954; and St. Mark’s helped to establish St. Christopher’s in Fairborn in 1958.
Christ Church led the way with many “firsts” in the Diocese of Southern Ohio. Josephine Crowl – first woman vestry person:; Kyle McGee – First Black priest in a white congregation (1967-1969); and Doris Mote – first woman priest in the Diocese (1975-1979). In the Dayton area, Christ Church “firsts” included: Ted Bingham – First Ombudsman in the City of Dayton; Bonnie McCaulley – Second Ombudsman in the City of Dayton and the first woman Ombudsman; “The Alley Door” in the back of the church building, which was the first coffee shop in the Dayton area. On Sunday evenings, the Alley Door featured “The Jazz Lab” where black musicians, led by Ace Davis, were able to have a forum in the downtown area which at that time was closed to black musicians.
A Deaf Ministry was started at Christ Church in 1963 and continues to this day. The 10:30 AM Sunday service is signed for the Deaf. Twelve-step programs meet at the church six days a week.
A number of outreach programs were started and/or housed at Christ Church. The Other Place, a homeless day shelter, started in the basement. Other ministries are: The Visiting Nurses Association, Planned Parenthood, the Miami Valley Pastoral Counseling Center; Suicide Prevention Center, Horizon Science Academy, The New Choices Program for troubled High School students, The New Choices Community School for at-risk youth, LEAD (Leaders for Equality and Action in Dayton), The Benefit Bank, The Dunbar Institute (promoting diversity and racial reconciliation through the arts), and CityHeart (a ministry to the homeless and the poor).
Christ Church is committed to being open daily for the Downtown Dayton Community and strives to be a house of worship, a house of reconciliation, and a house of engagement – God’s House.”
