History of the Church

The History of The Church of the Good Shepherd

This will be an ongoing history of the church by records and input from members of the Parish and the Community. In time a History in Pictures will scroll on this page about the history both in the beginning and current at Good Shepherd.

Our Beginning.....

Dunedin was incorporated as a City in 1899. The earliest settlers there are records of began arriving in this area in 1850. When enough settlers arrived, trade began to develop as supplies had to be brought in and produce sent out. Most of this was by coastal Schooners and Steamers. Dunedin, which claims to be the oldest town on the West Coast of Florida south of Cedar Key, had a good harbor, fresh water and a dock.

The first Episcopal services in Dunedin, marking the beginning of our Good Shepherd congregation, were held in December 1886. Our first congregation numbered about 16 persons. The Right Reverend Edwin G. Weed, consecrated in August as Bishop of Florida, visited the community during the Christmas season, preached, confirmed four persons, and celebrated the Holy Eucharist. Following that visit the little congregation petitioned the Bishop for missionary oversight, having raised $340 toward support of the work.
The Dunedin congregation was soon put under the charge of the Reverend William H. Noyle, a priest of the ancient Diocese of Winchester in England. Formal organization as a mission of the Diocese of Florida was undertaken at a meeting in March 1887. The congregation took the name of the Good Shepherd from Bishop Weed's former parish, The Church of the Good Shepherd in Summerville, now a part of Augusta, Georgia.

Our Building....

The church was built on what is now the corner of Edgewater Drive and Albert Street, on land purchased from William H. Simpson. Building began in the summer of 1887. Mr. Osborne was the builder, using lumber cut at Simpson's sawmill in Sutherland, now Palm Harbor. The altar, lectern, and original clergy chairs and pews were built by James R. Brumby of the Brumby Chair Company in Marietta, Georgia, during a stay in Dunedin.
Two ladies, Mrs. William Simpson, wife of the gentleman who deeded the present site of the church, and Mrs. George L. Jones, sister of the Bishop of New Orleans, sparked the drive to build. Construction lagged before "cupid" intervened in the lives of two bachelor Englishmen. One was Father Noyle, who was pining away for his beloved Amy Florence Thompson in England, and the other was the widowed Duke of Sutherland, who wanted to marry his companion Caroline Mitchell Blair. Father Noyle changed into his work clothes and used his skills as a carpenter and cabinet maker to speed the project along. Bishop Weed consecrated the newly finished church building just in time for the marriage of both of these gentlemen by Bishop Weed on March 4, 1889. It is easy to confirm the miracles that can take place when the power of women and romance take over!

Our Early Worship....

Father Noyle returned to England in 1892, as did many of the English residents here and through-out central Florida as severe freezes devastated the citrus industry in which they were engaged. This withdrawal of much of the core of our membership, together with economic conditions generally, caused severe retrenchment in the work of the Episcopal Church throughout peninsular Florida. A number of early churches closed permanently. Good Shepherd for many years was served by many different clergy, often on an occasional basis, and generally in connection with other nearby Episcopal congregations. It was often without regular services for a considerable period of time. Into the 1940's the small congregations at Safety Harbor, Tarpon Springs, New Port Richy, and Dunedin were served by a single priest or, at times, a seminarian.

Our Expansion....

In 1947 a temporary wartime barracks building was brought from Safety Harbor to become our first parish house, and a vicarage was built. The Reverend Charles Folsom-Jones came in 1953 as Good Shepherd's first full-time priest. Under his leadership the congregation attained parish status in the Diocese of South Florida in 1955. In 1956 a rectory was purchased and the church enlarged. in 1958 land was purchased to provide for future expansion and the church was moved to its present site and further enlarged. The west wing, completing our parish house, was built in 1961.
The 1960's brought the establishment of a daughter congregation, St. Alfred's, Palm Harbor, and also marked the transition of Good Shepherd from a period of rapid growth in a developing area to its present posture as a mature congregation solidly rooted in the heritage of the Episcopal Church, offering Ministry in many forms to a largely developed urban area and also contributing leadership in the establishment of the Diocese of Southwest Florida in 1969.
With the coming of the Reverend Terrell T. Kirk as Rector in 1968, the parish turned attention to the expansion of lay ministries, liturgical development, consolidation of resources and modernization of facilities in order to meet changing needs. Stewardship education programs led to early retirement of parish debt and provided for purchase of additional property across Albert Street, installation of a pipe organ, and extensive renovation and remodeling of the church and parish house. Father Kirk retired in April 1991, and Father Randall K. Hehr was instituted as Rector on January 25, 1992. The parish family expanded and we acquired new properties. Property to the south of the church was purchased and a few months later, a home, the Lilliott House, adjoining the parish house became available and was purchased.

Father Hehr left Good Shepherd in 1998 and was replaced by Father Patrick Ward, who continued as Rector until 2001.

Father Bob Williams came in 2003 to serve as Rector. Father Bob Williams retired from The Church of the Good Shepherd and ministry on May 23rd, 2010.

Becky Robbins-Penniman began as Priest in Charge on September 1, 2010. Becky became Rector of The Church of the Good Shepherd on June 2nd, 2011. Her history with The Church of the Good Shepherd is just beginning. Before Father Bob retired God had already picked a new Priest for Good Shepherd, now we know who it is.