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The year before the town of Millinocket was incorporated (1901), the people of St. Thomas parish in
Winn, along with the Bishop of Maine, decided there should be a church in the budding town of Millinocket. And so, St. Andrew’s
Episcopal Church was completed in 1901, as a mission of St. Thomas, ready to accommodate approximately 100 parishioners. St.
Andrew’s became a self-supporting parish with wardens and vestry in May of 1944. With the growing
number of families with children, room was needed for the church school, so the vestry voted to buy a house next door to the
church. This growth led to a need, as years passed, for either enlarging the existing church or building a new church. The
church acquired new property and the new St. Andrew’s was erected at 40 Highland Avenue. The church also bought the
house at 39 Highland Avenue directly across the street from the new church, for a rectory. The first service in the new St.
Andrew’s was Christmas Eve, 1964. Robert Dunlap of Bar Harbor designed and executed the bronze crucifix and the
bronze Stations of the Cross (A photo of the station "Jesus meets the woman of Jerusalem"
is shown on our main page). Dunlop’s wife, Susan, created a four by seventeen-foot mosaic, that graces our choir
loft. The mosaic depicts Christ’s commission to the Apostles after the Resurrection. The figure of Jesus with outstretched
arms, robed in white, stands at one end of the mosaic panel. Near him the message reads: "As the Father sent me, so send
I you."
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| mosaic by Susan Dunlop with view into the Narthex |
Over the years St. Andrew’s grew into a large, strong congregation. The church included a growing Sunday school,
choir, women’s fellowship guild, altar guild, twice weekly bible studies and a parish visiting group. In the mid 1980s,
the primary employer, Great Northern Paper Company began downsizing and eventually closed in 2003. The downsizing started
a decline in the overall size of the community and our congregation. When the mill closed, St. Andrew’s rallied to the
needs of the community in one of its finest moments. Episcopalians from around the diocese (and elsewhere) sent money, food
and other necessities to help those who were suddenly struggling to survive. St. Andrew’s became one of the distribution
centers for practical, hands-on assistance. A convoy of 20 oddly-assorted vehicles from all corners of the Diocese full
of donated goods made its way through snowy January roads and was greeted by members of the community waiting to unload and
help to distribute the necessities of existence.
More information on this extra-ordinary effort may be found
on The Diocese of Maine’s web site at http://www.diomaine.org/millinocket.htm
The unexpected death of our rector in 2005 was a crisis for St. Andrew’s. However, members of the congregation
have come forward as strong church leaders. Our deacon, Robert Landry, along with clergy from the area, ably managed the difficult
task of leading us forward spiritually and prayerfully until we were able to call an interim. St. Andrew’s has faced
many challenges, but we have remained faithful as a congregation and we await the blessing of a new priest to shepherd us
into the future. We called Father Robert L Ficks III as our rector in the fall of 2007
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