And while the original church structure — the oldest building in the City of Ogden still used for its original purpose — has stood the test of time, it hasn’t come without wear and tear.

But thanks to a grant and generous donations from the public, the church will soon embark on a renovation project that will help preserve it for generations to come.

Recently, the Standard-Examiner spoke with representatives of the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd/El Buen about the fundraising effort and the project, including:

• Gena Trimble, senior warden on the vestry of the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd;
• Anthony Mueller, a local contractor who will be doing the restoration work on the church next year.

‘An unusual building’

Grace Waters, Standard-Examiner

According to Trimble, the land was originally purchased by John D. Wolffe of New York City in 1871 for $1,500.

The cornerstone was laid in 1874, the church was completed in 1875, and the construction was fully funded by the John W. Hamersley family of New York City in the amount of $9,500,” Trimble said. “And the reason they did that was because the pastor or the rector at the time that founded the church had been a tutor for the (Hamersley) family.”

While additions have been made to the church over the years, the original chapel has stood the test of time, congregations coming and going, two world wars, economic highs and lows and everything in between. It has also been added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Surviving a century that saw many historic buildings bulldozed across the country, Mueller said he believes the unique nature of the building greatly aided in its survival.

“I think if you liken it unto the building itself, the building itself is beautiful,” he said. “It was structured beautifully. It has a lot of unique characteristics. And I think that given that the congregation has felt that energy — I think that’s an energy that exists among the people especially that come here — that this is an unusual place to be. It’s an unusual building. It’s not something that you see every day. It’s not commonplace.”

Grace Watters, Standard-Examiner

He said he finds the architecture very reminiscent of the Old World.

“I think that’s one of the most unusual features of this particular building is that this was built in an old-school style,” he said. “And I say old-school carefully — in a European style that’s very reminiscent of my home in Switzerland. So the architecture, the way that this was built is very similar to what we build there. And I think that that’s also part of the reason why the building itself still stands.”

Mueller added that the congregation itself has also built a community around the church building.

“They’ve managed to stay strong as a congregation, which speaks volumes to not only the teachings, but the pastoral teachings that have been here and present in order to keep them occupied during those times, in order to keep people engaged in a faith like this and in a building like this,” he said.

Granted

Grace Watters, Standard-Examiner

While the building has mostly stood strong over the years, 150 years of blazing summers and rough winters have taken their toll. Paint is peeling in places, wood is rotting and termite damage has been discovered in places.

Trimble said a few years ago, the church applied for a grant from the National Fund for Sacred Places to embark on renovations but was unsuccessful. After a second attempt, the church was granted $100,000 from the National Fund for Sacred Places in conjunction with the National Trust for Historic Preservation. As part of the grant, the church is required to match this $100,000 grant with a capital campaign.

According to Trimble, the capital campaign has raised $116,000, surpassing the required $100,000. The church is looking to raise $260,000 to cover the renovations as well as restore stained glass windows in the chapel.

Work to be done

Work is set to commence on the church in spring of 2027 and include stripping out lead paint and repainting, removing old wood and replacing it, fixing termite damage, replacing doors and other restoration work — and it’s not expected to be an easy task.

Grace Watters, Standard-Examiner

Mueller detailed how far he has to go to replace the 150-year-old wood that makes up parts of the old chapel.

“Most of my outsourcing goes back to both the east and west coast, some parts of northern Canada, just because a lot of those areas still have a lot of the old historic wood,” he said. “And so I’m able to procure old lumber with the appropriate age based on the structure itself and then re-mill it to work for us. … This isn’t something that you’re going to go and find a piece of fir at the Home Depot as opposed to finding fir that’s 150 years old. It’s a very radically different, very different animal, and it has to be the appropriate material in order for it to age out properly with the building because otherwise you’re just asking for trouble in the long run.”

Trimble said the hope is the church can raise above the capital campaign goal of $160,000.

“It wouldn’t hurt if we raised about $170,000 to $180,000,” she said. We have the $100,000 match, which we’ve already matched. But we also need to work on those stained glass windows, which was not included in the grant from Sacred Places. And we know that as Anthony gets into this building, he’s going to find some things that we probably need to pay attention to.”

Mueller said it’s almost inevitable.

Grace Watters, Standard-Examiner

“I’ve been in this and doing this for almost three decades,” he said. “Having grown up with a father that was an architect and then spent time as a draftsman and seeing the work that he did, and then having grown up in Europe and here as well — you never know with these buildings what you are going to open. All you know is what you are going to open isn’t going to be good. … What I find more often than not is wondering how in the world it survived as long as it has given what I’ve seen, but they do.”

Trimble said the congregation is excited to see the renovations get under way.

“The church is very precious to us,” she said.

A capital campaign benefit concert featuring organist Rulon Christiansen is set for Friday at 7 p.m. at Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd/El Buen.

For more information and to contribute, contact the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd/El Buen at goodshepherdogden@gmail.com of 801-392-8168.

Grace Watters, Standard-Examiner