Protestant Episcopal Church
The Episcopalian Church in Marion dates back to the second Sunday in June, 1850, when the Rev. Joseph S. Large, rector of Trinity Church in Ft. Wayne, conducted the first service, and reported "a large congregation, responses good and chants well sung." The service was held in the Presbyterian Church, and twenty-four years later occurred the second service of which there is record. Wednesday, January 14, 1874, when Rev. Thomas R. Austin, of St. James Church in Vincennes, held an evening session in the courthouse, reporting seven church families in the community. The next service was held in the summer of 1881 by the Rev. J.J. Faude, and in October that year Rev. W.W. Raymond of St. James Church in Goshen held service in Marion.
The Rev. George P. Torrence, a former rector of Gethsemane church who lived several years in Marion, is authority for the statement that the real beginning of the life of the present parish dates from a service held by Rev. Raymond at the residence of J.N. Turner, Wednesday evening, April 9, 1884, and on the next day the celebration of the Holy Communion occurred for the first time in Gethsemane parish in the library of the Turner home, with five resident communicants in attendance. Holy baptism was administered the first time in the parish in the Grant County Courthouse, June 8th of that year, and Gethsemane was the name given it by the Rt. Rev. David Buell Knickerbacker in memory of his old parish in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Frank E. Foster was the first warden, and Rev. Raymond of Goshen had charge of the Gethsemane mission. Fred Willson was the first Sunday school superintendent. Services were held at intervals, and in 1887 Rev. W.G. Woolford became the first resident minister. While he only remained two months, eleven baptisms occurred during his pastorate.
Rev. George Davis Adams came in November, 1887, and remained until 1890, when the Rev. Lewis F. Cole became rector, and the present church edifice was built, ground being broken June 23, and the corner stone laid July 23. The beautiful stone church is the result. The building site had been acquired from the trustees of the Wesleyan Methodist Church, the consideration being $1,000 and $10,000 represents the original expenditure, although a parish house has since been acquired immediately north of the church, and all business and social meetings are held there. The Cary playground is in the rear of the parish house. After Rev. Cole came Rev. J.J. Purcell, Rev. E.A. Pressey, Rev. G.P. Torrence, Rev. H.R. White and Rev. F.B.B. Johnston, and since St. Paul Church was established in Gas City in 1892, the Gethsamane rector has served both congregations.
The meetings in the St. Paul mission were held in various churches in Jonesboro and Gas City, and in the annealing room of the Moorewood Tinplate Factory, its superintendent, J.H. Rogers, doing much toward establishing the church in the town. The ground on which St. Paul's Church stands was given by the Gas City Land Company, and tow Protestant Episcopal congregations have many things in common between the. Gethsemane and St. Paul have both attracted many members, and while each church has a parsonage, the rector occupies the Julia Norton homestead left by will to the parish for the use of its rector. Miss Norton had an abiding interest in Gethsemane Church, and there is a tablet in the auditorium sacred to her memory. The ritualistic service appeals to some, and music is always a feature of the worship. In the Gethsemane Year Book and Reference Manual for 1912 is the statement: "The church is taking an active part in the social work of the town. She is doing a part out of proportion to her relative size." The Gethsemane and St. Paul Protestant Episcopal Churches are in the diocese of Michigan City.
Centennial History of Grant County, Indiana 1812-1912
The Lewis Publishing Co., 1914