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CHRIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH —	1890	- 1990
By Helene Cowand Price
Christ Church came into being in a little private school room conducted by Miss Hettie Crowell in her home for the children of the Cedar Point area of Bay St. Louis. One day the name of Jehovah came up in class. The children had never heard of God spoken of as Jehovah so could not answer. It was then that Miss Hettie decided something should be done about it, so she began having Sunday School classes in her school room. Surely, the seed from which Christ Church grew was planted in that little Sunday School room. It was through her efforts, and the help of the few Episcopalians in the area, that Christ Church was established in 1889 with the first services being held in her home on North Beach.
Rev. Nelson Ayers, Missionary on the Gulf Coast and Pastor of Grace Church on Nicholson Avenue in Waveland, was contacted to hold services. Sunday School continued to be held in Miss Hettie*s little school room but regular church services were now held at Elmwood, which, at that time was the home of Mr. and Mrs. Louis Leonhard. Although a Roman Catholic, Mrs. Leonhard offered the use of their home because it was more spacious.
The first vestrymen were Judge A. K. Aken, Charles Cowand,
Dr. L. H. von Gohren, and L. H. von Gohren, Jr.
The Guild was formed and was quite active. Mrs. Charles Cowand was first President and Miss Hettie Crowell was Secretary-Treasurer.
It was decided that they wanted a church building and the only way to get it was to work for it, which was done by having entertainments of all kinds, plays, garden parties, sewing, oysterrsuppers, etc. When court was in session hot lunches were served. All money to buy the land and pay for the church was raised by self sacrifice, money subscribed by the congregation and generous friends, as well as by the labors of a handful of poor and faithful children of the church who diligently rode about town by horse and buggy selling tickets for the different entertainments.
On March 8, 1890 the Widow Alexander Lamy conveyed to the Trustees of Christ Church and their successors in office a strip of land ^4-0 feet wide by 2,856 feet deep, for the purpose of Jbuilding and establishing thereon a Protestant Episcopal Church to be known as Christ Church. It was stipulated that they shall set off for the site of said Christ Church, and such other buildings needed for parsonage or school, 40 feet, more or less, fronting on the Bay of St. Louis by a depth of 1,000 feet. (Book M, page 571. Hancock County Deed Records.)
And, so it was, that in 1890 the	cornerstone	for a new	church
was laid on North Beach at the corner	of Boardman	Avenue.
AmoBgthe first members of Christ	Church were	Miss Hettie Crowell,
Mrs. L. B. Jones, Mrs. C. A. Worsley,	the Aken, Cowand, von	Gohren,
Chapman, Posey, Korner, Buddecke, Mrs. Charles Sanger, Vairin, and Mary Manzey families.