Parish History and Facilities

A Brief History of Saint Andrew's Parish

May, 1957 - A small group of Saratoga citizens organized the circulation of a petition asking for an Episcopal Church in Saratoga. There were 225 names signed to this petition.

June, 1957 - The late Right Reverend Karl Morgan Block, Bishop of California, came to Saratoga to officially organize and name Saint Andrew's Church. The IOOF Hall was rented and services began there on June 3, 1957.

1959 - After less than two years of existence as a congregation, the people of Saint Andrew's occupied their first building in early May. This building, located on the original five acre site, contained an office suite with two-story section in back. This building currently houses the offices of Saint Andrew's School and two floors of classrooms.

1961 - In March Saint Andrew's was officially designated a "parish." In September Saint Andrew's School began with classes for kindergarten and first grade.

1963 - On Saint Andrew's Day (November 30) the church building was dedicated and used for worship for the first time. The late Right Reverend James A. Pike, Bishop of California, presided.

1965 - During this year, the third building was completed, offering additional office space and classrooms. This building currently houses the clergy office and two stories of classrooms in the rear.

1973 - In May, the fourth and final building of Saint Andrew's was finished, the new parish offices, adult education room, parish library, counseling center and multi-purpose parish hall.

1983 - A magnificent pipe organ, designed and fabricated by Schantz Organ Co., Orrville, Ohio, was installed in the church and dedicated in the fall.

1991 - The Reverend Dr. Roy W. Strasburger, founding Rector, retired after 34 years. A fireside room with science/computer classrooms above was added to the parish hall.

1992 - The Reverend Ernest W. Cockrell was instituted as the second Rector of Saint Andrew's.

1994 - A new Strategic Plan committed the Parish and Day School to a new sharing of facilities and future with joint committees.

The Church Building

Designed and built over a period of three years, the church building was dedicated on Saint Andrew's Day, November 30, 1963, by the late Right Reverend James A. Pike, Bishop of California. The architect for the church was Warren B. Heid, AIA, of Saratoga. The artist/designer for the church was Mark Adams of San Francisco who worked closely with the architect on interior and exterior design, color and texture. Mr. Adams designed the interior furnishings and appointments, the mural on the east wall, the doors, and the six stained glass windows.

The Windows

The theme of the stained glass windows in the church is "The Drama of Human Redemption." Telling of this dramatic story involves six great portions of the Bible, beginning with Genesis and continuing to the end of the New Testament. The six windows are: (1) The Creation; (2) The Fall; (3) The Gift of the Law; (4) The Yearning of Humanity; (5) The Gift of the Savior; (6) The Life of the Redeemed -- also called The Celebration of Life. The windows speak historically of the time that was, but they also speak of the time that is. Thus, the Creation window speaks of the moment and the fact of your creation. The window of Yearning speaks of your need for the saving word. The Life of the Redeemed describes the quality of existence for which you were created.   (Photos by Dwight Buzick.)

View full size. ( 1) The Creation Window
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." The mighty tumult of God's creation is expressed in powerful color and movement. This is the common birth shared by every part of the cosmos, then and new. This window is the affirmation that we are made by the creative hand of Almighty God.

View full size. (2) The Fall
"Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?" These words from the third chapter of Genesis are part of the great mythic statement of the fall. Adam and Eve, the symbols of all humanity, have defied the sovereignty of the Lord God and thus have brought about their expulsion from the paradise of the Garden of Eden. The symbolism in the window is in the self-destruction that one practices by their sinfulness. As we seek to worship ourselves, gazing upon our own faces with reverence, we turn our backs upon the possibilities of life and move toward destruction.

View full size. (3) God gives the Law
"And He gave to Moses the two tables of the testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God." The Law of the Old Testament, basically the Ten Commandments, was given as a guide to life. The symbol of the law among the Old Testament peoples has always been an image of the two tablets of stone. This code of law formed the most sacred precepts of the people of Israel, hence the tablets in this window are wreathed in flames as a crown of glory. In the lower right-hand corner of the window is the slumped figure of a despondent person. This figure represents fallen humanity, for whom the law was given.

View full size. (4) The Yearning of Humanity
The long centuries of the history of Israel are seen through passages of the Old Testament to be a time of increasing yearning. The yearning was for Messiah, the Anointed One of God, who would save the people of Israel. Israel had received the law but the law did not have the power to save or heal or bring peace. The Prophets had begun to speak of a Messiah who would usher in a New Age the people seized upon this hope. Historically, the time of Messianic Yearning was an age that sought to be saved from itself and the circumstances it created. To us, also, comes a time of yearning when we know that we cannot be saved by cleverness or goodness or running. The reaching arms of the blindfolded figure express this need.

View full size. (5) The Gift of the Savior"
...the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth: We have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father." Our yearning for this savior is portrayed in the opposite window. God's response to that yearning, to the need of humanity, is found in Jesus Christ. The Savior is radiant in his glory and his outstretched arms depict his word of reconciliation. His cross is present, reminding us of the fullness of his life, death, and resurrection.

View full size. (6) The Life of the Redeemed
The purpose of the Drama of Redemption was the giving of God's Word to bring us to the fullness of life. Those who have heard and received the loving word of God through Jesus Christ continue to live out the pattern of His life in bold and vibrant colors. Surrounded by a glowing sense of eternity, the everyday activities of life find a new depth of expression. Jesus spoke of this kind of life as "abundant living," hence the window is also called "The Celebration of Life."

Windows (1), (4) and (6) were fabricated and installed by Glassart Studios, Scottsdale, Arizona. Windows (2), (3) and (5) were fabricated and installed by John McKeever Studios, Benecia, California

. The Appointments

View full size. View full size.

The Altars are constructed of marble. The main altar is of white Vermont marble and was designed by Mark Adams. The chapel altar and baptismal font are both carved from Italian marble and were made in 1959 for use in the temporary chapel which had been located on the lower floor of the education building from 1959 to 1963.

View full size. The Stones at the foot of the sanctuary steps remind all who enter the church that this parish is a part of the worldwide Church. Pieces of the fabric of the great centers of Anglicanism were procured in 1963 and placed in the floor just before the dedication. There is a piece of Canne limestone from Canterbury Cathedral, a piece of unpolished green Vermont marble of the type used in the floor of the National Cathedral, Washington D.C., and core taken from the floor of the old baptistry in Grace Cathedral, San Francisco.

The Pipe Organ is located in the choir loft, at the west end of the church. This magnificent instrument has 59 ranks, consisting of 3,488 individual pipes. It was designed, fabricated, and installed by the Schantz Organ Company of Orrville, Ohio, and dedicated Solo Deo Gloria (Only to the Glory of God!) in the Fall of 1983.

View full size. The Memorial Garden
Saint Andrew's Memorial Garden has been provided as a place for burial of ashes of parishioners and their families. It consists of a 700 square foot area on the north side of the Church, just outside the side door into the chapel. It is intended as a place of tranquility and natural beauty, set in the midst of the busy life of the parish. The Garden is enclosed by a low, ornamental metal fence surrounding a lawn, bordered by native plantings, with a bench and area for meditation and rest.

View full size. A bronze memorial plaque placed on the wall just inside the chapel commemorates those buried in the Garden.

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