Church of the Good Shepherd, Kensington
| Church of the Good Shepherd, Kensington (Demolished) | |
|---|---|
| Location | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Country | United States |
| Denomination | Episcopal |
| History | |
| Founded | September 29, 1868 |
| Consecrated | January 21, 1892 |
| Architecture | |
| Status | Closed |
| Architect(s) | T. Frank Miller |
| Groundbreaking | November 19, 1889 |
| Construction cost | $13,400 |
| Closed | 2006 |
| Demolished | 2016 |
| Administration | |
| Diocese | Pennsylvania |
The Church of the Good Shepherd, Kensington, was an Episcopal congregation in Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1868, it merged with Emmanuel Church, Kensington, in 1994 to form the Church of Emmanuel and the Good Shepherd. Its 1887 building, designed by architect T. Frank Miller and located at 2121-2127 East Cumberland Street, was demolished in 2016. The Church of the Good Shepherd, Kensington, was an among the few surviving reminders of the mid to late 19th century English immigrant experience and community in Kensington and Philadelphia. Movement has been made to celebrate the colonial experience (i.e. Penn Treaty Park) and preserve the 19th century "new immigrant" experience (i.e. St. Laurentius Church, in Fishtown) in the greater Kensington area. Scholars often refer to this immigrant group as hidden and forgotten. These immigrants, to outsiders, blended in and disappeared. However, as the property demonstrates, mid to late 19th century English immigrants, far from being hidden, built unique neighborhoods, cultural institutions, and worship sties.
The Protestant Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd (Church of the Good Shepherd), Kensington, was organized on the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels, or Michaelmas, 29 September 1868, in the Frankford Market House, on the southwest corner of Frankford Avenue and Adams Street. This would be the first Episcopal parish in the City's 31st ward. The parish was incorporated in 1869 and admitted to the convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania on 13 May 1869. Rev. John W. Claxton, rector of Church of the Advent, a high church/Anglo-Catholic parish located at 5th Street and York Avenue, served as rector while Rev. A. A. Rickert, a deacon, oversaw the day-to-day activities of the new parish. The parish register begins 20 June 1869 and the first entry is a list of eighteen communicants. This list could be thought of as the founding members. The founding members of the parish are evenly drawn from Emmanuel Church, Kensington, and Free Church of St. John, Kensington. Save for one member who came from Emmanuel Church, Holmesburg. In 1870 the parish grew by four to twenty-two communicants however the parish's Sunday school had a bustling 205 children. Rev. A. A. Rickert continued to lead the parish until mid-1871 when illness prompted him to return to the West Indies.
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