About St. David's

WHERE WE'VE BEEN

 

In 1964, the Department of Mission of the Diocese of Southern Virginia prepared for growth in our area of Chesterfield County, and purchased five acres of land, where we are currently located. 

On Feb. 5, 1967, twelve people met for Evening Prayer at the Chesterfield Community Center, just down the road from our current site. This was the beginning of St. David’s.

 

Services were held at that location until 1972 when the first service was held in the new building on our property. St. David’s was part of a mission cure with the Church of our Saviour. Our first vicar was the Rev. William Christian.  It was a time of growth for St. David's.

In 1974 the mission cure was dissolved and St. David’s called The Rev. Peter Hogg as its vicar.

 

Our parish expanded its physical plant twice in the '70s—first for Sunday School rooms and then for a Fellowship Hall, now used as a classroom. Taking advantage of the new space, an outreach program, in the form of St. David's Nursery School, began in September 1979.

In 1980 St. David’s called the Rev. Mike Murphy as its new vicar.

 

The '80s were years of spiritual growth for the parish as well as physical growth, both in membership and facility. We became a parish at the Diocesan Council in February 1984. Immediately thereafter, our Vestry called The Rev. Murphy to be our first rector. The size of the nave was soon doubled from its original size. The Right Reverend C. Charles Vaché helped us dedicate our expanded nave on St. David's Day in 1987.

During the first quarter of 1991, The Rev. Karen Walters was called to be our rector. The first full-time female rector in the Diocese of Southern Virginia, she served for five years during which time the parish continued to grow in membership.

In the summer of 1996, the Reverend Walters left the parish, and the Reverend Theodore W. Johnson was named to serve as our Interim Rector. This interim period was extended, putting the search on hold, to enable the parish to explore steps in transition to a program parish under the guidance of the Reverend Johnson.

In early 1999, the Vestry decided to resume the search for a permanent priest, and a search committee was commissioned. This led to the call of the Reverend Phillip R. Glick as Rector in January 2001. His tenure was interrupted in 2004 by a call to active duty as an Army chaplain in Afghanistan.

When Father Phil returned at the end of 2004, St. David’s once again explored its future. The congregation decided to expand the facilities as a precursor to future growth. In 2007, the Right Reverend Heath Light dedicated the new parish hall.

 

With the parish poised for growth, Father Phil was called back to active duty, this time in Iraq. With at least a fifteen-month tour of duty in front of him, Father Phil prayerfully elected to leave his position at St. David’s. The Reverend Rick Willis guided us through a two-year interim period, during which time we identified core values and underwent a search process.

In December 2010, we called the Rev. Elizabeth Felicetti as our new Rector. Pastor Elizabeth began her ministry with us on Feb. 1, 2011, and our diocesan bishop, the Rt. Rev. Holly Hollerith led us in a Celebration of New Ministry on Feb. 27. 

The pandemic was hard on churches across the world with limited opportunities to attract new members, but St. David’s remained open via our livestream and is now fully reopened to in-person worship. Pastor Elizabeth reduced her hours in 2021 and now serves God not only through our church but also through writing books and articles, and embraces being bi-vocational. Together, we’re eager for the next chapter in our history!