N7902 County Rd P
County Rd P at Marshview Heights
Elkhart Lake, WI 53020
(920) 452-9659
mwhitford@charter.net
The Rev. Kenneth Okkerse, Priest-In-Charge
Liturgies are celebrated during the summer months (Memorial Day thru Labor Day) at 9:00 am at the chapel, in the same manner as its mother parish, Grace Church.
In the late 1930's the Reverend A. Parker Curtis, Rector of Grace Church, Sheboygan, and his Curate, the Reverend William Elwell, began using a room at Sharpe's Resort, to offer Eucharist for Episcopalians on vacation at Elkhart, during the summer months, known as St. Francis by the Lake.
During World War II, services were suspended, but directly after the war, a band room from a public school was used for services.
Eventually it was decided that a chapel should be built in the area. Grace Church bought a small piece of land, one hundred feet square from the Arndt Estate.
Bill Hayssen and Bishop Brady worked very closely with Satre and Senescall Architects, in association with Richard Phillip of Milwaukee, who directed the efforts, before and during the construction. In 1951 the chapel was completed as it had been agreed upon. The agreement was to have a chapel "suitable for use in the summer and the year round if the need arises".
Bishop Brady consecrated the chapel in 1951.
The chapel is constructed of native field stone, partially plastered. A wooden beamed ceiling is used throughout the chapel. The floor is a special slate used all over the area, and is also used in compliment with the floor of the Walsingham Shrine, in Grace Church. This gothic look is popular, and can be found by the multitude all over western Sheboygan County.
The Hayssen Foundation gave Grace Church, about one acre of its property directly behind the chapel. There is a cabin on the property once used by hunters. Uses for this property has not been officially decided upon, but may include use for meetings, retreats, picnics, and overnights for the youth.
Appropriately, retired Bishop Brady consecrated the property on August 7, 1994.
Wedding liturgies and other rites are offered by a priest, if the party or parties qualify for these ceremonies. For more information regarding the use of the chapel for a wedding or another ceremony use the contact form below.
For over 50 years now, this "lovely edifice, reminiscent of an English countryside church," has stood on solid ground and faith in the
tradition of the church.
