A recent service at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church of Marquette is well attended. (Photo courtesy of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church)

MARQUETTE — St. Paul’s Episcopal Church of Marquette will hold its Christmas Eve Service at 5 p.m. today at the church at 201 E. Ridge St., in Marquette. This service marks the 150th anniversary of St. Paul’s sanctuary building which opened for the first time at Christmas 1875.

The service will feature music including three generations of Burt Family Carols. The tradition of Burt Carols started when St. Paul’s Rector Rev. Bates Burt composed a Christmas Carol in 1922 and sent it out as a card to his family, friends, and congregation. The tradition continued with his son Alfred Burt and continues to this day with his great-granddaughter Abbie Burt Betinis.

“St. Paul’s sanctuary building opened 150 years ago on Christmas 1875 and we are excited and honored to celebrate the gift of Christmas in this beautiful space,” said Fred Cole, member of St. Paul’s congregation. “We are humbled by 150 years of families sharing Christmas here and are excited by the possibilities of the next 150 years ahead.”

All are welcome at this service or any of St. Paul’s regular services throughout the year.

St. Paul’s Episcopal Church has a rich 170 year legacy of community service and outreach. The story of St. Paul’s parallels the story of Marquette and the Upper Peninsula. Peter White and other founding families in Marquette helped start the congregation and many have followed in their footsteps of engagement in the Marquette community. For 150 years, the community landmark of St. Paul’s sanctuary has served as a place of worship, a community center for music and the arts and a catalyst and incubator for many community programs.

On another front, St. Paul’s has been awarded a matching grant from the National Fund for Sacred Places, a program of Partners for Sacred Places in collaboration with National Trust for Historic Preservation. In 2024, St. Paul’s applied for and received the matching grant from the NFSP. St. Paul’s was one of 24 congregations selected for this grant from among nearly 500 nationwide applicants of many faiths.

The NFSP grant will help St. Paul’s address urgent structural needs, ensuring its continued role as a gathering place for worship, outreach and community activities into the next 150 years.

The restoration projects include repairing damaged sandstone, tuck pointing the original hand cut sandstone blocks and applying water sealant to protect the building. The NFSP grant will also support the restoration of some of St. Paul’s beautiful stained glass windows that were not restored in 1999-2000.

The preservation work began this summer, with the goal of completing the projects by fall 2026. St. Paul’s invites the community to join in supporting these efforts to preserve a piece of Marquette’s history. To learn more about this program and this year’s grant recipients, visit fundforsacredplaces.org.