The first Episcopal Church services in Madison County were held in 1869. Christ Episcopal Church opened in Richmond in 1887, in the building which now houses the Richmond Area Arts Council (on the corner of Lancaster and Water). Christ Church closed in 1989 when structural issues with the building were too costly for the congregation to fix, but a core group of congregants continued to gather on a regular basis. In 1992 the group purchased the present 11-acre site from the Carrier family and converted the house on the property into a church.

The Church of Our Saviour was formed as a mission church on September 20, 1992. The Rt. Rev. Don Wimberly, who was bishop of Lexington at the time, blessed the church and gave it the name. Grace Sears of Berea recalls that members of the congregation had been working hard, remodeling, painting, and cleaning the house to prepare for the service. As the work was finished and the deacon began to put in place the lectern and the candles to prepare for the service, “I saw it as a sacred place for the first time. It was a beautiful transformation.” She remembers vividly that the first worship service was celebrated on her birthday, August 30, 1992.

The Rev. Phillip Haug served as priest in charge of the church from 1994 until his retirement in 2002. Under his leadership, the congregation began a capital campaign for a new building. It took ten years to raise the funds, but on October 30, 2005, a groundbreaking was held as part of the Sunday morning worship service. The congregation and special guests processed from the house to the building site where the Rt. Rev. Stacy Sauls, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Lexington, officiated. Several long-time members and leaders of the Bishop’s Committee (the governing board) of Our Saviour participated in the service. The Rev. Birch Rambo, priest in charge, assisted Bishop Sauls. Carol Dismukes, senior warden for 2005-2006, called the building project a triumph of “faith and perseverance.”

The current church building, seating 125 people, was completed in 2007. The Carrier house now functions as the church's Parish House, used for fellowship and meetings on evenings and weekends. As of April, 2010, the house also serves as a Migrant Head Start, a federal program providing daycare and preschool services for migrant agricultural labors in the county.

On February 25, 2011 at the 115th Convention of the Diocese of Lexington, our petition to be recognized as a parish was enthusiastically accepted and we became a parish of the diocese.

Our Banner

Our cross logo is taken from the church banner, originally designed by long-time member Martie Conaway. The following text is a description of the banner symbolism
as printed in the bulletin on September 20, 1992, at the service for the dedication of a new church.

“The central figure of our design is patterned after our brass processional cross given by the late “Miss Harriet” McGaughey, longtime communicant and organist for
this congregation. The cross is red to signify the suffering and sacrifice of Jesus, Our Saviour, so that we might have salvation.

The lower arm of the processional cross has been drawn out to a sharp point, or “fitched” like the traveling crosses of the Crusaders and Christian pilgrims of medieval times. En route, at times of daily devotions and when the travelers stopped to rest for the night, the pointed end of their cross standard was pushed into the ground by the roadside, and there they set up a temporary worship center.

The fitched cross on our banner symbolizes the various places in which this congregation has worshipped since leaving the church building on Water Street en route to our new church home. At each temporary location, our congregation carried the cross to the altar and united in worshipping Our Saviour.

The four largest golden rays represent the commitment of this congregation to evangelism and spreading the Good News of the Gospel in all directions throughout Madison County. The remaining gold rays burst forth in triumphant glory proclaiming Our Saviour’s victory over sin and the grave, as well as our elation as we witness God’s gift to us of a new church home of our own.

This banner was designed, made, and given by Martie Conaway to the glory of God and in thanksgiving for 46 happy years of marriage to the Rev. Arthur Conaway.”