All Saints Episcopal Church

A Brief History of All Saints

The first Episcopal Church services in Carmel were held in the Pine Inn in 1910, with an Easter Service in the Forest Theater the same year, Regular services began in 1912, and the first church was built on Monte Verde Street in 1913. The Chaplain of Stanford University came to celebrate Christmas services in the new church which now serves as the City Hall of Carmel-by-the-Sea. By 1914, All Saints was served by The Rev. A.W. Darwell who was also responsible for St. James, Monterey and St. John's Chapel, Del Monte.  All Saints was separated from the other two and on its own by 1930.

It soon became obvious that a larger facility was needed, and in 1941 the property at 9th and Lincoln called "White Cedars" was purchased, but construction was delayed by World War II.  When The Rev. Alfred Seccombe became Rector in 1946, plans for building the church progressed rapidly.  He did not like the original plans for a Gothic church and an adjoining half-timbered Parish House, but felt that a church more indigenous to Carmel and unique in design would be better.  Accordingly, the present church designed by Robert R. Jones was commissioned.  Construction proceeded rapidly and the first service was held in the Parish Hall at Christmas 1950 as the sanctuary was not complete. The new church was formally dedicated by the Rt. Rev. Karl Morgan Block, Bishop of California on Feb. 4, 1951.  

196l was a banner year for All Saints.  Under the leadership of The Rev. David Hill, who was Rector from 1958-1982, the office wing containing Grant Hall was built, property for Santa Lucia Mission in Big Sur and land for All Saints Episcopal Day School in Carmel Valley were acquired.  The mortgage was burned and the church buildings were consecrated by The Rt. Rev. James A. Pike who had succeeded Bishop Block. Under the terms of the Grant Trust, the addition to All Saints had to include a meeting room to be used by the community.  It is used daily by 12-step groups and classes in fulfillment of this requirement.  

All Saints has sponsored many for ordination as priests and deacons and helped found several missions in addition to Santa Lucia.  The first vicars of the mission churches of St. Matthias in Seaside, founded in 1952, and St. Dunstan's in Carmel Valley were curates at All Saints.  St. Dunstan's is now a self-supporting Parish and St. Matthias a Diocesan Mission.  When the Diocese of El Camino Real was formed in 1980, All Saints gave the St. Matthias property to the Diocese to be its headquarters. In 1996 All Saints helped keep the Lutheran Church of the Epiphany in Marina open by helping to support it as a joint Lutheran-Episcopal Congregation. It still gives it substantial support.

The Rev. Carl Hansen was Rector of All Saints from 1987 to 2005, during which time he was an outspoken advocate for the church’s commission to include people of diverse backgrounds and reach out in friendship to people of other faiths. His weekly syndicated newspaper column, Friends in Faith, offered a humane Christian perspective on issues of the day to readers around the country.  

In 2001 Carmel's mayor Sue McCloud expressed the city's appreciation to All Saints on the occasion of the Parish's 50th Anniversary in the current location. In addition to stating the city's appreciation for the City Hall building, she also noted that All Saints opens its doors to the community at large, hosting musical events and community groups throughout the year, as well as feeding families with the food pantry and helping shelter and feed the homeless.

All Saints can fairly be described as a planter of missions, a producer of clergy and a supporter of the community of Carmel.  As we look forward toward our centennial year, we thank God for this illustrious history and take inspiration from it for the next phase in All Saints’ journey.