The history of the Episcopal Church in Idaho started 160 years ago. In August 1864, the Rev. Saint Michael Fackler performed the first Episcopal service in Boise in a log school building with a dirt floor. Two years later, the Rev. Fackler officially opened Boise Episcopal Church, the first Protestant church built in Idaho and the first built in the missionary district which now comprises the states of Idaho, Utah and Montana. The original Boise Episcopal Church was renamed Christ Chapel and now stands on the Boise State University campus, near Bronco Stadium.
The Church also has a long history of founding and supporting initiatives that benefit the community. The Episcopal Church founded St. Margaret’s School in 1892, which offered a classical education for girls. When enrollment started to decline, Bishop Middleton Barnwell proposed starting a junior college. With community support, Boise Junior College opened on September 6, 1932. The new college leased St. Margaret’s Hall for $1 a year and in 1935, Bishop Barnwell entered a gift conveyance of the St. Margaret Hall’s property to Boise Junior College, Inc.
On December 8, 1902, Episcopal Bishop James B. Funsten dedicated a new six bed hospital named St. Luke’s. Nurses were scarce so St. Luke’s added a training school for nursing the following year. By the 1940s, many Boise Junior College students received their training at St. Luke’s as part of the pre-nursing program. This partnership remains in place today, and the connections between St. Luke’s and Boise State remain strong.
The exhibit curated by Amie Bruggerman and Dean Hagerman, members of the Episcopal Church, recognizes the long relationship between the Church and Boise State and the Church’s role in the Boise community.