Life Church

OUR MERCIFUL SAVIOUR is located in Kaufman, about 30 miles southeast of Dallas. The Church is a mission of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, which itself is a province of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The Anglican Communion is that branch of Christ's Catholic Church which was established in England by the 3rd century A.D., from whence it spread throughout the world. The first Episcopal services were held in Kaufman in 1870 ; Our Merciful Saviour was organized as a mission in 1883. The church building was constructed in 1909 and was designated a historical building by the State of Texas in 1967. The historical marker is located local to the entry door. One of the oldest Episcopal missions in the Diocese of Dallas, the building was constructed in 1909 under the leadership of Woodson Nash for $4, 000 and was commissioned for his bride, Miss Cecile Noble, an Episcopalian, from Galveston, Texas. Walter Slack, from New Bedford, MA was the architect. Mr. Nash obtained a duplicate set of plans from his friend, Walter C. Adams, of Forney, who had built an Epispocal Church there. Mr. Adams had gotten the original plans from an "Episcopalian" architect, Walter Slack of New Bedford, Massachusetts. The stained glass windows, ceiling, walls, and pews are the original wood, the pine flooring has been replaced. The same steeple bell that was rung almost a century ago is still rung today! The Holy Eucharist ( which means "the holy thanksgiving" ) is our central act of worship. Also called the Holy Communion, the Lord's Supper, or the Mass, this is the meal which Our Lord gave his followers prior to His death and resurrection, in which He is our food and drink unto eternal life.