The congregation of the Episcopal Church of St. Edward's the Confessor (affectionately known as St. Edward's or just St. Ed's), held their first worship service during Lent in 1956.  The congregation gathered in their new "church", a green, wood frame farmhouse, set in a welcoming apricot orchard on the corner of Union Avenue and Branham Lane (now the exit to the on-ramp of Highway 85).  Planting a church on farmland was quite common in that time of rapid growth in Santa Clara Valley.

The people had met and planned together for several months after the acquisition of the property of the Episcopal Diocese of California, led by Bishop Karl M. Block.  (St. Edward's is now part of the Episcopal Diocese of El Camino Real, a geographic reorganization that took place nearly twenty-seven years ago.) Drawn primarily from St. Luke's Church in Los Gatos and St. Francis in Willow Glen, the new congregation put a lot of "sweat equity" into the clean up and repari of the two storey house (see picture above).  They worshipped in the parlor, used the pantry as the sacristy, and had classes in the kitchen and upstairs bedrooms.

For a few months, retired priests and a seminarian led worship.  Then the Rev. William Halstead was called to the lead the congregation.  During his tenure, the family grew, as did the building complex.  First, a Parish Hall, used both for worship and social gathering , was built.  A kitchen and multi-use room, then classrooms followed as additions to that building now known as Halstead Hall.  The church building was completed in 1966 and was the first sanctuary in the Diocese to be designed with a free-standing altar, bring the priest closer to the people and allowing the congregation to gather around the altar for Communion, a practice still in effect today.

The look and size of the property changed dramatically when Highway 85 was built.  The last part of the orchard was bought by the State of California for the highway project, and after many months of noise and dust, the road was completed and the sound wall finally installed.  As a wonderful by-product of this project, St. Edward's was able to establish an endowment fund putting most of the income received land sold to the State highway project into an endowment.  "Crossroads 90" funds now provide grants each year for special Outreach projects, both locally and aboard with special attention given to our sister parish, St. Patrick's of Haiti.

The look of the church building, both inside and out, has changed with the new century.  A glorious stained glass window -  a gift of two parish families - was installed behind the altar,and the sanctuary was redesigned keeping the free standing altar intact.  The approach to the church was enlarged making the parking lot more accessible and a lovely fountain now greets and welcomes worshippers on Sunday morning, hummingbirds darting to and fro enjoying a Sunday morning bath.

In 2006, a parish family reunion was held to celebrate St. Edward's 50th anniversary. Attending were two former rectors, several clergy who had assisted over the years, as well as a multitude of members, past and present. Everyone came to worship together once again and to share memories: times of worship and praise in the sanctuary; potlucks and coffee hours shared outside or in the parish hall; work days; children becoming shepherds, lambs and angels at the Christmas family service; working together to raise funds for Santa Maria Urban Ministry and St. Partick's Church in Haiti; celebrating new marriages and new families; welcoming babies and our newest members at Baptism; griving together during times of loss.

In March 2009, after many months of discernment,  then-Rector Ed McNeill and more than half of the congregation left the Episcopal Church for the newly established Anglican Church of North America. Since that time, we've been in a rebuilding phase. A part of that was the calling of The Reverend Tom Sramek, Jr. as our Priest-in-Charge in October 2009. As 2010 dawns, we look forward to years of rebuilding and renewal.