Legacy

Faithfully serving the community since 1889.

Building the Church

The cornerstone of the Church of the Angels was laid on Easter Eve, April 20, 1889, and the church was consecrated later that year on the feast of St. Michael and All Angels, September 29. Designed by Arthur Edmund Street and adapted by Ernest Albert Coxhead, the Gothic Revival church is modeled on St. Mary’s Church in Holmbury St Mary, Surrey, England, though it is not an exact copy.

This unique chapel, part of the Episcopal Church, is situated within three-acre grounds and is faced with sandstone hauled from quarries in the San Fernando valley. The San Rafael Ranch, of which the Garvanza community was part, supplied the red stone that was incorporated into the structure. The interior walls of the church are of red pressed brick, and the ceiling is of redwood.

A 44-foot stone tower, characteristic of the 11th Century, houses an eight-day Seth Thomas clock that chimes the hours by striking a bell suspended in the belfry. The stone sundial and its landscaped heart-shaped setting is a memorial to Frances Campbell-Johnston, the parish’s foundress, and was a later memorial given by her sons.

Maintaining the Church

There have been three major repairs to the building since its construction. The wooden parquet floor of the nave, which had become unsafe, was replaced. After the 1971 earthquake, it was necessary to shorten the tower because of structural damage. Later, in celebration of the church's centennial in 1989, the bell tower was restored to its original height and the church was strengthened and structurally reinforced.

At the Church of the Angels, worship unfolds in a setting shaped by prayer, beauty, and time. This stone and brick chapel, rich in architectural detail, offers an intimate and sacred environment in which to commune with God and one another. The life of faith practiced here is grounded in the inheritance we have received and continually renewed in the worship of the Church today. Sustained across generations, the Church of the Angels stands among the oldest continuously operating churches in Southern California.

ART & detail within the Church

The magnificent memorial window, depicting the discovery of Christ’s empty tomb on Easter morning, was designed and executed by the firm of Cox & Buckley of London and is said to be among the loveliest examples of their work. The altar and chancel furnishings are veneered with olive wood from the grounds of Mission San Gabriel, donated by the Franciscan priests there. The carved pulpit of English oak, set on a base of white Portland stone, was erected in commemoration of the fortieth anniversary of the church’s consecration. Near the entrance stands the baptistry, containing a font of Mexican alabaster with a kneeling child angel at its base, holding a cross. The figure was designed by W. R. Ingram and carved from Italian marble. The baptismal font itself was a gift from the workers who built the church.

The pipe organ