The history of St. Andrew’s stretches back over a century to the settlement of the community of Encinitas, long before our current Diocese of San Diego was even imagined.

In 1885, the Rev. William Edmund Jacob arrived from Ireland to found St. Andrew’s as an Episcopal mission to the new town of Encinitas. A colorful and determined man, he opened five other missions in North County. By 1913, the church had ceased to meet, but the spring of faith re-emerged on Easter Sunday 1931 with the establishment of St. Andrew’s as a preaching station under the Rev. G. C. Gardner , and St. Andrew’s became a church without a building.

Finally in 1937, half a century after the arrival of Father Jacob, the Rev. David W. C. Graham began to build a church in a field near the northwest corner of Leucadia Boulevard and Highway 101. The little church had hardly adjusted to its next vicar, Rev. Edward McNair, when he left to take up duties as a Navy Chaplain in 1943. The Rev. Bertrand Stevens also served as vicar during this time period.

Between 1943 and 1951, the Rev. Robert  Key served the church in its official designation as a diocesan mission. Unfortunately, St. Andrew’s burned to the ground in 1950, destroying the sanctuary and all records of the church life, though never dimming its desire to be a beacon of God’s light in the world.

Under new rector, Father George Potter, St. Andrew’s moved into an old building on the southeast corner of La Veta Avenue and Marcheta Street. By 1953 the church was operating from a patchwork of five locations and began the building of a new sanctuary. Sadly, Father Potter unexpectedly died in 1955, a year after the consecration of the new building.

Two priests, Frs. J. L. Bogart and H. B. Eubanks, served in sequence between 1955 and 1961. While the Rev. Forrest O. Miller served as St. Andrew’s vicar in the early 1960s, hard times continued to beset the mission. When termites ravaged the parish hall and classrooms in 1963, the congregation was forced to seek shelter for its worship in the local Masonic Hall.

By 1964, the present 2.7 acre Balour Drive site had been purchased, with its original 1913 farmhouse which was named The Friendship House. A cinderblock multipurpose building was consecrated in 1965.

Father Ralph Haynes restored membership in the church from 18 active members to 200 from 1969 to 1976. With the arrival of Father Paul Camm in 1976, St. Andrew’s began a long phase of growth and renewal. The church and its outbuildings were refurbished, expanded, and ingeniously equipped for the work to come, including the purchase of a Bank of America branch building to house a preschool. It was during Father Paul’s 17-year tenure that St. Andrew’s finally fulfilled its long-held dream of becoming a full-fledged parish and found the stability to turn outward in Christian service. A generous gift from Helen Woodward in 1985 permitted the construction of our parish hall, which then also served as a Senior Center to the San Dieguito Area.

After the retirement of Father Camm in 1994, Father Richard Lief served during the transition. As soon as Father Wesley Hills was selected as the next rector in August 1995, he began addressing the challenge of a building too small for the congregation he inherited. Father Wes and the vestry planned and executed a capital campaign that resulted in our current building which was consecrated in 1999. Upon Father Wes’ retirement in 2012, the Reverend Janet Wheelock became our interim rector until February, 2014, and in May, 2014, we welcomed our current rector, the Rev. Brenda Sol.

Mother Brenda led our vestry and community through a re-envisioning process that allowed us to fully live into our mission to reveal God’s love by nourishing the community through acceptance, worship, and service. Adopting the slogan “God Loves You, No Exceptions,” St. Andrew’s became a place of expansive welcome and inclusiveness.

In 2016 St. Andrew’s suffered another loss by fire when the Friendship House was destroyed by arson. Mother Brenda responded by helping to attend to the spiritual needs of the troubled youth who started the fire and gathering the parish to dream about how a rehabilitated campus could better serve our community. The result was another successful capital campaign leading to inviting spaces and a courtyard that have become a hub of community activity. The project also included relocating the church offices to expand the space dedicated to the Food Pantry, and transforming the former preschool building into a Neighborhood and Education Center. The latter now houses laptops and wi-fi, along with a mail and document storage program, all accessed by our Saturday morning guests.

Mother Brenda continues to challenge the parish to think creatively about how we can be more welcoming and inclusive while continually refining the ways we share the love of God with our neighbors and wider community. St. Andrew’s bears living witness to the power of God’s Holy Spirit that has been turned loose in our community. A church that had survived for a century on hidden reserves of strength and the desire to serve is now a parish of over 300, committed to serving in the name of Christ.