St. Peter's is the fifth oldest Episcopal congregation in the city (eighth in the Diocese). We originated as a choir of Grace Church, San Francisco, in the Spring of 1867. A vested choir of men and boys was a controversial innovation at the time, well received by some, and highly disliked by others who saw it as being too "Pope-ish." After four Sundays of singing, the choir was dismissed, along with their supporters who left to form St. Peter's congregation on August 25,1867. We joined the Episcopal Diocese of California the following Spring.

Our first services were held in a Baptist church on Fifth Street and Market. Then we moved to the British Benevolent Association until we completed construction of our first building on the corner of Filbert and Stockton. Our church and pipe organ were fully paid for and the building consecrated by Bishop William Ford Nichols on Palm Sunday 1903.

Three years later, on April 18,1906, the wooden building was completely destroyed by the earthquake and fire. All that remains of the first St. Peter's Church is the charred central portion of the processional cross. Services continued in a temporary building on Jones Street near Green. It took us seven years to regroup, build a new brick church on 29th Avenue, and move to the new location. The congregation thrived in its new location until…..The earthquake of October 17,1989, shook St. Peters harder than any other Episcopal church in the city, rendering the Nave unusable. Since then the congregation has worshiped in Collins Hall, developing a liturgy which is more meditative and intimate. We raised the money to strengthen our other buildings to meet seismic retrofit standards and began exploring designs for retrofitting and revitalizing the Nave.

We are well along on our plans to building a new church on the existing footprint and create affordable housing for Developmentally Disabled Adults on the rest of our property. It is a long an arduous process, but it has brought the congregation new vision and new life. Updates on that process are posted on this website at Restoration News We continue to thrive and grow a vibrant Episcopal congregation, seeking to live according to our inner spiritual Truth.