Our congregation had its origin in the vision of Charles Ely, a wealthy benefactor of the church and numerous other concerns. He lived in West Springfield and had a passion to plant an Episcopal Church in the Town. In 1870 he gathered the West Side Episcopalians and the first worship service of the fledgling congregation was held in June on his front lawn. That home, where we had our beginnings, is now the Curran-Jones Funeral Home on Main Street.  

The following year Mr. Ely oversaw the construction of a church building on the corner of Church and Main Streets. It was financed largely through the generosity of Mr. George Southworth, Mr. John Stebbins, and Dr. Nathan Adams. The first service took place on May 21, 1871, under the direction of Rev. Benedict.

In the next decade Rev. Benedict was followed by Revs. Parker Egbert, Alfred Evans Johnson, Mr. Capers, and, in 1880, Mr. Maycrink. Each time ministers also served at Christ Church Cathedral under Dr. Burgess. The year 1873 saw the financial ruin of Mr. Ely, and nice necessary withdrawal of his support of the mission. At the same time Dr. Burgess was called to the Diocese of Quincy in Illinois, and his successor had little interest in the new parish across the river. No resources could be found to save the lot and the building. A short time later the church structure was sold to the Episcopal congregation in Wareham, Massachusetts, where it still stands. It is truly a charming structure, and we were interested to learn that those who bought the building retained the name of Church of the Good Shepherd.  

For some time services were discontinued, waiting once again for someone with the vitality of Charles Ely or Alexander Burgess. In 1908 that person appeared in the person of Rev. Charles James Sniffen, later archdeacon of the Diocese. Painstakingly, he re-gathered the old congregation and in February of that year the first service was held in the reborn church. Twentyfive were in attendance and the offering was five dollars and fifty cents! Mr. Sniffen preached on walking by faith not by sight…a fitting theme for a congregation which rememabered the promising start then subsequent crushing defeat. Nonetheless, services continued on a monthly basis, with Mr. Sniffen and Rev. Charles Hill, rector of All Saints Episcopal Church in Springfield officiating.

By 1913 Christ Church Cathedral had a new rector, the Rev. William Austin Smith. He had an interest in the new mission church. In September of that year services became regular and the Rev. Alfred Snively was assigned to the congregation. With weekly services, interest and growth were generated. When Mr. Snively moved on to a new church in Easthampton, the Rev. Walter Handley came in as curate at the Christ Church missionary in West Springfield. He moved the congregation in 1915 to the corner of Garden Street, and plans were made for a permanent site. In 1916 Bishop Davies offered to purchase a lot if the congregation would contribute for that purpose. The property where the church now stands, at Elm and Southworth Streets, was bought for $3,000 of which $600 came from the members. Rev. Handley was English by birth and in 1916 he enlisted to aid in the war effort. In 1918 he was killed in action, a casualty of the First World War. 

With his departure, the mission was left again without a minister. In 1916 the Rev Sniffen presided at the service when the Church became an organized mission of the Diocese of Western Massachusetts. One week later the Rev. Charles Myron Tubbs took charge, serving at the same time as the assistant at St. Peter’s in Springfield. After his death, the Revs. Frederick Sleep and Alfred Snively led the congregation. 

In time, the congregation outgrew its continued use of the Grange Hall, and the Diocese offered to help in constructing a portable building on Elm Street. On March 27, 1921 the congregation worshipped on this site, with 180 people attending. 

It was voted at the annual meeting of the mission to contribute $250 annually to the priest’s salary, and the Rev. William Soule began his ministry on July 1, 1921. In 1923 the Venerable Marshall Mott took charge for a year, that period the basement beneath the present nave was completed. The portable building was moved to Agawam, to serve as the founding building for St. David’s Episcopal Church. At the Diocesan Convention of 1948, shortly after his death, Bishop Appleton Lawrence said of Mott “His common sense, his forthright courage, his keen appreciation of good work  and condemnation of poor work and his enthusiastic missionary spirit all led to significant developments in the missionary work of the Diocese”.  

On July 1, 1924 the Rev. Arthur Wells Brown began service as the first Vicar of the mission church, remaining in that position until his early death. An altar window is a memorial to his ministry. On Sunday, June 2, 1929, the window was dedicated in a service at which the Rev. Snively preached. By 1934 the church was free of debt. 

Mr. Brown was succeeded by the Rev. George Palmer as second Vicar. He served for ten years, through the difficult decade of the 1930’s, to be followed by the Rev. Rush W.D. Smith, who guided the church through some tough years as well. He established regular Thursday night Eucharists with intercessory prayer for the men and women in uniform and war. When peace came, the congregation turned its attention to matters of the post-war era . The church soon grew, and on May 19, 1954 the Church of the Good Shepherd was admitted to the Diocese as a parish.  

Canon Rush Smith was succeeded in 1954 by the Rev. Roy McNair. During his tenure the Parish House and classrooms were completed. These rooms were completed in 1961. The Rev. Robert Howell, who served the parish for four years, followed McNair in 1963. During that period the rectory on Beauview Terrace was sold and the present rectory on Forest Glen was constructed. It was also during that time that Howell began the highly successful “Fish Program” of community outreach. Members of this parish found themselves traveling to far-off dioceses to offer presentations on the Fish Program. Those years also saw the advent of the annual Lenten Lunches. Guided by Canon Edward West of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York, Father Howell also supervised the renovation of the sanctuary, removing the dark walnut reredos, moving the altar forward, and the tabernacle to the Gospel side of the chancel. 

Father Howell left New England in 1967. He was followed by the Rev. Theodore Gaetz as the fourth rector. His tenure included a period of great change. From the period of the trial liturgies through the inauguration of the 1979 Book of Common Prayer and the 1982 Hymnal, Father Gaetz’s strong leadership guided the parish through some stormy seas. In 1969 the organ was renovated and redecorated. In the 1976 the narthex was added to the front of the building. During his rectorship the Men’s Club was expanded to complement the on-going work of the Women;s Council, and the Church added a non-profit Nursery School. Father Gaetz retired  after serving as rector for 22 years. The Rev. David Nicholson then served as interim rector. 

In July of 1990 the Rev. Andrew Dietsche began service as the fifth rector. Under his leadership the outreach ministry was expanded. In i994 an ambitious program began to address major architectural additions to the church. The major projects included refurbishing the nave, handicapped access to the building, and placing a cross on the church roof. Father Dietsche was called to become the Bishop’s Canon for Clergy to the Diocese of New York on October 1, 2001. 

He was soon followed by the Rev. Dominic Ciannella, the sixth rector. Father Ciannella’s tenure was marked by continued church growth and expansion of outreach efforts. During this time the Parish experienced financial difficulties, and Father Ciannella resigned in the spring of 2006. 

In June of 2006 Bishop Scruton appointed the Rev. John H. DeBonville to serve as Priest-in-Charge.  Father DeBonville is a part-time priest who also serves a chaplain and a professor at American International College in Springfield. U