In 1883, a few local women asked the Episcopal bishop in Tacoma to send someone to help organize a church on Bellingham Bay.
That August, the bishop sent the Rev. Reuben Denton Nevius, a veritable Johnny Appleseed of Episcopal churches in the Northwest.
A month later, 29 women formed a guild to raise money for a church. They sought donations from businesses and organized concerts, festivals and plays.
“It’s how they raised a lot of their money,” said Roger Emerson of Bow, a newer member of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church who is helping to research its history.