Church By The Sea Columbarium
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Church By The Sea Columbarium

Madeira Beach, Pinellas County, Florida, USA

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  • Get directions Madeira Beach, Florida, USA
    Coordinates: 27.79361, -82.79072
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Church by the Sea was the first Protestant church on the beaches when it was established in 1944. After nine months of holding services in the Fisherman's Union Hall at John's Pass, the modest congregation of 20 adults and 20 children bought the sand dune on Gulf Boulevard where the church now stands at 495 137th Ave. Circle. The founding pastor was the Rev. Ralph Philip, who oversaw the church's groundbreaking in November 1944. Philip was a carpenter and built the original pulpit and altar fixtures, including the baptismal font that remains in use in the church today. Philip officiated at the first service held in the newly constructed building on Easter Sunday 1946.
The church's unusual architectural feature as much as its history that brings out flocks of curious visitors.
A central feature of the building is the Spanish-style tower with circular windows and a 25-foot mast and beacon, (making it the tallest local structure at the time it was built). The light atop the church tower, which has since been replaced with a lighted cross, served as a nautical landmark to guide boats safely home. It also served to illuminate the tower's unintended feature: that it happens to resemble a giant chicken from multiple points of view.
Today the nondenominational church remains a landmark and a hub of community life. A series of impressive stained glass windows blend religious iconography with images of the ocean and seabirds. And while the congregation may seek to downplay the tower's resemblance to a chicken, no one can argue that it brings people out to visit the church.


Church by the Sea was the first Protestant church on the beaches when it was established in 1944. After nine months of holding services in the Fisherman's Union Hall at John's Pass, the modest congregation of 20 adults and 20 children bought the sand dune on Gulf Boulevard where the church now stands at 495 137th Ave. Circle. The founding pastor was the Rev. Ralph Philip, who oversaw the church's groundbreaking in November 1944. Philip was a carpenter and built the original pulpit and altar fixtures, including the baptismal font that remains in use in the church today. Philip officiated at the first service held in the newly constructed building on Easter Sunday 1946.
The church's unusual architectural feature as much as its history that brings out flocks of curious visitors.
A central feature of the building is the Spanish-style tower with circular windows and a 25-foot mast and beacon, (making it the tallest local structure at the time it was built). The light atop the church tower, which has since been replaced with a lighted cross, served as a nautical landmark to guide boats safely home. It also served to illuminate the tower's unintended feature: that it happens to resemble a giant chicken from multiple points of view.
Today the nondenominational church remains a landmark and a hub of community life. A series of impressive stained glass windows blend religious iconography with images of the ocean and seabirds. And while the congregation may seek to downplay the tower's resemblance to a chicken, no one can argue that it brings people out to visit the church.


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  • Added: 23 Oct 2009
  • Find a Grave Cemetery ID: 2328424