All Saints Church is Martin County’s oldest church still in use; it was built in 1898, and still stands today upon a hill overlooking the Indian River Lagoon. Built by area pioneers, from local lumber, it has withstood the test of time through multiple devastating hurricanes…

Last Saturday, I was asked to speak before the ladies of the church about “River Kidz.” They wished to learn about the grass-roots organization founded in 2011 by children in the Town of Sewall’s Point. I found this fitting as my mother states in her book about Sewall’s Point, that the history of the peninsula cannot be separated from the history of the little church.

Captain Henry Sewall, who gave Sewall’s Point its name, was a member of the church and  donated its bell that still rings out clearly across the river today. He along with his family is buried there. The window, in memory of his life, bears an anchor, and for me, after my visit to the little historic church, this window is a “window of hope.”

According to Joyce A. Fletcher Menard’s book on All Saints entitled, “Windows, Memorial, and More,” the anchor had great importance in ancient times for mariners (such as Capt. Sewall) as it was regarded as  symbol of safety, but later on it became a symbol of hope.

Sometimes there is no safety, but there is always hope. I have hope for the St Lucie River/Indian River Lagoon. I have hope through the children, and I have hope through you. Without hope, we have nothing. Hold fast. Hold on, and hold tight. Don’t give up. We are the anchor for our river; we are its “window of hope.”

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*The St Lucie and Indian Rivers come together at the Town of Sewall’s Point.

All Saint’s Church: ( http://www.allsaintsjensenbeach.org)

River Kidz/a division of the Rivers Coalition: (http://riverscoalition.org)

Sandra Henderson Thurlow’s books: (http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/sandra-thurlow)