In the spring of 1950, parishioners from two downtown churches - Christ Church and the Church of the Good Shepherd - chartered a new mission to be located in what were then the western "suburbs" of Raleigh. In May of that year, Raleigh developer James W. ("Willie") York and his wife, Mary Smedes Poyner York, gave the fledgling mission 4.5 acres of wooded land on Canterbury Road, along with two surplus World War II barracks.

     The barracks were joined and painted red. Mission members built an altar, communion rail and pulpit, and gathered tables, chairs and equipment. On September 10, 1950, Bishop Edwin A. Penick and the Rev. I. Harding Hughes, Chaplain of St. Mary's College, officiated at the first service in the "Little Red Church."

     On October 1, 1950, the Rev. James Dunbar Beckwith accepted the call to become pastor of the little mission with few members, no rectory, and no budget. He was to stay for 27 years.

     On May 1, 1951, St. Michael's was granted full parish status by the Diocese of North Carolina. Over the next four years, the church grew rapidly, outstripping the capacity of the temporary buildings despite three additions. In 1955 charter member Leif Valand, a Raleigh architect, designed the soaring contemporary structure in which we worship today. Ground was broken in December, 1955. The first service, a midnight Eucharist, was held on Christmas Eve, 1956.

     As a service to the community, in 1958 Mr. Beckwith and Mrs. Carroll Mann, a parishioner, established St. Michael's Kindergarten, precursor to the current St. Michael's Parish Day School.

     In 1964 the mortgage on the original church building was retired nine years ahead of schedule. On St. Michael's 20th anniversary in 1970, the Parish Hall wing was dedicated. Five years later, on the church's 25th anniversary, the Parish Hall was named in honor of Mr. Beckwith.

     In 1972, the Reverend Lawrence K. Brown, who had served as rector of a small parish in the Diocese of East Carolina, accepted a call to St. Michael's as Associate Rector. When Jim Beckwith retired in 1977, Mr. Brown was extended the call to become rector, a position he was to hold for 19 years.

     During the 1980s, the rapid growth of St. Michael's and the Raleigh community led the parish to establish a new mission in north Raleigh, which would become Church of the Nativity. In 1991, the need for additional facilities prompted the vestry to purchase a house and lot adjoining the St. Michael's property on Canterbury Road. The house was home to St. Michael's youth programs until 2002, when it was razed and replaced by a new Youth Center in a newly-constructed wing at the rear of the church.

     On March 31, 1995, Mr. Brown resigned, and St. Michael's, which had had only two rectors during its first 45 years, entered an era of evolving clerical leadership. On July 1, the Reverend Dr. Charles M. Riddle, III, assumed the position of Interim Rector, and the search for a new rector began. The Rev. G. Kenneth G. Henry was called and began his duties on June 1, 1997.

     In 2001 a capital campaign raised sufficient funds to provide for demolition of the outmoded youth house, enlargement and landscaping of the parking lot, construction of new offices and classrooms, and refurbishment of the sanctuary, chapel, and parish hall. The church also was made handicap-accessible, and critical infrastructure systems were upgraded. The multi-faceted construction project was completed in the spring of 2003.

     Effective November 1, 2002, Mr. Henry retired as Rector, setting in motion the current search for a faithful pastor, teacher, priest and friend to lead the parish of St. Michael's forward into an exciting new stage of our history.