History
Historic Church
On April 7, 1853 the cornerstone of a more permanent venue was laid at Bois d’Arc (7th St.) and San Jacinto across the street from the two-story mansion where President Lamar had lived. The first service in the new church was held on October 8, 1854.
Unfortunately, the parish was not immune to the tensions building over the questions of states’ rights and slavery. In 1856 about twenty members with Northern sympathies withdrew and called the Rev. Charles Gillette to organize a new parish named Christ Church. The new church held its services in the court room of the new county courthouse.
In 1859 Edward Fontaine resigned as Rector of The Church of the Epiphany and moved to Jackson, Mississippi. At that point there existed two parishes: one with a rector but no church building, and one with a building and no rector. The vestry of the Church of the Epiphany therefore decided to begin negotiating with Christ Church to reunify the parish. They wisely decided on a new name for the combined parish, choosing Church of St. David as an honor to the newly elected Bishop of Texas, Alexander Gregg.
Bishop Gregg (shown at the left) chose Austin as his See City and moved here in 1860. In February, 1861 Texas ratified the Ordinance of Secession. The division was reflected in the relationship between Bishop Gregg and Charles Gillette, who among other things declined to read the bishop’s prayer, which asked for “a speedy close to the unholy war forced upon us.” This rift deepened until October 1, 1864 at which time Mr. Gillette resigned as rector.
When news of the South’s surrender reached Texas in May, 1865, Bishop Gregg responded by urging the churches to rejoin the national church and issuing a pastoral letter instructing the clergy to pray for the president and Congress. The vestry asked Mr. Gillette to reconsider his resignation, to which he agreed but only “temporarily or until an adequate maintenance could be secured,” which was significant in view of the fact that the rector’s salary was already over two years in arrears. Mr. Gillette held services until September 1, 1865, when he left to attend the National Convention of the Church in Philadelphia. In December of that year the Rev. Benjamin Rogers arrived bearing letters of recommendation from Mr. Gillette. He agreed to serve as minister until Mr. Gillette’s return, which never transpired.
After Mr. Gillette resigned for good in January, 1866, Mr. Rogers (shown below, right) received the call to be rector beginning April 1, 1866. He served until the end of 1874, a period during which major changes took place both in the political structure of the state as well as the architecture of St. David’s Church. It was during this period that the sanctuary was moved to the south end of the building and the familiar Gothic towers and parapets were added.
Rogers was replaced in 1875 by Thomas Booth Lee, who served until his death in 1912. This period saw a significant enlargement in both the size of the parish as well as the church building itself. In 1885 the walls were raised two feet and a new apsidol chancel and sanctuary were built on the north end. In 1887 the original east wall was removed, columns were employed to support the extended roof and the side aisle created. It was also during this period that most of the stained glass windows were installed.
Milton Worsham became rector of St. David’s in December, 1912 and served a comparatively short 3 1/2 years. However, the period did see a major increase in the size of the parish, from 215 to 350 communicants. He was replaced by Lewis Harrison, who served until 1923. Although considered a quiet person, Mr. Harrison appears to have been a tireless organizer. Among other things, he is noted for sending the first woman delegate to the annual Council Meeting in 1920.
Mr. Harrison was replaced in 1924 by Lenoir Valentine Lee, an ambitious rector who presided over the founding of St. David’s Hospital and finally resigned in frustration in 1928 when the vestry balked at going deeply into debt to fund a major expansion of the old church structure. He was replaced by Beverly Munford Boyd, who served until 1934. This was a difficult period for the parish as well as the nation and was marked by chronic financial crises. James Allen became rector of St. David’s on June 3, 1934 and served almost 5 years. By 1935 the parish had grown to 850 communicants, though it was still burdened by the financial effects of the Depression.
The Rev. Charles Abram Sumners was called to become rector June 5, 1939 and served almost 36 years. This was a period of explosive growth for the city and the parish. Austin’s wartime growth was such that Bishop Quinn requested that the vestries of St. David’s and of All Saints’ Church found a mission in West Austin, which later became The Church of the Good Shepherd. Mr. Sumners instituted healing services and founded a chapter of the Order of St. Luke. His interest in Christian education was reflected in his involvement in founding St. Stephen’s and St. Andrew’s Schools. He directed the establishment of the church library and Bookshop. He was instrumental in acquiring the land surrounding St. David’s that is now the parking garage.
In 1962 plans for a new parish house caused some on the vestry to call for St. David’s to leave its historic location and move to property near St. Andrew’s School. This effort was vigorously opposed by Mr. Sumners, who refused to leave the old church. A parish meeting on February 6, 1963 resulted in an overwhelming vote of support for Mr. Sumners and for remaining in the historic building at its present location. In 1966 the new parish house was completed adjacent to the Church and was named Sumners Hall to honor the rector who remained steadfast in his determination to keep the church in the heart of Austin.
The Rev. Laurens Hall was called to become rector following the retirement of Charles Sumners in 1975. At that point the parish had grown to 2110 communicants. Mr. Hall instituted a Folk Music Eucharist, inspired the formation of numerous new prayer and Bible study groups, and oversaw the building of the new Edens Youth Center to house a flourishing youth ministry. He was called to become rector of The Church of St. John the Divine, Houston, in 1981, and was succeeded at St. David’s by the Rev. T. James Bethell.
Mr. Bethell expanded the role of women and of music in the life of the church by hiring the parish’s first female priest in 1986 and by instituting the additional Sunday service of Choral Compline at 9:00 p.m. During his tenure as rector, the church dramatically expanded its physical presence in Downtown Austin, completing St. David’s Parking Garage in 1988 and a major addition to the church, completed in 2001. The four-story addition provided much-needed office space, classrooms, day school space, choir and musicians’ facilities, meeting rooms, and a large and dramatic new worship space which was named Bethell Hall in honor of the rector.
After Mr. Bethell’s retirement in 2001, the Rev. David A. Boyd was called as St. David’s rector.
Historic Structure
Our old church, dating back to 1853, has much of interest to visitors, who are welcome to take a self-guided tour during our usual hours, Monday-Friday, 8:30-6:00 p.m. and Sundays 8:00 a.m. to Noon and 4:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Guided tours are also available on request. Call 512-472-1196 to make your reservation.
There are twenty stained-glass windows in the church, dating from 1876 to 1969. Eleven are over one hundred years old. Many are simply magnificent. Be sure to visit while the sun is shining if you want to see them at their best.
The Italian-marble altar dates from 1900 with many other chairs, credance, choir stalls, etc. dating from the 1880s. The pulpit dates from 1869.
Preservation is costly and gifts to that end will help insure the continued use of this historic structure and its contents. Call 512-472-1196 for more information. Or, volunteer at the Next-to-New Shop. A large portion of the proceeds raised from that volunteer effort go to historic preservation.
We are in the second phase of planning for the restoration of the historic church, a phase which will determine the most appropriate historic period to recreate.
