St David's Episcopal Church
304 E 7th St Austin, Texas 78701
We invite you to come see for yourself why so many people in Austin call St. David's "Home". We are a vibrant, diverse and welcoming community with our beautiful, historic church set right in the middle of downtown
phone: view phone(512) 472-1196
website: http://www.stdave.org
Rev. David Boyd
Worship Times
Sundays
8:00 a.m. Holy Communion, Historic Church
9:00 a.m. Holy Communion, Historic Church
9:10 a.m. Family Holy Communion, Bethell Hall
11:15 a.m. Holy Communion, Historic Church
11:15 a.m. Holy Communion, Bethell Hall
3:00 p.m. Trinity Street Worship and Meal, Trinity Center
5:00 p.m. Contemplative Holy Communion, Bethell Hall
9:00 p.m. Choral Compline, Ancient Evening Prayer, Historic Church
Mondays
8:30 a.m. Morning Prayer, Grace Chapel
5:30 p.m. Evening Prayer, Grace Chapel
Tuesdays
8:30 a.m. Morning Prayer, Grace Chapel
12:15 p.m. Holy Communion, Grace Chapel
5:30 p.m. Evening Prayer, Grace Chapel
Wednesdays
8:30 a.m. Morning Prayer, Grace Chapel
12:00 p.m. Noonday Intercessory Prayer, Grace Chapel
5:30 p.m. Holy Communion with healing, Grace Chapel
Thursday
8:30 a.m. Morning Prayer, Grace Chapel
11:00 a.m. Holy Communion with healing, Historic Church
5:30 p.m. Evening Prayer, Grace Chapel.
Fridays
8:30 a.m. Morning Prayer, Grace Chapel
5:30 p.m. Evening Prayer, Grace Chapel
Bible Study
Tuesday Men’s Bible Study:
Meets at 6:45 a.m. every Tuesday morning in the Guild Room. All men are invited.
Wednesday Bible Round Table:
Meets at 6:45 a.m. every Wednesday morning in Crail A.
Wednesday Night Bible Study:
Meets at 7 p.m. every Wednesday evening in the Vestry Conference Room.
Thursday Rector’s Book Study:
Meets at 7 a.m. every Thursday morning in the Guild Room.
Thursday Rector’s Prayer Study:
Meetings at 10 a.m. every Thursday morning in the Guild Room.
Our Faith
The Episcopal Church is the American province of the Anglican Communion, a worldwide body of over 70 million Christians who trace their origins to the Church of England. Episcopalians are thinking Christians who engage questions of faith with both seriousness and great joy.
Often, The Episcopal Church is called a “bridge church” between Roman Catholicism and Protestant denominations. This is because much Episcopal theology is Protesant in nature, while much of Episcopal worship, spiritual practice, and church structure resembles Catholicism. As a result, individuals and families from a variety of backgrounds will find in the Episcopal Church a home that honors their own faith tradition while providing a new source of shared nourishment.
Episcopalians describe the foundation of our faith by using the image of a ”3-legged stool.”
The first leg is Holy Scripture, which Episcopalians say is “written by people...inspired by the Holy Spirit” (from the Catechism in the Book of Common Prayer). The Old Testament chronicles the relationship between God and Israel. The New Testament chronicles the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus and the faith journey of the first generation of disciples. The wisdom that Scripture provides guides our lives.
The second leg is Tradition. Tradition consists of the interpretation of God’s purposes by past generations of Christians. Especially valued are the interpretations offered by early Church Fathers and the Church Councils, including the First Council of Nicaea. The First Council of Nicaea wrote the Nicene Creed, which Episcopalians recite every week. The Creed reminds us of the nature of God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
The third leg is Reason. Episcopalians understand that God makes human beings in his image, which includes gifting us with complex, reasoning minds. We honor God’s gift when we use our minds to think deeply about God’s will, consulting Scripture, Tradition, and the myriad ways that God is revealed in the world around us.
The Book of Common Prayer is an important part of Episcopal life and worship. The Prayer Book includes a wealth of prayers and liturgies for virtually every occasion. It serves as a way to center our lives in Christ.
The word “Episcopal” is derived from the Greek word for ”bishop”. Thus, our very name means that The Episcopal Church is structured around bishops. Episcopal bishops, like bishops in the Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches, trace their authority to the first-century Apostles.
Each bishop oversees a geographic area called a diocese. Within a diocese are local congregations called parishes. A parish consists of a body of baptized Christians, often served by an ordained priest and deacon.
Our 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 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 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.
Newcomers
St. David’s strives to be a welcoming and diverse community, offering a variety of worship, fellowship, education, and ministry opportunities. Therefore we invite you to join with us as we “seek and serve Christ in all persons”.
We’d like to get to know you, too! Please email the Rev. Mary Vano, or fill out a Guest Card (found in the pews and around our Church building.) We thank you for your interest in St. David’s, and look forward to an opportunity to welcome you personally.
The Rev. David Boyd
Rector, St. David’s Episcopal Church
Find out what St. David’s offers for newcomers.
Free Breakfast
If it’s your first visit, be sure and stop by the “Visitor Information” Table in the 2nd floor reception area on Sunday mornings. A friendly Greeter will be there to offer you a coupon for a free breakfast at Cafe Divine. Enjoy this complimentary meal on the 3rd Floor in Sumners Hall. Breakfast is served every Sunday morning from 8:30 - 11 a.m.
Welcome Dinner
Every month (except December), we host a free dinner for newcomers at Cafe Divine in Sumners Hall at 6 p.m. This is a casual opportunity to meet some others, tour the Church facilities, and learn more about St. David’s. Child care is available. Everyone is invited. Contact Mary Vano for more information.
Newcomer Classes
We offer a 4-week introductory series on the Christian Faith and the Episcopal Church. The class is offered on Sunday mornings from 10:25 - 11:10 a.m. in January, March, May, July, September, and November. Christianity 101: A Course on Faith & Practice is a more in-depth introductory class, particularly for those who may be interested in Confirmation. Contact Mary Vano for more information.