History of St. Philip’S Episcopal Church: San Antonio, Texas 1895 - 2012

2013, 2014 by Milbrew Davis. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 04/10/2014

ISBN: 978-1-4817-1946-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4817-1944-5 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4817-1945-2 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013903156

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INTRODUCTION by the RIGHT REVEREND GERALD N. MCALLISTER

CONTENTS

Dedication

Acknowledgement

Preface

PART I

Introduction

The Dream

Dream Comes To Fruition

Church Status Changed Under Newly Elected Diocesan Bishop

A New Era

Signs Of Promise

Parish Hall Dedicated

Native Son Returns

Church Relocated

Mission Status Changed To Parish

Third Rector After Forty-Nine Years

Fourth Rector Called

Consecration Of Church Building

On Our Way Rejoicing

Ministry Beyond Parish

PART II

From Parochial Day School To College

First Principal

School Status Changed

Appendix

DEDICATION

To my wife, Shirley and my children

Charles James, Sabrina Joy, and Tammy Joyce

[Figure 1

SEAL OF THE DIOCESE OF WEST TEXAS]

[DIOCESE OF WEST TEXAS 1985]

[Figure 2]

SHIELD OF ST. PHILIP

PHILIP

Patron Saint

The Patron Saint of St Philip’s Church is symbolized by a staff surmounted by a cross with two loaves of bread, one on each side of the cross. The staff and cross refer to Philip’s successful journeys among the barbarians in upper Asia and Phrygia, where he spread knowledge of Christianity and the cross of Christ. The cross may also refer to the power of the cross over idols or to Philip’s manner of death, although there is no conclusive evidence that he was crucified. The loaves of bread recall Philip’s remark when Jesus fed the multitude: How are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat? (Jn 6:5)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The writer acknowledges with sincere gratitude everyone who provided data to make this manuscript possible; especially The Right Reverend Gary R. Lillibridge, Diocesan Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of West Texas for granting me access to the archives of the Diocese of West Texas. The writer is very grateful to the following lay persons who provided oral history and documents,. Isaac L. Jones, Sr. and Katie L. M. Jones, John W. Applin, Clara Etta Williams, Vernice Warner, and the late Minnie R. Lowery, Ethel Washington, Leon A. Woods, Sr., Mayme H. Lee, Eluster Brown, Sara Williams, Elizabeth Derborne., and Henry Stilwell. The writer acknowledges with much gratitude Dr. Adena Williams Loston, President of St. Philip’s College for allowing me access to the College Archives and to obtain pertinent data provided by Patricia Wright Williams, archivist. The writer is deeply indebted to his loving and devoted wife, Shirley, for her critical analysis of this document and Reverend Dr. Clifford S. Waller for his encouragement and financial assistance to make the writing and publishing of this history a reality.

PREFACE

I might reach that place I seek,

My untried strength might fail me;

But half way up the mountain peak

Fierce tempest may assail me;

But though that place I never gain,

Where in life’s pleasures I may pain,

I’ll die fighting toward it.

The words of the above quote seem to be the resounding voices of the pioneers of St. Philip’s Church, and ones that have continued down through the years to this day. In the pages that follow, the writer believes that it will be demonstrated that their desire to rise up, build, and spread forth the Kingdom of God through his church, St. Philip’s.

In 1895, a group of Black persons approached the Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of West Texas, with a request to form what was to become one of the oldest Episcopal Churches for Black people in Texas.

Prior to writing the First Edition of the History of St. Philip’s Church there was no written history of this church to describe the pilgrimage of this group, moreover, most of the members who were able to transmit orally the tradition of the church were now deceased. Consequently, there was a need to prepare a reference source containing data regarding their roots, the hopes, and pilgrimage of their foreparents.

The First Edition provided historical data on St. Philip’s Church from its inception in 11895 to 1986. The additional data provided in this Second Edition not only provide updated information of the First Edition but also a look at the church’s journey through the next twenty-five years to 2012.

The data presented is an in-depth study of St. Philip’s Church, San Antonio, Texas, and includes a review of available documents of the parish, Bishops’ Journals, and Journals of the Annual Diocesan Council Meetings. It includes interviews with some of the members of the parish, former priests of the congregation, bishops of the Diocese of West Texas, and personal observations of the writer.

MISSION STATEMENT

ST. PHILIP’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH

We are the people of God, committed to Jesus Christ and the advancement of his kingdom on earth.

Moving in the power of the Holy Spirit, we will adopt a spirit of Christian stewardship, fellowship, brotherhood and faith, consciously and actively in our hearts and minds; so that all may become aware of their heritage as children of God

PART I

CHAPTER I

Introduction

It is an honor to be asked by the author of this History of St. Philip’s Church to write the introduction. My relationship with St. Philip’s Church began before I went to Virginia Seminary in the Fall of 1948. It has continued until this day. I have not been able to be with the church family on every important occasion, but when possible I have been present. During the period when I served as Canon of the Diocese of West Texas, a position in which I functioned much like an Archdeacon, I had the privilege of buying for the Diocese the property which St. Philip’s now occupies.

I want now to turn to the author who has more knowledge of St. Philip’s than any other person. Part of the reason for his extensive knowledge is that he has served the congregation for many years in a variety of capacities. During the years 1959-1967, he served as a layman. Part of the time he was a member and Warden of the Bishop’s Committee (the Vestry of a Mission is known as the Bishop’s Committee). Their governance of the congregation is the same as a Vestry, but instead of being elected like a Vestry, they are appointed by the Diocesan Bishop. When he graduated from Seminary in 1970, he was appointed by the Bishop as Vicar of St. Martin’s Episcopal Mission in Corpus Christi, Texas. He was later called as rector of St. Philip’s Church in 1975, and served in that capacity for 21 years.

After his retirement he became a member of St. Philip’s until the present time. So, Milbrew’s time at St. Philip’s now exceeds fifty years as a member and as Priest. During this time St. Philip’s has built two church plants, including the present site.

The Rt. Rev. Gerald N. McAllister

Bishop, Retired

Diocese of Oklahoma

[The Rt. Rev. R.W.B. Elliott, Bishop

Missionary District of Western Texas

1874-1887]

CHAPTER II

The Dream

In his address to the Convocation in 1877, Bishop R. W. B Elliott stated, "we shall never live to see the time when it will not, in some way, agitate the section in which they (freedmen) are living, and their presence is distinctly . . . a problem."¹ With a little effort, one can perhaps imagine the thoughts of the Bishop continuing: I have a dream that one day, in this great Missionary District of Western Texas, we will have Episcopal churches for Negroes where they may worship God in this great Anglican tradition that is ours. Although many years would pass, it was with the dream of the Rt. Rev. R. W. B. Elliott, first Bishop of the Missionary District of Western Texas—later the Diocese of West Texas—that St. Philip’s Church had its beginning.

Bishop Elliott was keenly aware of and concerned about the problem of the relations of the Episcopal church to the freedpersons. While the Bishop frequently appealed to the clergy and laity for concerted effort in attacking the problem, he recognized the difficult challenge this presented. The challenge was difficult because there were those in his midst who were inclined not to rock the boat and make waves, and believed that somehow the problem would just disappear. Bishop Elliott had the wisdom to see, however, that the problem created by the presence of four million persons of African descent, living among eight million Anglo-Saxons in Texas, would for many generations be a perplexing situation whether spiritual, moral, social or political. He was nonetheless optimistic of the time it would not, in some, way, agitate the section in which the freedmen were living and their presence would not be distinctly a problem. Some of its elements may be thus, the Bishop stated: The freedmen are here to remain, they are citizens, and prefer America to Africa. He went on to say that it is very fortunate for us that this is so; for without them, our alluvial lands would return to their jungles.

The Bishop observed further that by their docility exhibited during the late Civil War, by their labor, as agriculturalists in our fields, and as domestics about our homes, the freedmen have established a claim upon the soil of this country and the good will of the (W)hite race, which none of us should be willing to forget.²

Bishop Elliott offered some points for consideration. He tried to show what seemed evident to him, that nothing tentative, no hasty hand-to-mouth arrangement would suffice. The role of the Church was to reconcile the different races, to throw over their antagonistic elements the gentle and humanizing influence of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.³

Bishop Elliott was not at all sympathetic with those who objected that Negroes could not be much further improved, that they belonged to a fading race, and that the Church would only waste time and money on them. He changed the form of question and observed that: it is not whether we can still further elevate, educate and develop the Negro, but can we, as a Church, survive the refusal to do our part in the attempt when it shall make its way into the mind of the average American that as a Church, we have given up this race, and regarding it as a decaying branch of the human family? He went on to say that:

Knowing as every common sense man does, that one note of the true Gospel is that ‘unto the poor the Gospel is preached,’ we shall seal even with worldly men our doom, and with the God and Father of all a parallel to our fate will be found in the case of the rich man who had a fading, dying, offensive creature lying at his gate, who only prayed for the crumb that fell from his neighbor’s sumptuous table, but prayed in vain, and so judged and condemned the foolish person who possibly thought it would not pay to help a beggar. As for as as regards civilization, education, and religion, we are to the Negro as Dives to Lazarus. I see not why if we give him the same treatment, we should not share the same fate.⁴

In his appeal to the clergy and laity of the church Bishop Elliott strongly encouraged their labors among the Negroes in the Missionary District of Western Texas. Where possible, he suggested that it would be well to get hold of them by organizing Sunday Schools, and stirring up the laity to their duties, by pointing out the obligations God has laid before us.

The Bishop recognized that such work presupposed a thoroughly trained laity. However, he was operating in a missionary field with no such stored up power in the District, but rather, striving to create this power. He observed that it was his duty not only to present the practical, but also the ideal; not only ask to do possible things, but also to attempt seemingly impossible things, remembering that with our Leader all things are possible.

In concluding his first address to the Convocation concerning the missionary efforts among Negroes, Bishop Elliott observed that "there are those who look upon us as idealists, as fanatics, as silly sentimentalists, as designing priests, as hirelings. Yet, it is also true that the regenerative spirits that raised from the dead ancient society, came through the preachings of men who were called fools, babblers, crazy men, who were pointed out as pestilent

[The Rt. Rev. James Steptoe Johnston

Diocesan Bishop

1887-1916]

fellows who were besides themselves. Heirs to the succession, it is to be expected we should be heirs also to the reproaches."⁵

The Bishop admonished his hearers to be daring in their work, audacious in their undertakings, venturing much for Christ’s sake, to be fools in Christ’s cause. He said that, If ever you undertake the work among freedmen I think you will have reason to remember these words.⁵

Unfortunately, Bishop Elliott’s early retirement and death prevented him from seeing his dream for Negroes come to fruition in his District.

CHAPTER III

Dream Comes To Fruition

From an historical perspective, the year 1895, bears great significance in the life of the Episcopal Church in the Diocese of West Texas, particularly regarding its Negro work. It was not until this year that, under the episcopacy of the Rt. Rev. James Steptoe Johnston, Bishop Elliott’s dream for Negroes was partially fulfilled. In 1895, the first Episcopal Church for Negroes in the diocese was organized in San Antonio, Texas. It was to remain the only church in the diocese for Black people until 1964.

St. Philip’s was organized at the request of a group of Negroes who had been members of the St. James African Methodist Episcopal Church in San Antonio. Among those who petitioned Bishop Johnston to establish an Episcopal Church for Negroes were: Mr. and Mrs. Solomon Brassfield and their children—Hattie, Josephine, Helen and Solomon, Jr.; Dr. and Mrs. (?) Brown and daughters; Mr. and Mrs. William Sanford and their children—Elizabeth, Julia, Maggie, Edward, Willie and Arthur; Mrs. L. Chatham and son, Leroy; Professor J. D. Lowery; Mr. and Mrs. Evans Harris; Mrs. (?) Thornton; Mrs. (?) Lloyd; Mrs. Bell Williams; Mrs. J. Secret; Professor and Mrs. R. D. Jones, and Mrs. F. Rogers.⁶

Question was raised regarding the motives of the Negroes who approached the Bishop to organize an Episcopal Church for them in a community where there were many long-established Black congregations of other denominations. In his address to the Diocesan Council in 1906, Bishop Johnston quotes a Negro physician in the city of San Antonio who said when St. Philip’s Church was organized: We are weary of the tyranny of ignorant people and have come to the Episcopal Church, where we understand there is reasonable liberty regulated by law. Except for this comment by one of the petitioners, the precise motives of the petitioners will never be known, since they are all now deceased. However, the writer believes that perhaps some insights might be gleaned from the reflections of their descendants, from some of the older members of the parish, as well as from some of the bishops and priests who ministered to them. Therefore, selected parishioners, bishops and priests were interviewed by the writer.

The interviewees were asked to recall any verbalization or demonstration by the communicants of St. Philip’s that would indicate their sense of identity as a group, and the nature of that identity: (1) What did the interviewee perceive the congregation’s self-identity to be? (2) What did the congregation perceive their mission to be? (3) What did the interviewee perceive the mission of the congregation to be?

Laypersons responding, except for Leon A. Woods, Sr., were not able to recall any verbalizations or demonstrations on the part of the older communicants that would provide clues or answers to the questions asked. However, Mr. Woods was confirmed in St. Philip’s in 1896; was an acolyte, and served as senior warden and treasurer of the church for over forty years. He and his family are held in the very highest esteem of parishioners, priests and bishops. Mr. and Mrs. Woods are given credit for holding the church together during the church’s most difficult years. The writer succeeded Mr. Woods as the Bishop’s Warden in 1965, when Mr. Woods became Warden Emeritus, the position he held until his death. The following information was obtained from Mr. Woods by the writer during the years of his very close association with Mr. Woods.

With regard to the identity of the petitioners, Mr. Woods said that contrary to some misinformed, preconceived notions, the petitioners were not idiots blundering around from place to place until they were finally rescued by the Episcopal church. A number of the petitioners were educated persons, he said. They had become disenchanted with the organizational and administrative structure and the spiritual leadership of St. James African Methodist Episcopal Church at that time. They were Christian people who, upon withdrawing their membership from St. James in 1867, organized an independent church. They rented an upstairs room over a business place on West Commerce Street to hold their worship services. The place rented was described by some as a hardware store