About St. Thomas
On this page, below, you will find the mission of St. Thomas, as well as a brief history of the parish. There are also links to a bit of information about our services, beliefs, worship and lives together.
St. Thomas Newsflashes might be a good page to see in order to get a sense of the ongoing activities and concerns of our parish family.
The St. Thomas Visitor's Guide (links to the right on most pages) is designed simply to help you know what to expect in case you wish to come visit. You are always welcome.
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Our Mission
To receive all people into one family without reservation providing a sanctuary for self-examination, growth and healing; to celebrate our life in Christ; and to support and minister to one another, thereby empowering us to spread the good news of the Gospel in love and acceptance as a spiritual witness to the community.
The Parish History
The Church of St. Thomas the Apostle celebrated its fiftieth anniversary in the year 2000. During its five decades of existence, the Church has gone through periods of birth, growth, maturation, decline, and rebirth. This brief description of the road we have traveled may be helpful to anyone interested in our parish.
In the summer of 1950, in the midst of the post-WW II boom in Dallas, Henry Hutchins, a young ex-G.I., and Greet Taylor, a seminarian, along with several members of an existing parish worked through the Bishop of Dallas to organize a mission that would serve a parish of roughly a one-mile radius drawn from a point centered at Inwood and Mockingbird Lane. At the time, this area was at the periphery of the largest concentration of Episcopalians in Dallas. Following organization of the Mission of St. Thomas the Apostle in September 1950, Canon E.B. Ferguson became priest-in-charge on a part-time basis. For the next two years, the fledgling mission worshipped under his leadership successively at parishioners' homes, Arlington Hall at Lee Park, two private prep schools and, finally, at the Inwood Theater. As was common then, except for one Eucharist a month, Sunday services were Morning Prayer. Obviously, many obstacles had to be dealt with during this itinerant period of St. Thomas' history, including lugging from place to place a pump organ borrowed from St. Matthew's Cathedral.
In 1952, The Reverend Guy Samuel Usher was appointed full-time vicar of the mission. Late in 1955, the present site on Inwood and Mockingbird was purchased, and construction of a chapel, church school and offices began. The mission had been admitted to parish status earlier in 1955, and called Father Usher to be the parish's first rector. Finally in September 1956, the new facilities - built at a cost of $75,000 - were consecrated. The parish operated a day school for a number of years.
In early 1984, Father Usher resigned. The vestry elected The Reverend Ted Karpf as second rector of the parish. Father Karpf decided to use the parish hall for worship, and began an intensive program to build a new church building. He placed much emphasis on community outreach, especially in the area of HIV/AIDS ministry, and ministry to the poor. As a result of these programs, the parish became more diverse in its makeup. Father Karpf resigned in the fall of 1988.
The Reverend Stephen Jay Waller was elected as the parish's third rector in September 1989. The church continues its work with HIV/AIDS ministries and a variety of other outreach programs, both within and outside the parish. In the spring of 1996, the congregation moved into the original, remodeled sanctuary Continuing with a master plan, extensive renovation of our other facilities is projected through 1999.
The St. Thomas community has remained diverse and welcoming to one and all, with emphasis on our heritage as Episcopalians within the Diocese of Dallas. We welcome newcomers who bring new life and hope to our common life.
