FAITH THROUGH THE YEARS AT ST. AUGUSTINE’S
Woman shares Gary church’s long history
“... Silent night, Holy night “Shepherds quake, at the sight.
“Glories stream from Heaven above
“Heavenly, hosts sing Hallelujah. “Christ the savior is born, “Christ the savior is born.” — Lyrics for “Silent Night,”
Joseph Mohr, author; Franz Gruber, composer
In 1859, the Episcopal priest John Freeman Young published the English translation of “Stille Nacht (Silent Night).”
“Silent Night” was sung simultaneously in French, English and German by troops during the Christmas Truce of 1914 during World War I, as it was one carol that soldiers on both sides of the front line knew.
“Silent Night” has been recorded by a large number of singers through the years, including stirring renditions by Mahalia Jackson and Lena Horne.
Paula DeBois’ brother Pierre dropped her off at St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church in the Tolleston neighborhood of Gary for this interview. She lives about six blocks away from the church. Paula let me know up front that the interview would focus on the church and not her. But I did squeeze some personal information out of her. DeBois is an impressive woman who earned a degree in aeronautical engineering from Arizona State University.
*** Do you have family from Louisiana?
“Yes, New Orleans. They lived in the ward that was flooded out by Hurricane Katrina.” Tell me about your parents. “My father was a doctor and my mother was a pharmacist. When we were burying Daddy, I thought about what a stunning building this is. I was baptized and confirmed here.
“St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church is my base mark for a church. I do call it the Lena Horne of churches. She does not take a bad picture. Lena didn’t take a bad picture, and St. Augustine’s doesn’t take a bad picture.”
It is a gorgeous piece of architecture. To me, the shape of the roof resembles hands clasped in prayer.
“There’s something about the design. The clerestory windows. When you enter this church and walk up those steps you are totally focused on worship and personal introspective. It takes you to that. You can’t help but draw yourself to that direction.”
What year was this church built?
“In 1959. This property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places by the United States Department of the Interior on Sept. 18, 2013.” Who designed this gem? “Architect Edward Dart. He did Water Tower Place (a 758,000-squarefoot shopping mall and 74-story skyscraper in Chicago located along the Magnificent Mile on North Michigan Avenue). We are Dart’s second church of his 26 commissioned churches that he built.
“The components of the church are very simplistic, modern architecture: cement, redwood, white oak. The altar was made from Indiana limestone. Our cross and Jesus Christ are made of bronze.”
This parish goes back long before 1959.
“Our history is that we were chartered as a colored Episcopal mission in 1927. Back in the day, you were either an organized mission, meaning you were white, or you were a colored Episcopal mission.
“The 30 congregants who chartered back in ’27 were not welcomed to worship at Christ Church in downtown Gary due to segregation. As Martin Luther King said — and it still holds in 2014 — the most segregated hour in the United States is the hour on Sunday. I’m paraphrasing; you can look it up. The colored Episcopalians were coming to Christ Church at 2 p.m. That’s not church time.”
Whereas the white members of Christ Church worshiped at 8 a.m. or 10 a.m.
“Correct. Our original congregants repurposed an Italian-Catholic Church in Midtown (neighborhood of Gary) at 19th and Adams. It was vacated and pretty rickety from what I was told. We had Benedictine monks out of Valparaiso who serviced us.
“Anna Washington was one of those 30 original congregants. I believe she expired just before this building was completed. She named the church after her alma mater in North Carolina. I believe she was an educator by trade. St. Augustine of Hippo was one of the saints of African descent and the son of St. Monica.
“Anna’s great-grandson, Charles Graves, recently preached the homily here. He grew up in Baltimore and is studying at Yale University.”
Give me some more history of this particular church.
“We originally held 340 people in this building. The maximum congregation occurred in 1969 under Father Hood. He was young and working on his doctorate at the University of Chicago. He was almost like a pied piper. Father Hood would go on to New York and work under Desmond Tutu. Dr. Robert E. Hood was just kickin’ it.”
Bear with me; the “preacher” of an Episcopalian church is deemed a priest, correct?
“Yes. If it’s a man, we call him Father. If it’s a woman, we call her Mother. One of the benchmarks of the Episcopal religion is that they have women who are confirmed. I think we’ve had 12 American presidents who were Episcopal. Our priests can marry. We are so close to the Catholic religion that they will take our priests. The men, not the women.”
The Episcopal Church seems to be a liberal one. “We’re known for that.”
*** St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church has also been known for having a congregation composed of many prominent professionals through the years, including Henrietta Bell Wells, who was an educator, social worker and the wife of Wallace Wells, St. Augustine’s first rector. The character Samantha Booke in the 2007 movie “The Great Debaters” was loosely based on Henrietta Bell Wells.
Educator Quentin Smith also was a member of St. Augustine’s. Mr. Smith was one of the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II.
And let us not forget the daughter of a doctor and a pharmacist who earned a degree in aeronautical engineering. The impressive woman who worked tirelessly to see that her beloved house of worship would be placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Amen.