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From
Whence We Came Parish History |
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200 Oyster Creek Drive Lake Jackson, TX 77566 979.297.6003 |
| Content Owner: S. Griner |
 In
the early 1950s, the Rev. Stanley Wilson and a committee of laymen
of St. Paul's, Freeport, acquired the six-acre tract on the corner
of Oyster Creek Dr. and Circle Way in the new town of Lake Jackson
for the Diocese of Texas. On October 10, 1954, Fr. Wilson conducted
the first services on the new site, blessing the lot and holding an
outdoor celebration of Holy Eucharist.On July 1, 1955, the Rev. John Gordon Swope, Jr., become a resident in Lake Jackson, assigned as an assistant to the Rector of St. Paul's, Freeport. The first regular service in Lake Jackson was on July 17, 1955, with Fr. Swope officiating. The name St. Timothy's was chosen, signifying the relationship to St. Paul's Church, which was so instrumental in bringing this new mission into being. Until the building was completed, services were held at the Lake Jackson Junior High School Cafeteria across the street from the site. The Diocesan Council accepted a petition to become a Diocesan Mission. Thus, the Church of St. Timothy's was formally established with 145 adults transferring from St. Paul's. The Parish Hall and church school building was completed on Easter Eve, 1956, and the first service, Holy Baptism, was conducted that afternoon. Easter services the next day filled the new building to capacity. The new building was formally dedicated by Bishop Goddard on June 3, 1956. At the Parish Meeting in January 1957, a petition to become a self-supporting parish was signed, and accepted by the Diocesan Council later that month. The Vestry elected Fr. Swope as Rector. Fr. Swope continued at St. Timothy's until November, 1959. After some months without a Rector, on March 15, 1960, The Rev. George Lawson Carlisle, Jr., and his family were welcomed from St. Paul's, Waco. The building program resumed in 1959. Bids were received for both a part and all of the church program, and the parish members elected to carry out the full $150,000 plan: a church with the south transept doubling as a chapel, and a series of office rooms, library space and classrooms. In September, Hurricane Carla devastated the Texas Gulf Coast, but St. Timothy's escaped with minor damage, and the building was completed on schedule. On Christmas Eve 1961, services began in the new facility with Bishop Hines officiating dedication services. Fr. Carlisle was succeeded as Rector by The Rev. J. Michael Klickman in 1974. He in turn was succeeded by The Rev. Steven P. Stahl in 1982. The fifth Rector of St. Timothy's was The Rev. J. Mark Wilburn, who served from 1991 until 1995. In 1996, The Rev. Dr. Harold Warren became the sixth rector of St. Timothy's. In January 2001 The Rev. Andrew Parker became the seventh rector of St. Timothy's Episcopal Church. |