A Short History 1964 - 2007
When St. Thomas the Apostle Church was planning to build the present sanctuary and other additions, the line from the movie "A Field of Dreams" became the rallying slogan, "If you build it they will come." The same faith and dedication was also true of the people who were responsible for creating this parish and helping to achieve their dream.
On December 21, 1964 , the Feast of St. Thomas, a gathering of Episcopalians residing in the Clear Lake area met with The Right Reverend John E. Hines, Bishop of the Diocese of Texas, The Right Reverend Scott Field Bailey, Chairman of the Department of Missions, and the Reverend E. A. Vastyan. At the Bishop's request the meeting was organized to investigate the previously expressed goal in forming a new mission in the area. The Bishop spoke about a possible site for the mission on a six-acre tract owned by the Diocese in Nassau Bay which had cost $90,000. This was the last mission authorized by Bishop Hines before he became the Presiding Bishop.
On December 29th the group assembled again and signed a petition to the Bishop asking that the mission be approved. The eighteen petitioners were: Mr. and Mrs. Herbert J. Brandt; Dr. and Mrs. L. E. Chapman, Jr.; Mrs. Margaret M. Crum; Mr. and Mrs. Hamel; Mr. Roy Iles; Mrs. Marian H. Kidd; Mr. and Mrs. Reginald M. Machell; Mr. and Mrs. Humboldt Mandell; Mr. and Mrs. Leslie A. Martin; Mrs. Anne B. Ould; and, Mr. and Mrs. J. Ed Puett. They decided to name the mission,"The Church of St. Thomas," to commemorate their first meeting. The first worship service was celebrated in a meeting room of a local motel on January 3, 1965 attended by approximately thirty-five people.
Planning began for permanent church buildings, including a Guild Hall, eight classrooms and a kitchen, to be constructed in 1966 on the Nassau Bay property. Ground was broken for the new building on March 6. The new Day School opened in September in a classroom wing. The first worship services were held on October 2, 1966 . St. Thomas served as the spiritual home for many of the Apollo astronauts including James Lovell, Jr. who circled the moon on Christmas Eve 1968 along with fellow Episcopalian Frank Borman and of Apollo 13 fame; former Sr. Warden, Al Worden CSM pilot of Apollo 15; and Charlie Duke, moonwalker of Apollo 16. The mission became a parish in Jan., 1969 with the Rev'd Joe Johnson was first rector followed by the Rev'd David Poteet (6/10/73 - 2/26/78) and the Rev'd Calvin Sachers (9/3/78 - 12/31/94). Associate rectors during this time were the Rev'd William McLouglin and the Rev'd Alice Tucker. In November of 1979, construction began on a parish hall-classroom addition.
Despite some temporary set-backs, the parish and school continued to grow so that by 1992 the next major phase of physical growth got underway and construction was completed on Sept. 23, 1994 of the new sanctuary with seating for 450 and the renovated and expanded former sanctuary, Krist Hall. The expansion was soon put to use helping many families who were displaced by a major fire at the Bal Harbor Apartment complex. The Rev'd James Smalley was the rector from April 4, 1995 until 1998. After an arson-caused fire in 1996, adimistrative space was added and a new organ was purchased in 1998 following an electrical storm. The associate rector was the Rev'd Heather Blewett. The Rev'd John Musgrave became rector Aug. 1, 1999, and the associate rector, the Rev'd Barbara Lewis, came March 27, 2000. Our current rector, The Rev'd Bill Hyde, preached his first sermon here on the first Sunday in Advent, 2004. In the summer of 2006 Melody Shobe joined us as a deacon, and St. Thomas hosted a double ordination for Melody and her husband, Casey (who serves the Cathedral), on January 18, 2007.
St. Thomas the Apostle Parish has continued to grow in physical size, the number of parishoners, a proliferation of ministries to meet the needs of the parish and out-reach programs to help the needs of the greater community. We continue to build and "they" continue to come.
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