All Saints' Episcopal Church

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about All Saints' Episcopal Church in Weatherford. Now, some churches are built on bedrock, spiritually speaking, and some are built on something a little more precarious. All Saints' Episcopal Church of Weatherford, Parker County, Texas, managed to be built on both, at different times, which makes this story worth sitting with for a spell.

It starts in June of 1875, when Bishop Alexander C. Garrett of Dallas rode into Weatherford. He had a look around, saw what was needed, and the following February he organized a mission church: five communicants to start.

Five souls. You could seat them all in a pickup truck, but they had the ambition of a cathedral. To lead them, the congregation called the Reverend Edwin Wickens, who was then serving at a mission at Fort Worth.

He'd come preach the fourth Sunday of each month, their first priest in charge. One Sunday a month. That's what they had, and they made it work.

By 1879, they had a small stone church completed. Proper stone. Built on a piece of land that would later become the site of the Weatherford City Hall, which tells you something about how a town grows up around the things people decide matter.

But the early years were, as the marker puts it plainly, financially challenging. That's a genteel phrase for a hard truth. By 1921, the bishop had sold the church property.

That's a gut-punch moment for any congregation. The property gone. The building gone.

Here's where the story turns, though; because of one woman. A parishioner named Maggie Coleman Foat gave new property, right here on this site, in memory of her daughter. The congregation reorganized.

Members opened up their homes for services, held worship in their parlors and sitting rooms, until a new building could be raised. And raise it they did, in 1923, for ten thousand four hundred and twenty-four dollars. Not a penny more, not a penny less.

That number is recorded, and it has the ring of a congregation that counted every cent and was proud of every one of them. That same year, a rectory was built for the new priest, the Reverend E. S.

Barlow. Maggie Coleman Foat wasn't finished giving, even in death. When she passed in 1943, she left stock in the First National Bank of Dallas, left it specifically to be used for the salary of a full-time priest.

She had thought this through. She had planned for the church's future in the most practical way imaginable. Along the way, the congregation gathered some notable figures in its pews.

Douglas Chandor, a noted portrait painter, born in 1897, died in 1953, served on the vestry from 1945 to 1947. A man who made his living capturing faces served on the governing board of this little church in Weatherford. There's something quietly wonderful about that.

A parish hall was placed on the premises in 1947. Then in 1964, the church and the rectory were joined together to form an educational building; two structures becoming one, the way a congregation tends to do with the things it loves. In 1996, All Saints' Episcopal Church celebrated a hundred and twenty years of history.

Started with five communicants and a bishop on a visit. Nearly lost everything in 1921. Rebuilt because a woman gave land in memory of her daughter, and a congregation refused to quit.

Some churches endure because of their stones. This one endured because of its people.

What the marker says

Bishop Alexander C. Garrett of Dallas visited Weatherford in June 1875. He organized a mission church here the following February with five communicants. The congregation called the Rev. Edwin Wickens, then serving at a mission at Fort Worth, to preach the fourth Sunday of each month as their first priest in charge. A small stone church was completed in 1879 on land that later became the site of the Weatherford City Hall. The early years proved to be financially challenging for All Saints' Episcopal Church, and by 1921 the bishop had sold the church property. The congregation reorganized, and new property on this site was given by parishioner Maggie Coleman Foat in memory of her daughter. Services were held in the homes of members until a new building was constructed in 1923 for $10,424.00. A rectory was built in the same year for the new priest, The Rev. E. S. Barlow. Upon her death in 1943, Maggie Coleman Foat left stock in the First National Bank of Dallas to be used for the salary of a full-time priest. Noted portrait painter Douglas Chandor (1897-1953) served on the vestry from 1945 to 1947. A parish hall was placed on the premises in 1947, and in 1964 the church and rectory were joined to form an educational building. In 1996 the church celebrated 120 years of rich history and heritage. All Saints' Episcopal Church of Weatherford continues to uphold the traditions of its founders. (1998)