DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker says about Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Galveston County — so let's take it from the beginning. Fall of 1899. A small group of Episcopalians living in Dickinson decided they weren't going to go without a church any longer.
They petitioned the Rt. Rev. George H.
Kinsolving, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas, to send them a priest. Now, Bishop Kinsolving obliged. He sent the Rev.
A.J. Burnett — priest over at Grace Mission in Alvin — to come visit Dickinson and see what could be done. What could be done, it turned out, was quite a lot.
Burnett and six families organized Holy Trinity Episcopal Mission right then and there. No building to speak of yet, so members gathered for worship in private homes. Eventually they converted a small building at the Dickinson picnic grounds for church use.
Not exactly a cathedral, but it was theirs. Bishop Kinsolving came to visit in May of 1900 and confirmed nine new members into the church. Things were looking up.
The congregation was growing, the community was taking notice — and then came the storm. Later that same year, the 1900 hurricane tore through Galveston and the Texas gulf coast, devastating everything in its path. Holy Trinity suffered extensive damage.
That storm is one of the darkest chapters in Texas history, and this little congregation felt the full weight of it. But they didn't quit. A year later, with funding assistance from the diocese, the members of Holy Trinity were able to erect their very first church building.
In time, folks came to call it — fondly, warmly, like you'd call an old friend — "the little church by the side of the road." The Ladies' Guild raised funds to furnish it, and on November 10, 1901, the church was dedicated. For the next half-century, a steady stream of resident priests and deacons, along with supply clergy coming in from Alvin, Galveston, Texas City, Houston, and Harrisburg, kept the mission alive and serving. Then in 1930, a church social was first held — and that modest gathering eventually evolved into the Strawberry Festival, an annual community-wide event.
The kind of thing a town builds its calendar around. The congregation kept building too. Over the years they added other structures, including a rectory dedicated in memory of victims of the 1947 Texas City disaster — a solemn act of remembrance woven right into the bricks and mortar of the place.
In 1954, Holy Trinity Church attained parish status. And by the early 1960s, the congregation had grown enough that a new building campaign was underway. "The little church by the side of the road" — that beloved original — was replaced with a larger facility to hold a membership that just kept on growing. From six families huddled in private homes in 1899, through hurricanes and disasters and a Strawberry Festival or two, Holy Trinity Episcopal Church has been serving the community every step of the way.
Some foundations, it turns out, hold.
What the marker says
In the fall of 1899, a small group of Episcopalians living in Dickinson petitioned the Rt. Rev. George H. Kinsolving, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas, to send a priest to minister to them. Bishop Kinsolving sent the Rev. A.J. Burnett, priest at Grace Mission in Alvin, to visit Dickinson. Burnett and six families organized Holy Trinity Episcopal Mission, and members attended worship services in private homes until converting a small building at the Dickinson picnic grounds for church use. Bishop Kinsolving visited in May 1900 and confirmed nine new members into the church. Later that year, the church suffered extensive damage in the 1900 hurricane that devastated Galveston and the Texas gulf coast. A year later, with funding assistance from the diocese, the members of Holy Trinity were able to erect their first church building, later fondly referred to as “the little church by the side of the road.” The Ladies’ Guild raised funds to furnish the church, which was dedicated on November 10, 1901. For the next half-century, a number of resident priests and deacons, as well as supply clergy from churches in Alvin, Galveston, Texas City, Houston and Harrisburg served the mission. A church social first held in 1930 evolved in the Strawberry Festival, an annual community-wide event. The congregation added other buildings over the years, including a rectory dedicated in memory of victims of the 1947 Texas City disaster. Holy Trinity Church attained parish status in 1954. By the early 1960s the church undertook a new building campaign, and “the little church by the side of the road” was replaced with a larger facility for the congregation’s growing membership. The church continues to serve the community with a variety of programs. (2006)