John Elbridge Hines

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. John Elbridge Hines. Born October 3rd, 1910, in Seneca, South Carolina.

That's where the story starts, quiet and small, before it grows into something that would reach across Texas, across the nation, and all the way to South Africa. He attended the University of the South, up in Sewanee, Tennessee, and then Virginia Theological Seminary. And it was there, in 1933, that he watched the Great Depression tear through communities, observed the social troubles it caused, and decided that his ministry was going to mean something.

Not just words on Sunday. Something. He became an assistant director in St.

Louis, Missouri, kept developing that ministry, kept sharpening his focus on the social ills of his time. And in St. Louis, something else happened.

He met a woman named Helen Orwig. Born the same year as John, 1910. He married her in 1935.

Together they would rear five children. The family kept moving, because the work kept calling. In 1937, Hines became director of a church in Augusta, Georgia.

Then in 1941, he was named Director of Christ Church in Houston, the congregation that would later become Christ Church Cathedral. Four years later, 1945, he became Bishop Coadjutor and moved the whole family to Austin. Even in that role, he was already speaking up.

In favor of equality for women. In favor of equality for African Americans in the church. These weren't popular positions everywhere, and he said them anyway.

In 1955, he returned to Houston and became the 4th Bishop of Texas, carrying that same commitment to social justice with him. Then came 1965. John Hines was installed as Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church.

The top of the mountain. And from up there, he didn't ease off. He built institutions, including the Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest and Saint Stephen's Episcopal School, both in Austin.

He proposed the General Convention Special Program, the GCSP, a plan to offer financial assistance to minority groups organized for self-determination. The GCSP led parishes across the country to initiate social outreach ministries. He led the movement for corporate divestment in South Africa, playing a vital role in applying financial pressure to end apartheid.

Now, not everyone was applauding. Some were critical of the Bishop's reforms, and the marker doesn't soften that. Not everyone wanted the church moving in the direction he was pushing it.

But he pushed. John Hines retired in 1974, and he and Helen moved to North Carolina. They came back to Austin in 1993.

Helen passed in 1996. John followed on July 19th, 1997. But here's the thing about a life built on institutions and movements and change.

It doesn't retire when you do. His impact, the marker says, continues to be felt in Texas, and throughout the nation and the world. Some stories don't end.

They just keep working.

What the marker says

(October 3, 1910 – July 19, 1997) John E. Hines was born in Seneca, South Carolina. He attended the University of the South (Sewanee, Tennessee) in Virginia Theological Seminary, where he observed social troubles caused by the Great Depression in 1933. Hines became an assistant director in St. Louis, Missouri; there he continued to develop his ministry, which aimed to address social ills. While in St. Louis, Hines met Helen Orwig (1910-1996), whom he married in 1935. The 2 reared 5 children. In 1937, Hines became director of a church in Augusta, Georgia, and in 1941, he was named Director of Christ Church (later Christ Church Cathedral) in Houston. In 1945, Hines became Bishop Coadjutor and moved his family to Austin; during his term, he spoke in favor of equality for women and African-Americans in the church. In 1955, Hines returned to Houston and became the 4th Bishop of Texas, continuing to focus on social justice. In 1965 Hines was installed as Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church. He built many institutions, including the Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest and Saint Stephen’s Episcopal School in Austin, and called for change in church priorities, proposing the general convention special program (GCSP), a plan to offer financial assistance to minority groups organized for self-determination. The GCSP led many parishes to initiate social outreach ministries. In addition, Hines led the movement for corporate divestment in South Africa, playing a vital role in applying financial pressure to end apartheid. However, some were critical of the Bishop’s reforms. Hines retired in 1974, moving with Helen to North Carolina; they returned to Austin in 1993. Hines died in 1997, though his impact continues to be felt in Texas, and throughout the nation and the world. (2009)