DUANE
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Duane's take
The way this marker tells it, here's the story of Saint Andrew's Episcopal Church. Back in 1864, Episcopal services were being held out in the town of Millican, just down the road from where you're standing now. Quiet beginnings, as church stories often go.
But then came the yellow fever. A yellow fever epidemic swept through the Millican area, and that changed everything. In 1867, the Saint Andrew's Mission was relocated to Bryan.
Same year, a full parish was formed, and the man leading it was The Reverend Robert Jope. That is not a small thing, pulling a congregation together and setting it on new ground in the same year a community was running from sickness. The very next year, 1868, a church structure was raised near this site, and Bishop Alexander Gregg came and consecrated it.
That's the word they use, consecrated. Set apart. Made holy.
The place had roots now. Time kept moving, as it will. By 1914, The Reverend Randolph Ray was the one who held the first service in a brand new church building, right here at this location.
A new building, but the same parish, the same thread running all the way back to those services in Millican in 1864. In 1992, Saint Andrew's marked 125 years of service, still woven into community programs and activities, still standing. From a yellow fever epidemic to a century and a quarter of showing up for people.
That is one long, steady thread.
What the marker says
This parish traces its origin to Episcopal services held in nearby Millican in 1864. A yellow fever epidemic in the Millican area prompted the relocation of the Saint Andrew's Mission to Bryan in 1867. A parish was formed that year and led by The Rev. Robert Jope. The original church structure, located near this site, was consecrated by Bishop Alexander Gregg in 1868. The Rev. Randolph Ray held the first service in a new church building at this location in 1914. In 1992 Saint Andrew's celebrated 125 years of service and participation in a variety of community programs and activities.