St. Paul United Methodist Church

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker says about St. Paul United Methodist Church in Jefferson County. Now settle in, because this is a story about seventeen people and what they started.

In 1915, Reverend S.D. Hackett brought Methodism to the historic westside of Port Arthur. Seventeen faithful members.

That's all it took. They called the congregation Hackett Chapel, a black Methodist church, and in the beginning they didn't have walls or pews or a proper roof over their heads. They had a prayer band.

And that prayer band started meeting at the Ila Hall on West 7th Street, and then, when that wasn't enough, they moved right into each other's homes. Now, if you want to know what faith looks like, that's a pretty good picture of it. In 1920, Hackett Chapel went on the Gulf Coast Black Conference Record, and it went on under a new name: St.

Paul Methodist Episcopal Church. That same year, a grant from the Board of Home Missions from Port Arthur College made it possible to erect the first church at 848 Lincoln Avenue. They built it, and they waited, and in 1926 they opened the doors.

Decades passed. The congregation kept growing. By 1964, the church trustees were in negotiations to purchase the O.C.A.W.

Hall, local 254, over at 821 Texas Avenue, and that was going to be the new church home. Then came Sunday, November 14, 1965. The first church service was held at that new location, and the one leading it was Bishop Noah W.

Moore, Jr., resident bishop of the southwestern area. That is the kind of Sunday morning you remember. Then came 1968, and Reverend Hubert B.

Liedy, Jr., guided St. Paul through the United Methodist Church integration process. Through that merger, the name changed to what it carries today: St.

Paul United Methodist Church. Now, the marker makes a point of noting they were a small congregation. But small, it turns out, is not the same as quiet, and it is not the same as idle.

Local missions, foreign missions, clothing drives, food drives, school supply drives, youth mentoring, youth tutoring, weekly meals for local residents right there on the Westside. Over a century of that. Seventeen members and a prayer band, gathering in somebody's living room on the westside of Port Arthur.

That's where it began. And it is still going.

What the marker says

In 1915, Reverend S.D. Hackett introduced Methodism to the historic westside of Port Arthur, creating Hackett Chapel, a black Methodist church, with seventeen faithful members. The "prayer band" began meeting at the Ila Hall on West 7th Street and then in members" homes. Hackett Chapel officially went on the Gulf Coast Black Conference Record in 1920 as St. Paul Methodist Episcopal Church. The first church was erected through a grant from the Board of Home Missions from Port Arthur College in 1920 at 848 Lincoln Avenue and opened in 1926. In 1964, as church membership continued to grow, the church trustees began negotiations to purchase the O.C.A.W. Hall - local 254, located at 821 Texas Avenue, as the new church location. On Sunday, November 14, 1965, the first church service was held at the new location and was led by Bishop Noah W. Moore, Jr., resident bishop of the southwestern area. In 1968, Reverend Hubert B. Liedy, Jr., led the church through the United Methodist Church integration process. Through this merger, the church name changed to St. Paul United Methodist Church. Despite their small congregation, St. Paul United Methodist Church served and continues to serve the Westside community and beyond through many service programs, including local and foreign missions, clothing, food and school supply drives, youth mentoring and tutoring, and weekly meals for local residents. Locally and globally, the St. Paul United Methodist Church has served as a beacon of hope for over a century. (2017)