St. Martin's Episcopal Church (Houston, Texas)

St. Martin's is an Episcopal church in the Episcopal Diocese of Texas. It is where former president George H.W. Bush and first lady Barbara Bush are members. It is also the second largest parish, and the largest in terms of average weekly attendence. About 10% of those confirmed in the Episcopal faith in Texas are confirmed at St. Martin's.Fact|date=June 2008

Brief history

The church was founded by Rev. J. Thomas Bagby on September 1, 1952. The first service was held in a house on Post Oak Road with 125 people in attendance.cite web | title = The History of St. Martin's | work=St. Martin's Episcopal Church, www.stmartinsepiscopal.org | url=http://www.stmartinsepiscopal.org/history.htm | accessdate=2007-05-11]

In 1954, four acres of land on Sage Road was purchased by the congregation and the first church building was constructed. This building is now Founders' Hall. A large expansion, which added a new Chapel, parlor, offices and classrooms, was completed in 1959.

In 1983, Rev. Bagby retired at the age of 72 as the leader on the church, and Rev. Claude E. Payne became the second Rector on August 28, 1983. Rev. Payne served at St. Martin until 1993, when he was elected Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas.

The church building

The current church building was completed on Easter Sunday 2004.

The new building (with spires and antennae reaching convert|188|ft|m into the sky) was designed by Jackson & Ryan Architects and has been featured on the covers of three national magazines: "Civil Engineering" magazine (April 2005), "Modern Steel Construction" magazine (May 2005) and "Structure" magazine (December 2005), and has won numerous awards.cite web | title = Award Winning Projects | work = Matrix Structural Engineers, matrixstructural.com | url = http://www.matrixstructural.com/awardwinning.shtml | accessdate = 2007-05-04] . Its architecture is based on the Gothic Elisabethskirche in Marburg, Germany.

Timeline

*September 1, 1952 - St. Martin's (Houston, Texas, USA) was founded by the Rev. J. Thomas Bagby. One hundred twenty-five people attended the first service.
*January, 1953 - Accepted as a self-supporting Parish with 263 communicants.
*1954 - Four acres of land on Sage Road in Houston, Texas were purchased and the first church building was constructed. This building is now called Founders' Hall.
*1959 - Large expansion completed with new Chapel, parlor, offices and classrooms. New sanctuary was ready for Easter Sunday services March 29.
*September 1, 1962 - 10th Anniversary, St. Martin's had grown to 2,791 baptized members.
*September 1, 1977 - 25th Anniversary, dedication of the Wayside Chapel for All People.
*1983 - The Rev. Dr. J. Thomas Bagby retired at the age of 72.
*August 28, 1983 - The Rev. Claude E. Payne became the second Rector.
*In 1984, "The Vision Awaits Its Time" Capital Campaign was conducted. Major expansion took place, adding the Education Building, Library and Choir Hall.
*1986 - The St. Martin's Activity Center was opened.
*1993 - The Rev. Claude E. Payne was elected Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas.
*1994 - The Rev. Laurence A. Gipson, then Dean of the Cathedral of the Advent in Birmingham, Alabama, became the third Rector.
*By the 1990s, St. Martin's had become one of the largest Episcopal Churches in the United States.
*1997 - "Building to Bless Forward in Faith" Capital Campaign for construction of a new Church, Parish Hall, Cloister and playground.
*September 8, 2002 - Celebration of St. Martin's first 50 years. St. Martin's had over 7,000 members.
*June 22, 2006 - The Rev. Laurence A. Gipson, D.D. announced his retirement
*April 29, 2007 - The new Cloister Garden was dedicated
*May 8, 2007 - Rector search committee called the Rev. Dr. Russell J. Levenson, Jr. as its new Rector
*June 24, 2007 - The new Garden of the Holy Cross - Riverway was consecrated and dedicated
*August 26, 2007 - The Inaugural Liturgy of the Rev. Dr. Russell J. Levenson, Jr., Fourth Rector.
*2008 - St. Martin's is now classified as the largest Episcopal Church in the United States, based on baptized members. It also has the largest weekly attendance. [ [http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/~lcrew/biggest.html The Largest Congregations in the The Episcopal Church ] ]

Installation of its fourth rector

January 6, 2008 - St. Martin’s Episcopal Church installed its fourth Rector during the Celebration of the New Ministry of the Rev. Dr. Russell J. Levenson, Jr. Special guests included:
• The Right Reverend and the Right Honorable Lord Carey of Clifton, 103rd Archbishop of Canterbury
• His wife, Lady Eileen Carey
• The Rt. Rev. Don A. Wimberly, Bishop of Texas
• The Rt. Rev. Claude E. Payne and the Rt. Rev. Maurice M. Benitez, former Bishops of Texas
• Ann Claypool, wife of author Dr. John R. Claypool (deceased)
Before the service, festive music was offered, featuring an orchestra, the Gloria Dei organ and St. Martin’s choir.
After the Institution, a Litany for a New Ministry was beautifully sung, followed by the Collects and the Liturgy of the Word, which included some special moments for our new Rector.
The Honorable Johanna Fitzpatrick, “a good Jewish aunt” from when Dr. Levenson lived in Washington, D.C., read the Old Testament Lesson. The Psalm was read by the Rev. Harry Hill, his associate from Christ Church, Pensacola. The Epistle was read by Mrs. Ann Claypool, who has “been another mother” to Dr. Levenson. Later in the evening, our new Rector noted that, “It was 15 years ago tonight that I was ordained a priest, and John Claypool [Ann’s husband] was there.”
In his sermon, Lord Carey praised Dr. Levenson and Laura, noting that, “They will serve you very well.”
The theme of Lord Carey’s sermon, “The Great Door,” was echoed in his plea, “We ache to see as many people as possible to enter our doors.”He spoke about St. Martin’s and its future with Dr. Levenson. He asked us to not be afraid of change, and to “be prepared for new things under this new ministry.” He went on to say that, “the message of this Church can be summarized by one word — transformation.”As parishioners of St. Martin’s, “Your purpose is to engage in God’s experiment.”
Referring to the situation going on now within the Anglican Communion, Lord Carey prophesied that, “This great Church and this particular ministry might have a role in fixing the brokenness of the Anglican Communion,” and questioned, “What kind of Church is the world calling St. Martin’s to be?”
To the 1,505 worshipers and those in attendance that evening, he asked, “I hope you will give your support to Russ and Laura and their colleagues.” Noting that “none of us ever remains a spectator,” he called on the staff, the Wardens, the Clergy and the parishioners of this Church to “be united, be enthusiastic.”
Following Lord Carey’s sermon was the Induction, whereby representatives of the congregation and of the Clergy of the diocese stand before the Bishop with the new minister.
The Rev. Dr. Russell J. Levenson, Jr. then greeted the congregation as our new Rector. On his friendship with Lord and Lady Carey, he said that, “They have a faith that is contagious and inspiring and I hope they will come back many times to St. Martin’s.”He also reminded those in attendance that “We’re here every Sunday,” and joked that, “I’ve been here a few months and I haven’t seen the Church this full.”
Dr. Levenson recalled that, while being interviewed by the Search Committee, he had been asked what his legacy to St. Martin’s would be.
His dream is for people to say that, “If you want to know the love of God and you want to be loved, go to St. Martin’s ... the King is in the house.”
The service concluded with the Choir singing “You Are Being Redeemed,” in memory of the Rev. Dr. John R. Claypool.
Acolytes, holding candles, led the congregants out of the service and outside to watch the fireworks display.

The Rev. Dr. Russell J. Levenson, Jr.

The Rev. Dr. Russell Jones Levenson, Jr. was born and reared in Birmingham, Alabama. His is married to the former Laura Norton and they have three children, Evelyn (20), Jones (18) and Luke (12).
Russell received a Bachelor of Arts "cum laude" from Birmingham-Southern College in 1984. Upon his graduation, he was awarded the College’s highest service recognition as the recipient of the "President’s Service Award." Prior to entering seminary, he worked at Birmingham-Southern as Assistant to the President of the College and later as Minister to Youth at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Birmingham, Alabama. He received a Master of Divinity Degree from Virginia Theological Seminary in 1992. While at the seminary, he served as President of his entering class and as a member of the seminary’s Executive and Curriculum Committees.
Following his graduation from VTS, he served as Assistant University Chaplain, under the Reverend Dr. Samuel Lloyd, until he was called as Associate Rector at St. Luke’s in Birmingham, where he served under the Rev. Dr. John Claypool for four years.
In 1997, he was also called to be the Rector of The Episcopal Church of the Ascension in Lafayette, Louisiana. During his tenure, the parish nearly doubled its budget, gained over 500 new members and underwent over $5 million in capital improvements.
In 2002, Dr. Levenson was called as the fifteenth rector of historic Christ Church Parish in Pensacola, Florida. During his tenure, over 600 new members joined the parish; and the parish’s budget grew substantially as did its commitment to outreach, mission, and Christian Education. In the Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast, he served on the Diocesan Commission for Communication and the Commission for Stewardship, the Diocesan Commission for Church Growth and Evangelism, and the Standing Committee.
Dr. Levenson has been a featured speaker and retreat leader in North and South Carolina, Alabama, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana and Massachusetts. He has had nearly 50 articles published in magazines and journals.
Dr. Levenson was called to be our fourth rector in May 2007. He began his tenure in late August 2007 and continues his commitment to an Anglican expression of the orthodox, biblical faith we share at St. Martin’s. He places a high priority on the continued building of our membership through faithful preaching and teaching, active evangelism, Christian education, and outreach.

References

External links

* [http://www.stmartinsepiscopal.org St. Martin's] Official website