Our History

    St. Augustine’s was born in the chapel of Canterbury College, an Episcopalian co-educational liberal arts college founded in 1946. The college experienced financial problems soon after, and eventually closed in 1952. The church continued on as a mission, however, thanks to the dedication of six families. They met in the basements of several other Danville churches. Visiting priests helped the congregation stay alive through those years. Eventually the congregation was able to purchase a house on East Clinton Street in Danville, and they refurbished it to hold a sanctuary and Sunday School rooms. During that time, 1954-1957, Fr. Bill Cassady served as St. Augustine’s priest.
     In 1955, Mr. & Mrs. Charles Eckler donated two acres of their orchard property on North Washington Street as a building site for a new church. In 1956, St. Augustine’s received its first full-time priest, the Rev. Cn. Reese Thornton, a former missionary to Cuba. Under his leadership, the mission grew spiritually and financially. On August 4, 1957, Bishop Craine officiated at the groundbreaking ceremony for the new church building. The last service at the house on East Clinton Street was December 15, 1957. On December 22, 1957, Holy Communion was celebrated for the first time in the new church building on North Washington Street. During the early 1960’s the Rev. W. Kenneth Williams was the priest, and in 1962, the Rev. Gary Gloster (who later became the Suffragan Bishop of North Carolina) was our third full-time priest.
     In 1966, the Rev. John Roof became the fourth full-time priest. He led St. Augustine’s from a mission to full parish status. On November 7, 1970, at the 133rd Diocesan Convention, St. Augustine Episcopal Church was voted full parish status, and Bishop Craine designated us as a parish on November 24, 1970. Parish status had been made possible by a very generous bequest from Elsie Blessing in 1970. Her gift made it possible to repay all the diocesan aid the mission had received and allowed St. Augustine’s to purchase the rest of the Eckler property on North Washington Street. This land had been planted by the Ecklers as a tree nursery. They planted trees of every variety native to Indiana: maples, oaks, redbud, pink and white dogwood, tulip poplar, and pines of all kinds. The Eckler home was remodeled and turned into a rectory.
     One by one, over many years, stained glass windows of the Saints were installed in the north and south windows of the sanctuary. Stained glass windows with angels, wheat, and grapes were added in 1993 to remind us of the gifts of bread and wine. Stained glass entrance windows of Adam and Eve and Christ’s resurrection were also installed in the mid 1990’s.
     Also on the Eckler property was an old glazed block building that had sat empty for many years until, in 1977, the vestry voted to remodel the building to use as a Sunday School and meeting area. Through a tremendous effort of volunteer labor, led by parishioner John Knox, the Apple House renovation was completed five years later. Sunday School was held in the Apple House for the first time on January 25, 1981.
     In the late 1980’s, St. Augustine’s established a memorial garden behind the church. Landscaping with flowering trees, shrubs, and hundreds of daffodils and daylilies enhance the natural beauty of the site. St. Francis watches over the gardens and the souls of those laid to rest there.
     In 1996, the congregation remodeled the inside of the church. Dark paneling was replaced with sparkling white walls, and the old alter was retired and replaced by a new one. The organ was moved to the rear, the pews were refinished and new carpeting was installed. Once again, volunteers did all the work. The result is the beautiful sanctuary we love and appreciate today.
    In October 2009, after 42 wonderful years of service to our parish, Fr. John retired as rector of St. Augustine. The Rev. Tom Van Brunt was very creative and energetic as our interim rector for about a year and a half after Fr. John’s retirement. We then welcomed many thoughtful and dedicated supply priests for another year and a half. Thanks to many months’ hard work by our search committee members, we were blessed to receive The Rev. Bill Barfield as our new rector in March of 2012.
     Sadly, Fr. John passed away in March of 2013. We continue to feel the blessings from the time he spent with us, and as he always encouraged, we strive to “keep the love going.”
    We celebrated Fr. Bill’s 10th anniversary as our rector in March of 2022. Under his direction, we installed a lift to help those with mobility issues move from the parking lot up to the sanctuary and down to the undercroft. We also resurfaced and enlarged our parking lot, updated the Apple House, and restyled our Memorial Garden. Our church hosts Danville Boy Scout Troop 301, and a local Nar-Anon group meets in the undercroft once a week. We planted wildflower gardens and created trails through the back section of our church property, and they are a lovely place to spend time in nature. In fact, our church grounds have been designated a Certified Wildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. Please stop by for a visit and see our beautiful church and grounds. We welcome you!