A Brief History of St. Margaret's Episcopal Church

“St Margaret’s is the church that helps people,” said one of its Outreach clients a few years ago. This is still true for this charming little Episcopal church of 235 dedicated families.

An amazing lay spirit has lifted and led this congregation since its beginning as an “unorganized mission” in 1892. For 60 years it functioned as the smallest religious organization in Carrollton, holding services in its tiny chapel on White Street and West Avenue.

The significance of being named for the 11^th century Scottish Queen Margaret is not lost on its members today. St. Margaret always fed the poor at her table, serving them first. She also restored the 500 year old monastery on the Scottish Isle of Iona. The church has modeled itself on Queen Margaret’s charity. To symbolize the connection, the Rev. Dewey Gable in 1953 arranged for a small stone from the Ionian ruins to be placed in the altar at St. Margaret’s.

After a sudden growth spurt in the ‘50's, the current Williamsburg style church was built on Newnan Street. The spirit of strong lay leadership kept the church thriving with grace through six “priest-less” periods.

Through inspired leaders money was raised for Outreach by having a Thrift Shop run by church members and Christmas bazaars, even conducting services and providing adult education in the spirit of love and commitment

By the late sixties., St. Margaret’s attained “Full Parish Status” and built a Parish Hall in 1970. The church membership accommodated the new day of racial de-segregation with grace.

St. Margaret’s Day became an annual celebration on November 17, 1970. I n this spirit of unity, the Rev. John Boucher arrived in time to help reconcile a “charismatic” schism. Through strengthening the worship fellowship, he left a healthy church for the Rev. Jim Callahan in 1982.

This popular priest inspired the parish with his dramatic sermons, done after long study and with no notes. He made his flock laugh with him, at the “zaniness and wonder of life.”

His main accomplishments were: 1) the Soup Kitchen, started with the Lutheran and Carrollton Presbyterian Churches, and now serving 1,000's a month. 2) Outreach, headed with humor and energy by Barry Staples. As a lawyer, Barry stood up in court for abused women, and dispensed checks to those caught in the undertow of poverty, drugs, and bad luck. She found homes for the desperate, even one man living in a boat.

The other main projects for the poor that Barry started were Paper Pantry for needy new mothers, and Homework Helper for kids in public housing who needed help in school work.

When church rules forced Rev. Callahan to retire in 2000, the stunned congregation searched for over a year for a replacement. The search committee, luckily, found warm, dynamic Rev. Hazel Glover as the successor. Under her leadership, the grounds and buildings were beautifully renovated and unified for better flow. With the arrival of Laura Lenaeus as Youth Director, the young people’s programs for all through 12^th grade are blossoming. Likewise, Catherine Gordon’s charismatic leadership of Outreach, after Barry’s death in ‘05, has assured St. Margaret’s function again, as being “Christ’s Body”in the community, where the “least of these” can be served.

By: Emily Cumming

Note: For a comprehensive history see “The Story of St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church” by Emily Cumming.