History
George Haswell and seventeen other men organized Saint Andrew’s Episcopal Church as a parish on December 10, 1867 in Bryan. Saint Andrew’s was originally established in Millican, but due to a yellow fever epidemic and the decline of that community, Haswell and others moved northward to Bryan. Saint Andrew’s first church building was constructed at what is now Highway 21 and Parker Street.
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The Bishop of Texas, the Right Rev. George Kinsolving dedicated the current church building in 1914. The parish house was added in 1920. The church acquired the Plasek Building in 1971. The church offices were renovated in 1981 and the rest of the Plasek Building was remodeled into the Parish Hall and the Youth Hall/Choir Room in 1991.
The Saint Andrew’s Endowment Fund was formed in 1968 by Sam Sharp and other members of Saint Andrew’s.
Beginning in 2004 the parish initiated a period of improvements to the buildings and grounds of the church campus including renovating the front elevation and landscaping, restoring the organ, constructing the parking, installing the columbarium within the church building, erecting the Gloria Sale memorial wall, and renovating the basement and naming it the Sharp Meeting Room.
In 2011, after a period of self-study and reflection, the parish created the Cornerstone Strategic Plan, and in December of 2016 the vestry the approved the Building the Beloved Community Plan.
In 2017 Saint Andrew’s celebrated the 150th anniversary of the founding of the parish in which included a luncheon featuring a keynote speech by the dean of Christ Church Cathedral, the Very Rev. Barkley Thompson; and a visit by the Bishop of Texas, the Right Rev. Andy Doyle on December 10, 2017.
Saint Andrew’s has had six rectors over the last 63 years: the Rev. Hume Reeves, the Rev. Joe Frazier, the Rev. Romilly “Cotton” Timmins, the Rev. Nick Dyke, the Rev. Sean Cox, and the Rev. Daryl T. Hay. Reeves served as rector for eleven years, Frazier for thirteen years, and Dyke for sixteen years. Fr. Hay has been rector since October of 2013.
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Bishop Andy Doyle appointed Saint Andrew’s first curate, the Rev. Matt Stone, in 2017 and its second, the Rev. Bryan Callen, in 2020.
Through the years several Saint Andrew’s parishioners have made an impact on the community including Sam Sharp who helped establish the Community Foundation, Gardiner Osborn who was instrumental in starting the Prenatal Clinic, Marsy Clarke who formed what came to be Junction 505, and Thyra Plass who was the choirmaster/organist for Saint Andrew’s, and helped start MSC OPAS, and, along with her husband, established foundations to support the arts and outreach in the Brazos Valley.
Members of Saint Andrew’s have also been actively involved with the Brazos Church Pantry, Habitat for Humanity, Voices for Children, Friends of the Library, the Brazos Interfaith Immigration Network, and Neal Elementary
In 2007, in cooperation with Bryan ISD and Neal Elementary School, Saint Andrew’s created the Neal Scholar’s program which awards $1000 scholarships to 4th grade students at Neal School, at the end of each school year. The $1000 plus accumulated earnings are applied towards the cost of attendance when they attend college or vocational school.