By Michael Gryboski, Editor Wednesday, September 17, 2025

A historically African American Episcopal Church congregation in Indiana was recently honored with a historical marker a couple of years ahead of its 100th birthday.

St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church of Gary, which was founded in 1927 as a chartered Episcopal mission for the local black population, had the marker installed last month.

Paula DeBois, parish historian at St. Augustine’s Episcopal, who submitted the application for the marker, told The Christian Post on Wednesday that the church was “part of a group of candidates in a cycle that applied to the Indiana Historic Bureau.”

“They deemed that our information was enough to be included in their marker program,” she explained. “We're the first Episcopal parish in the state to receive such a designation.”

DeBois also told CP that, while it's a “small church in an area that really gets a lot of negative press,” St. Augustine’s still “draws a varied group of individuals who have an interest in us.”

“We are a beacon for our community, architecture, arts, and civil rights issues, and, in the last 10 years, we've been a beacon for the preservation community,” she said.

St. Augustine’s Episcopal traces its origins to a time when Gary was segregated, and African American members of the local mother church were not allowed during regular worship times.

“The members were quite brave and forward-thinking,” noted DeBois. “They set about putting together their own church, which would be about eight blocks away.”

According to an Indiana Historical Bureau press release provided to CP, the church was aided during the 1930s and '40s by a group of Benedictine monks who were assigned by the local diocese.

The church experienced significant growth during the 1950s under the leadership of the Rev. Wallace Wells, and was actively involved in civil rights and social issues, including the desegregation of the beach at Marquette Park.

Its current building was built in 1959 and designed by the notable architect Edward Dart. In 1961, the mission was given official parish status by its diocese.

“The St. Augustine’s marker is a reminder of what collective action can build — one bolt and blessing at a time,” said Tyrell Anderson, a local preservationist, as quoted in the press release.

At present, St. Augustine’s Episcopal belongs to the Calumet Episcopal Ministry Partnership, a group of six churches that share the same priests due to denominational decline.

DeBois told CP that, as with many Episcopal congregations across the United States, her church has been experiencing a decline in membership and worship attendance.

“We are just like any other Episcopal church, in the sense that we are shrinking and aging out,” she explained. “I think it’s very important, in this moment in time when history is being rewritten, [to reflect on] the story of Saint Augustine's and the founding members who were so brave and forward-thinking.”

“I think that story needs to be told.”