Rachel Keynton, who has been a member of St. Thomas’ since before World War II, recalled vividly the day after the fire that destroyed the church building in 1970. The blaze had been set by an arsonist who would never be caught. Henry Breul, the rector, stood in the parking lot that muggy August Monday as the rubble smoldered behind him. Only the walls were left, but they too would have to come down after the intense heat of the fire rendered them unstable.

“Well, Rachel, it’s not what it was yesterday,” he said.

Gone was the grand gothic, cruciform structure where services had been held since June 25, 1899. Only portions of the high altar and the Parish Hall had been spared. Physically, St. Thomas’ is not what it was before. The stately look of the old St. Thomas’ building symbolized the parish’s life in its early years. Worshippers entered through wrought iron and glass doors and filed down the center aisle as light shone through stained glass windows. The building, whose cornerstone was laid in 1894, was described as “the most beautiful ecclesiastical building in the District” and had a gilded cross that could be seen over the Dupont Circle skyline.

In the 70 years preceding the fire, St. Thomas’ was known as “very high society” because so many of the Washington elite came through its doors, including Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman, and Mrs. Woodrow Wilson. On the first Sunday in Lent, 1933, parishioners welcomed the return of Roosevelt, who had been inaugurated as president of the United States the day before. From 1913 to 1920, while serving as assistant secretary of the Navy, he also had been involved with the parish, including a term on the Vestry. On his first day back to church as president, hundreds of people lined up at the front entrance hoping to get into the 11 a.m. service.

The next few decades saw the neighborhood surrounding St. Thomas’ shed its aristocratic feel as many of the city’s white residents headed to the suburbs. Dupont Circle and the rest of the city got mired in the social upheaval of the 1960s. The neighborhood attracted people whose behavior was viewed by some in the mainstream as “unconventional,” including a core of artists, hippies, and some who lived on the fringe of society. It was in this setting in 1965 that Henry Breul became St. Thomas’ sixth rector. He described the parish as “an old, staid parish, a kind of Edwardian anachronism in the midst of a strifetorn city.”

As the Vietnam War raged overseas and the fight for civil rights tore at the domestic fabric, Mr. Breul had to steer the parish through its own internal struggles with its identity. The church building was used as a shelter and aid station for protesters tear-gassed during antiwar demonstrations in Dupont Circle. The parish became involved in a vigorous program to tutor the neighborhood’s poor and minority children.

In 1966, Mr. Breul introduced the annual Rogation Day procession around the neighborhood, a St. Thomas’ variation on the English custom of walking the boundaries of the geographical parish. The first Rogation Day procession following the fire proclaimed that St. Thomas’ was still alive and well and a vibrant part of the neighborhood. Mr. Breul commissioned a bright floral print chasuble that would draw attention to the procession and to St. Thomas’ itself. “A lot of people didn’t know we still existed,” one current parishioner said. The congregation made its way around several city blocks offering blessings along the way. The tradition — and the chasuble in its primarycolor glory — continue today.

Martin Luther King’s assassination in 1968 sparked riots that destroyed a large portion of the business district along 14th Street, only a few blocks away. Mr. Breul wrote that “we were worshipping in distressing surroundings and most suburban people would not come back downtown without fear and trepidation.” Then came the fire in 1970. It was the last straw for many in the 550-member congregation, which shrank by half and then some. The blaze also marked the beginning of severe financial decline from which the parish would take nearly two decades to recover. Many view the fire as the defining moment in St. Thomas’ 112-year history because it brought about significant changes in the physical and social structure of the parish. “The fire was a seminal event for St. Thomas’,” one former parishioner said. “It really cleansed the church.” While St. Thomas’ had already begun to assume a more pronounced role as a parish committed to social justice and the concerns of the inner city, the fire in many ways solidified that shift. St. Thomas’ — the building and the people — was not what it had been before.

Immediately after the fire, the Vestry began the Phoenix Rising Project, an effort to set a new direction. Among the options considered were rebuilding, merging with another parish, selling the property and moving elsewhere, or building a high-rise, multi-use complex. In the end, the Vestry voted to remain in the same location and carry on an active ministry within the community. St. Thomas’ leaders decided to convert the area where the old church building stood into a park that could be enjoyed by the whole neighborhood. The Parish Hall, which was left standing behind the footprint of the old church, would be transformed, its Upper Room reshaped into the simple, nontraditional worship space we use today. The rest of the building became a center for meetings of community organizations and various recovery groups. Mr. Breul said in his final report to the parish in 1991 that “through the fire we found our vocation to serve the neighborhood as the people of God.”

After Mr. Breul announced his retirement that year, John Keller, the interim rector, furthered efforts begun a few years earlier to practice greater fiscal responsibility and get the parish to live within its means — he even eliminated cookies at coffee hour. He also supported a wider role for lay leaders.

St. Thomas’ has long considered itself a welcoming community and played a supportive role in the civil rights struggles for blacks and women as far back as the early 1960s and later for gays and lesbians. During the 1970s, St. Thomas’ was one of the few churches that would allow Integrity, the organization of gay Episcopalians who did not feel welcome in their own parishes, to celebrate Holy Eucharist in its worship space. As a result, the parish became the spiritual base for a number of gay and lesbian Episcopalians trying to find their way back to their Christian faith. St. Thomas’ also distinguished itself as a place that allowed funerals for people who died from AIDS, whether or not the person had been a member of the parish.

By the 1980s, Dupont Circle had evolved into Washington’s gay and lesbian neighborhood. In seeking a new rector, the Vestry and search committee wanted someone who would continue St. Thomas’ tradition of welcoming all people.

St. Thomas’ started an important new era when the Vestry called the Rev’d James Holmes to be its rector in 1992. Mr. Holmes was Associate Rector at St. John’s, Lafayette Square, in Washington, who was known for his pastoral and administrative skills, liturgical understanding, and involvement within the Diocese of Washington. He was also openly gay and had been in a committed relationship with his partner for more than 15 years. The search committee and Vestry were comfortable with the possibility of calling a gay priest but discussed potential concerns about a gay priest who had a partner and would be living in the rectory as a visible presence in the community. Ultimately, the call was issued, and the fallout that some had feared never materialized.

In many ways, the deliberations surrounding Mr. Holmes’ calling were a precursor to the process leading up to St. Thomas’ decision in 1998 to adopt a procedure for blessing same-sex unions. This was another important milestone in parish history that involved a prayerful, deliberative process among much of the congregation. This process transformed our common understanding of the role of the parish in the development and support of committed partnerships and marriages. We have blessed five same-sex unions since developing this rite in 1998. We expect to continue this important new tradition, especially now that the blessing of same-sex unions has been endorsed by our diocesan bishop, John Bryson Chane.

Mr. Holmes’ tenure was marked by growth in St. Thomas’ membership, increased fiscal discipline, and an enrichment of St. Thomas’ history of inspiring, thoughtful preaching. His many strengths included an ability to make newcomers feel welcome by taking them to lunch and introducing them to parishioners with similar interests. We were sorry to see him go when he retired in 2002. From 2002 to 2004, our interim rector, Elizabeth Carl, provided continuing strong leadership. Among other things, she has reorganized the parish office and brought in new staff, rejuvenated a newcomers’ luncheon, and led the parish in a thoughtful discussion about its governance.

In December, 2004, The Dr. Rev. Nancy Lee Jose was called to be the eighth rector in St. Thomas’ history, coming as the diocese begins a new and exciting chapter under our eighth bishop, Mr. Chane, who was called in 2002. We eagerly await God’s continuing plan for us as we seek together to proclaim the glory of God’s name.

Recently the parish celebrated the installation of a stained glass window dedicated to the memory of our former rector, Rev. Henry Breul. Depicting a Phoenix Rising, this window symbolozes our parish and its ability to thrive through a difficult time.

» Learn more about the Phoenix Rising window and Rev Breul