SAINT PHILIP'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH (SAINT PAUL, MINN.):

St. Philip's Episcopal Church traces its origins to 1868, when the Reverend T. H. N. Gerry organized a Black Episcopal congregation known as St. Mark's. With the death of Rev. Gerry a year later, the congregation disbanded. After a hiatus of twenty years, former members were spurred to revive the congregation by the arrival in St. Paul of Mrs. Elizabeth Tibbs, originally from Baltimore. Mrs. Tibbs and others petitioned the Bishop for the establishment of a mission in the Black community in St. Paul. Doubtful of the viability of such a mission, approval for the venture was not granted until 1894. On May 1st of that year (the feast of St. Philip), St. Philip's mission was organized by Archdeacon Appleby.

In 1905 the congregation purchased its first church building, which was destroyed in 1954 to make way for the present facility. The year 1905 also saw the appointment of St. Philips' first full time priest, Alfred H. Lealtad. Following Lealtad's retirement in 1934 the parish was served by the following priests: Edward James (1935-1938), Victor Holly (1938-1944), Llewellyn Williams (1944-1950), Denzil Carty (1950-1975), Phillip Jones and Jeannette Piccard (1975-1977), Chester Talton (1977-1981), David Weaver (1981-1983), Thomas Logan (1983-1987), Christopher Laing (1987-1990), and Melvin Turner (1990-).

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Although St. Philip's Episcopal Church was founded in 1894, materials in the collection date primarily from the 1970s onwards. Records consist primarily of vestry records, including minutes and financial records dating from the 1970s to the 1990s; rectors' correspondence; and church bulletins, as well as a collection of subject files. Also included are membership-related records such as marriage certificates and related documents, letters of transfer, directories, and rosters.

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These records are organized into the following sections:

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Restrictions:

Restricted, in part. With the exception of the publications series (see Box 2), access to materials less than 25 years old requires written permission.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. St. Philips Episcopal Church Records. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Accession Information:

Accession numbers: 11,709; 11,924; 15,251; 15,418; 15,943

Processing Information:

Processed by: Lara D. Friedman~Shedlov, September 1998; Lynn Leitte, November 2002

Catalog ID number: 990017349410104294

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Records in this series provide information on the membership and history of the church.

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The vestry functions like a board of directors in the Episcopal Church. It is led by the rector (the head priest) and senior warden (elected head of the vestry), as well as other officers. The bulk of the vestry records consists of minutes and financial records. Also included are a few miscellaneous files on policies and training for new vestry members.

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Church publications in the collection include weekly bulletins (certain years of which were titled The Episcopalian) and a church newsletter, The Parishioner. The bulletins contain the order or service for each week as well as announcements about events, thanks, and brief messages to the congregation. The newsletters contain longer articles on topics such as current events, church history, the church calendar, and profiles of church members.

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This series consists of correspondence of three different rectors of the church, dating from the early 1970s to 1995. The correspondence includes letters of reference, announcements to the congregation, and letters of thanks, as well as communications with the priests of other churches in the area. Also included is one folder of 1970s correspondence between Rev. Talton and bishops of Minnesota, primarily Philip McNairy.

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Subject files are arranged in alphabetical order and include material dating from 1950 to 1994. Topics of particular interest include the 1991-1992 boycott of department store Carson Pirie Scott and the church's centennial in 1994. Another highlight is the records pertaining to St. Philip's Gardens, a low-income housing project constructed under the auspices of the church in 1973. As of the early 1980s, it was the only Black-owned and managed housing complex in St. Paul.

St. Philip's also sponsored a chapter of the Union of Black Episcopalians. Records of this organization include minutes, correspondence, memoranda, financial reports, and annual meeting materials.

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The papers of Denzil Carty, Rector of St. Philip's Episcopal Church from 1950 to 1975, are available in the Minnesota Historical Society manuscript collections, cataloged separately.

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This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics:

African-Americans -- Religion -- Minnesota.

African-American clergy -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul.

Church records and registers -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul.

Episcopal church -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul.

Persons:

Carty, Denzil A.

Talton, Chester L.

Turner, Melvin E.

Organization:

Union of Black Episcopalians.

Types of Documentation:

Marriage records -- Minnesota.

Photographs.

Occupation:

Clergy -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul.

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