By Katie Sherrod

The congregation of St. Mary’s, Hillsboro, who earlier this year lost their historic building to people who left The Episcopal Church, worshiped in their new space at 301 S Waco Street on Sunday, June 27, 2021.

For several weeks, they worshiped in a borrowed office space while they looked for something more permanent. Then a local businessman offered them a vacant bank drive-through facility on a main street in town. All they had to do was clean it up and do some mechanical repairs.

They set to work, and with the help of a generous gift from the Diocese of West Texas and others, they have transformed the place. West Texas gave them sanctuary furniture and 60 chairs for the worship space.  Books of Common Prayer, hymnals, and all the accoutrement of our worship life came from parishes around Texas.  St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Keller, produces bulletins for monthly Eucharists and sends them to St. Mary’s with a priest. And long time stalwart member Robert Skelton invites her brother in from time to time; the Rev. Joseph H Chillington, Jr., is a retired priest, and he celebrated and preached on June 27.

Bishop Scott Mayer visited St. Mary’s. Hillsboro, on December 5, 2021, the Second Sunday of Advent. It was his first visit to the congregation since they have moved into their new worship space — which they have created out of a former Bank of America Drive Thru facility.

They are using one large room for worship and the other for their Parish Hall. An added luxury for them is that their Parish Hall has bathrooms. When they shared their historic building with the ACNA congregation, the ACNA group did not allow them access to the Parish Hall, where the bathrooms were. The new Parish Hall also still has the tubes left from the drive thru banking days, leading to some light hearted joking about Ashes to Go possibilities.

Bishop Mayer blessed the font, the altar, and other gifts from our diocese and congregations, from the Diocese of West Texas, and from their own community. They had a luncheon in honor of the bishop following the worship service.