Lore has it that St. Mary's Memorial Chapel was established in the early 1900's so young ladies attending State Normal and Industrial College (now the University of North Carolina at Greensboro) would not get their long skirts dirty walking the unpaved streets to St. Andrew's Episcopal Church. In a day when transportation was difficult, the campus was considered the country.
St. Mary's Chapel was dedicated in 1900 Bishop Joseph Blount Cheshire; the chapel built in 1912. It began as an outreach project of St. Andrew's for students on the campuses of State Normal and Greensboro College. This chapel was considered the girls' church on campus and was established to maintain the influence of the church.
The rector at St. Andrew's automatically became the chaplain at St. Mary's, a practice that continued until 1955 when Peter Robinson, assistant rector at Holy Trinity, became St. Mary's part-time chaplain.
The post-World War I era brought change to the college and the chapel. State Normal became the N.C. College of Women (NCCW) in 1919, and St. Mary's Chapel closed shortly thereafter. Bishop Cheshire deconsecrated the building in 1920 so it could be used for meetings and social gatherings. Accompanying physical changes were removing the steeple and adding a kitchen.
St. Mary's fell into decline and disrepair. Business and social gatherings were held in a house next door, and worship services were held at St. Andrew's or Holy Trinity until the chapel was purchased by the Diocese of North Carolina and its Women's Auxiliary which began renovations. At the completion of renovations in 1929, Bishop Edwin A. Penick dedicated St. Mary's. The appellation of 'Episcopal Student Center' was added, and the college's name was changed to Women's College of the University of North Carolina (WC-UNC) in 1931. The Penick Lectures at WC, sponsored by the Episcopal students and faculty, honored Penick's 32 years as bishop. The three-day series brought noted speakers to campus during the 1950's.
During the decade of the 1930's, 40's, and 50's, house operations were conducted by a student secretary or women's counselor with the rector of St. Andrew's serving as part-time chaplain. Reflecting the interests of the particular era, emphases were on social graces, beauty pageants, and fashionable weddings.
The building, though renovated in the 1930's, had definite lacks, heat being one. In one memo, student secretary Margaret Williams asks the girls to bring firewood so the building could be used. Prayer services were held in the college's residents halls. Another memo quotes Williams as "being at home at Mrs. McIver's across the street from Curry (Building) and front campus on chapel mornings. When spring really comes and brings warm weather we shall use St. Mary's House."
The chaplaincy reflected a major change occurring in the United States after World War II. Gas rationing had kept WC students close to the college. Lifting travel restrictions saw an erosion in week-end attendance at services. Carl Herman, St. Mary's part-time chaplain from 1945-1955, noted this erosion and sought to counter by improving the house's physical facilities. During his decade as chaplain, the kitchen was enlarged, an office added, and central heat installed.
Women's College underwent another name change in 1963 becoming the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG), prompting the diocese to re-evaluate its chaplaincy programs as the college expanded it educational mission.
Under the auspices of Bishop Thomas A. Fraser, Greensboro clergy met in 1964 and drafted recommendations for the chaplaincy including the assignment of a full-time chaplain. Bishop Fraser acted on the recommendation in 1966 and reassigned Thomas J.C. Smyth, who had been rector at Holy Trinity, as St. Mary's first full-time chaplain. Smyth later became the Dean of Students at UNCG, holding the two posts simultaneously.
St. Mary's was unwittingly drawn into the turbulence of the late 1960's and early 1970's by its proximity to the Tate Street shopping area. The street attracted a fringe element, earning the nickname "Hippie Hill." Smyth had to negotiate the fine line between compassion and responsibility when the fringe spilled over into St. Mary's.
Ushering in a new era of community involvement and social activism were St. Mary's next two chaplains, James Abbott and Henry Atkins. During this period student participation in the chaplaincy dwindled to the extent that the mainly adult congregation felt they were "parishioner without a parish" and petitioned the diocese for special congregation status which was granted in 1980.
Charles Hawes was called to be St. Mary's House's chaplain in 1984. The diocese abolished the special congregation status and restored chaplaincy status where St. Mary's primary emphasis lies today.
During Hawes's tenure as chaplain, student participation has grown considerably. Weekly student fellowships, consisting of worship and bi-weekly programs on a variety of social, political, and religious issues, typically moderated by college faculty and community members, are a highlight of current life at St. Mary's House and draw students from UNCG and Guilford College. St. Mary's House students have traveled to Costa Rica to take part in mission work, and are involved in other church programs at the diocesan, provincial, and national levels. Students from St. Mary's House have recently gone on to do graduate studies in religion at Harvard, Princeton, the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California, The University of Chicago, Episcopal Divinity School, Union Theological Seminary in New York, Union Seminary in Virginia, and Church Divinity School of the Pacific.
St. Mary's House continues to participate in social activism. During the 80's and 90's, members actively protested against wars in Central America and the Middle East. Parishioners are committed to environmental concerns, peace and justice issues, and they regularly participate in community awareness events life CROP Walk and Winter Walk for AIDS.
St. Mary's has been a home and meeting place for many campus and community groups. The MFA Creative Writing Program at UNCG conducts poetry readings at St. Mary's, and UNCG's Hillel was founded here. The facility recently underwent anoher renovation which included the addition of a new roof, improvements to the kitchen and chaplain's office, and refurbishment of the original hardwood floor.
St. Mary's House is pointedly welcoming, advertising that it is "a diverse and inclusive Episcopal Church community welcoming people of all ages, races, marital status, sexual orientation, and previous religious experience." Inclusive language is used in the liturgy at Eucharist. Those who encounter St. Mary's House today will find "a welcoming and inclusive communion of friends who come together to nurture faith through the Eucharist, nurture the spirit through fellowship, learning, and the arts, and nurture change through social action."
In 2006, after twenty-two years of service, the Rev. Charlie Hawes retired as Chaplain of St. Mary’s House. The Rev. Kevin Matthews was called to be the new chaplain, beginning in August of 2006.
Contributors:
Betty Jo Byers 1988
Callie Young Stuhler, 2006