The Little Texas Church that Could
The Rev. Tommy Bye ‘94 serves as Vicar of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Cypress Mills, Texas, about an hour west of Austin. Below, Fr. Bye talks about his experiences with this “unique little church” in the ranch country of West Texas.
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Describe a bit of your church’s history. You mentioned that St. Luke’s took on parish status after being a mission church for a number of years. What year did this occur, and tell us how it was accomplished?
In 2007, I arrived in the Hill Country of Texas to serve as Vicar at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church. It was a small, country church and still is and, like every church, it has a story. Nearly 70 years ago, this little, unique church got its start. Keep in mind, we are in a location with not a single roof in sight. When you drive out to our area, you pass a number of cattle guards, one ranch after another. But back in the day, the ranchers decided they all needed a church, as many of them were traveling long distances to worship. The ranchers went to the Bishop of Texas to ask about planting a church, and he referred them to the Bishop of West Texas. That will tell you how much land was around the area of the hoped-for church. People thought they were in one diocese when they were actually in another! Along the way to becoming a church, the people met in homes, and they worked to raise money to build. How would they pay for their land, their building, and their priest? This was not an easy time for any of the parishioners as they were in the middle of a severe, seven-year drought. The sun burned off the grass, and people and animals were really struggling. One of the ways they raised money was collecting and selling scrap metal. At one point, they collected $1500 in scrap metal and carried it in their old trucks to Austin to sell. Here and there they saved and contributions came in, and they borrowed a little too. Little by little, they raised enough to build this church. The stone came off one of the original family’s houses. This describes a great deal of the faithfulness of the people. It remained at mission status until 2013, when they applied for parish status through the Diocese of West Texas. Some may wonder why people from far and near worship at St. Luke’s--we have people who come from nearly an hour away. I can say that there’s something about this place, and that the Holy Spirit is at work here.
Describe the mission and outreach of St. Luke’s: the Stations of the Cross, the Piedras Negras Outreach--how did this outreach begin?
St. Luke’s is a unique parish, very down-to-earth and tending more “low-church.” And here I was, a high churchman from Nashotah House, practicing the sacerdotal elements of worship. One thing we started was a Stations of the Cross through the woods nearby. Many people recognize that the Stations have a certain amount of mystery attached to them. At first, people find that they might be a little detached, but as they progress, they find a deeper connection--a form of prayer, which draws them nearer to God as they continue on the path. We also offer quiet days and retreats to the community--something that would be familiar to Nashotah House seminarians. During the Triduum--the Three Days--the liturgy of the Passion on the evening of Maundy Thursday to the evening of Easter, there’s a reverence that is felt here.
The Piedras Negras is a gospel-centered mission of St. Luke’s, in conjunction with other parishes, and works to provide materials and personal sewing training with the women of Piedras Negras, a city on the Mexico-Texas border, about four hours southwest of us. About four times a year, we have parishioners who help prepare a Vacation Bible School and collect and deliver donations of food, clothing, and household items to be distributed by the parish priest; we also participate in the maintenance/construction of their sewing building. The church allocates ten percent of all plate and pledge collections each year for use in this assistance fund. Money from the fund is also used for local and other donations, as determined by the Bishop's Committee. Donations have been made to local fire departments, family crisis centers, and prison ministry.
We have also begun a water ministry. Water can be scarce in our area and our well at St. Luke’s reaches to the aquifer of the Trinity River. This extends in a band through the central section of Texas and is part of the primary water source for most of the Hill Country. We were involved in a water project that allows firetrucks to recharge around us as well as allow for pump stations. St. Luke’s and the neighboring churches were able to raise about $100,000 to make improvements to the water availability in our area.
How did the formation you received affect your later ministry? What is some prayerful guidance that you would offer seminarians today? Words of advice you were offered when you were a student here?
I arrived at Nashotah House from the Diocese of Fort Worth after having been accepted to St. Stephen’s House, Oxford. Even though I had a letter of acceptance from St. Stephen’s House, there was just something about Nashotah House that drew me. Looking back, I can see that I was called by the Holy Spirit to study at Nashotah House. After having worshiped in the Chapel of St. Mary, I nearly couldn’t leave. I had received a vocational call to attend this seminary, and I never looked back. I would encourage current students to worship and receive all the experiences that Nashotah House can offer. You’ll find that you develop a sense of humor there, but it is also an intentionally serious place. Highly regarded, priestly formation is what the House is known for. It’s a place that is steeped in the catholic tradition. My words of encouragement are these: Don’t resist Nashotah House. Surrender and give yourselves over completely to the demanding freedom that is offered here. Worship, academics, the life of Nashotah House -- allow Nashotah to do what God has designed it to do.