On the afternoon of November 1, All Saints Day,
forty-three members of St. Thomas Episcopal Church met in the Board
Room of Thomas County Federal Savings and Loan to discuss the
formation of a new Episcopal congregation.
The primary motivation for this gathering was the preservation of
the traditional doctrine, discipline, and worship of the Anglican
Communion in Thomasville.
Many believed that the liturgies in the 1979 Book of Common
Prayer and the theological changes resulting from the Church's
adoption of this book had weakened the overall theological fabric
of the Church. Accordingly, the new congregation would use the
historic Book of Common Prayer (1549-1928). Another issue was the
desire to use on a regular basis the service of Morning Prayer, a
liturgy which had all but disappeared due to the eucharistic
liturgical experimentation in the Church from the
1950's-80's. The group also hoped to sidestep the
increasing emphasis on charismatic renewal which was happening
throughout the Church.
Under the leadership of William H. Flowers, Jr. and Amos R.
McMullian, this handful of Episcopalians asked Bishop Paul
Reeves' permission to establish the new congregation. Similar
requests followed from St. Thomas' Vestry and their Rector the
Rev. Charles Hay. Bishop Reeves approval came, only after he had
made clear to Mr. Flowers and Mr. McMullian that there would be no
financial help from the Diocese of Georgia. The new congregation
was named All Saints, given their initial meeting happened on All
Saints Day.
All Saints was admitted as an organized mission of the Diocese
of Georgia in December, 1980, and proceeded to call the Rev. James
Law of Anchorage, Kentucky as its priest. Under his leadership, the
congregation was able to be admitted as a parish at the
Diocese's annual convention in February, 1983. In recent
history, no congregation has ever become a parish so quickly.
With about 330 members on her rolls and the production of the
first pictorial directory, the year 2000 also saw the completion of
a renovated and expanded organ from three and one-half ranks of
pipes to eleven complete ranks, as well as the addition of a lovely
memorial garden and columbium. The congregation's Episcopal
Church Women's annual bazaar/auction recently raised over
$45,000.00 which was distributed to local and diocesan
charities.