Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. Hebrews 13:2

Christ Episcopal struggled during the 1930s great depression as the vestry by 1938 faced “with grim determination” efforts to erase the church’s debt.  

The congregation remained focused on its own  local problems in Temple and Bell County – among the most pressing being roof repairs and balancing budgets — but troubles brewed across oceans as wars roiled in Europe and Asia. Even so, Christ Church seemed islotated since Temple was far removed from conflicts.

Christ Church’s rector, the Rev. Joseph Burford Dobbins (1898-1971), sensed looming perils. In May 1941, in a speech to Waco’s Rotary Club, Dobbins urged citizens to “rededicate themselves to the United States.”

The foreboding became real on Dec. 7, 1941, when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. In less than six weeks, on Jan. 14, 1942, the federal government announced work would begin on a tank destroyer tactical and firing center, called Camp Hood (now Fort Cavazos). At the same time in south Temple, construction was underway on McCloskey General Hospital, a 1,200-bed surgical and rehabilitation hospital for wounded soldiers.

Dobbins realized the congregation’s mission must expand beyond its own block and city limits.  With that commitment would come sacrifice. “We are part of the world, and we must pay for the sins of the world,” Dobbins told the church assembly. 

Within the first three months of 1942, Christ Church welcomed 20 new families into membership – all connected to the military effort. As construction buzzed at Camp Hood, Christ Church members donated 100 combined prayer books/hymnals for soldiers and their families. Among the newcomers were Gen. Andrew Davis Bruce (1894–1969), Camp Hood’s commanding general, and his family who would remain members until the early 1950s.

Christ Church applied for, and received, a grant from the Army and Navy Commission for $4,500 to help build a parish house in the vacant lot behind the church. The congregation raised the remaining $7,000. The house had showers, bathrooms, expanded kitchen and homey furnishings. Soldiers from Camp Hood and McCloskey were welcomed to parish house with coffee and snacks, prepared by members of the congregation. Church members provided the food, even though as the war heightened, many groceries were rationed. The church gained a reputation among the military as a comfortable place to eat, rest, shower or relax.

When McCloskey Hospital was officially activated on June 16, 1942, Dobbins was the first cleric to officiate in communion service.

Patty Benoit

Photo credit: McCloskey patients: Collection of Weldon Cannon and Patricia Benoit.

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