John Elbridge Hines
Austin, Travis County, Texas
Marker Inscription
(October 3, 1910 – July 19, 1997) John E. Hines was born in Seneca, South Carolina. He attended the University of the South (Sewanee, Tennessee) in Virginia Theological Seminary, where he observed social troubles caused by the Great Depression in 1933. Hines became an assistant director in St. Louis, Missouri; there he continued to develop his ministry, which aimed to address social ills. While in St. Louis, Hines met Helen Orwig (1910-1996), whom he married in 1935. The 2 reared 5 children. In 1937, Hines became director of a church in Augusta, Georgia, and in 1941, he was named Director of Christ Church (later Christ Church Cathedral) in Houston. In 1945, Hines became Bishop Coadjutor and moved his family to Austin; during his term, he spoke in favor of equality for women and African-Americans in the church. In 1955, Hines returned to Houston and became the 4th Bishop of Texas, continuing to focus on social justice. In 1965 Hines was installed as Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church. He built many institutions, including the Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest and Saint Stephen’s Episcopal School in Austin, and called for change in church priorities, proposing the general convention special program (GCSP), a plan to offer financial assistance to minority groups organized for self-determination. The GCSP led many parishes to initiate social outreach ministries. In addition, Hines led the movement for corporate divestment in South Africa, playing a vital role in applying financial pressure to end apartheid. However, some were critical of the Bishop’s reforms. Hines retired in 1974, moving with Helen to North Carolina; they returned to Austin in 1993. Hines died in 1997, though his impact continues to be felt in Texas, and throughout the nation and the world. (2009)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Born in South Carolina in 1910, John E. Hines came of age witnessing the social upheaval of the Great Depression and built a ministry devoted to social justice. Rising through the Episcopal Church, he moved to Austin as Bishop Coadjutor in 1945 and became Presiding Bishop of the national church in 1965, where he championed racial equality, women's participation, and aid to minority communities through his General Convention Special Program. He also helped lead the movement for corporate divestment that pressured the end of South African apartheid.
Why it matters
Hines placed a major American denomination squarely in the era's struggles for civil rights and human dignity, showing how faith leaders shaped the moral debates of postwar America.
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Related people
- · John Elbridge Hines
- · Helen Orwig
Themes & tags
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