We are a vibrant and growing parish, grounded in tradition and steeped in history, in the heart of Gadsden.
Welcome!

The first meeting to organize an Episcopal Church in Gadsden was held in the Printup Hotel in 1888. The first church building was constructed in 1889, three blocks to the west of the present building on Christopher Avenue. After complaints that the church was “too far from town,” that original wooden building was moved around 1900, to the corner of Sixth and Chestnut and remodeled. It was partially destroyed by fire on Christmas Eve 1918. In 1920, the present brick church and a rectory were constructed at Ninth and Chestnut, on land donated by the Kyle family. The first rector of the new Holy Comforter was the Rev. Eugene C. Seaman. Other early rectors included the Rev. C. Morton Murray (1925 to 1937), the Rev. John C. Turner (1937 to 1939), and the Rev. R.Y. Marlowe (1939 until 1951).

Soon our growing ministries began to spread. The Rev. John T. Speaks was the rector from 1951 to 1977. During this period, the Episcopal Day School was begun (1952) and Holy Comforter House, a two-hundred-unit retirement home, was constructed. In 1958, a large parcel of property in Whorton’s Bend was donated to the church to become the Hugh W. Agricola Episcopal Day Camp. The Rev. William Spencer Holcomb was rector from 1978 to 1986, during which time, the Episcopal Kyle Home was started. It presently houses eighteen mentally challenged adults.

The Rev. John W. Cruse was rector of Holy Comforter from 1987 to 1995. During his tenure, the old rectory was sold and moved and our present Great Hall/Lobby/Library wing was constructed in its place. Also, our Columbarium was established and the outdoor pavilion was erected at the Episcopal Day Camp. The Rev. James E. Elliott, Jr., was rector from 1996 to 2008. Several new stained-glass windows were installed during his tenure, the Columbarium was expanded and the Memorial Garden was re-planted.

The church’s first female rector, the Rev. Joan Miller Henrick, served from 2009 until 2012. Holy Comforter was assigned its first Deacon, the Rev. Dr. David S. Barfield, in 2012. In 2013, the Rev. Dennis W. Nichols became rector and served until his sudden death in 2014. Our current rector, serving since 2016, is the Rev. Carl M. Saxton II. During his tenure the Sacristy area was renovated and much restoration work has been completed on the century-old building. Holy Comforter parish remains a vital, growing family serving the needs of a changing community around us as our mission statement directs.