This Week in Texas Methodist History March 19

Dean Eugene Hawk of SMU Creates Student Pastor Group March 1942

The entrance of the United States into World War II created a demand for military chaplains.  Texas Methodists stepped up to the plate and dozens of young Methodist ministers entered the chaplaincy.  The exit of these preachers meant that local church pulpits needed to be filled.  One obvious source of pastors was the School of Theology at SMU later to be named Perkins School of Theology.  The Dean of the schools then was Eugene Hawk who had recently served as pastor of First Methodist Church in Fort Worth.  

He had achieved recognition in that post for completing the new sanctuary for that congregation even in the midst of the Depression.  Hawk was so proud of the Ft. Worth sanctuary that he hired a bus to take seminary students on a field trip to see it.

As more seminary students took employment in churches, Hawk felt that a support group was needed so that students serving churches would have a forum to talk about their difficulties in juggling school and work.  

Fifty-one students joined the new organization.  Thirty-five of them were serving as pastors.  The rest were working as youth pastors, choir directors, counselors, etc.  Fourteen of the fifty-one had positions in Dallas.  The others had to travel.  One went to Oklahoma.  Since most of the appointments were rural circuits with multiple churches, the thirty-five preachers served one hundred and eight churches.  At their first meeting they calculated the miles driven per month to meet their preaching assignments.  The total was 36,750 miles.  Assuming they went to their churches four times per month, the figure is not unreasonable.  One should remember that war time rationing for tires and fuel made personal automobile travel more difficulty.  On the other hand, there was a more robust bus service then.  My father served the Dekalb circuit and rode the bus to get there, sleeping all the way back to Dallas every Sunday night.  

The officers included Leo Allen, President; Roy Bagley, Vice President; and Wilson Canafax, secretary.  

The whole purpose of the club was to discuss problems the young ministers were having in their jobs.  

The Dallas District Superintendent, Harry DeVore, met with them to guide them through the discussion of their problems.