History

Holy Comforter was founded as an Episcopal mission on March 4, 1903, in memory of Bishop Thomas Atkinson. Known as a man of prayer and principle, he united the church in tumultuous times after the Civil War. The first church building was erected on South Boulevard in 1909, and its current building was completed in 1957 in what was then called the suburbs of Dilworth.

The history of Holy Comforter has long been about much more than bricks and mortar. It is a story of groundbreaking ideas including the founding of other area Episcopal parishes, as well as the creation of outreach ministries and fellowship organizations that provide ongoing service to our city.

• Boy Scout Troop 1, the first and still active troop in Charlotte, was formed in 1917.
• Installed priceless Tiffany windows in 1928 as a memorial to Mary Lamb who died in the Spanish flu epidemic of 1918.
• Holy Comforter Weekday School that cared for preschool-age children of working parents was a radical yet much-needed concept when it started in 1955.
• Holy Comforter established a food pantry to serve our neighbors in 1975 that grew into the citywide Loaves & Fishes network, which in 2024 was renamed NourishUp.
• Responding to the growth of Charlotte’s Latino community, Holy Comforter began offering services, programs, and parish activities in Spanish and in English in 2006.
• La Escuelita Weekday School began as La Escuelita in 2009 and combined with the Weekday School in 2016 to provide an innovative dual language, play-based education program for English and Spanish preschool children. It has become a model for other churches in North Carolina.