Claude Francis Du Teil
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[edit] Claude Francis Du Teil, 7/1/20 - 1/22/97
"Our only purpose is to be human and to help" Fr. Du Teil
Founder of IHS, The Institute for Human Services, Inc., Honolulu, HI [1] Also known as the "Peanut Butter Ministry"
ABOUT THE PEANUT BUTTER MINISTRY
On his 58th birthday, July 1st, 1978, Father Claude Francis Du Teil set out to 1128 Smith Street with a loaf of bread, a jar of peanut butter, a jar of grape jelly, some instant coffee and a hot pot to boil the water. His plan - to offer food and counseling to the hungry, street people of Chinatown. Four people accepted peanut butter sandwiches that first day.
Father Claude called his mission of kindness and concern the Institute for Human Services. The name was chosen because its initials - IHS - represent the Greek name for Jesus. For Father Claude, however, the good news was the peanut butter sandwich.
Initial support of Father Du Teil’s "Peanut Butter Ministry" arose from Bishop Browning's Commission on Alcoholism and Human Services. After his own battles with manic-depression and alcoholism, Father Claude became determined to ensure that other people needing help received it - and were not shunned by the rest of the community.
After 18 months on 1128 Smith Street, IHS moved temporarily to St. Andrews Tenney’s Theatre, before relocating on 49 S. Beretania on the Fort Street Mall. When requested to leave that building, the city offered the “Peanut Butter Ministry” an old bathhouse on 127 N. Beretania. In 1982, IHS became an official non-profit organization. Richard Peterson served as IHS’ first Board Chair.
In 1986, after begrudgingly accepting government funds, something Father Claude always tried to avoid, the Sumner Street shelter across from K-mart opened serving both men, women and families with children.
Father Claude served as Director from the inception of IHS until 1990 when he stepped and became Executive Director Emeritus and Consultant to the Homeless. In 1992, he return to home state of Texas.
IHS was built on the volunteer efforts of hundreds of community members and the strong support of the Episcopal Diocese and many other houses of worship on Oahu.
Father Du Teil, already well-known for his bold and progressive social justices advocacy, cemented his legacy as the “Patron Saint of Honolulu” with the founding of IHS. He will always be remembered by his iconic tapa-style, clerical-collared shirts sewn by his wife Roberta "Bert" Du Teil.
During his time in Hawaii, Father Claude was awarded numerous times by state and city officials and civic and faith institutions. Among his many awards including the Allan F. Saunders Award in 1980 and 1987 and the Freedom Foundation George Washington Honor Medal in 1984.
ABOUT FATHER DU TEIL "Patron Saint of Honolulu"
Reverend Dr. Claude F. Du Teil was born July 1, 1920 in Wichita, Kansas to Christine Zimmerman and Claude Damuth Du Teil. He was the first child baptized in St. James Church, Wichita, on Halloween, 1920. He lived several places growing up - Lincoln, Nebraska; Chattanooga, Tennessee; Washington D.C. to name a few.
He attended Georgia Tech under the Co-op plan from 1938 to 1943, lettering in track for 4 years. He became interested in the ministry while at Tech. Since the country was at war, and he had taken Army R.O.T.C., upon graduation he went into the Army as an Ordinance Officer, Jan. 1943.
At the end of the war he was married to Roberta Maxwell Richardson on May 31, 1946 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and went off to Alexandria, Virginia, to attend the Virginia Theological Seminary. Upon completion of Seminary in May 1949 we came to the Missionary District of Hawaii and have been here ever since, watching these islands change and grow and the church become a Diocese.
He has served four churches: 1) St. Stephen’s in the Fields in Wahiawa, on Oahu, which is close to the large Army base, Schofield Barracks. It is in sight of the Kolekole Pass of Dec. 7th fame. (1949-54) 2) The Church of the Good Shepherd in Wailuku, on Maui, where he also served as Arch-Deacon of Maui County, which is made up of Maui, Molokai, and Lanai. (1954-58) 3) St. Christopher’s in Kailua, on Oahu, which he served for 22 years. It is across the mountain from Honolulu, and the Kaneohe Marine Corps Air Station is very close.(1958-80) 4) The Waikiki Chapel, now called the Kelley Chapel in the Outrigger Reef Towers Hotel, which has a handful of regular members and serves about 5,000 tourists a year. (1980-1985)
On July 1, 1978, he started The Institute for Human Services (IHS), which is an emergency shelter for the homeless and destitute of Honolulu. He retired in 1990 and became the Executive Director Emeritus and Consultant to the Homeless.
He has four Doctorates and they represent the main areas of interest in his life. The first was an honorary one from The Church Divinity of the Pacific (C.D.S.P.) in Berkley, California, and was based primarily on his reputation with The Short Course.
The second was an earned Doctorate from the Presbyterian San Francisco Seminary in San Anselmo, California. His thesis was based on the Windward Coalition of Churches, an ecumenical council that has been going for more than 20 years. He analyzed its failures and successes, to find why some things worked and others didn’t. It is about the longest running ecumenical cluster of churches and the National Council of Churches were quite interested in his dissertation.
His third doctorate was an honorary one from the University of Hawaii in May, 1988. This was based on his work with and for the homeless of Honolulu. He had taken the initiative long before others wanted to admit that we had a problem in Hawaii. The community had to take notice, and he was able to arouse a real interest among many individuals and groups as well as our elected officials.
The fourth was from The Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria Virginia in May 1995. To quote from the Citation "Shortly after graduation Claude began to assemble and refine what he came to call the "Short Course in Christianity, seven lectures for serious inquirers. The course used biblical material with freshness and critical skill, and made accessible in a compelling way the theological insights of Soren Kierkegaard, Reinhold Niebuhr, Paul Tillich, Alec Vidler, C.S.Lewis, and others."
Never afraid to tackle any problem, whether popular or not, he has been very actively involved in many areas. Among them were the Honolulu Media Council (Instigator, co-founder, & Vice President), Citizens’ Committee on Ethics in Government (President), First Judicial Council to the Supreme Court of Hawaii, the panel which rewrote the Hawaii Penal Code, Committee on Decriminalization of Intoxification which was responsible for setting up Detox, Floridation Council, Decriminalization of Abortion, President’s Commission on Crime and Delinquency (Hawaii Branch), Salvation Army’s Substance Abuse Advisory Board, Hawaii Ecumenical Housing Corporation, Affordable Housing Alliance, Hawaii Habitat for Humanity (Advisory Board), Ohana Hale, Inc (An Alcohol/Drug Treatment Program, Board), Hawaii Episcopal Clergy Association, Windward Coalition of Churches (Co-Founder).
Claude died 22 January 1997. His ashes are buried at St. Andrew's Cathedral, Honolulu, Hawaii.[1]
