USA > Connecticut > Hartford County > Hartford > A history of Grace Episcopal Church, Hartford, Connecticut : 1863-1938 > Part 3
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The first really permanent or "settled" minister was the Reverend John Humphrey Barbour. Excepting a brief period when the Reverend Arthur Mason officiated, he was in charge until his resignation in 1889. Intellectually he was one of the eminent leaders of the Diocese of Connecticut, as he was Profes- sor of the Literature and Interpretation of the New Testament and librarian at Berkeley Divinity School until his death in 1900. He was assistant librarian and librarian at Trinity College from 1873 to 1889 (the period of his service at the chapel), and tutor in mathematics there in 1878 and 1879. He held several other high offices at the college, in the Hartford Archdeaconry and in the Diocese. His death at the early age of forty-five was a severe blow to the Berkeley Divinity School and to the Church in Connecticut. In his address to the Annual Convention of the Diocese, in 1900, Bishop Chauncey B. Brewster remarked that "In the death of Dr. Barbour the Berkeley School, the Diocese, and the whole Church has suffered signal loss. Comparatively young in years, he had made his life tell as the diligent pastor and thoughtful preacher, as the accurate scholar learned in many kinds of knowledge, and as the painstaking, revered and beloved teacher of those who were to teach. His fellowmen were finding out and recognizing the depth of nature and the mental and spiritual wealth that lay beneath that quiet demeanor of one characterized by the modesty of the true scholar and the hu- mility of the saint." Upon his resignation of the chapel ministry in 1889, the Vestry of Trinity Parish adopted a resolution ap- preciative of his years of service and regretting his departure. It is most fitting that the present high altar is a memorial to him, and bears an inscription which he would have approved: I AM THE LIVING BREAD OUT OF HEAVEN.
His successor was the Reverend Willis Henri Stone, who took
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charge in 1889 and served until his resignation in the fall of 1893. Like so many other ministers of the chapel, he was not a priest when he arrived, but was raised to that order in 1892. He made a special effort to develop the choir, and the records show that the religious life of the congregation made steady progress under his care, particularly in bringing people to confirmation. The most remarkable material accomplishment of his ministry was the beginning of the present Rectory. Later he served several other churches in Pennsylvania and the State of Washington, and is now deceased.
After much discussion and proposing of other candidates, in January, 1894, the ministry was conferred upon Mr. Frederick Phillips Swezey, then a candidate for deacon's orders. He was ordained deacon by Bishop Ethelbert Talbot in April, 1896, and in 1901 was raised to the priesthood by Bishop W. M. Brown. In 1896 he accepted a call to become assistant minister in Saint Luke's Church, Brooklyn, New York. Later he served as curate of Holy Trinity Church in Harlem, New York City; rector of Trinity Church in Collinsville, Connecticut; and rector of Christ Church, Shrewsbury, New Jersey, and priest-in-charge of Saint John's Chapel, Little Silver, in the same state. He is now re- tired and lives at Patchogue, Long Island. He still takes an interest in Grace Church, where he made many lasting friendships.
A successor to Mr. Swezey was found by November, 1896, when Rector Miel informed the Vestry of Trinity Parish that he had engaged the Reverend George Kilpatrick MacNaught, assistant minister at Saint Andrew's Church in Meriden. Dur- ing the next four years his ministry was so satisfactory that the Vestry repeatedly voted congratulations to him and the congre- gation. When he resigned on account of ill health, in the autumn of 1900, the Vestry declined to consider a permanent departure and gave him an indefinite vacation. His place was temporarily assumed by Mr. E. J. Cleveland, Jr., a postulant for Holy Orders. Mr. MacNaught returned to his work, but finally resigned in January, 1903, to accept the care of All Saints' Mission in Harrison, New York. From 1914 to 1929 he served as the assistant secretary of the Diocese of New York. He is now retired and lives in Marlborough, Connecticut.
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Again the Vestry pondered the often debated question of a successor. After a brief period of services by Professor Urban of Trinity College and the Reverend H. K. B. Ogle, assistant minis- ter at Trinity Church, Abram James Holland, a senior at Berkeley Divinity School, was placed in charge. He was ordained deacon in 1903 and priest in 1904. His ministry of six years has been noted for its devotion to building up the Sunday School, which in 1909 attained its highest enrollment of about two hundred and fifty scholars. The Reverend Paul Humphrey Barbour, rector from 1920 to 1923, once wrote that these efforts resulted in lasting benefit to the parish. In fact, the great increase of the Sunday School compelled the enlargement of the parish hall and church in 1908 and 1909. The reports of that period show all the chapel organizations giving full measure, and the rector and Vestry were highly pleased with Mr. Holland's work. His resignation in August, 1909, was accepted with deep regret. He subsequently moved to Owosso in the Diocese of Michigan. In 1914 he left the ministry of the Episcopal Church, and is now a Presbyterian minister in Platte, South Dakota.
As fall was coming on, the rector and the Vestry lost no time in looking for a successor to Mr. Holland. The Reverend Freder- ick James Kerr Alexander, who had been assistant at Saint Andrew's Church in Rochester, New York, was temporarily placed in charge, but was soon appointed as the regular minister. As he was anxious to enlarge the accommodations, and Trinity Church was not then in a position to aid in the large expense, the result was a movement toward an independent parish.
In April, 1912, the Prudential Committee sought and ob- tained from Trinity Parish the permission to apply for parochial rights. In May the Vestry deeded the chapel lot and the buildings on it to the Trustees of Donations and Bequests for Church Purposes, for the use of Grace Church, and the Diocesan Convention of 1912 formally admitted the new parish. Mr. Alexander became the first rector by election, and served until his resignation in February, 1920.
The second rector was the Reverend Paul Humphrey Bar- bour, who assumed charge on May 1, 1920. During his ministry
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REV. FREDERICK F. H. NASON: RECTOR, 1928 -
-
2
3
4
5
6
1. Rev. John H. Barbour 1873 - 1889
3. Rev. Frederick P. Swezey 1893 - 1896
5. Rev. Abram J. Holland 1903 - 1909
2. Rev. Willis H. Stone 1889 - 1893
4. Rev. George K. MacNaught 1896 - 1903
6. Rev. Paul H. Barbour First Rector, 1920 - 1923
he was also a canon of Christ Church Cathedral. As the son of the Reverend John Humphrey Barbour, he had more than a per- sonal interest in the welfare of the parish, for which his father had labored during sixteen years. This peculiar interest appears in the brief historical sketches which he wrote for the Directories of 1924 and 1926 and the Year Book of 1933. He established the children's Eucharist, which is now celebrated on the second Sunday of every month, and he ardently encouraged the Church School, which grew in numbers and devotion. In the summer of 1920 he started a Boy Scout camp on the Farmington River near North Bloomfield, and this has become the parish summer camp. In May, 1923, shortly before the close of his rectorship, the church acquired its present organ. In 1923 he resumed mission- ary work in South Dakota, which he had undertaken after his ordination to the diaconate in 1913. He is now in charge of Trinity Church on the Rosebud Indian Mission in South Dakota.
The third and present rector is the Reverend Frederick Florance Hilary Nason, who was elected in the spring of 1923 and was instituted by the Reverend Paul Humphrey Barbour on the Feast of the Holy Trinity. He is an alumnus of Saint Stephen's (now Bard) College at Annandale, on the Hudson River, and a graduate of the General Theological Seminary in New York City. He was ordained deacon in 1917 and priest in 1918. Before his call to Grace Church he served as curate at the Chapel of the Incarnation, New York City, as curate at Grace Church on Brooklyn Heights, and as rector of Saint John's Church at Essex, Connecticut, with charge of All Saints' Mission at Ivoryton.
The special features of his ministry have been the perpetual reservation of the Blessed Sacrament since Easter, 1924; intense cultivation of attendance at Holy Communion, with daily cele- bration; emphasis upon strict keeping of Lent and of saints' days; and the preaching of missions by members of the Order of the Holy Cross and the Order of Saint Francis. Under his ministry Grace Church became the first parish of the Episcopal Church in Hartford to have a celebration of the Holy Eucharist every Sunday at the second morning service, and the children's Euch- rist has been continued and emphasized. The summer camp has
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been maintained without interruption for sixteen years, with regular services at its outdoor chapel. Especially since 1933 the interior of the church has been completely renovated and re- decorated, with the installation of a new pulpit, a rood beam, a shrine of the Blessed Virgin and new lighting fixtures. During the winter of 1937-1938 the sacristy was enlarged, repaired and redecorated and furnished with new drawers for the vestments. In the autumn of 1938, in preparation for celebrating the seven- tieth anniversary of the conservation, the upper and lower parish halls were repainted and redecorated. At present the parish is contemplating further improvements, including new floors in the parish hall and repainting all the exterior woodwork.
VII
THE CHURCH SCHOOL AND CAMP
Throughout its history the parish has considered the religious education of the young as one of its essential activities, which is a natural development from the church's origin as a mission Sunday School. The first record of the school is found in the report of Trinity Parish to the Diocesan Convention of 1867, and men- tions more than forty scholars. Next year there were forty-five scholars and a session "every Lord's day." In 1869 there were eighty children and ten teachers, and from that time the reports are unbroken, excepting the years 1872 to 1885 when no separate figures were given for the chapel, and 1916, when there was no report. These statistics, however, dull, tell us the story of the parish's unfailing interest in religious education.
As a rule the reports of attendance show an increase during each period of ministry, followed by a rather noticeable decline after each change, probably due to the natural uncertainty ac- companying a vacancy and to pruning of the "dead wood" from
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the roll. Near the close of the Reverend John Barbour's minis- try, in 1888, there were sixteen teachers and one hundred and ninety-three scholars. The peak of enrollment under the Reverend Mr. Stone was attained in 1891, with two hundred on the list. The top figure under Mr. Swezey was one hundred and eighty in 1895. The same level marked the close of Mr. MacNaught's ministry in 1903. The beginning of Mr. Holland's term did not show the usual decline, as he always took a special interest in the school and made great efforts to increase its at- tendance. The result was that by 1909 the enrollment climbed to the record figure of two hundred and fifty scholars. The largest recorded number of teachers, thirty-two, was reported in 1910. Writing for the parish Year Book in 1906, Rector Miel praised Mr. Holland's devotion to the school. The latter, however, was inclined to give much credit to the faithful superin- tendent, Mr. G. Maurice Furnivall, and to Miss Jennie Elmer, who for many years had conducted the primary department. According to Mr. Holland's report, the school at that time tried to emphasize the need for general missionary work. Looking forward, he saw a great opportunity to "reach the people through the channel of the Sunday School. Through the children, the Church can touch the parents and minister to their needs."
In those days the school session came after instead of before the principal Sunday morning service, and the children's Eucha- rist and corporate Communion evidently were not observed. The organization was far more elaborate than now, including a general superintendent, a secretary and treasurer, three "Ushers" and superintendents of the intermediate, junior and primary departments. The senior department consisted of a Bible class conducted by Mr. Holland himself. The classes were graded and the average attendance was about seventy per cent. Mr. and Mrs. James Monks were in charge of Church School music, Mrs. Monks being organist. Some of the present customs were already well established, including the carol services on Christ- mas Eve and Easter Sunday afternoon, and the special service at Thanksgiving. Potted plants were given to all the scholars at Easter. On all these occasions the little chapel was packed to the very doors. The parish hall had become hopelessly in-
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adequate to accommodate the classes, but the good work was thought to compensate for the cramped quarters, and the kinder- garten department was known as one of the finest in the Diocese.
The school has never again reached the numbers of that period. The highest enrollment during Mr. Alexander's minis- try was two hundred and five in 1911. There was a great de- crease by 1914, due to the separation from Trinity Parish, as some families preferred to remain with the mother church. The year 1920 brought a low-water mark, with only one hundred and twelve, but Rector Barbour took a keen interest in the children and built up the list to almost two hundred in 1923. In the next decade the school owed much to the efforts of Miss Ruth Johnson as director of religious education, and to Sister Mary Constance of the Community of Saint Mary. For some time scholars were brought by bus from the Newington Home for Crippled Children. In 1930 the enrollment dropped sharply to less than one hundred, largely because of the severe economic depression, which caused many removals from the district. With the coming of better times, it rose to one hundred and fifty in 1936.
During the past year the roll has been revised, with the in- tention of retaining only the regular attendants. The present enrollment is about one hundred and the attendance occasionally reaches about eighty per cent, which is higher than average. The children's Eucharist, observed every second Sunday of the month, is becoming more and more effective in closing the fre- quent and deplorable lapses between Church School class and actual attendance at church services. Corporate Communion for the children and youth is celebrated every third Sunday of the month at eight o'clock, with a communion breakfast in the lower parish hall. Since services are regularly celebrated at the summer camp, there is never any "vacation" from religious obligations.
The course is based upon the Christian Nurture Series, and instruction by the Rector during matins, with special catechetical teaching for the confirmation class. The senior department specializes in general history of the Church and the history of the Episcopal Church in the United States. During the last two
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years many scholars and some of the teachers have made Sunday afternoon pilgrimages to the Glebe House in Woodbury, where Samuel Seabury was elected first bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States in 1783. The teachers have attended the fall sessions of the Church School Teachers' Institute of the Hartford Archdeaconry, at Christ Church Cathedral and the Church of the Good Shepherd.
Closely associated with the school has been the summer camp, on the Farmington River not far from North Bloomfield, in the extreme western part of the town of Windsor, about four- teen miles from the church. Rector Paul Barbour began it as a Boy Scout camp in the summer of 1920. Under Rector Nason it has been kept open generally for five weeks, three for the boys and two for the girls. Its first name, "Mary Ann," was derived from Father Barbour's Ford car, which used to carry legendary numbers to and from North Bloomfield. Its present name, "Camp Hemlock," was suggested by the fine grove of tall ever- greens on the bluff where it stands overlooking a wide stretch of the river. The first camp house was contrived by Father Bar- bour from the huge doors of the old barn at the Barbour place on Farmington Avenue. Two years ago it was replaced by a large, heavy tent on a wooden platform, and tents furnished with cots are used for sleeping quarters. The camp is supported partly by a small weekly charge for board and partly by gifts from the parishioners, who for years have donated money, fur- nishings, provisions and boats. The site has been used by per- mission of the American Sumatra Tobacco Company, which has large plantations nearby. At present the Rector and many parishioners desire to secure a more permanent site by purchasing a well-watered farm near Hartford, to be used not only for a camp but also for retreats and other religious purposes.
Since the parish does not acknowledge "vacations" from the uses of religion, the Holy Eucharist is celebrate every morning at camp, and evensong is held just before bedtime. There has always been an outdoor chapel among the hemlocks, with a rustic altar supported by posts of white birch, with a birch cross and a blue dossal. A small shrine of the Virgin is hung upon a nearby tree, before which a vigil light throbs continually in a blue cup.
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VIII PAROCHIAL ORGANIZATIONS
Like the first great church historian, Eusebius, whoever would write an account of the parochial associations of Grace Church (or almost any church), must venture into an almost uncharted sea. There are very few surviving records, (See below) and only scanty references in the minutes of the Prudential Committee and the Vestry. Earnest efforts have brought to light a few notebooks which have survived the lapse of years. This portion of our history must therefore be somewhat dis- appointing to those who would relive in detail the bygone social life of the parish.
As in most parishes, the women's societies always have been a strong sustaining influence. One of these, prominently men- tioned especially in the 1890's, was the King's Daughters, who used to give "socials" and entertain visitors from Trinity Church, particularly the Vestry. The minutes and other sources mention also the Woman's Industrial Society, which flourished in chapel days and received extensive notice in the Trinity Parish Year Book of 1906. In many respects this was a fore-runner of the Saint Martha's guild, as it gave suppers and bazaars, sometimes with the help of the Girls' Friendly Society. The members also did a large amount of sewing for the parish and for social service work. These two societies were so important that by invitation they sent delegates to the meetings of the Prudential Committee in 1898.
These traditions of service have been carried on by the Saint Martha's Guild, whose records for the last fifteen years give a clear view of its manifold activities for the parish's welfare. The Guild has accomplished a vast amount of sewing and other work for the services of the sanctuary, even making many vest- ments. The members have served luncheons for meetings of the Archdeaconry and other special occasions, conducted parish
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suppers and bazaars, given May breakfasts, raised money for the coal fund, packed missionary boxes in Lent, and made pledges for the Woman's Auxiliary and special offerings at Christmas, Easter and Whitsuntide. The breakfasts at corporate commun- ions are always superintended by a member of the Guild. In the fall of 1938 the members donated folding chairs for use in the parish house. The Woman's Auxiliary, including the United Thank Offering, is now organized virtually as a part of the Saint Martha's Guild, which at present is increasing in membership.
The parish has always enjoyed the services of an altar society. In chapel days this was commonly known as the "Chancel Guild" and is mentioned in the minutes of the Pruden- tial Committee. In later times it has been called the Altar Guild of Saint Hilda and naturally has included some members of the Saint Martha's Guild, as well as the Choir Mother. In 1934 the membership rose as high as twenty-two, and the well- kept records show that they took charge of all altar work, vest- ments, altar linen and embroidery and provided funds for candles and incense. The members have offered many gifts for use at the altar, together with several beautiful mass vestments. It has been the custom of this guild to hold a special annual service on November 18, Saint Hilda's Day.
Until recent times one of the most active and efficient parish organizations was the Girls' Friendly Society, which used to hold weekly meetings, except in midsummer. The minutes reveal activities almost too numerous to mention, and touching nearly every part of the parish life. In 1911 the society was praised as the "main support" of the choir. The members made purifi- cators and other furnishings for the altar, helped the Woman's Industrial Society with its suppers and bazaars, gave entertain- ments to raise money for various parish expenses, held sewing, cooking and embroidery classes, aided preparations for Christmas festivities, assisted the priest with his correspondence, packed mission boxes, and had dancing and bowling classes and illus- trated lectures. The group used to attend special Lenten ser- vices at Christ Church and had monthly corporate communion at the early service. This society was organized on January 26,
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1909, had twenty-four members and four associates in 1910, and was flourishing as late as 1933. In later years it has become known as the Saint Mary's Guild, with an association of candi- dates known as the Saint Gabriel's Guild. During the 1920's the parish had also a troop of Girl Scouts.
Since chapel days the parish has fostered various societies for the boys and the men, which unfortunately have left even more scant records than those of the women and girls. There were such clubs as far back as the 1890's, and we have records of a club for boys and young men, called the "Burnam Athletic Association," organized in 1891. It had about thirty-five or forty members and held meetings for singing and athletics, in- cluding basketball, which at that time was just coming into popularity. The members also cared for a reading room and gave at least one field day. About the time when the Girls' Friendly Society was organized in 1909, there was a boys' society called the "White Club," which used to co-operate with the girls in giving social meetings for the young people of the parish. In the early years of the present century there was also a dramatic club, the "Delta Sigma," which met in the parish hall and appar- ently included both boys and girls. A similar, more recent organization was the Tapawingo Club, which flourished in the early 1930's and is now extinct.
Until about 1924 there was a parish chapter of the Brother- hood of Saint Andrew, for the young men and older boys. At about the same period there was a Boy Scout troop, known as Troop 44, for which the summer camp originally was established. The tradition of boys' clubs is now carried on by the clubs for older and younger boys, Saint Stephen's and Saint Christopher's. The younger men and boys find their principal service, however, in the Saint Vincent's Acolytes' Guild, which holds no formal meetings. The members attend acolytes' festivals at other parishes in the diocese, especially Christ Church in New Haven and Trinity Church, Waterbury.
The parish has had several men's clubs, which are repeatedly mentioned in the minutes of the Prudential Committee and the Vestry, generally in connection with repairs to the church and
the parish house. When the addition to the parish hall was made in 1908-1909, the men and boys contributed labor, for which the Prudential Committee thanked them, especially for making the extensive excavation for the basement. Evidently there was a men's society at that period. A flourishing men's club is noticed in the parish directories of 1924 and 1926, but is not mentioned in the year book of 1933. In recent years a re- vived men's club has aided in the painting, redecorating and repair of the buildings, and some of the members have assisted the Saint Martha's Guild by volunteering as waiters at the parish suppers.
At present the social organizations are not as active as formerly, due to the general decline of such societies in modern church life caused by the rise of other interests. The tendency is rather to center parish life about the services of the church in place of many strictly social activities. There is a growing senti- ment for such organizations as the Guild of All Souls and the Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament, which formerly flour- ished and in which the moving spirit was the late Mr. Thomas Maxwell Hibbert. The groups which now contribute most to the parish life are not "social but ministrant," such as the Saint Martha's Guild and the Choir, whose services are one of the brightest and most truly devotional features of our parish life.
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