USA > Connecticut > Hartford County > Hartford > Christ church parish and cathedral, 1762-1942 : an historical sketch > Part 6
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THE CHURCH IN STORY AND PAGEANT
Mothers have found the joy of working in the Church School Guild for the annual missionary offering. Fathers - usually the least interested portion of the home circle - have discovered a new interest in religion by coming to family services. The school is no longer something that happens for about an hour on Sunday; it is an increasing influence of every day.
SERVICE
The first records of lay service mention one of those women's soci- eties which always have been powerful inspirations to do good and to distribute. In 1801 fifteen women associated to decorate the church. The literary style of their subscription paper would not have borne the scrutiny of their rector, but he must have been duly grateful for the results. The noble fifteen were the predecessors of the Chancel Society and the Altar Guild.
The women soon set their capable hands to other activities. Five of the eleven original Sunday School teachers were women. They also brought the parish into contact with general movements to extend the , Church. In 1818 the Diocesan Convention established the Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge, to employ missionaries in vacant parishes and to distribute free Bibles, Prayer Books and religious tracts. Five years later Christ Church witnessed the founding of a diocesan ladies' auxiliary, and no doubt some of its original members were parish- ioners.
Several prominent women were founders of the Ladies' Benevolent Society. It is the oldest organization in the parish, founded in 1827, "to furnish comfortable garments for the sick and suffering poor, and to assist when in its power, young men intended for the ministry." The first president, Mrs. Mary Morgan, served for seventeen years and died in 1845, like Dorcas "full of good works." In her time the Society did various work; but later, by dividing it, became the mother of several organizations for women and girls: the Helping Hands, a sewing school for girls; the Mothers' Meetings; the Chancel Committee; the Saint Margaret's (Girls') Friendly Society, and others. The Young Ladies' Guild was formed in 1882 to help daughters of needy clergymen. It worked under the auspices of the older women, but rejoined them in 1885.
Through changes of name and reorganizations in 1879 and 1899, the traditions of the Benevolent Society are unbroken, and today it is one of the oldest women's charitable organizations in the country. At first the meetings migrated from place to place, but in 1880 began in the old parish rooms. The Society then joined the Connecticut Branch of the Woman's Auxiliary, and began its many teas and "social even-
49
CHRIST CHURCH CATHEDRAL
ings." From time to time the members contributed to furnishing the church, and raised funds for special needs. From 1902 they did much work for the Comfort Club and established a perpetual fund for emer- gencies. From 1917 the Society met at the new parish house, and in the following year became the Ladies' Benevolent Chapter of the Woman's Auxiliary, with the special duty of preparing missionary boxes. Accord- ing to a suggestion from Dean Colladay, after 1920 every society con- tributed to a Parish Box made up by the Society at Christmas. Joint meetings have been held with the Guild and other women's organiza- tions.
When the Society held its centennial celebration in 1927, it could be proud of its record in many national relief crises, and its cooperation with the Red Cross in the Great War of 1914-18. The present work com- prises war service, a large box of clerical articles at Christmas, a Comfort Club box, layette work for the parish and the Church Mission of Help, and Lenten sewing for the Hartford Hospital.
For over half a century the Benevolent Society held the field of lay service almost alone. But with the opening of the old parish rooms began the modern era of many organizations. Rectors Nichols, Tomkins and Goodwin, especially, encouraged the tendency to tie each group to the parish by some definite work. The result appears in the wide range of activities reported when the Evangel first came out in 1905. They in- cluded a Men's Association, the Junior Brotherhood of Saint Andrew, the Altar Guild, the Daughters of the King, a Saint Margaret's Branch of the Girls' Friendly Society, the Junior Saint James Group, and the Christ Church Crusaders.
In 1906 the parish began an earnest effort to integrate the work of all organizations, and to keep a careful record of their activities. "We wish very much," wrote the editor of the Evangel, "that the various organizations of the Church would send in reports each month of their doings. We would like to hear from the Little Saint Margarets, from the Mothers' Meeting, from the Sewing School, the Daughters of the King, the Laymen's Association, the Altar Guild, the Crusaders, the Girls' Friendly and from all." As every editor of a parish paper knows, it is one thing to urge reports and another to get them. The editor hit upon the bright idea of a special correspondent for each organization, but was very thankful to get reports from only four. The Sewing School met every Saturday morning with good attendance, and the little girls were doing excellent work. The Benevolent Society had enjoyed a very active winter, and the Laymen's Association was conducting a series of lectures. The Crusaders were busy, with baseball, basketball and bowling clubs. They aimed to assist in all kinds of parochial work and
50
THE CHURCH IN STORY AND PAGEANT
were running the Sunday School. Modern social conditions were calling for an increased "accent on youth." In 1909 the Rector encouraged a special effort to interest the parish in junior work, by holding a conference on the subject.
In spite of all efforts, the organizations remained rather uncoopera- tive, and the parish continued to wrestle with the problem of keeping track of them. Doctor Goodwin was disturbed when somebody dropped a remark, that the Evangel gave no adequate picture of the amount of work being done in the parish. He therefore invited the people to see it for themselves, by "dropping in" at the Sunday School; and meetings of the Girls' Friendly Society, the Brotherhood of Saint Andrew, the Choir Club, the Boys' Club, the Junior Saint Margaret's, the Girls' Friendly Society Candidates, the Mothers' Meetings, the Ladies' Bene- volent Society and the Laymen's League. "Any day in the week almost our substantial but inadequate parish house is a veritable hive, and worth seeing." He pleaded for greater efforts in expanding the work of the organizations, and by 1911 his incessant urgings were bearing fruit. The combined membership of all organizations was nearly eight hundred, including four hundred and seventy-two in the Sunday School and a hundred in the Girls' Friendly Society. The new Knights of King Arthur had forty-two members.
But there were still too many people who did not share in the work, and were losing an opportunity to help others and to brighten and enrich their own lives. Early in 1912 came an agitation, probably inspired by the Rector, to enlist the young men in active work. "Do our people realize," inquired the Evangel, "that Christ Church numbers nearly one hundred young men between the ages of seventeen and thirty? What is being done for them?" The young men's clubs, directed by two or three enthusiastic leaders, were doing much, but with very little help from the older men. They were urged to face their responsibility to make young men look upon Christ Church as their home. One of the most important associations was the Knights of Washington, who held regular meetings and played host to all other companies in the diocese.
In the autumn of 1912 the Evangel published a full account of all the service and social organizations and called for more active mem- bers. The Sunday School was trying to help the other groups by arousing a passion for Christian service. In addition to its charitable work, the Ladies' Benevolent Society was an important factor in the parish's social life, while the Women's Guild took care of immediate parochial needs. The Altar Guild appealed to women by offering "an opportunity for perhaps the most satisfactory work" in the Church. The Laymen's League, steadily growing stronger, held social meetings, undertook
THE VERY REVEREND ARTHUR FRANK MC KENNY, B.D., PH.B. THIRD DEAN OF CHRIST CHURCH CATHEDRAL
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CHRIST CHURCH CATHEDRAL
missionary work, and inspired many members to shoulder individual responsibilities for the Church's work. Men were urged to volunteer as ushers and assistants.
One of the largest and most active organizations was the Girls' Friendly Society, composed of girls and young women. It assumed a wide variety of parochial and general tasks, and was "second to none in helpful Christian service." The Saint Margaret's Junior Auxiliary, the missionary society for girls, needed women for leadership and assist- ance, while the Girls' Friendly Choir was begging for recruits. The Knights of King Arthur, composed of five "castles," reached a large num- ber of boys of varying ages and tastes. In about four years they had proved their worth, and deserved interest and help from the older parish- ioners. One of the most pressing needs was for two men or women to take care of a club for smaller boys.
The period of the Great War witnessed a remarkable increase in the number and scope of organizations. The trend was due in part to mere numerical growth, partly to the new parish house and to social changes shifting interest from the home to other institutions. The war created a hard-working auxiliary of the Red Cross, and in 1918 the Woman's Auxiliary was broadened to include members of all parish organizations, as well as people who had belonged to none. Early in 1919 the Dramatic Club, a Girls' Bowling Club and a Junior Laymen's Association were active and drawing greater attention.
The tendency towards cooperation culminated at a mass meeting in 1920, to form a federation of the societies, clubs and guilds. It was christened as the Church League of Service, later changed to Church Service League. Each organization was requested to elect three dele- gates to a parish council. This movement, originally intended to unify the women's work, was extended to include men's groups, and all were to form a representative body, the Dean and Council, with a small execu- tive committee.
The plan was an outgrowth of the passion for cooperation that char- acterized the period, and tended to decline as the peculiar psychology of wartime faded. In some parishes it resulted in a permanent church Service League, including all organizations.
The post-war era and the economic depression after 1929 produced a new growth of organizations for social contact, service and instruction. Most of them are still helping to make Cathedral House a busy place, nearly every day and evening in the week. They have included two new clubs for boys, two for girls, several bowling clubs for young men and women, senior and junior communicants' leagues, the Dramatic Club and the Young People's Fellowship for youth, an Ushers' Guild for the
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THE CHURCH IN STORY AND. PAGEANT
rather neglected older men, two clubs for younger married people, and several discussion groups, study clubs and Bible classes for older and more serious members.
Although some of these groups have depended largely on sociability, they have contributed to spiritual life and Christian service. For it is one of the finest things about Christ Church Cathedral, that no organiza- tion can be purely social and worldly and hope to survive in it.
CONCLUSION
A church which is merely an organization or a building is an empty shell. Christ Church Parish and Cathedral means far more than an eccle- astical foundation, a social-service bureau and a parish house. It is all these things - and much more. We get to the truth when we say that Christ Church is the home of a devout life:
Here, O my Lord, I see Thee face to face,
Here would I touch and handle things unseen,
Here grasp with firmer hand eternal grace . . .
We should think of this church, first of all, as the sanctuary in which thronging congregations worship with the stately ministry of music, are awakened spiritually by real and vibrant messages from the pulpit, or go as if on bended knee to the quiet early service of Holy Communion. And while these things, the reasons for the Church's very existence, are going on from day to day, the parish house is overflowing with the con- tinual round of society meetings, clubs, suppers and charitable work. The center of everything, however, is the altar; without that, the other aspects of Church life would be "sound and fury, signifying nothing."
It has all come from that first service in the spring of 1762, when the Old French War was dragging to a close. That little seed from the Prayer Book, planted in the unfriendly soil of Hartford, sent up a timid shoot, put forth a few leaves and flowers, and then apparently died. The Bible says that unless a thing dies and sleeps a while in the earth, it cannot live again. And so it was with Christ Church in Hartford. The seed slept in the winter of revolution and broke the earth again in 1786, soon became a sturdy plant, and then began to shed seeds. Borne by the wind of Pentecost, they traveled far and wide, and sprang up to bear fruit on good ground.
The mother parish continued to grow in spite of such lavish gifts of vitality, and its development ran a natural course from a typical family church to a downtown parish, an institutional church, and finally a cathedral. The edifice has become a noble temple, distinguished by a sober richness of adornment. The former simple services have attained
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CHRIST CHURCH CATHEDRAL
the dignity of vaulted cathedrals across the sea. The cold glass of the first church has become a throng of emblazoned saints, the wooden table a carved stone shrine. Meanwhile those one hundred and eleven Epis- copalians of 1774 have increased to a host of thousands, in twelve parishes and missions within the original boundaries of Hartford. Christ Church itself is a noble army of cedars - twenty-five hundred.
Every plant which my Heavenly Father hath planted shall not be rooted up.
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THE CHURCH IN STORY AND PAGEANT
CHRONOLOGY OF CHRIST CHURCH
1664 - Episcopalians in and about Hartford petitioned for freedom of worship.
1690 - Episcopalians settling in Stratford, desiring a church.
1702 - Beginning of missions in Connecticut, by the S. P. G.
1707 - First Episcopal parish in Connecticut, founded at Stratford.
1722 - Five Congregational ministers declared for the Episcopal Church at Yale College.
1724 - Christ Church, Stratford, opened; the first Episcopal church edifice in Connecticut.
1740 - Simsbury mission begun; the first in Hartford County.
1762 - First known Prayer Book services in Hartford; parish formed, lot bought.
1774 - First religious census of Hartford: 111 Episcopalians. (Including East and West Hartford and Manchester).
1786 - Parish of Christ Church reorganized.
1792 - First church edifice commenced.
1795 - Church completed and occupied for worship.
1801 - November 11th: church consecrated; first rector, Rev. Menzies Rayner, inducted.
1811 - First bell installed.
1812 - First parochial report to Diocesan Convention.
1818 - Sunday School established.
1828 - May 13th: cornerstone of the present church laid.
1829 - December 23rd: church consecrated.
1835 - Old brick chapel erected.
1838 - Subscription to complete the tower.
1841 - Saint John's Parish founded: the first taken from Christ Church in the city.
1843 - Saint James's Parish, West Hartford, formed.
1850 - Episcopal City Mission Society founded; origin of Saint Paul's, Market Street.
1859 - Trinity Parish, Sigourney Street, founded.
1870 - Saint Thomas's Parish taken from Christ Church.
1878 - Saint Paul's reunited with Christ Church.
1879 - Chancel, chapel, new parish rooms, reredos erected.
1887-88 - Vested choir inaugurated, choir stalls introduced.
1902 - Church completed by addition of pinnacles.
1908 - Chapel of the Nativity, southwest corner of the church.
1913 - Installation of the chimes.
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CHRIST CHURCH CATHEDRAL
1916 - Chapel of Saint Dorcas, northwest corner; old chapel became choir room.
1917 - October 5th: present parish house completed and dedicated.
1919 - June 15th: Cathedral established; first Dean, the Rev. Samuel R. Colladay.
1921-23 - Saint Thomas's Parish reunited with the Cathedral.
1936 - Second Dean, Rev. Walter H. Gray. Church fabric extensively repaired.
1938 - Church interior entirely redecorated.
1940 - November 12th: Dean Gray consecrated as Suffragan Bishop of Connecticut.
1941 - January 5th: Rev. Arthur F. McKenny installed as third Dean. 1942 - The 180th anniversary of the parish of Christ Church.
CLERGY OF CHRIST CHURCH PARISH AND CATHEDRAL
1762-1942
The Missionary Period, 1762-1801
THOMAS DAVIES, missionary in Litchfield County, 1762
ROGER VIETS, missionary at Simsbury, Granby, etc., 1763-1787
SAMUEL PETERS, missionary at Hebron, Glastonbury, etc.
ABRAHAM JARVIS, missionary at Middletown. Second Bishop of Con- necticut, 1797-1813
EBENEZER DIBBLEE, missionary at Stamford
JEREMIAH LEAMING, missionary at Norwalk.
EDWARD WINSLOW, missionary at Stratford.
All these men rendered occasional services, when the duties of their regular missions permitted.
Rectors and Deans, 1801 -1942
Those marked (*) became bishops; their dioceses are given in parentheses
MENZIES RAYNER: 1801-1811
PHILANDER CHASE: 1811-1817* (Ohio, Illinois)
JONATHAN M. WAINWRIGHT: 1817-1819* (New York)
THOMAS C. BROWNELL: 1819-1820* (Connecticut)
NATHANIEL S. WHEATON: 1820-1831
HUGH SMITH: 1832-1833
GEORGE BURGESS: 1834-1847* (Maine)
PETER S. CHAUNCEY: 1848-1850
THOMAS M. CLARK: 1851-1855* (Rhode Island)
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THE CHURCH IN STORY AND PAGEANT
RICHARD M. ABERCROMBIE: 1856-1861
GEORGE H. CLARK: 1862-1867
ROBERT MEECH: 1868-1874
(Vacancy, 1874-1877)
WILLIAM F. NICHOLS: 1877-1888* (California)
FLOYD W. TOMKINS, JR .: 1889-1891
LINDALL W. SALTONSTALL: 1891-1901
JAMES GOODWIN: 1902-1917
SAMUEL R. COLLADAY: 1917-1936. First Dean, 1919
WALTER H. GRAY: 1936-1940* (Connecticut, suffragan), Second Dean
ARTHUR F. McKENNY: 1941 -. Third Dean
Canons
PAUL H. BARBOUR: 1921-1923; Rector, Grace Church GEORGE H. HEYN: 1922 Rector, Trinity Church, Portland (Deceased) JOHN F. PLUMB: 1923 -. Executive Secretary of the Diocese.
WILLIAM A. BEARDSLEY: Honorary Canon, 1928 -. Historiographer of the Diocese, Archivist of the Diocese, Rector Emeritus of Saint Thomas's Church, New Haven.
FREDERICK G. BUDLONG: Honorary Canon, 1928-1931. Bishop of the Diocese of Connecticut
FREDERICK H. SILL, O. H. C .: Honorary Canon, 1928 -. Headmaster, Kent School
SIDNEY W. WALLACE: 1938 -.
Assistant Ministers
Including some clergymen temporarily connected with the parish
SILAS TOTTEN: President of Trinity College
JOHN WILLIAMS: Assistant Bishop of Connecticut, 1851-1865; Bishop of Connecticut, 1865-1899
EDWARD GOODRIDGE: Assistant Rector, 1868
CHARLES H. B. TREMAINE: Assistant, 1869-1870. First Rector of
Saint Thomas's Church, Hartford
JOHN T. HUNTINGTON:
Served in vacancy, 1874-1877. Professor in
Trinity College, first Rector of the Church of the Incarnation (now Saint James's), Hartford ROBERT HUDSON: Assistant, 1883
WILLIAM H. MORELAND: Assistant, 1884* (Sacramento)
JOHN H. McCRACKAN: Assistant, 1885-1886
ALLEN EVERETT BEEMAN: Minister in Charge, 1887
JAMES JONES BURD: Assistant, 1888, 1889
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CHRIST CHURCH CATHEDRAL
ROBERT HARRIS: Assistant, 1890
CHARLES A. HENSELL: Assistant Minister, 1891
JAMES P. FAUCON: Assistant Minister, 1892-1908
ARTHUR ADAMS: Curate, 1908-1925. Professor in Trinity College CHAUNCEY C. KENNEDY: Assistant Minister, 1909-1914
JOHN H. ROSEBAUGH: Curate, 1917-1920; Minister in Charge, 1917 PAUL H. BARBOUR: Curate, 1917-1920; Grace Church, Hartford, 1920-1923
Canon, 1921-1923. Rector,
LOUIS I. BELDEN: Assistant, 1921-1937 WILLIAM GRIME: Curate, 1921-1923
KENNETH O. MILLER: Assistant, 1924-1926
G. CLARENCE LUND: Assistant, 1927-1936
ROBERT B. DAY: Assistant Minister, 1929-1931
JOHN J. HAWKINS: Assistant, 1931-1936 JOHN M. GILBERT: Associate Minister, 1935-1936
EDWARD C. MORGAN: Assistant Minister, 1937-1938
DOUGLAS W. KENNEDY: Curate, 1939 -.
RALPH D. READ: Curate, 1939-1941
RAYMOND K. RIEBS: Curate, 1941-1942
BRIEF DIRECTORY OF ORGANIZATIONS
Since 1827
NOTE: Dates in parentheses are those of founding, sometimes only approximate. Those marked with an (*) are defunct.
Women's Groups
Ladies' Benevolent Society (1827) Altar Guild
Daughters of the King (1897)
Woman's Auxiliary (1918)
Women's Guild (1910)
Church Periodical Club
Mothers' Meetings (1917) Red Cross (1914)
Saint Barnabas' Guild (Nurses)
Girls' Groups
Girls' Friendly Society Sewing School*
Girl Scouts (1926) Cathedral Girls' Choir (1920)
Brownies (1941)
Boys' Groups
Brotherhood of Saint Andrew (1905)* Servers' Guild (c. 1910) Choir Club* Boys' Club (1907)
Knights of Washington* Boy Scouts (1913)
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THE CHURCH IN STORY AND PAGEANT
Knights of King Arthur (1909)* Athletic Association (1927)* Knights of Saint John (1933)* Men's Groups
Laymen's Association (1905)*
Ushers' Guild (1934) Previously Informal
Young People's Groups
Crusaders *
Bowling Clubs (1917)
Communicants' Leagues (1918)*
Dramatic Club (1918)*
Young People's Fellowship (1924)
The 21-40 Club
Married Couples' Club (1923)
Miscellaneous Groups
Mission Study Class
Dean's Class
Sunday School Teachers' Guild Cathedral Forum (Discussion
Men's Bible Class*
Group, 1923)*
Church League of Service (1920)*
Rector's Bible Class*
GROWTH OF THE PARISH AND CATHEDRAL OF CHRIST CHURCH
1 2 1812 1829
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
YEARS
1842 1847 1855 1870 1888 1902 1919 1936 1942
Communicants
30
198
326
402
475 415
694
557 1214 1509
1806
Baptisms
26
21
45
42
30
27
85 63
85
Marriages
2
8
8
11
Funerals
4
21
42 230
259
290 131
5 18 284 250
35 21 44 554 350
315 254
310
411
S. S. Teachers
22
29 26
27 19
13
50
32
134 64 2200 2869
NOTE: The above dates are given as having special significance in the history of the parish. Mere decades would mean very little. For the meanings of the numbers over the years, consult the notes at the bottom of the page. For some years "S. S. Teachers" includes also the officers. In the Diocesan Journals, "Baptized Persons" is sometimes listed as "Individuals."
(1) The first full parochial reports were made in 1812.
(2) Second (present) building consecrated.
(3) Saint John's Parish created in 1841, many members seceded.
(4) Close of rectorship of Rev. George Burgess.
(5) Close of rectorship of Rev. Thomas M. Clark.
(6) Saint Thomas's Parish taken from Christ Church. Trinity, Good Shepherd and Saint James's Parishes.
(7) Close of rectorship of Rev. William F. Nichols.
(8) Beginning of rectorship of Rev. James Goodwin.
(9) Christ Church became the cathedral church of the diocese.
(10) Resignation of the first Dean, Rev. Samuel R. Colladay.
(11) The 180th anniversary of the parish, Arthur F. McKenny, third Dean.
15 96 1130 348
1319
S. S. Scholars
161
160
185
21
32
35
34
74
Confirmations
84
Baptized Persons
40 33 27 1576 1063
11 37
35 63
27
73
Families
137
25
Also, 1859-1868, creation of
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HECKMAN BINDERY INC.
JUNE 98 found -To -Please N. MANCHESTER, INDIANA 46962
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