USA > Iowa > Clinton County > Lyons > A fifty years' record of life and work in Grace Church Parish, Lyons, Iowa > Part 2
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Doubtless during this long vacancy the parish received some care from the Rev. James Trimble, so long rector of St. John's, Clinton, though the only en- tries in the parish register bearing upon this are the record of four or five baptisms performed at Easter, 1875.
At this time action was finally taken looking to a resumption of services, which led to a most inter- esting little episode in the parish history. On April 26th, 1875, the vestry extended a An Interesting Episode. unanimous call, at quite a hand- some salary, to the "Rev. George F. Degen," only to be hastily called together again after five days to receive the in- formation from the Standing Committee of the Dio- cese "that said Degen is not a member of the Protest- ant Episcopal Church!" The call was immediately
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and emphatically rescinded, and the parish was doubt- less devoutly thankful to have escaped the wiles of a clerical adventurer, who, in the orphaned condition of the diocese, had sought to make them his prey.
Nothing daunted by this untoward incident, an entirely new era in the life of the parish and its work was ushered in by the call extended to
A New Era. the Rev. Samuel Currie on June 12th, 1875. The Revs. Samuel and William T. Currie, brothers, had for several years combined educational and clerical work in the diocese, at Gris- wold College and elsewhere; they now proposed open- ing a school in Lyons, to be called the Riverside In- stitute, and located in the building known as the Randall House. This large four story brick build- ing, (so recently demolished), erected as a hotel in the boom days of 1856-7, but now unused, seemed quite suited to the purpose of a school, and was conven- iently near Grace Church.
The school was entirely a private enterprise of the Messrs. Currie, for which neither the diocese nor the parish assumed financial or other responsibility. It was to be a boarding and day school, for both sexes, and organized in Primary, Common School, Business, Normal, Collegiate, and Musical Depart- ments.
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All religious exercises of the The Riverside Institute. school and family were to be ren- dered acconding to the Prayer Book, and the boarding pupils required to attend both services and Sunday School at Grace Church, unless by special request of the parents.
The Riverside Institute, of which Rev. Wm. T. Currie was Principal, opened its doors on the first Monday in September, 1875; the Rev. Samuel Currie, Vice-Principal, about the same time assumed charge of the parish.
The attendance of both boarding and day pupils was most encouraging.
About this time we note a resolve "that the morn- ing service and Sunday School be conducted together without a sermon,-the evening serviee, as usual, with a sermon." Probably such arrangement did not long continue.
Had Riverside Institute fulfilled the hopes of its founders, it certainly would have meant much to Grace Church parish. Its pupils increased the con- gregations attending upon services, and the faculty provided the best of teachers for the Sunday School, while the whole influence of the school helped to im- press the Church upon the community in a way whose good effects are still apparent. The instruction of- fered was excellent, and old pupils remember the In- stitute with genuine affection and esteem.
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In 1876 the vestry was for the first time called upon to mourn the loss of one of its members by death. The service of the deceased, Wm.
Parish Items. H. Cook, had been long and faith- ful, and resolutions highly praising his Christian zeal and character were adopted.
Iowa's second bishop, the Rt. Rev. William Stev- ens Perry, D. D., who was consecrated Sept. 10th, 1876, made one of his first visitations to the Lyons parish, confirming a class Oct. 2nd, 1876.
The activities of the parish began to assume more formal shape than in earlier years, and soon after Mr. Currie's coming Grace Grace Church Church Guild, the oldest of the Guild Organized. present parish organizations, was formed among the ladies, its first officers being: Manager, Mrs. R. N. Rand; Assist. Manager, Mrs. Wm. Leimbach; Secretary, Miss Susan Rand; Treasurer, Mrs. G. W. Ashton. This guild soon began to give special attention to the raising of a fund for building a rectory.
In 1877, we find, also, organized committees on Religious Instruction, on Visiting, Church Attend- ance, Missions, and Finance.
Succeeding the Easter elections in 1877, there was made a bold venture of faith in the adoption of the following resolution:
A Venture of Faith. "Resolved, That the Vestry of this Church will, on and after the first Monday in May, A. D. 1877, rely sole- ly upon the voluntary offerings of the Congregation for the means of support of Grace Church, such of-
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ferings to be taken after every morning and evening prayer."
It is not believed that the system thus inaugu- rated was able to maintain itself.
At Easter, 1878, the Church was greatly im- proved by the placing of a complete series of stained glass windows, given by the Sunday School, except the large east window, which was the gift of the con- gregation. These windows were of good execution and pleasing design, and most of them are still in use.
On June 10th, 1878, we find that the vestry signed a certificate of recommendation for Woodford P. Law to become a Candidate for Holy A Candidate for Orders. Orders. Mr. Law was a student at the Institute, and also prepared for the ministry under Mr. Currie's di- rection. He was admitted to the diaconate at Dav- enport, Oct. 12th, 1879, and after much active service in various missionary fields, is now rector of the par- ish of the Epiphany, South Haven, Mich.
It began to be apparent about this time that the Riverside Institute was not holding its own in point of attendance, and, being entirely without endowment or adequate resources, the future of the school be- came dubious. Parish finances also gave cause for anxiety, and doubtless both combined to cause Mr. Currie to look towards a new field of labor. Early in 1880 he had made his plans for re- Mr. Currie Leaves. moving to Euclid, Minn., in the Red River Valley, and sent in his resigna- tion to the vestry at Easter, which
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was received with expressions of regret and of well wishes for his future prosperity and success.
Mr. Currie resided at Euclid for many years, and did much pioneer work in organizing missions and building churches throughout that region. He is now rector of St. Peter's, Park River, N. D.
During his nearly five years' incumbency in Ly- ons, the Rev. Samuel Currie recorded 41 baptisms, presented for confirmation 47 individuals in 5 differ- ent classes, and there were 6 marriages and 14 burials.
Upon receiving the Rev. Samuel Currie's resig- nation, the minds of all turned instinctively to the Rev. Wm. T. Currie, who remained in charge of the school, and who, while sustaining no formal relation to the parish until this time, Rev. W. T. Currie in Charge. had yet, throughout the whole period of his brother's rector- ate, constantly assisted in the Sunday and other services of the Church, and fre- quently officiated at baptisms or burials, besides sup- plying the missions at Hauntown and Bellevue. He was asked to assume charge of the parish and did so, though throughout the five years of his further resi- dence there seems never to have been any formal call to the rectorate, Mr. Currie's position being that of "Priest in charge," with arrangements made from time to time for the continuance of his ministrations.
At Easter, 1882, by vote of the parish meeting, the Wardens and Vestry were instructed to transfer
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the title to Grace Church to the Trus- The Title tees of Funds and Donations of the Transferred. Diocese of Iowa. This instruction had to be thrice given before action was taken, and it was not until Easter, 1885, that the parish clerk finally reported that the conveyance had been made and the property thus placed beyond the possibility of encumbrance or alienation, save by con- sent of the highest authority of the diocese.
In 1882, the second oldest of the St. Margaret's Guild Organized. parish organizations came into existence, when St. Margaret's Guild was formed for the young ladies. The rule assigning all the married ladies of the parish to membership in Grace Church Guild, and the unmarried to St. Margaret's Guild, has been fol- lowed from the first, and found to be a good working policy.
Though there is little beyond the merest routine in the record of the years we are now considering, yet it is recalled as a season of much Seed Sowing. quiet, earnest work, and of seed- sowing, whose fruition appeared in due time. A report, still extant, of missionary offer- ings made during the years 1875-85, bears eloquent testimony to the faithfulness with which both the Reverend brothers sought to instill into the minds of their people the sense of due obligation to the larger work of the Church.
Meanwhile the attendance of pupils at the River- side Institute had so seriously declined that the school
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was finally obliged to close its doors. The Institute Closed. The enterprise may have seemed a failure as the world measures suc- cess, yet the principles there sought to be impressed upon the minds of the young have surely brought forth an abundant harvest of "right- eous, sober and godly" living, whose full ingathering will only be known in the last great day.
At Easter, 1885, the Rev. Wm. T. Currie an- nounced his acceptance of the rectorship of St. Paul's parish, Grand Forks, N. D., Rev. W. T. Gurrie's Ministry. and he held his last service in Lyons on April 15th, on which occasion a class was presented for confirmation.
The length of Mr. Currie's residence in Lyons (ten years), his many noble intellectual and spiritual qualities, and his subsequent tragic death by drown- ing, at Grand Forks, in 1891, in a heroic but vain at- tempt to save his daughter and a young companion from the same fate, all combine peculiarly to enshrine his memory in the hearts of the many who knew him as priest and teacher.
During his five years' charge of Grace Church, he had baptized 37 persons, presented 4 classes num- bering 22, and conducted 8 marriages and 16 burials.
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At the same service which marked the close of Mr. Currie's ministrations, Bishop Perry conferred with the congregation concerning future arrange- ments, the result of which was Rev. Mr. Brookes Called. the calling to the rectorate of the Rev. Theophilus J. Brookes in the following month. Mr. Brookes at once took charge.
The vestry meeting which extended the call to Mr. Brookes also took up the matter of the building of a rectory. This project had been long in the minds of the people, and had gradually taken shape, espec- ially through the efforts of the ladies of Grace Church Guild, who had accumulated a considerable fund for this purpose.
In June, after consultation with a committee of the Guild, it was decided to proceed with the work immediately, the house to be erected upon the same grounds as the Church, and to the south of that structure. The following gentlemen The Rectory Built. were appointed a building committee, and they were requested to confer and advise with the ladies of the Guild in the progress of the work: R. N. Rand, Silas W. Gardiner, M. A. Disbrow, and the Rev. T. J. Brookes.
The rectory was built in the course of the sum- mer, and in the early autumn was occupied by Mr. Brookes and his family. It was at first constructed as an eight-room residence, and without the large front porch which now adds much to its appearance, yet even without the many improvements which have
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since been made to it, it was from the first counted a valuable addition to the parish property.
Grace Church Guild, which was so largely in- strumental in its first erection, has ever since con- sidered the maintenance, repair, and improvement of the rectory, as one of its chief charges.
It is of interest to note that in this summer of 1885, a cross was first placed upon the altar of the Church, being the one still in use.
On Sept. 1st, 1885, the vestry was called upon once more to express its sense of loss in the death of one of its number, Stephen Fuller, and adopted ap- propriate resolutions to that end.
Throughout the year 1886, and the early part of 1887, only the routine matters of the usual elections of vestrymen, parish officers, and delegates to the Diocesan Convention, are on record, but in September, 1887, a sudden tragedy shocked the parish. Mrs. Brookes, a woman of fine intellectual A Tragedy. and personal qualities, which had won her the high esteem of all privileged to know her, was seized with an illness which proved to be diphtheria in a virulent form, and which termi- nated fatally in a few days, thus inflicting an irre- parable loss upon her husband and family. At the same time the dread disease crept into other homes in the parish, and it was a sad and anxious season to many hearts.
After this grevious affliction the bereaved family in the rectory remained in the desolated home a few months longer, when Mr. Brookes accepted work in
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the diocese of West Missouri, and removed thither, holding his last service in Grace Church on January 8th, 1888. A melancholy interest will always attach itself to this sad close of his ministry. Mr. Brookes, after years of service in Missouri and Oklahoma, has recently returned to Iowa, and is now in charge of Trinity, Mapleton.
During his two and a half years' service in Ly- ons, there were 8 baptisms, 2 confirmation classes numbering 8 individuals, and 4 marriages, and 12 burials.
Once more the doors of Grace Church were closed, and so remained for a number of months. Spite of the faithful work and earnest prayers of
Depression. a whole generation, the outlook for the parish did not appear very hope- ful at this time. For twenty years there had been no growth in numbers, and though business conditions had somewhat improved since about 1880, as Lyons had gradually shifted from a commercial to a manu- facturing basis, with lumbering as its chief industry, yet, so far, the parish had seemed to share but little in this gain, and he would have been counted a rash man who in 1888 had prophesied any marked growth for Grace Church.
What was it but the breath of the living Spirit, which bloweth "where it listeth," that suddenly stir- red the hearts of men, and turned An Awakening. many, with a new interest they could scarcely explain, towards a Church whose claims had hitherto fallen upon deaf
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ears? Surely "the fullness of time" had come, and the seed sown in tears was yet to be reaped with joy.
In the autumn of this year arrangements were entered into by which the Rev. R. B. Whipple, then still in deacon's orders, and who had been serving the mission at Maquoketa, was to Rev. R. B. Whipple in Charge. take charge of Grace Church on the first Sunday in No- vember. Dating from this re- opening of the Church the services were attended by unusual numbers, interest greatly increased, and soon all was activity in the parish life.
Among the first improvements planned was the introduction of a vested choir; the idea was taken up with enthusiasm, and soon after New Year's a suffici- ent number of boys and young men was already in ac- tive training under the efficient leader- The Vested Choir. ship of Prof. W. L. McArthur as choirmaster, and Miss Marion Rand as organist, with the understanding that they were to make their appearance in the chan- cel on Easter Day. The choir so far in the parish history had usually consisted of a quartette, or occa- sionally of a children's chorus, and the success of this new departure was watched with the keenest interest in the congregation.
Meanwhile the Church was full at every service, baptisms were numerous, and a large class was pre- sented for confirmation on Ash Chancel Improvements. Wednesday. At about this time various new chancel furnishings were installed, including an altar,
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to replace the one which had been in use since the Church was built, and which is still doing service at Grace mission, Council Bluffs. With the erection of the new altar, altar lights were introduced.
Alterations were also made for the proper en- trance and seating of the choir, the ladies of Grace Church Guild worked busily upon the vestments, Mrs. C. F. Welles presented a processional cross, and when Easter finally dawned, a perfect April day, and the choir sang its first service, no happier festival had ever been observed in the little stone Church. The vested choir met with instant favor, and has ever since continued as one of the marked and strong fea- tures of the parish life.
The only shadow thrown athwart this busy and happy activity, was the notice given to the vestry, shortly before Easter, that the Rev. Mr. Whipple, for reasons entirely personal, intended Mr. Whipple's Resignation. to take work in another diocese, and desired to give up his charge of Grace Church in the following month. This communication was received with the greatest regret, the vestry adopting resolutions com- mending Mr. Whipple's active and useful labors amongst them, and the parishioners tendering him a farewell reception.
Mr. Whipple's last services were held on May 12th, 1889, he having during the six months of his in-
cumbency baptized 30, presented a
His Work. class of 20 for confirmation, and of- ficiated at 1 marriage and 1 burial. Mr. Whipple's charge of Grace Church, while by far
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the briefest in the parish history, was yet amongst the happiest, and by God's good grace it ushered in the third period in the parish life, a period of largely increased opportunities and of a yearly widening of the Church's influence in the community, which has continued even to the present day.
After many years of service in Connecticut, Mr. Whipple has recently been welcomed back to Iowa, and is now in charge of St. Paul's, Creston.
It was the general feeling, at this juncture, that the Church doors must not be closed even for a single
Sunday, and the vestry secured effici- A New Rectorate. ent supplies from Kemper Hall, Daven- port, until the new rector, the Rev. H. L. Gamble, of Omaha, had entered into residence in the following month. He at once estab- lished the weekly celebration of the Holy Communion which has ever since been the rule of the parish. Daily morning and evening service was also begun.
The publication of a monthly parish paper called The Church Porch, was another feature of this sum- mer. While ably edited, it shared the usual fate of such undertakings in not surviving its first season.
One month later, July 8th, Prof. McArthur's res- ignation as choirmaster was received with regret. His term of service, while brief, had been of great value in the forming and training of the choir. He was succeeded by Mr. Palin Saxby, a professional musician of considerable experience, under whose di-
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rection the choir soon essayed music of quite a diffi- cult type, many of the arrangements being his own.
Sunday Evensong became fully choral, and the Choral Eucharists, which were established in the course of the summer, were attended with an elabor- ateness of ceremonial perhaps never otherwise at- tempted in the diocese. Much of the ceremonial and music of that time has passed away, Various Changes. yet not without leaving a tradition of stateliness of worship which has add- ed to the dignity and beauty of later uses. The best legacy left by this era in the life of Grace Church, was the lesson of the reverent attend- ance of the whole congregation upon the celebration of the Blessed Sacrament. 'The unedifying sight of one stream of people seeking the door as another seeks the altar, has not since been witnessed at our ser- vices.
During this summer (1889) a consecrated young woman of the parish, Miss Charlotte Henkel, resolved to devote herself entirely to the works of religion in the Order of the Sisterhood of the A Vocation. Holy Nativity, and entered upon her novitiate at the Mother House in Providence, R. I. As Sister Charlotte, she worked in the Order with marked success and efficiency until her lamented death in 1898.
At this time the attendance upon the services was almost constantly taxing the seating capacity of
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the church, the average for even the Sunday evenings in August being recorded as 165. Building Plans. Plans for building were soon in the air, the purpose being to en- large and completely alter the Church, yet still re- taining some of its structural parts. Quite an elab- orate set of plans was drawn by an architect, and in furtherance of a fund for the building project the ladies of the parish, with much outside assistance, held a whole week's "Carnival" at the Odeon, which proved a great success.
Files of "The Daily Carnival," published in con- nection with this enterprise, the most elaborate ever undertaken by the Guilds, recall the busy scene pre- sented in the hall and its many annexes, where a choice Art Loan Exhibit, and numerous The Carnival. booths for the sale of fancy and use- ful articles, refreshments, etc., filled all the available space, while a constant round of af- ternoon concerts and evening entertainments further enlivened the week. It was on this occasion that "The Temple of Fame," "The Merchants' Carnival," and many other pleasing novelties were first intro- duced to Lyons audiences, and at the close of the week the ladies felt well repaid for their strenuous efforts by the substantial sum in bank towards the building fund.
Unfortunately this fund was afterwards diverted to other purposes, and the building project slumber- ed. About this time, however, the parish became possessed of many additional furnishings in the way of altar brasses, complete sets of dossals and hang-
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ings in all the ecclesiastical colors, chalice veils, burses, and altar linen, many of which are still in use.
The picture upon the opposite page, which gives the chancel at Easter, 1890, when compared with the one taken in the previous year, shows
A Year's the many changes wrought in that time, Changes. even when there was no structural change in the chancel itself.
Our second interior will be recalled as giving the general aspect of chancel and altar until the building operations of 1898.
In the spring of 1890 it was found that the vol- untary system of conducting the vested choir, of which the Rector was now in charge, since Mr. Sax- by's resignation after four months' service, was not altogether satisfactory from the point of discipline, and the choir was temporarily disbanded, to be soon afterwards reorganized upon a basis of payments and fines, which has worked admirably ever since. The financial system of the parish was also, about this time, placed upon lines which have continued to the present day.
On August 14th, 1890, the vestry was called to- gether to receive the Rev. Mr. Gamble's resignation of the rectorship, he having ac- Rev. Mr. Gamble Resigns. cepted work in the East. It was received with expressions of regret, and resolutions to that effect were ordered drawn up and sent to him. Mr. Gamble conducted his final service upon the last
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Sunday in August, having during the fifteen months of his vigorous and somewhat unique administration of affairs, recorded 11 baptisms, a confirmation class of 12, and 2 marriages and 5 burials.
A vacancy of five months resulted, although the minute books of the vestry bear abundant testimony to the active efforts that were being made to secure a successor in the rectorship. At- A Vacancy. tempts to obtain supplies for Sunday services were also fruitless, neverthe- less it was resolved to keep the choir in constant read- iness, and rehearsals were continued weekly under the charge of the organist and Mr. Arthur L. Holmes, who had become active and interested in the work with the boys.
After considerable correspondence, a rector was secured in the person of the Rev. George T. Griffith, who had been one of the curates of S. Clement's, ยท Philadelphia, and he took charge Feb. 1st, 1891.
In a general way it may be said that he contin- ued the work upon the lines of his predecessor, as re- gards ceremonial use, the daily services, &c. Soon after his coming, the fine eucharistic
Parish Notes. lights still in use, were placed upon the altar, being a gift to the parish from Father Ritchie, of S. Ignatius', New York.
Evidently the financial support of the choir work was proving perplexing, for immediately after Easter the vestry voted to transfer the whole problem to
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the Rector, with the expectation that he make the choir self-sustaining, a task which naturally proved too great an undertaking.
In June, for the first time, a bishop other than the Diocesan, visited the parish for the purpose of confirmation. Bishop Perry being ill, his place was taken by the late venerable Bishop Alexander Bur- gess, of Quincy, whose patriarchal appearance, and the eloquence of whose address, made a deep impression upon the people.
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