USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > The parish of the Advent in the city of Boston, a history of one hundred years, 1844-1944 > Part 7
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13
.
CHOIR STALLS
88
THE PARISH OF THE ADVENT
the auspices of the Young Men's Christian Association.
On Advent Sunday (November 30) 1919, the parish celebrated its seventy-fifth anniversary. At High Mass the sermon was preached by the rector, and at Solemn Even- song the preacher was the Bishop of the Diocese. During Bishop Lawrence's long and distinguished episcopate the parish was grateful for his tolerant and truly liberal spirit, and for the cordial support and warm friendship for the whole parish which he so often manifested.
In his address Bishop Lawrence dwelt in particular upon the religious atmosphere which had prevailed in Boston seventy-five years earlier. "There was a prevailing habit of worship," he said, "to a great degree representing the Tory spirit of the Church of England. It was without great inspiration or formality or uplift. It was conven- tional, cold, and the service partook of a dulness that we do not realize today. There was very little appreciation of the history and tradition and customs of the ancient Church, and the sermons were only of one stamp. Naturally these services did not satisfy all, and among those who felt the limitations were the men and women who met in a hall on Merrimac Street seventy-five years ago and organized this parish.
"There was a certain differentiation from other Episco- pal churches in their idea of worship. There was a reality and a heartiness to it, and of a necessity a stronger em- phasis on the sacramental principles and on doctrines of faith which found expression in symbolic form in various ways. They were not in sympathy with the dulness of the service. Theirs was the service of joyous expression of the Resurrection rather than emphasis of the Atonement. The symbolism found emphasis in the richer expression of the altar and the flowers and vested choir. . .. The Church of the Advent had the privilege of beginning its life in unpopularity, and it was a privilege, as it solidified
89
THE YEARS 1902-1929
the parish in strength, courage, and conviction. . . . " 2
On October 25,1921, the rector celebrated his Silver Ju- bilee, it being the twenty-fifth anniversary of his ordination to the sacred priesthood. The commemoration, which had been appointed by action of the corporation, took the form of a Solemn High Mass on the anniversary day, the cele- brant being the rector and the preacher the Bishop of Fond du Lac, a former rector ; this service had been preceded by Solemn Pontifical Vespers the previous evening.
During practically the whole period of Dr. van Allen's rectorship of twenty-seven years, the longest in the history of the parish, he continually added to his pastoral duties visits and the preaching of sermons in other parishes of our own as well as in those of other dioceses. It was not unnatural that in time this ceaseless activity, despite the rest afforded by the summer vacations, should prove too taxing for his strength; and on March 3, 1929, he wrote to the senior warden, stating that his health had suffered so much of late that he felt it clearly his duty to lay down every task possible, and resigned the rectorship of the parish.
Following his resignation Dr. van Allen resided in Eng- land and Italy. His health steadily failed, and on August 23, 1931, he died in Munich.
During Dr. van Allen's rectorship important additions to the Fabric and its furnishing were received, in the form of gifts and memorials. Of particular importance among them were All Souls Chapel; the completion of the carv- ing in the aisles, the addition of the clere-story windows; the screen of the Lady Chapel; the choir stalls and the new organ console in the chancel; the confessionals, and the beautiful Rood, together with additional vestments, sacred vessels, and other gifts.
2 The Living Church, December 13, 1919.
1929-1937
TN July, 1929, a call to the rectorate was extended to the Reverend Julian D. Hamlin, Rector of the Church of St. John the Evangelist in Newport, Rhode Island. Father Hamlin accepted the call and entered upon his duties on Sunday, September 29, 1929, the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels. On Advent Sunday he was installed by Bishop Slattery as seventh Rector of the Parish.
In the interim the responsibility for the administration of the parish had generously been assumed by the Rev. Spence Burton,1 Superior of the Society of St. John the Evangelist in the United States, and rector of the parish in Bowdoin Street. With the able assistance of the Rev. William M. V. Hoffman, Jr., also a member of the Society, the arduous task of caring immediately for the increased number of services during the remainder of Lent, continu- ing through the ensuing weeks and the summer until Fr. Hamlin's assumption of his office in late September, was carried out with sympathetic devotion, ability, and fidelity. The work of the parish and its organizations continued without interruption or derangement, and the invaluable services of Fr. Burton and his associates were recognized by the parish with deep gratitude.
Fr. Hamlin took up his residence with his wife in the rectory on Brimmer Street. If there had been reluctance on the part of any to depart from the custom which obtained from 1872 to 1929 that the rector should be unmarried,2
1 Fr. Burton was consecrated Suffragan Bishop of Haiti in a mem- orable service at Trinity Church, Boston, on May 3, 1939. In 1942 he resigned, to accept his present office of Bishop of Nassau, in the Church of England.
2 Dr. Croswell and Dr. Bolles were married; Bishop Southgate. during the period of his rectorate, was a widower.
90
91
THE YEARS 1929-1937
surely it must have been overcome by the gracious lady who unobtrusively, yet so effectively manifested her interest in the work of the parish.3
From the first Fr. Hamlin's rectorship was notable for his devotion to the spiritual up-building of the parish, and his solicitude for the quickening of the social consciousness both in the Christian Church and in the world at large. He was a forceful preacher, sincere and ardent in his main- tenance of the whole Catholic faith and in his labors for its advancement.
Fr. Hamlin assumed the duties of his office just at the beginning of the depression which rendered more difficult than ever the maintenance of the Church's work; but he never wavered in the encouragement of his people to con- tinue liberal support of the Church's activities in the parish, in the country, and in the foreign mission field. He did not regard the depression as the occasion for retrenchment in things spiritual and in the work of the Church, but rather believed that "the world's extremity is the oppor- tunity of the Church."
In the parish he encouraged his people, both by spoken and written precept and by personal example, to a fuller practice of the Catholic life. He supported the several guilds . and societies in their activities, and organized the Young Peoples' Fellowship. Upon his recommendation the Parish Committee was created. While maintaining the regular services of the parish in all their dignity, beauty, and use- fulness, he imbued them with the spiritual quality which he regarded as more essential than considerations of cere- monial.
Between Fr. Hamlin and Bishop Sherrill there was a strong mutual attachment, for they had been classmates
3 Among the many gifts which enrich the church the adoring fig- ures of the Christmas crèche testify to Mrs. Hamlin's artistic taste and generous interest in the parish.
92
THE PARISH OF THE ADVENT
in boarding-school. During Fr. Hamlin's rectorship, and through the succeeding years continuing to the present day, the parish has been deeply grateful for Bishop Sherrill's unfailing interest and for the sympathetic assistance ren- dered by him in so many ways.
Fr. Hamlin's whole effort was devoted to the interests of the parish and his flock; but this did not preclude occasional visits to other cities, for preaching or conduct- ing retreats, for which his services were frequently de- manded. His position and influence in our own diocese were important. His first summer vacation, in 1930, he passed in England, where he attended the Anglo-Catholic Congress, and at the Lambeth Conference served as Chap- lain to the Bishop of Vermont.
Notable among the services held at the Advent on special occasions were the Solemn Eucharist and Procession, the opening service of the commemoration by the Diocese of the centenary of the Oxford Movement; and the service of Solemn Intercession for the persecuted Christians in Russia. Fr. Hamlin was ever deeply solicitous for the welfare of the Russian Seminary in Paris, which main- tained so valiant a struggle for its existence following the last war.
At the Easter meeting of the corporation held April 2, 1934, Fr. Hamlin presented his resignation as rector, to be effective as soon as a successor could be found. His reason for this action was that he had never been able to adjust himself physically to the Boston climate, and to the administrative demands of so large a parish; and that he wished to spend a year in sociological studies in England and Russia, and in some long-delayed writing.
Fr. Hamlin's resignation was received and accepted with great reluctance and deep regret, although it was realized that for some time he had suffered acutely from a sinus
FATHER HAMLIN
94
THE PARISH OF THE ADVENT
infection to the relief of which the Boston climate cer- tainly was not favorable.
Fr. Hamlin laid down the duties of his office October 14, 1934. At a farewell reception tendered to him by the parish a memorial scroll was presented to him in behalf of the corporation and vestry. The memorial, which had been written by Edward Kennard Rand of the corporation, and which was read by the author in its original Latin, ex- pressed in terms of deep appreciation and affection the thanks, the love, and the grief of the whole parish.
Fr. Hamlin took up his residence in England, where he died December 18, 1937.
Benjamin I. Harrison of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, a grad- uate of the General Theological Seminary in New York, was ordained to the diaconate by the Bishop of Massachu- setts May 22, 1931. He was at once appointed a curate at the Church of the Advent by Fr. Hamlin, and six months later was advanced to the sacred office of priest, continuing his service to the parish.
At a meeting of the corporation and the wardens and vestry of the Advent held June 26, 1934, the committee which had been appointed to nominate a successor to Fr. Hamlin, after thorough consideration and as the result of strong recommendations received, presented the name of Fr. Harrison. He was elected to the rectorship, and took up his duties on October 15, 1934. He was installed by Bishop Sherrill as eighth Rector of the Parish of the Advent, on Advent Sunday.
Fr. Harrison was a scholar and preacher of marked attainments. His rectorate extended over a period of only a little more than two years, for in December, 1936, he suf- fered a nervous breakdown, and resigned the rectorship.
95
THE YEARS 1929-1937
Chief among the memorial gifts received by the parish during the period covered by this chapter were the Sacra- ment House or Aumbry in the chancel, the statue of the
FATHER HICKS
MR. HUNTING
FATHER CAINE
FATHER HAMLIN
FATHER HARRISON
Blessed Virgin and Child placed over the tabernacle in the Lady Chapel, and the new organ. The carved tympanum of the south porch was also completed.
Following Fr. Harrison's resignation the parish was
96
THE PARISH OF THE ADVENT
fortunate in being able immediately to secure as Acting Rector the Very Rev. John M. McGann, D.D., sometime Dean of the Cathedral of the diocese of Western Massa- chusetts. The parish was deeply grateful to Dean McGann for his services during the ensuing weeks, when although called upon to face many difficulties, he labored diligently and efficiently, both in preaching and in pastoral work.
At a meeting of the corporation and' vestry held Feb- ruary 16, 1937, it was unanimously voted to elect the Rev- erend Alfred Newbery, Rector of the Church of the Atone- ment in Chicago, to the rectorship of the parish. Fr. Newbery accepted the call, and preached his first sermon at the Advent on the Sunday after Ascension Day (May 9, 1937).
Fr. Newbery was well-known as one of the foremost and ablest of the Catholic clergy in the American Church. Graduating from Amherst College in 1913, he served for some years as an educational missionary in China; return- ing to this country he was ordained deacon in 1925, and was advanced to the priesthood the following year. Two years later he was elected rector of the Chicago parish; there he served as a member of the diocesan council and of the cathedral chapter, holding the distinguished service cross awarded by the Bishop of Chicago for outstanding service.
Fr. Newbery's eloquence in the pulpit was well known, but it was as a parish priest and as one devoted to the cause of social service that his rectorship promised a significant future for the Advent. A condition of his acceptance of the call to the Advent had been the appointment of a full-time Director of Religious Education, to carry out efficiently the work implied in the office.
Fr. Newbery remained at his post through the month
FATHER NEWBERY
98
THE PARISH OF THE ADVENT
of July, and early in August went with Mrs. Newbery and their three children to Newcastle, New Hampshire, to ob- tain the benefit of a vacation which it appears he had never before permitted himself to enjoy. On the afternoon of the 17th of August, while he was on his way back to the beach from his hotel with an antiseptic for a cut on his young daughter's foot, he suffered a heart attack, from which he died in two hours. His body was taken to Newark, New Jersey, where the funeral services were held in Grace Church on the morning of August 21. At the same hour a Solemn Mass of Requiem was sung at the Church of the Advent.
The following resolution was entered upon the records of the corporation :
"Resolved, that the death of our Rector, Rev. Alfred Newbery, is an irreparable loss to the Parish of the Advent and the Diocese, and a personal sorrow to the members of this Corporation and all who knew him.
"Coming to us in the hour of need, he faced the heavy burdens confronting him with tireless energy and cheer- fulness. In three short months he laid the foundation for a great and constructive work. His sympathy, his tact, and his humor endeared him to all of us.
"He united deep piety with practical wisdom, and firm- ness of purpose with consideration for others.
"He was an ideal parish priest.
"His brilliant abilities and unswerving support of the Catholic Faith had already proved him a Rector worthy of the high traditions of our Parish; and he was recognized as one who would be a strong leader in the Diocese and in the community. .
The sudden and tragic death of Fr. Newbery was a severe blow to the Parish of the Advent. In the few months of his rectorship he had demonstrated the qualities which promised a future of continued upbuilding of the parish
99
THE YEARS 1929-1937
and of renewed and consecrated effort for the maintenance of the principles upon which its foundation had been laid.
But the Divine Providence Who had blessed the work of the Advent through so many years of its life, and had sustained it in the times of its greatest need, again guided the parish in its happy choice of a successor to the late rector.
At a meeting of the corporation, wardens and vestry on October 11, 1937, it was unanimously voted to elect to the rectorship the Very Reverend Samuel Whitney Hale, since 1931 Dean of St. Paul's Cathedral in Buffalo, New York, and a member of the Standing Committee of the Diocese of Western New York.
Fr. Hale had been ordained to the sacred priesthood by Bishop Cheshire of North Carolina in 1918. Previous to his ordination he had served in France for six months with the American Field Service attached to the French army; following his ordination he devoted some years to work in the rural mission field in North Carolina and Western New York.
It was by no means easy for Fr. Hale to decide to accept the call to the Advent, for he was closely bound both by ties of personal affection for the Cathedral parish, and by his loyalty to the important work carried on there. But he realized the urgency of the call to the Advent, which he believed was one "to worship and work" with the parish; and the great opportunity for service here. He accepted the call, and coming to Boston with his wife and three children in November, assumed charge of the parish on Advent Sunday, November 28, 1937. He was instituted as tenth Rector of the Parish of the Advent on Passion Sunday, April 3, 1938, by Bishop Sherrill.
It is with devout gratitude that the course of Fr. Hale's
100
THE PARISH OF THE ADVENT
rectorship during the past seven years is recorded. Coming to the parish in the hour of its great need, he found a parish administration and a body of communicants and worship-
CLERESTORY WINDOWS
pers eager to accord to him their loyal support in whatever he might undertake for the advancement of the parish and for the strengthening of its position in the diocese and in the nation. With each succeeding year, in ever increasing measure, the personal and reverent affection of his people
101
THE YEARS 1929-1937
has been added to the feeling of deep respect universally entertained for him as a priest and for his character as a man.
In the succeeding pages will be found a record of the activity of the various parish organizations, as they are at present constituted. But this activity is only the expression of the zeal for service encouraged by Fr. Hale's constant effort to arouse in his people a realization of their "one great need to know, love, and serve God better." By the earnestness of his preaching-by the personal appeals in the Weekly Message which constitute a never-ceasing en- couragement of the spiritual upbuilding of our daily lives -and by the emphasis unfailingly laid upon the great service of the Altar as the source and maintenance of all strength-he has set forth the ideal of a parish which shall be Catholic not merely in name, but in spirit.
Prominent among the new features of the Advent's life inaugurated by Fr. Hale are the securing of a full time di- rector of religious education, thus emphasizing the impor- tance of Christian Education as envisioned by his prede- cessor ; weekly intercessory prayer for all in need at the Service of Help and Healing, and at the daily offering of the Holy Sacrifice; encouragement of regular and generous support of the world-wide mission of the Church; finally, the acquisition of the much needed Parish House, due in no small measure to Fr. Hale's foresight and vigorous sup- port of the undertaking.
Fr. Hale's interest in youth has found expression in the activity of the Young People's Fellowship. The enthusi- astic cooperation of Mrs. Hale in this especially, must be gratefully recorded. She has not only won the deep and sin- cere regard of parishioners but has made many a friend for the Advent by the warmth and charm of her welcome.
Outside the parish Fr. Hale's qualities of leadership have been gratifyingly recognized. The position of confidence
102
THE PARISH OF THE ADVENT
and trust which he holds in the diocese was demonstrated by his election as one of the four clerical deputies to Gen- eral Convention in 1943, together with a member of the Advent corporation as one of the four lay deputies.
To June, 1944, one hundred and forty one men and eight- een women of the parish had entered the service of their country in the present war. Each day a candle is lighted at the Prayer Shrine for a different member who is remem- bered by name at the offering of the Holy Sacrifice the same day. At both early Masses on Sunday those remembered the previous week are again prayed for, their names being read from The Parish Book of Intercession. This beautiful leather bound book, executed by the Merrymount Press, is given by his parents in memory of Lieutenant Burton Wright Cutler, United States Army Air Force, who was killed in action in Sardinia, June 24, 1943, the first parish- ioner to make the supreme sacrifice in the present war. It is a permanent record of the names of parishioners of the Ad- vent in the service of their country and of others in the service for whom prayers have been asked. Fr. Hale writes each member far enough in advance so that even those over- seas as well as their families at home may know upon which day he or she is to be prayed for. Letters received reveal that many steadfastly maintain their allegiance to our Lord and to the principles for which the Advent stands.
The tragedy of the war has weighed heavily on Fr. Hale's mind and heart, because of its cruel devastation of precious lives and the realization of its sinful causes for which all peoples are in some measure responsible. Deeply conscious of the need for true penitence and the necessity for com- plete commitment to the will of God, he would have Church- men frankly face their accountability for a future world order based on justice and a common interest in the welfare of all sorts and conditions of men everywhere.
After briefly reviewing the past, Fr. Hale brings this
FATHER HALE
104
THE PARISH OF THE ADVENT
story of one hundred years to a fitting close by looking re- alistically to the future-The Next Hundred Years.
Under the general chairmanship of a member of the cor- poration, Edward O. Proctor, supported by a representative committee, plans have been made to celebrate in as worthy a manner as possible the centennial of this parish beginning on Advent Sunday, December 3, 1944.
The Next Hundred Years
"I thank my God upon every remembrance of you."
These words were St. Paul's, but they are also mine as I think over the history of our past hundred years. We come to our centennial with gratitude to Almighty God for the revelation of His grace in the lives of those who have served this parish since its foundation. Here is the record of a spiritual achievement that is profoundly moving. It has been the Way of the Cross in parish and in people. Be- ginning with suffering and persecution faithfully endured, sometimes stumbling yet ever advancing, it is a history of many sorrows and many joys; of failures repented, of vic- tories won. God has blessed this parish and brought us to this crowning year of thanksgiving, praise and dedication.
To me your present rector, is given the privilege of speak- ing briefly of the past, our present task, and a vision of the future.
First of all there is my gratitude for your trust in me which gave me this great field for my best endeavor. The call to become rector of the Church of the Advent came to a somewhat unwilling spirit. Happy in my former work, I underwent agonizing weeks of honest search for the will of God. What lifted the fog of uncertainty and convinced me of the leading of the Holy Spirit was the realization that the Advent, calling me with an urgency hard to resist, had always been a parish that steadfastly upheld the same Catholic Faith which claimed my loyalty. Here was a parish that had suffered for the truths I believed in. Here were people uncompromisingly devoted to the same position to which I was committed.
In this parish the first concern was to worship God in the beauty of holiness. To put edification of man in the place
105
106
THE PARISH OF THE ADVENT
of the adoration of God is to forget the end for which we are made. Those who determined its direction and estab- lished its emphases were never concerned with ceremonial as an end in itself, but they saw clearly and intended that others should see that our first privilege and obligation is to offer all that we are and have to God in union with our Lord's perfect self-offering in the Church's central act of worship, the Eucharistic Sacrifice. This legacy of the full traditional richness of Catholic worship carries with it a challenge; it must never degenerate into empty formalism.
I wish I might have known those in the past-priests and people-who stood firm for the faith and won the day. It means much to me to speak of one I did know. When I came, the senior warden was George Peabody Gardner. The record of his long and devoted service to the parish, covering nearly half a century, is related elsewhere. A man of wide interests and conspicuous achievements in the world of affairs, where his integrity and high principles were felt, he was a Christian gentleman, always courteous, ever self-forgetful. His personal gifts, time and resources he poured out in full measure to the parish and to many causes which benefited his fellowmen. With unfailing reg- ularity Mr. Gardner came to the altar early every Sunday morning until his health broke; after that he came to the Lady Chapel each week to receive our Lord from the re- served Sacrament, reluctantly foregoing his accustomed habit of receiving the Sacrament fasting. In thinking of him and other devoted laymen one is reminded of a vital truth to which this parish has borne consistent witness, "The right relation between prayer and conduct is not that conduct is supremely important and prayer may help it; but prayer is supremely important and conduct tests it." 1
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.