USA > Maine > Kennebec County > Gardiner > One hundredth anniversary of the diocese of Maine, 1820-1920, Christ church, Gardiner, Maine, May thirtieth to June third > Part 2
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THE DIOCESE OF MAINE
of the new church, and went to England for ordination. Toward his sup- port the S. P. G. contributed one hundred dollars per annum. Mr. Wis- well remained in charge of St. Paul's until the church was destroyed in the burning of Portland by the British in 1775. During the war there
Old St. Paul's Church Remodelled
were no services held in the church. We may readily imagine that the American patriot of those days was in no mood to distinguish between English Church and English State.
It was not until 1783 that the society was reorganized, and in 1787 a second building was erected on the site of the first at the corner of Middle and Church Streets. After many vicissitudes this struggling congrega- tion, augmented by some able and prominent citizens, decided, in 1803, to sell the old church and move up town to the corner of Middle and Pearl Streets. Here was erected a brick building of some pretension with tower and belfry. It was during this prosperous period of its history that St. Paul's, under the able rectorship of Rev. P. S. Ten Broeck, was called on to take part in the first Convention of the Diocese of Maine. Later
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on, in 1839, the church was reorganized under the name of St. Stephen's. After the great fire of 1866 had destroyed the building on Middle Street, this parish decided to move further up town, and accordingly, at the suggestion of Bishop Neely, purchased the building then occu- pied by the new parish of St. Luke's on Congress Street at the foot of Pine Street. This latter parish then purchased a lot and built the present Cathedral on State Street.
Rev. P. S. Ten Broeck
The history of the Diocesan organization of the Church in Maine begins on April 17, 1820, one month and two days after Maine was ad- mitted to the Union as a State, when Bishop Griswold, the Bishop of the Eastern Diocese, sent a letter to the Rev. Mr. Ten Broeck, Rector of St. Paul's, Portland, requesting that delegates from the two churches in Maine meet at Brunswick on May 3, 1820, and duly form themselves into a Convention of the Diocese of Maine. This was done accordingly, the delegates from Portland being : Clerical, Rev. P. S. Ten Broeck ; Lay, Simon Greenleaf, Esq., Captain John L. Lewis, Captain Jonathan Waite, Captain John Wildrage, Mr. John Watson, Mr. James B. Tucker, and Dr. John Merrill.
From Christ Church, Gardiner: Clerical, Rev. Gideon W. Olney; Lay, Robert H. Gardiner, Esq., Captain Daniel Woodward, Mr. Ebenezer
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Byram, Rufus Gay, Esq., Colonel John Stone, and Captain John Savels.
Rev. Gideon W. Olney was chosen President and Dr. John Merrill Secretary. A constitution and canons were adopted, and the Rev. Mr. Ten Broeck and Robert H. Gardiner, Esq., were elected del- egates to the next General Conven- tion which met at Philadelphia, and the Rt. Rev. the Bishop of the Eastern Diocese was requested to exercise episcopal jurisdiction over the Church in this State. Thus the Dr. John Merrill Church in Maine made a small but courageous beginning, and this was accomplished chiefly through the energy and foresight of the two lead- ing members of the then existing parishes, Simon Greenleaf, Esq., of
Portland, and Robert H. Gardiner, Esq., of Gardiner.
The following extract from the address of Bishop Griswold to the Biennial Convention of the Eastern Diocese assembled at Newport, Sep- tember 27, 1820, gives a picture of the Church in Maine at this time: " Since our last Biennial Conven- tion, the District of Maine has be- come a State, and now holds a re- spectable rank in the Union which forms this rising empire. It became proper, of course, and was judged expedient, that the few churches in this new State should form a State convention. Accordingly a meeting
Hon. John F. A. Merrill
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of delegates from the two churches in Maine took place in Brunswick, on the 3rd of May in the present year. They acceded to the Constitu- tion of the General Convention and formed a constitution for that state. Their delegates, sent to the last General Convention, were received, and their proceedings recognized and approved; and agreeably to their re- quest, they are annexed to this Eastern Diocese. Whether any and what alterations in our Diocesan constitution may in consequence be neces- sary, will claim a place in your deliberations."
" The Church in Maine, though small, is a just subject of congratu- lation and praise. Three years ago we had but about twelve commu- nicants in that district ; there are now about one hundred. Most laud- able have been their efforts and liberality in making provision for the decent performance of Divine Worship, and the regular administration of the Christian Ordinances. In Gardiner they have erected a new and very handsome church, excelling, in the purity of taste displayed, and perfection of the Gothic style, any edifice perhaps in the United States. If the Lord permit, it will soon be solemnly dedicated to His Holy Worship. The parish in Portland are second to none in their pious lib- erality: 'for to their power, - I bear record - yea, and beyond their power, they are willing,' - and generously endeavor to render the sit- uation of their worthy pastor comfortable and happy. I have supposed it my duty to give them some little aid from our Eastern contribu- tions. They have obtained a bell for their church. May the Lord re- member them for good, and visit them with His salvation."
The Diocese remained under the care of Bishop Griswold until his death in 1843. Owing to the difficulties of travel, he made the journey to Maine either by boat, or on an old white horse. He was present at only ten of the twenty-three Conventions held during his episcopate. In this period, however, were added to the Diocese the churches of Saco, Westbrook, Augusta (St. Mark's), and Bangor. The proceedings of many of these Conventions were published in the Gospel Advocate and the Watchman. In 1823 it was voted to establish " The Protestant Episcopal Missionary Society of Maine " and to take up a collection at Christmas for the fund. In 1827, at the eighth Convention held at Saco, when the church there was consecrated, it was voted to form a Sunday School Union, and also it was deemed advisable to ask the General Con-
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vention to revise the Tables of Lessons from Holy Scripture. In 1829 the support of the episcopate was seriously considered and the printing of the Diocesan Journal. A theological school for the Eastern Diocese was discussed. In 1836 a committee was appointed to consider the sep- aration of Maine from the Eastern Diocese and to obtain a Bishop at a nominal salary of $1500, if it could be raised. In the Convention of 1839, a resolution was introduced by Robert H. Gardiner, and unani- mously adopted, to the effect that the Convention take measures for the separation of the Diocese of Maine from the Eastern Diocese. A committee was appointed to examine into the ways and means of sup- plying a salary for a Bishop of Maine. There seems to have been some difficulty in the way, for the committee reported the next year that nothing had been heard touching their application from Massachusetts or New Hampshire or Rhode Island, and in order not to leave the Dio- cese in an equivocal position in regard to its canonical standing, it was voted to remain part of the Eastern Diocese.
At the death of Bishop Griswold, Bishop Eastburn was requested to assume episcopal supervision. He declined, and Bishop Henshaw of Rhode Island took charge of the Diocese for four years. During this time St. Paul's, Brunswick, and the church at Milford were admitted into union with the Convention.
In due time, however, the separate diocesan organization was agreed to, and at a special Convention called October 4, 1847, at Portland, rep- resentatives being present from St. Stephen's, Portland; Christ Church, Gardiner ; St. John's, Bangor; St. Mark's, Augusta ; St. Paul's, Bruns- wick ; St. James's, Milford ; the Rev. George Burgess, Rector of Christ Church, Hartford, Connecticut, was unanimously elected the first Bishop of Maine.
BISHOP BURGESS
G YEORGE BURGESS was born on October 31, 1809, at Provi- J dence, Rhode Island. He attended a day school until 1821, when, at the age of twelve, he was found prepared for college, but as his father was unwilling to have him enter so young, he spent a year in the study of French and in miscellaneous reading. He graduated from Brown University in 1822. Throughout the four years, he was never absent from
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HISTORICAL SKETCH
prayers, which were held at sun- rise, or from a single recitation, or marked deficient in any of his stud- ies. After graduating from college he entered his father's law office and completed the full course of a student at law. He accepted a tutorship in the college for two years while he was studying theol- ogy with the Rev. Dr. Crocker of St. John's Church, Providence. In 1831 Mr. Burgess went abroad and spent two years in the universities of Göttingen, Bonn, and Berlin and one year in travel. On his return he was ordained deacon by Bishop
St. Stephen's Church, Portland
Rev. George C. De Mott
Griswold in 1834, and priest on November 2 of the same year, and became Rector of Christ Church, Hartford, where he remained until called to the Bishopric of Maine. He received the degree of Doctor of Divinity in 1846, from Union College,Schenectady, and the same year the same degree from Brown University. He married on Octo- ber 26, 1846, Sophia, daughter of Leonard Kip, Esq., formerly of New York, but then resident in Hartford.
The service of his consecration was held in Christ Church, Hart- ford, Bishops Chase of Illinois,
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Brownell, Eastburn, and Chase of New Hampshire united in the con- secration; Bishop Henshaw, then having episcopal charge of Maine, preached the sermon.
He went at once to his new field and began the arduous task of what Bishop Henshaw called, "exploring the State of Maine ecclesiastically." How well he did it can be seen by some comparison of statistics. When he came to Maine, there were in the Diocese seven parishes. When he
Simon Greenleaf
died, there were nineteen parishes and missions and one rectory. Com- municants reported were 1527; Sunday-school, 19; teachers, 176; pupils, 1366. There was no fund for the episcopate, and therefore the Bishop was obliged to be the rector of a church in order to receive a salary. Bishop Burgess started such a fund and added to it quite materially by his will. The annual income of the Diocesan Missionary Society rose from four hundred and fifty dollars to eighteen hundred. He was a great believer in the educative force of the service and the prayer book. He
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urged his clergy to hold services in any town where they could gather a company. In this way he did much to overcome the prejudice against the Episcopal Church that was so strong in those days. 'The Legislature at first refused even to grant an Act of Incorporation to the Trustees of Diocesan Funds. Bishop Burgess was obliged to go to Augusta and, by his charm of manner and good judgment, persuade them to favorable action. His capacity for work was almost unending. He never took a vacation and undoubtedly wore himself out with hard travelling and the constant attention to detail which, although he never complained of it, must have been wearing to one of his poetic temperament. He wrote, in spite of his arduous labors, many books and poems, and had time to take thought for each individual under his care, as is told in many a story of his life in Gardiner, where he was Rector of Christ Church during his episcopate. In fact, he calls to mind in many ways the life and sweet spirit of the great missionary Bishop and hymn-writer of the English Church, Reginald Heber. Too much cannot be said of the wisdom, tact, and godly grace that he exercised in laying the foundations of the pres- ent Church in Maine. He was peculiarly fortunate in gathering around him a company of clergy of strong personality, many of whom became distinguished in various fields of Church work. Among these were Dr. Edward Ballard, John Cotton Smith, Alexander Burgess (later first Bishop of Quincy), William E. Armitage ( later Bishop of Wisconsin), Thomas March Clark (later Bishop of Rhode Island), Bishop Horatio Southgate, and John Franklin Spalding (later Bishop of Colorado).
He died April 23, 1866, on board a ship sailing from Hayti to New York, and was buried in the churchyard of Christ Church, Gardiner, where a granite cross marks his final resting-place.
BISHOP NEELY
T a special Convention of the Diocese of Maine held at Christ Church, Gardiner, on October 30, 1866, the Rev. Henry Adams Neely, assistant minister of Trinity Parish, New York City, was elected the second Bishop of Maine. The parishes represented on this occasion were: Gardiner, Christ Church; Portland, St. Stephen's and St. Luke's; and those of Saco, Bangor, Augusta, Brunswick, Bath, Calais, Lewiston,
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Camden, Eastport, and Dexter. The Rev. Alexander Burgess was presi- dent of the Convention and the Rev. Dr. Edward Ballard was secretary.
Henry Adams Neely was born in Fayetteville, New York, on May 14, 1830. He graduated at Hobart College in 1849 and was afterward tutor in the same institution. He was ordained deacon in Trinity Church,
St. Luke's Cathedral, Portland
Geneva, by the Rt. Rev. W. H. De Lancey, S.T.D., and priest by the same Bishop in 1854. He married, in 1859, Mary Floyd Delafield of New York City. He was Rector of Calvary Church, Utica, Christ Church, Rochester, and Chaplain of Hobart College. He then became assistant minister of Trinity Parish and in charge of Trinity Chapel. From this cure he was elected second Bishop of Maine. He was consecrated on the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul, 1867, in Trinity Chapel, New York. The consecrators were Bishop Horatio Potter, who also preached the sermon, Bishop John Henry Hopkins of Vermont, Bishop John Wil- liams of Connecticut, Bishop William Henry Odenheimer of New Jer- sey, Bishop Robert Harper Clarkson of Nebraska, Bishop George Max- well Randall of Colorado.
When Bishop Neely came to Maine he became Rector of St. Luke's Parish, which was then worshipping in the church on Congress Street, at the foot of Pine Street, now occupied by St. Stephen's Parish. He at once
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began plans for a Cathedral, in which the parish cooperated most heart- ily, and in pursuance of the plan purchased the Robinson lot on State Street. The cornerstone of the new building was laid in 1867, and it was opened for divine service in 1868. It was cleared of debt through the lib- erality of friends both within and without the Diocese, and was conse- crated on St. Luke's Day, 1877.
Bishop Neely felt that any permanent growth in the Church's life must be founded on the spread of Christian education, and he therefore bent all his ef- forts to establish schools, two of which were started-St. Catherine's Hall at Augusta, for girls, and St. John's School at Presque Isle, for boys. They undoubtedly filled a want in the church life in Maine, some of its most earnest workers to-day being those who received inspiration and direction for their life-work in these institutions. But the financial strain on the Bishop was very great, as he was obliged to spend a goodly part of his time securing funds outside the Diocese to meet the current expenses of these schools, as well as those of his various missionary enterprises.
Rev. William Henry Washburn Missionary of the Aroostook 1868-1895
Bishop Neely suggested in 1868 a form for organizing missions in union with the Convention. The House of the Good Shep- herd, a home for orphaned children, was started in Rockland and later transferred to Gardiner. In 1872 Bishop Neely established The North East, now the oldest diocesan paper in this country. It has proved itself a valuable organ of communication between the Bishop and his people, and a means of interesting the parishes of the Diocese in various forms of missionary work.
The missions in Aroostook County were added to the Diocese. Though constantly hampered by the need of more clergy and the fre- quent changes among them, the Bishop was fortunate in securing the services of three faithful missionaries who labored untiringly and with
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singleness of purpose in the interest of the Church in Maine, -the Rev. William Henry Washburn, the Rev. Hudson Sawyer, and the Rev. Charles Talcott Ogden.
Bishop Neely was a conspicuous figure in the Church at large. At his death, after an episcopate of thirty-three years, he was one of the oldest
Rev. Hudson Sawyer, Soldier, Priest, Educator 1873-1889
Bishops in the American Church. He had been for six years chairman of the House of Bishops, and was chairman of the Hymnal Committee, which gave the hymnal and chant book of 1892 to the Church.
One of his clergy wrote: "Those who knew him in his prime recall a magnificent specimen of manhood physically, with a soul to correspond to it. When at length, broken by almost incessant labor, he entered into his rest, the Church in Maine felt that it had lost a true Father in God, and the State at large one of its leading citizens."
Bishop Neely died on the eve of All Saints' Day, 1899, at the Bishop's House in Portland, and is buried in Evergreen Cemetery, in that city. A cenotaph was placed in the Cathedral to his memory by the Diocese.
During the episcopate of the second Bishop of Maine, thirty-three
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parishes and missions were added to the Diocese, three of which have since been discontinued; the episcopate fund reached the sum of $53,- 147.01. In 1899 the total value of the church property rose to $589,855;
Rev. Charles T. Ogden, Travelling Missionary 1883-1911
offerings for diocesan purposes to $4816.64; and offerings for general purposes to $4234.39. The communicants numbered 4023; the teachers in Sunday-schools, 214; the pupils, 1855.
At a special Convention of the Diocese, held in St. Luke's Cathedral,
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Portland, on December 13, 1899, the Rev. Robert Codman was elected third Bishop of Maine. The Very Rev. Charles Morton Sills presided, and the Rev. Charles Follen Lee was secretary. Twenty-nine clergymen were present and representatives from the following parishes : Portland, St. Luke's, St. Stephen's, and St. Paul's, and the parishes at Bath, Bruns- wick, Saco, Biddeford, Newcastle, Wiscasset, Gardiner, Augusta, Hal- lowell, Thomaston, Camden, Bangor, Eastport, Houlton, Lewiston, and Old Town.
Robert Codman was born in Boston, Massachusetts, December 30, 1859. He was educated in the public schools, was graduated from Har- vard University in 1882, three years later from the Law School, and was then admitted to the Suffolk Bar. He graduated from the General The- ological Seminary in 1894, was ordained deacon in 1893, and advanced to the priesthood by Bishop Grafton of Fond du Lac the next year. He was curate of All Saints' Church, Ashmont, and Rector of St. John's Church, Roxbury, Massachusetts. He was consecrated in St. Luke's Cathedral, Portland, on St. Matthias' Day, 1900. The consecrators were Bishop William Woodruff Niles of New Hampshire, Bishop William Croswell Doane of Albany, Bishop Frederick Dan Huntington of Cen- tral New York, together with the Bishops of Quebec and of Frederic- ton. He received the degree of S.T.D. from Trinity College in 1900, and of D. D. from Bishop's College, Lenoxville, in 1904. He married in September, 1915, Margaretta Biddle Porter, daughter of Colonel John Biddle Porter of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He began his ministra- tions in Maine with great energy and enthusiasm for the building up of the Catholic Faith, and under his leadership the Diocese made a decided advance in many directions. Ten new missions were founded, several churches built, the most conspicuous of which is the Emmanuel Chapel of the Cathedral, which Bishop Codman erected at his own expense to the memory of his father, mother, and brother. He also made over and enlarged the Bishop's House, bought a house for the Dean's residence, and at his death left a sum of money for the upkeep of the property. He urged the Parishes to build rectories, much needed for the proper provision of the clergy, and gave financial encouragement thereto. He contributed most generously of his substance to various societies of civic and moral welfare. Through his efforts and the cooperation of the
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Emmanuel Chapel, St. Luke's Cathedral, Portland
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clergy and laity, the Diocese was enabled to dispense with all aid from the Board of Missions.
He died October 7, 1915, in the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, Bos- ton, after a short illness, and was buried in Forest Hills Cemetery, Boston. St. Peter's Church, East Deering, one of the last missionary projects of the Bishop and one in which he felt a peculiar interest, was designated by the Convention as a memorial church to Bishop Cod- man.
At the close of the third episcopate, there were in the Diocese sixty parishes and missions and eighteen summer chapels ; communicants, 5589; teachers in Sunday-school, 223; pupils, 2275.
In 1915 the amount given for diocesan missions was $3,785.07 ; for general missions, $4,217.94 ; amount of Episcopate Fund was $64,553.77.
BISHOP BREWSTER
AT T an adjourned session of a special Convention, held in St. Luke's Cathedral, Portland, on January 26, 1916, the Rt. Rev. Benjamin Brewster, then Missionary Bishop of Western Colorado, was elected fourth Bishop of Maine, and was transferred to the Diocese on April 21,1916.
Benjamin Brewster was born in New Haven, Connecticut, on No- vember 25, 1860. He was prepared for college in the Hopkins Grammar School in that city, and was graduated from Yale University in 1882, and from the General Theological Seminary in 1886. The same year he was ordained deacon and the following year priest by the Rt. Rev. Henry C. Potter, Bishop of New York. He became assistant at Calvary Church, New York, and Vicar of Calvary Chapel. He was Rector of the Church of the Holy Communion, South Orange, New Jersey, and later Rector of Grace Church, Colorado Springs. He became Dean of St. Mark's Cathedral, Salt Lake City, Utah. On June 17, 1909, he was con- secrated to the episcopate in that church by the Presiding Bishop, the Rt. Rev. Daniel S. Tuttle, assisted by Bishop Nichols of California and Bishop Chauncey B. Brewster of Connecticut. Bishop Griswold of Salina and Bishop Spalding of Utah were the presenters. He received the de- gree of D.D. from the General Theological Seminary in 1919. He was
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married in 1891 to Stella Yates, daughter of General Charles Yates of New York City.
At the close of the convention year of 1919, the statistics of the Dio- cese were as follows: Sixty parishes and missions, and eleven stations included under the name of the Central Maine Mission; eighteen summer chapels; 5868 communicants; 214 teachers in Church schools; 2178 pupils; contributions for diocesan missions were $5,521.28; for general missions, $3,137.80, and the total value of Church property was $1,015,650.
In one hundred years of diocesan life a steady growth in the Church in Maine can be clearly discerned. It has overcome prejudice, preached the Gospel where it had never been heard, acquired sufficient material prosperity, and made itself felt in the civic life as a decided factor. In spreading over a larger area and developing a more complicated organi- zation, the Church is always in danger of losing a sense of its corporate unity. This has been revived in the diocesan life to a great extent by the present Bishop who, by his spiritual large-mindedness, heartfelt friend- liness, and winning personality, is doing much to bring into intelli- gent and closer relation the somewhat widely separated elements of the Diocese, thereby laying a firmer foundation for the growth of a second century.
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Communion Service, Christ Church, Gardiner
CHRIST CHURCH, GARDINER
BY JOSIAH S. MAXCY
T O pause occasionally in the midst of the world's activities and review the annals of the past, to take fresh inspiration from the achievements of those before us and to record the fruits of their labor, in order to show the world that their efforts were not in vain, -- this is well.
A century is a mile-stone used in our country in the computation of time. as a thousand years is in the recorded history of the world, or a million years in the growth of our planet.
This year to us is significant; it is the century mark of our State, which at its birth brought into being the separate Diocese of the Episcopal Church in Maine, and it marks also the one hundredth birthday of this beautiful structure.
This building has always been the pride of our citizens, irrespective of their religious belief. We have been proud not only of the structure itself, but of what it represents and of the work of this parish.
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