USA > Ohio > Hamilton County > Cincinnati > A centennial history of Christ Church, Cincinnati, 1817-1917 > Part 5
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Believe me,
My dear Brother, Very sincerely yours, G. T. Bedell, Bishop of Ohio."
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REV. THOS. S. YOCOM Rector 1869-1876
REV. I. NEWTON STANGER Rector 1877-1887
REV. RICHARD GRAY City Missionary 1865-1880
FIFTY YEARS' CHRISTIAN ENDEAVOR
The second letter, much in the same vein, reads : "My dear Mr. Stanger :
"I am very glad you are moving in the matter of an endowment for Christ Church. I have thought of the future of the older Churches of our city with great concern. It is inevitable that the deple- tion caused by removal to the hills, and the en- croachment of business must sooner or later leave them without an assured support-and yet there must always be a dense population around them and important work for them to do. It would be a calamity indeed if either of these Churches should be absorbed by business. They ought to remain like the Churches of Trinity Corporation, New York, and St. Andrew's, Philadelphia ; to be witnesses for truth and righteousness at the busi- ness centers; and to be maintained permanently as Free Churches, for the benefit of strangers and the large class of persons who can not live upon the hills. Their permanence can only be secured by some Plan of Endowment, such as you, with wise forecast, have proposed. I endorse the movement with all my heart. I trust you will yield to no discouragement, but persistently agi- tate the subject until our people are thoroughly awakened to its importance. Of course, the accu- mulation of an endowment must be gradual. You I have not commenced the movement too soon.
do trust that the wealthy friends of Christ Church will give the matter an earnest thought. Not only the welfare of Christ Church, but of the whole Church of this city is involved. I submit that there could not be a worthier object (embodying more permanent good) for liberal bequests, than such an endowment. As the matter is one which
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closely concerns the general interests of our Church, I thank you for taking the initiative, and you may command, should you need it, my earnest co-operation.
"I am my Dear Brother, faithfully yours, Thomas A. Jaggar, Bishop of Southern Ohio."
The plan, which was unanimously adopted by the Vestry on April 3, 1880, in accordance with Canon XXIII of the diocese, is that which has been in practical effect ever since, and the fund on April 1, 1917, amounted to $45,236.68. At the same date other endowment funds of Christ Church were as follows :
Sunday School Endowment $6,190.82.
The Larz and Emma Anderson Memorial Fund, $1, 104.10.
Parish House Fund, $81,514.98.
A new code of by-laws of Christ Church, passed on Easter Monday, 1903, made a most important radical change in a custom that had prevailed for three quarters of a century, by providing that "In electing a Vestry, every member of the parish, whether male or female, who shall have been such for six months next preceding the election, and is of legal age, and who has signed the Articles of Parochial Association, and who has contributed ten dollars annually to the support of the parish, by pew-rent or other specific contribution of that amount, shall be entitled to vote; and no person shall be elected Vestryman who is not a qualified voter in the parish, and a bona fide member there- of."
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IV Agencies for Church and Parish Work
T HE Ladies' Benevolent Society of Christ Church, Cincinnati, origin and sustainer of many noble enterprises through many years of patient and self-sacrificing labor and generosity, proved long ago, by its persistent yet unobtrusive Christian endeavors and services, how important a part of a community's most efficacious, moral, and religious effort naturally falls into the hands of women. Perhaps the best and most humane bless- ing that this society has rendered to the cause of righteousness arose from the institution of the unique and intensely practical methods of "going about doing good," illustrated by the daily minis- trations of the "city missionaries," sent forth and supported by the organization. These pious and indefatigable followers of the meek and lowly Comforter fulfilled His precept : "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in Heaven."
The first city missionary of Christ Church was Rev. Richard Gray, who, as we learn from a tab- let erected to his memory in the Church, was born in London in 1805, and died in Cincinnati in 1880. His missionary activities were not con- fined to Christ Church, but he labored as a Good Samaritan in other parishes under the Episcopal sway. He officiated as minister of Christ Church
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during the absence and the prolonged sickness in 1866 of Mr. McCarty, rector of the parish. Mr. Gray became rector of Holy Trinity Church, Hartwell, where he was in charge from 1867 to 1871. But his pre-eminent and distinguishing service was in the local missionary field, where he labored for twenty-five years, his salary being paid by the Ladies' Benevolent Society. From one of his annual reports we quote a paragraph which conveys a vivid impression of the range and quality of his work and a distinct idea of the style and character of this most earnest and de- voted man.
"During the past year," he writes, "I have at- tended to two thousand five hundred and two cases, many of which were sick people, who re- quired frequent attention. A few years ago I was asked by a clergyman of our Church, several years my senior, what method I found best to keep the evidence of the love of God most active in the soul. I replied, 'Constantly visiting the sick and the dying.' It is there we see fully the short- ness and uncertainty of life, but more especially the faithfulness of God to all his promises. I have been engaged in this work for nearly fifty years, and have visited a great variety of persons in very different stations of life, and have been astonished at the unvarying testimony given by the humble believer in Christ, that he never for- sakes those who put their trust in Him. I con- sider this portion of my work to be the most im- portant, as well as the most profitable."
Two years after the death of the first city mis- sionary, sometimes called with fond familiarity "Father Gray," Miss H. Fannie Williams was
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called to take his place, and she carried on the work for eighteen years, in much the same spirit as had been exhibited by her predecessor, sus- tained and encouraged as he had been by the Ladies' Benevolent Society. Some extracts from her painstaking annual reports will indicate the scope of her various duties and the fidelity and fervor of her nature. In the year 1888 she wit- nesses : "I have made two thousand and seventy- five calls and attended the weekly meetings of the Benevolent Society, the Helping Hand Society, the Mothers' meeting, the Young Gleaners, the Sewing School, and the Flower Mission, the Fresh Air Work during the summer and fall months, the meetings of the Women's Conference of Char- ities, and the monthly meetings of the Associated Charities in our district. I conduct the religious services in mothers' meeting. The work that is most efficient is the house to house visiting. In this way I find out the temporal and spiritual wants of those I visit. I try to speak encouraging words to the faint-hearted, hopeful words to the sick and suffering, and sympathizing ones to all, and make them feel that they have a friend in need. I gather the children for the Sunday School, and try to instil the duty of church-going into the minds of the parents." She reports in 1895, "The past year has been one of a great deal of want. Never in work, for the last thirteen years, have we met so much absolute need for food, fuel, and clothing." Her annual report, issued in 1897, summarizes her work for the preceding fifteen years, during which she had made 28,405 calls and distributed, for charitable purposes, $6,850. Falling ill, in 1900, Miss Williams resigned.
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By the courtesy of Miss Jane Findlay Carson we are permitted to reproduce a condensed his- tory of the Helping Hand Society, now known as the Woman's Auxiliary of Christ Church, of which organization, having long been the Secre- tary, she kindly prepared the sketch for publi- cation in this volume.
"The origin of the Society," writes Miss Car- son, "is doubtless to be found in the following record taken from the forty-fifth annual report of the 'Ladies' Benevolent Society,' 1864: In the spring the Rev. Mr. McCarty (rector of Christ Church at that time) received a letter from the wife of one of our missionaries laboring in the northern part of the State, asking for assistance, a salary of three hundred dollars being the only support of themselves and six children. The first meeting of the society was called by the rector in 1865-in February, and held in the Lecture Room of Christ Church, and largely attended, when the constitution was adopted, and officers elected by ballot.
"The preamble to the constitution, written pre- sumably by the Rev. Mr. McCarty, says partly as follows: 'St. Paul writes of those women who labored with him in the Gospel, that "their names are written in the Book of Life," thus teach- ing us that the helping hand of devoted women is deemed worthy of a record in heaven.'
"Therefore: It is resolved that a society be formed in Christ Church composed of those ladies who shall earnestly devote themselves to the ex- tending of a helping hand, who having associated themselves to labor in the Word and Doctrine of Christ may, like the Master Himself, be some-
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times dependent on others for the ministration of their substance."
The objects of the work as stated in the Con- stitution are not unlike those of the Woman's Auxiliary :
To extend a helping hand with such substan- tial aid as shall be proportionate to the ability of the society, and the needs of its beneficiaries.
The Woman's Auxiliary was organized in 1871 at the suggestion of the Secretary of the Board of Missions. It is the union of all women's mis- sionary societies from all over the country in or- der to carry on the work in a systematic manner under one general secretary in New York.
A number of other organizations formed to provide for the maintenance and extension of various special kinds of church and parish work, all more or less closely affiliated with and encour- aged by the Helping Hand Society, came into ex- istence within the period beginning with the year 1858 and ending with 1893. First of these was the Sewing School, instituted, as its name of course implies, to instruct girls in one of the most essen- tial of the useful arts. The Mothers' Meeting, started in 1876, had for its main object the assist- ance of those who were its members, by giving them dry goods at less than wholesale prices and allowing them to pay for the same in small sums and at their convenience.
During the fifteen years, dating from 1877 until 1892, a few zealous propagandists of the Episcopal Mission Work, at first organized under the name of the Mexican League, afterwards changed to the Committee for Church Work in Mexico, carried on their benevolent activities with
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THE HISTORY OF CHRIST CHURCH
wonderful perseverance and enthusiasm. No mention is made of their labors in the Year Books issued later than 1892, but in that year the com- mittee hopefully reminded the people of Christ Church of the pressing claim of the church work in Mexico, saying, "We feel that we can not put this claim more forcibly than by quoting from a letter from the Rev. W. B. Gordon, who is in charge of the work there. He says, 'I am very grateful to the Great Head of the Church to be able to report that during the year just closed there has been an advance all along the line in this mission field.' " The committee, consisting ex- clusively of ladies, reminds the contributors to the special fund which they disburse that there was money needed for Mrs. Hooker's Orphanage which was doing a great and wonderful work for the young girls in Mexico.
The Chancel Committee, organized in 1880, had charge of all the sacred vessels of the sanc- tuary and took occasional care of the church deco- ration on Easter, and other holy days. The Chancel Guild, originated in 1893, consisted of three committees-one on decoration, one on vest- ments, and the third on the communion service.
A very efficient organization was formed in 1883 named the Hospital Committee, the object of which is to "keep up an interest in that beau- tiful institution of charity," The Children's Hos- pital of the Episcopal Church, Mount Auburn, a gift bestowed upon all the parishes of the Diocese of Southern Ohio by the Emery Brothers.
In the year 1886 a number of young men, de- voted to the welfare of Christ Church, associated themselves together under the sacred and beauti-
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ful nomination, Brotherhood of St. Andrew, hav- ing for their object the promotion of social fel- lowship among Christians, the welcoming of strangers, the bringing of men to attend divine service, and, in general, the extension of Church influence through fraternal kindliness and unre- mitting assiduity in the name of that disciple who passed a day with Jesus, attended with Him the marriage at Cana, and who, with his brother, Simon Peter, was called from the humble occu- pation of attending his nets on the Lake of Gen-
St. An- nesaret, to become a "fisher of men."
drew, who had been a follower of John the Bap- tist, devoted his life to spreading the religion instituted by his Master throughout Scythia, Greece, and Thrace, and at last, a martyr to his faith, was crucified, perishing, it is said and be- lieved, upon a cross of the form known as "Crux decussita" (X), now regarded in all Christen- dom as the symbol of the Saint.
A society named The Young Gleaners, founded in 1887, and devoted to special work for the mis- sions, endowed a bed at the Episcopal Hospital for Children.
The Young Ladies' Guild, also organized in 1887, was dedicated especially to the spiritual in- terests of the young people of the Church and to charitable work, as well as to giving instruction as to the duties of such officers as were connected with benevolent institutions.
St. Giles's Guild ( 1888) made it a special ob- ject to raise money for the purchase of braces, surgical appliances, and crutches for crippled chil- dren in the Episcopal Hospital. St. Giles was an "Athenian of royal descent, and from his earliest
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THE HISTORY OF CHRIST CHURCH
years distinguished for piety and charity. On the death of his parents, he, while still young, dis- tributed amongst the poor his entire patrimony, including his very tunic, which garment effected a miraculous cure upon the poor sick man to whom it had been given. In England there are 146 Churches dedicated to this Saint."
On April 23, 1889, largely through the efforts of Mrs. Larz Anderson, was organized by the women of Christ Church a band of "King's Daughters," which immediately entering upon its many inspiring duties, social and spiritual, con- secrated its members to a life of elevated thoughts and good deeds done "In His Name." The membership in the order of the King's Daughters, in 1890, was estimated to number 3,000. In Cincinnati its mystic chapters, we are told in an Annual Report, have been "interested in the Lenten observances, and the Sunday School has been a field in which the blossoms of faith and good works have been found beautiful and fra- grant, to be offered up to the King by those of his daughters, who planted the seed from which they have grown."
The Willing Workers, a society organized in 1890, devoted the energies of its originators to active and very effectual service closely resem- bling that in which the Helping Hand Society was engaged.
A small number of Sunday School workers, under the name of the Boys' Guild, formed to aid the Indian missions of the West, was started in 1890. This afterward took the name of The Boys' Club, which was soon changed into the Young Men's League or Club, in order to attract
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a class of older boys and young men ranging in age from sixteen to twenty-two years, for whom were provided a literary club and a gymnasium. A Periodical Club also had been organized.
Another society, named The Girls' League, consisting of twelve members of from twelve to sixteen years of age, came into being in 1897, when Rev. Mr. Wilder, as assistant minister, had succeeded Dr. Gibson.
With few exceptions, the organizations briefly described in this summary were in successful operation in the parish at the time of Mr. Stein's election as rector of Christ Church, in 1898, and the inauguration of a new system of Church man- agement. Under the democratizing influence of the newly declared free principle of social and re- ligious procedure, a revived enthusiasm fostered all the aspirations of clergy and congregation toward transforming the first Episcopal Society of the West into a modern institutional, down- town Church. All the cherished instrumentali- ties for spreading the Kingdom of Heaven upon earth were utilized and expanded. Especially, after the erection of the parish house, a wider scope and a more definite and well-directed mo- tive and method were given to the co-ordinated energies of all the working forces, and the utmost harmony prevailed in the Vestry and among the people, who availed themselves of the benefits bestowed by the various uplifting and inspiring opportunities which the sympathetic and liberal policy of the Church afforded, not only to its own communicants but to the whole community.
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V Growth of the Free Church
E ARLY in the eighteen-nineties the Rev. W. S. Rainsford, rector of St. George's Church, New York City, in a series of Lenten ad- dresses delivered in Pike's Opera House, Cin- cinnati, discussed those principles of Church and parish work for the establishment of which, in cities, he was so largely responsible, and for which Dr. George Hodges gave him so much credit, writing, among other things, that "he made an institutional Church of which nobody has ever complained that the gymnasium is more con- spicuous than the chancel," and that "he set for- ward the social mission of the Church without minimizing the spiritual mission." These popular discourses of the celebrated rector made a pro- found impression not only upon hearers of the Episcopal denomination, but upon the general public, and no doubt they did much toward pre- paring the way for the favorable reception of the plans and purposes announced by the new rector of Christ Church in 1899.
After the resignation of Dr. Gibson, the Vestry, by a unanimous vote, extended a call to the Rev. Alexis W. Stein, then assistant minister of St. George's, to become rector of Christ Church. Dr. Rainsford gave Mr. Stein's name to Bishop Vincent, who gave it to the officers of the Church. This call was accepted on condition that on Eas-
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ter, 1899, the Church should be made free. Mr. Stein entered upon his duties as rector Decem- ber 8, 1898, and the assistant minister, Rev. Al- fred J. Wilder, resigned on May 1, 1899, and to his place was chosen the Rev. Frank H. Nelson, who for four years had been the intimate friend and co-assistant of Mr. Stein in New York.
Rev. Alexis William Stein was born in New York City, August 31, 1871. He graduated from Columbia University in 1891, and from the Gen- eral Theological Seminary in 1893 ; was ordained deacon by Bishop Potter, May 28, 1893, and priest by Bishop Capers in 1897; was assistant minister in St. Peter's Church, Baltimore, and, as has been stated, in St. George's Church, from which he was called to Cincinnati.
There was such evidence of sincerity in his appeals, such clarity of thinking, such devotion to the true and the good, such beauty of language, that to hear him speak was to be persuaded that he was right and to feel willing to be guided by his counsel. His voice from the pulpit was lis- tened to as if it were the not uncertain sound of a silver bugle proclaiming a Gospel-note from on high. The first printed official message from him to his people, the "Rector's Letter," dated May I, 1899-modest, brief, simple-brought to the attention of those most practically concerned for the present and future prosperity of the parish- ioners of Christ Church a few points of vital im- portance, as he deemed, and regarding which the large majority agreed with him. "The free- church system of church maintenance," he said, "is working well. Necessarily, in such a change as we have undergone, in passing from the pew
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THE HISTORY OF CHRIST CHURCH
system to this, some friction is inevitable. That there has been so little, and that strangers are beginning to feel that they are not only welcome, but that they have a right in our Church, as God's house, is due unquestionably to the forbearance often, and cordiality of the old and regular com- municants of the Church. It is only as we keep constantly before us that in adopting this plan of Church administration we are standing for a prin- ciple of really vital importance in the religious life of our day, that we will be willing to put up with the little inconveniences incident thereto, and give to it our liberal financial support. It is of great importance that every one who attends our services under this scheme contributes through the envelope system. It matters not how small the contribution be-even five cents a Sunday- give it regularly, and in this way so that the treasurer may be able to form some approximate idea of what the yearly income will be."
Next, as a matter of the most urgent impor- tance, the new rector presented in the clearest, serenest, and yet most emphatic terms the prob- lem of the parish house, often and fruitlessly dis- cussed for so many years. At length, it seemed, the performance of miracles had appeared to ful- fill the prayer of the prophets. The impossible was to be achieved. Faith was transforming into works. "On Easter," continues the rector's let- ter, "I asked your offerings to the amount of $20,000 for the obtaining of a parish house. Your response was liberal, and while we have not in hand the full amount necessary, we have suffi- cient to justify the Vestry in authorizing the rapid prosecution of the undertaking. We have se-
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cured a piece of property directly east of the Church, on Fourth Street, and it is proposed to proceed to building as soon as possible. The necessity of a parish house for the establishing and carrying on of the work which Christ Church is called upon to do for Cincinnati is so manifest that it needs no comment. The fields are ripe for the harvest, ripe for just this newer kind of work which the Church of God must do in all our larger cities to-day. In the proposed building we hope to have a gymnasium and baths, a billiard room, a men's club room, a general assembly room, two rooms for Girls' Friendly classes, and a boys' club room. I, with my associate, will live on the top floor."
Having stated thus definitely what were the immediate demands to which pastor and people were alike committed, the rector closed his brief appeal with a personal exhortation: "And now, my friends, let us go forward boldly and earnestly to the work at our hands. It is not easy work, and the success of it will depend not upon your clergy alone, but quite as much upon you. The day has gone by forever when the work of a Church, which is trying to discharge its responsi- bilities to this age, can be done by one or two clergymen, a parish visitor, and some Sunday School teachers. It is only as every member of it gives, not only money, but time and some per- sonal devotion, that the mission of a modern Church can be fulfilled. Let us take it up, then, in the faith that it is God's work, and that God's power is behind us, and that, despite our mistakes, our ignorance and foolishness, He will not let it come to naught if we are faithful."
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Under the impulsion of such spiritual energy the material force and skill required for the actual building of the Parish House were soon brought into vigorous action. The foundations were laid and the walls began to rise in the sum- mer of 1899, and the edifice was completed within eight months, being dedicated on February 22, 1900. This, the original parish house, was three stories high and stood on a lot just east of the church. The lot was bought and the building erected and furnished by voluntary subscriptions from friends of the Church.
Referring in the Year Book for 1900, to the rapid growth of such organizations as the Boys' Club and the Sunday School, under disadvan- tageous conditions, and to the manifest fact that young people in large numbers were ready and willing to come to the new room provided for their accommodation and give their benefactors "the opportunity of influencing them," Mr. Stein says: "This is one of the chief facts, among many others, which has made sure what I know was to many heretofore a doubt, viz., that the Parish House was an absolute necessity if our Church, in the changing conditions of the city, is to be worthy of her traditions and to fulfill her destiny. It is my intense regret that I was not able to be present at the opening of the Parish House. Of its work since opening I know but little, but I should like here to emphasize one feature of all that should be undertaken there that appears to me of first importance. We cannot too often remind ourselves that our endeavor here is to make first Christians, and then church- men. In other words, denominational lines must
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