The Amazing Hand of God
By Randal J. Loy
A new book on the memorial gifts in the Nave is nearing
completion. The book is entitled The Glorious Masterworks of
Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral, and will contain three
sections: a history of the Cathedral buildings and the acquisition
of the surrounding property; a large section on the stained glass
windows; and, finally, a section dealing with many of the other
memorials in the Nave of the Cathedral. There will be many
historical photographs in the book, as well as some contemporary
photographs of the Cathedral complex as it appears today. The book
will contain large color photographs of the stained glass windows
and the other memorial gifts, as well as photographs of the artists
and those honored by the memorial gifts and members of their
families. It is my hope that the book will breathe life back into
all the individuals for whom these gifts are memorials, so that we
can appreciate their many contributions to the life of this Parish.
The historical section has biographies of all the architects who have designed our buildings down through the years, as well as detailed biographies of two of the most important clergymen from the early history of our Parish, Cameron Mann, D.D., L.L.D. (1851-1932), and Bishop Robert Nelson Spencer (1877-1961). The stained glass portion of the book contains detailed biographies of those who were memorialized by the windows, as well as their families. There will be in-depth discussions of the artists who designed the windows and the companies that produced them. The third section contains descriptions of most of the other memorial gifts in the Nave, for example, the Eagle Lectern, the Rood Screen, the Pulpit, the Cathedra (Bishop's Throne), the Last Supper Carving, the Chapel furnishings, the free-standing Altar and the Smith Portative Organ. Discussions of the artists and companies responsible for creating those gifts will be included in this section of the book, also, with biographies on the families that donated the gifts, and those for whom they are memorials.
I began the research for this book in August of 2005, when I was
researching the histories of our stained glass windows to place
information on the backs of the note cards, which were used as a
fundraiser for the 2006 Trinity Choir Tour. I soon realized that
there was a wealth of information to be found on these windows, and
I knew that the research would take a great deal of time. I didn't
stop the research I began in August, but continued researching all
of the stained glass windows, and expanded the project to include
other memorial gifts in the Nave.
During my first few visits to the Cathedral Archives, it became very obvious that someone, at some point in the 20th Century, had presented to the congregation a history of the memorial gifts up through the early 1930s. In addition to other pieces of documentation I found on the windows in the Archives, I found at least one, and usually several, copies of this booklet, which listed all the memorial gifts up to 1930, in most of the file folders on the windows. It wasn't long before I discovered that the booklet had been prepared by Julia Rockwell (1850-1947), who was historian of the church during that period, and it had been distributed at the rededication service for the Nave on October 26, 1930.
But some evidence of the amazing hand of God in this project was only recently made known to me. A descendant of Julia Rockwell, an extremely enthusiastic supporter of this project, who has supplied me with many pieces of information as I have been working on this book, informed me she had discovered an important newspaper article regarding Julia Rockwell. It astounded us both!
This newspaper article, dating from the 1930s, related that Julia Rockwell had found a book on the top shelf of a closet in the church. This book was a beautiful leather-bound volume with embossed gold designs on its cover. It was titled An Account of the Memorials in Grace Church. Opening the book, she found that a lovely "Foreward" appeared in the book, and that it was signed by the individual who had presented the book to the church on November 1, 1897, John Darwin Shepard Cook (1834-1909). In his message, Mr. Cook had explained that it was important to keep a record of the memorials, who had given them, in whose memory they were given, who had designed them, and who had made them. (These were exactly the sentiments I had about our memorial gifts after I began my research in the Cathedral Archives!)
Yet to Julia Rockwell's utter frustration, (and, I would like to add, to mine!), no one had ever bothered to keep this memorial record book up to date -- even during the remainder of Mr. Cook's lifetime! So, Julia began to write letters and dig in other closets in the church and she put together as much information as she could, so that the church would have a record of the memorial gifts. She shared it with the congregation at the rededication of the Nave. But then, the memorial record book was lost again.
Amazingly, I "discovered" that same book, forgotten on a bottom shelf in the Cathedral Archives in April of 2006. I immediately showed it to Dean Cavanaugh, to Ferne Malcolm Welles, (past Archivist of the Cathedral,) and other long-time members of the Cathedral, none of whom had seen it, nor did they have any knowledge of it! This book had such a profound effect on me that I immediately adopted the beautifully worded "Foreward" of that book as the Forward of the current book. At the bottom of the second page, I give credit to Mr. Cook, and explain a little of the history of his "Memorial Record Book", as I prefer to call it. It is truly a marvelous example of the Hand of God that this book was "discovered" by two individuals, more than 80 years apart, and that the book would have the same inspirational effect on them!
The Glorious Masterworks of Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral is dedicated to J. Earl Cavanaugh, and has been since the concept of the book first took form in the early months of 2006. Originally, I had intended to surprise him and present to him the first copy of the book during the 10:15 service when we announced that the book had been completed and printed. Before his death in August 2007, I advised him privately of the book dedication.
The book will be printed by MPress, the same firm that printed the stained glass note cards, and will be funded totally by private donations. We are pleased to announce that we are more than half way to the projected cost of printing. Anyone wishing to donate to the Cathedral for this project, either to honor Dean Cavanaugh, or in memory of a friend or loved one, please contact Randal J. Loy, at (816) 452-5055, for details. We will have a booth at the upcoming Ministries Fair, and will have available portions of the book for you to take and read, just as a preview of what is coming!
This is the first of a series of articles that will discuss the upcoming book and the research that has been done over the past two years. Next week's article will discuss my meeting with Patrick Hogan in London in August of 2006. Patrick is the grandson of James Humphries Hogan (1883-1948), who designed the beautiful Powell & Sons windows in the Chancel, and the Nunc Dimittis window which is currently featured on the website. You won't want to miss that installment!