Part 29 The New Church rises, but not without controversy
The beautiful new sanctuary of Peoples Methodist Church saw its first service held there on December 21, 1947. The Lord’s Supper was served at 8:00AM and the first formal worship service was held at 10:45 AM on the same day. At 7:30 PM a Christmas Candlelight Service closed this eventful day.
The formal opening of the church and sanctuary took place at 11:00 AM on the morning of January 4, 1948, three and a half years after the groundbreaking had taken place. Bishop Lewis O. Hartman was the main speaker. In his remarks he stated that the building of this church was the greatest undertaking on the Boston area during this quadrennium. District Superintendent Lester Boobar led the worship and Pastor Smith formally opened the church.
Seating in the sanctuary was made more formal through a financial gift that Meredith and Leland Trefethen had made that allowed new pews to be installed. In keeping with the motif of the pews the lectern was dedicated to Reverend Felix Powell, the Pulpit dedication was to Reverend Walter H. Cass and the Altar was dedicated to Reverend Charles A. Brooks. Each of these items were had the cross and circle etched in gold on the face of each, excepting the altar which was embossed with the Greek symbol for Christ.
While the whole church was now ready for service and services there still seemed to be some pain existent between the church trustees and the architect who had been chosen years before to design and oversee the construction of the church. One of the bones of contention seemed to be in the manner and materials that the ceilings in both the sanctuary and the chancel were completed with. In an effort to save some money in construction and finish costs the architect, John Howard Stevens, offered a suggestion to use a Craftex paint over plasterboard on the ceiling of the sanctuary as opposed to the original call for lathe and plaster. In a response in 1946 from the trustees it was indicated that that would be okay although it was a reluctant agreement. Mr. Stevens had also indicated that the Galli Company would not cover any of the “tie-ins” near the upper side walls to give the look more of a gothic connection to the exposed beams. Mr. Stevens had also suggested that the Chancel would be finished in a plain white paint, not Craftex which again was agreed to by the trustees. Upon completion of both areas there appeared to be agreement on the Sanctuary ceiling in that it appears that all concerned thought it looked good. Mr. Stevens felt that the seams between plasterboard sheets, in a study that he did one evening with the lights on made the seems to obvious. His recommendation would be to add “fake rafters” divisions in the chancel ceiling at two-foot vertical intervals that he thought would blend better with the beams in the sanctuary. Trustees thought at this time that it would add too much to the cost and voted against it at this time. Mr. Stevens did suggest that when the parishioners were ready to add the organ pipe grillwork that they could do the raftering at that time. As one can witness today, the chancel ceiling is still plain and the rafters were never added in that area.
Another issue that seemed to raise some controversy was that members of the trustees wanted to have some of the memorial windows from the old church placed in the sidewall on the Broadway side of the sanctuary. Already it was known that the windows that would grace Peoples Church would in time be ordered and installed. If the old windows were to be included according to the architect it would throw the symetry off since the old memorial windows would not be the same size and it would mean that the window areas would have to be cut differently. There was a great deal of controversy over whether to include them or not. The decision that was finally made was to have at least one of the new windows dedicated to the family honored by the original memorial windows. What happened to the old windows after that date is a mystery because nothing seems to be recorded about what happened to them.
The trustees asked for several other changes in the plans and it appears that the architect and workmen agreed to make alterations, sometimes well after the original plans were followed. From the letters of Mr. Stevens it sounded as though he felt he was being blamed for the need for change and that he shouldn’t charge additional monies for those trustee desired changes. As historian I have not been able to find finished copies of trustee requests to Mr. Stevens and therefore a full picture of how the trustees saw Mr. Stevens work is difficult to show.
Another area of some disapproval apparently surrounded the choice of electrical wiring and fixtures for the sanctuary and chancel. Someone must have given some form of approval on the trustees, but when they saw the amount of light available once the fixtures were installed there was a claim that the lighting had not been approved. Lighting was dim and bulbs would be difficult to change once installed was the claim of the trustees. They were correct, but it took until 2004 before any real change in lighting augmentation took place in the sanctuary.
In another note from Mr. Stevens to the trustees dated October 7, 1948 he said:
“As to the ceiling of the sanctuary, it was proved that the material specified was approved by your committee. The only alternative was a plastered ceiling which would have cost much more, or the Craftex treatment that was given it at much less cost than the plaster would have been. No fair-minded man in reviewing this situation would ever rule that an architect must pay for the mahogany because his client didn’t like spruce. When the architect has tried to get effects at low cost and the client, after approving, decides that something more expensive is what he wants, it is clearly up to the client to pay for it. This argument applies to the chancel ceiling also, as well as to many other items we have discussed in the past, which your Board has so graciously dismissed.
My final decision is to accept your check for $835.90 and call it final settlement, under protest.
When you have occasion to total up the valuation of the church, (not the cost to you), be sure you add in all these donations your architect has made, because they are part of the cost of the church, and quite a large part.
I hope the donation of $300 for memorial windows will be earmarked as in memory of John Woodbury. He was a gentleman.
Sincerely,
John Howard Stevens “
The original final bill submitted by Mr. Stevens for his services had been reduced by almost $1000. The trustees thought that they had been overcharged by that amount. There is no indication that any further transactions took place between the trustees and Mr. Stevens. It looks like the project was completed on a note that wasn’t very friendly yet still with Mr. Stevens showing his respect for the relationships that had originally been established through Mr. John Woodbury.
As we look at the stained glass windows that Grace the sanctuary and the chancel today we know each is dedicated to a family or an individual that has served this church in the past. The Rose Window that graces the Chancel high above the altar was dedicated in memory of Mr. Woodbury and was in part made possible through the generous gifts of architect, John Howard Stevens.
The beautiful new sanctuary of Peoples Methodist Church saw its first service held there on December 21, 1947. The Lord’s Supper was served at 8:00AM and the first formal worship service was held at 10:45 AM on the same day. At 7:30 PM a Christmas Candlelight Service closed this eventful day.
The formal opening of the church and sanctuary took place at 11:00 AM on the morning of January 4, 1948, three and a half years after the groundbreaking had taken place. Bishop Lewis O. Hartman was the main speaker. In his remarks he stated that the building of this church was the greatest undertaking on the Boston area during this quadrennium. District Superintendent Lester Boobar led the worship and Pastor Smith formally opened the church.
Seating in the sanctuary was made more formal through a financial gift that Meredith and Leland Trefethen had made that allowed new pews to be installed. In keeping with the motif of the pews the lectern was dedicated to Reverend Felix Powell, the Pulpit dedication was to Reverend Walter H. Cass and the Altar was dedicated to Reverend Charles A. Brooks. Each of these items were had the cross and circle etched in gold on the face of each, excepting the altar which was embossed with the Greek symbol for Christ.
While the whole church was now ready for service and services there still seemed to be some pain existent between the church trustees and the architect who had been chosen years before to design and oversee the construction of the church. One of the bones of contention seemed to be in the manner and materials that the ceilings in both the sanctuary and the chancel were completed with. In an effort to save some money in construction and finish costs the architect, John Howard Stevens, offered a suggestion to use a Craftex paint over plasterboard on the ceiling of the sanctuary as opposed to the original call for lathe and plaster. In a response in 1946 from the trustees it was indicated that that would be okay although it was a reluctant agreement. Mr. Stevens had also indicated that the Galli Company would not cover any of the “tie-ins” near the upper side walls to give the look more of a gothic connection to the exposed beams. Mr. Stevens had also suggested that the Chancel would be finished in a plain white paint, not Craftex which again was agreed to by the trustees. Upon completion of both areas there appeared to be agreement on the Sanctuary ceiling in that it appears that all concerned thought it looked good. Mr. Stevens felt that the seams between plasterboard sheets, in a study that he did one evening with the lights on made the seems to obvious. His recommendation would be to add “fake rafters” divisions in the chancel ceiling at two-foot vertical intervals that he thought would blend better with the beams in the sanctuary. Trustees thought at this time that it would add too much to the cost and voted against it at this time. Mr. Stevens did suggest that when the parishioners were ready to add the organ pipe grillwork that they could do the raftering at that time. As one can witness today, the chancel ceiling is still plain and the rafters were never added in that area.
Another issue that seemed to raise some controversy was that members of the trustees wanted to have some of the memorial windows from the old church placed in the sidewall on the Broadway side of the sanctuary. Already it was known that the windows that would grace Peoples Church would in time be ordered and installed. If the old windows were to be included according to the architect it would throw the symetry off since the old memorial windows would not be the same size and it would mean that the window areas would have to be cut differently. There was a great deal of controversy over whether to include them or not. The decision that was finally made was to have at least one of the new windows dedicated to the family honored by the original memorial windows. What happened to the old windows after that date is a mystery because nothing seems to be recorded about what happened to them.
The trustees asked for several other changes in the plans and it appears that the architect and workmen agreed to make alterations, sometimes well after the original plans were followed. From the letters of Mr. Stevens it sounded as though he felt he was being blamed for the need for change and that he shouldn’t charge additional monies for those trustee desired changes. As historian I have not been able to find finished copies of trustee requests to Mr. Stevens and therefore a full picture of how the trustees saw Mr. Stevens work is difficult to show.
Another area of some disapproval apparently surrounded the choice of electrical wiring and fixtures for the sanctuary and chancel. Someone must have given some form of approval on the trustees, but when they saw the amount of light available once the fixtures were installed there was a claim that the lighting had not been approved. Lighting was dim and bulbs would be difficult to change once installed was the claim of the trustees. They were correct, but it took until 2004 before any real change in lighting augmentation took place in the sanctuary.
In another note from Mr. Stevens to the trustees dated October 7, 1948 he said:
“As to the ceiling of the sanctuary, it was proved that the material specified was approved by your committee. The only alternative was a plastered ceiling which would have cost much more, or the Craftex treatment that was given it at much less cost than the plaster would have been. No fair-minded man in reviewing this situation would ever rule that an architect must pay for the mahogany because his client didn’t like spruce. When the architect has tried to get effects at low cost and the client, after approving, decides that something more expensive is what he wants, it is clearly up to the client to pay for it. This argument applies to the chancel ceiling also, as well as to many other items we have discussed in the past, which your Board has so graciously dismissed.
My final decision is to accept your check for $835.90 and call it final settlement, under protest.
When you have occasion to total up the valuation of the church, (not the cost to you), be sure you add in all these donations your architect has made, because they are part of the cost of the church, and quite a large part.
I hope the donation of $300 for memorial windows will be earmarked as in memory of John Woodbury. He was a gentleman.
Sincerely,
John Howard Stevens “
The original final bill submitted by Mr. Stevens for his services had been reduced by almost $1000. The trustees thought that they had been overcharged by that amount. There is no indication that any further transactions took place between the trustees and Mr. Stevens. It looks like the project was completed on a note that wasn’t very friendly yet still with Mr. Stevens showing his respect for the relationships that had originally been established through Mr. John Woodbury.
As we look at the stained glass windows that Grace the sanctuary and the chancel today we know each is dedicated to a family or an individual that has served this church in the past. The Rose Window that graces the Chancel high above the altar was dedicated in memory of Mr. Woodbury and was in part made possible through the generous gifts of architect, John Howard Stevens.
posted by Arthur Tordoff | 7:39 AM
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