Part 30 Memorial Dedications
A little more than a year after the new sanctuary was opened for services the church celebrated with a special service to dedicate the stained glass windows that grace the sanctuary as well as other significant appointments in the chancel. The date was March 20, 1949. Place yourself in the pew that you may have greatest remembrance of or in the choir loft and picture yourself in that setting at 11 AM on the aforementioned date. You were probably seated by one of four ushers; John Robinson, Donald Barnes, Raymond Greenlaw or Bradford Seabury. You have heard the nearly 20 member junior choir sing, “Thine Forever” by Tillotson under the direction of the Pastor’s wife, Kit Smith and Mrs. Granville Nickerson. You also witnessed the sixteen or so member Senior Choir march in from the back of the sanctuary and follow the junior choir with their anthem, “Sanctus” under the direction of Mrs. Albert D. Tilton. A second senior anthem was sung titled, No Shadows Yonder” by Gaul. You had become settled in your pew to the strains of the pipe organ played by Dr. Malcolm Cass during the Organ Meditation and Prelude. On this occasion you heard Franck’s “Chorale in A Minor” followed by “Benedictus” created by Reger. After singing hymns and a responsive reading, the pastor took the scripture for the day from Psalm 91. Reverend Smith’s sermon followed and was titled, “The Foundation.”
As part of the regular Sunday morning worship service the Lay Leader, Mr. Henry Nelson, said, “In the name of the donors of these Memorials, I present them to the Church as memorials to be dedicated to the glory of God.” In response the President of the Trustees, Walter W. Winchenbach said: “ For the people of this church, we accept thee gifts as sacred trusts, and shall guard them reverently, in honor of the faithful and devoted lives to whose memory they are given.” Pastor Travis Smith followed with: In the faith of our Lord, Jesus Christ, I dedicate these memorials to the glory of God, and in the memory of the servants whose names we have read; in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.” The dedication was followed by a dedicatory prayer offered by Reverend Smith. “Almighty God, without whom no words or works of ours have meaning, but who dost accept the gifts of our hands as tokens of our devotion, may these memorials which we now dedicate to thee be enduring witnesses before all thy people of thy faithful servants. And may our lives be joined with thy faithful ones in a deeper consecration to thy kingdom.”
The stained glass windows depict The Life of Christ and were designed by William R. Jack. The windows on the side walls of the sanctuary are The Nativity, The Boy Jesus In the Temple, The Good Samaritan, The Sower, Jesus Preaching in the Boat, The Good Shepherd, Gethsemene and The Last Supper. On the back wall of the Sanctuary are the Crucifixion, Resurrection and Ascension. They were not dedicated at this time since they had not yet been ordered. The Founders Window above the main entrance to the church was rededicated, but the Tree of Life that seems to be a natural border for the Founders was not placed in that location until much later as well.
In addition to the dedication to the windows the Pulpit, Lectern, Altar, Baptismal Font, The Bible, The Cornice, Right and Left Hymn Boards, Offering Plates, Organ Console and the Narthex Lantern were all dedicated on this date. While it has not been indicated to whom these elements were dedicated, that information will be available at a future date when an appropriate book, in the works, is published. New hymnals joined the dedicatory celebration as well.
Information found in this edition of Roots has been taken from the bulletin for the described date. It is also interesting to note what else was going on in the life of the church and times. There was a regular weekly Sunday night church service and that on this date the pastor would give a second sermon titled, “The World Mission of the Church”. Henry Nelson and Walter Winchenbach would serve as ushers on that occasion.
A Father and Son Scout Booster night was scheduled in the vestry for the next day, Monday, March 21. The program was to consist of movies and a magician as well as supper. All of this could be enjoyed for a grand total of $1.00 for both the father and the son! On the next night the Mary and Martha Circle was sponsoring a Fashion Show that featured women’s clothing from Porteous, Mitchell and Braun. Tickets were available from any member of this group.
In the very same week, on Friday night, the Wesleyan Guild was sponsoring a Conora Fried Clam Supper in the vestry. The price per person was $1.50. It was a good thing to plan such an event on the Friday night as opposed to Saturday so that the cooking fats and smoke would dissipate by the time church was to be held on Sunday.
Scheduled for the fourth Wednesday in Lent the Reverend Lester L. Boobar, Superintendent of the Portland District of the Maine Conference was scheduled to speak at the Peoples Methodist Church sponsored Lenten Service. His topic was “ The Family Needs Christ”. The sponsor of this even was the Methodist Men. The average attendance for these services was 80 and remember this service was not a cluster service, but this church alone.
Included in this bulletin was a note to remember to contribute to the “Denial Offering” for the Needy.
Some ideas that come from the past need to be left there, but the value of historical documentation is that perhaps some of those old ideas may have found their time in the life of the church again. It is also possible that what was in the past can never fully be reimplemented under the format of its time but may be brought back via some other means.
A little more than a year after the new sanctuary was opened for services the church celebrated with a special service to dedicate the stained glass windows that grace the sanctuary as well as other significant appointments in the chancel. The date was March 20, 1949. Place yourself in the pew that you may have greatest remembrance of or in the choir loft and picture yourself in that setting at 11 AM on the aforementioned date. You were probably seated by one of four ushers; John Robinson, Donald Barnes, Raymond Greenlaw or Bradford Seabury. You have heard the nearly 20 member junior choir sing, “Thine Forever” by Tillotson under the direction of the Pastor’s wife, Kit Smith and Mrs. Granville Nickerson. You also witnessed the sixteen or so member Senior Choir march in from the back of the sanctuary and follow the junior choir with their anthem, “Sanctus” under the direction of Mrs. Albert D. Tilton. A second senior anthem was sung titled, No Shadows Yonder” by Gaul. You had become settled in your pew to the strains of the pipe organ played by Dr. Malcolm Cass during the Organ Meditation and Prelude. On this occasion you heard Franck’s “Chorale in A Minor” followed by “Benedictus” created by Reger. After singing hymns and a responsive reading, the pastor took the scripture for the day from Psalm 91. Reverend Smith’s sermon followed and was titled, “The Foundation.”
As part of the regular Sunday morning worship service the Lay Leader, Mr. Henry Nelson, said, “In the name of the donors of these Memorials, I present them to the Church as memorials to be dedicated to the glory of God.” In response the President of the Trustees, Walter W. Winchenbach said: “ For the people of this church, we accept thee gifts as sacred trusts, and shall guard them reverently, in honor of the faithful and devoted lives to whose memory they are given.” Pastor Travis Smith followed with: In the faith of our Lord, Jesus Christ, I dedicate these memorials to the glory of God, and in the memory of the servants whose names we have read; in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.” The dedication was followed by a dedicatory prayer offered by Reverend Smith. “Almighty God, without whom no words or works of ours have meaning, but who dost accept the gifts of our hands as tokens of our devotion, may these memorials which we now dedicate to thee be enduring witnesses before all thy people of thy faithful servants. And may our lives be joined with thy faithful ones in a deeper consecration to thy kingdom.”
The stained glass windows depict The Life of Christ and were designed by William R. Jack. The windows on the side walls of the sanctuary are The Nativity, The Boy Jesus In the Temple, The Good Samaritan, The Sower, Jesus Preaching in the Boat, The Good Shepherd, Gethsemene and The Last Supper. On the back wall of the Sanctuary are the Crucifixion, Resurrection and Ascension. They were not dedicated at this time since they had not yet been ordered. The Founders Window above the main entrance to the church was rededicated, but the Tree of Life that seems to be a natural border for the Founders was not placed in that location until much later as well.
In addition to the dedication to the windows the Pulpit, Lectern, Altar, Baptismal Font, The Bible, The Cornice, Right and Left Hymn Boards, Offering Plates, Organ Console and the Narthex Lantern were all dedicated on this date. While it has not been indicated to whom these elements were dedicated, that information will be available at a future date when an appropriate book, in the works, is published. New hymnals joined the dedicatory celebration as well.
Information found in this edition of Roots has been taken from the bulletin for the described date. It is also interesting to note what else was going on in the life of the church and times. There was a regular weekly Sunday night church service and that on this date the pastor would give a second sermon titled, “The World Mission of the Church”. Henry Nelson and Walter Winchenbach would serve as ushers on that occasion.
A Father and Son Scout Booster night was scheduled in the vestry for the next day, Monday, March 21. The program was to consist of movies and a magician as well as supper. All of this could be enjoyed for a grand total of $1.00 for both the father and the son! On the next night the Mary and Martha Circle was sponsoring a Fashion Show that featured women’s clothing from Porteous, Mitchell and Braun. Tickets were available from any member of this group.
In the very same week, on Friday night, the Wesleyan Guild was sponsoring a Conora Fried Clam Supper in the vestry. The price per person was $1.50. It was a good thing to plan such an event on the Friday night as opposed to Saturday so that the cooking fats and smoke would dissipate by the time church was to be held on Sunday.
Scheduled for the fourth Wednesday in Lent the Reverend Lester L. Boobar, Superintendent of the Portland District of the Maine Conference was scheduled to speak at the Peoples Methodist Church sponsored Lenten Service. His topic was “ The Family Needs Christ”. The sponsor of this even was the Methodist Men. The average attendance for these services was 80 and remember this service was not a cluster service, but this church alone.
Included in this bulletin was a note to remember to contribute to the “Denial Offering” for the Needy.
Some ideas that come from the past need to be left there, but the value of historical documentation is that perhaps some of those old ideas may have found their time in the life of the church again. It is also possible that what was in the past can never fully be reimplemented under the format of its time but may be brought back via some other means.
posted by Arthur Tordoff | 7:42 AM
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