From the RectorDear Friends, Every so often, we get requests from genealogists who are researching their family history. We try to be as accommodating as possible, given our focus on the living, and limited time and resources. One such request came in recently, which occasioned a search for a burial record from the 1930s. The parish registers kept on hand only go back as far as the 1950s, so the hunt was on. Christine did a great job of hunting down the older volumes, and we are considering a better way of storing them so that they can remain safe, yet accessible. One really fun find is a scrapbook that the Rev. George G. Merrill (3rd Rector 1894-1903) started around Thanksgiving, 1894. It contains a myriad of wonderful things such as: religious lithographs, letters, service bulletins, music listings, and lots of pictures of bishops from around the Church. As his tenure progressed, the Reverend’s scrapbooking became less voluminous, as more things were simply tucked between the pages. Also pasted in during the early years are little clippings from a publication called “The Churchman”. It contained a section of listings of the goings-on in the various churches, and I’ve learned some interesting and amusing things about our history. Did you know… There was a very successful Harvest Thanksgiving in 1894 at which was announced the building of a rectory the following spring. The rectory was built at a cost of $22,000 ($854K today) The vestry received written invitations to meetings which were held at the club. The bishop invited us to observe “Temperance Sunday” (How did that go?) Mrs. Coster held a sewing class every Thursday at 11:00. The Rev. Mr. Hoyt of Central Valley Methodist Episcopal Church “caused a sensation” by refusing to pronounce the benediction at the funeral of Mrs. Mary C. Gurlach.
I am looking forward to a deeper dive into this fascinating record of the rectorship of one of my faithful predecessors. Blessings,
Father Rick
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