Sanctuary Centennial Celebration
Introduction
Good morning. My name is Richard Cutting and I am honored to have been asked
to speak today, to mark the 100th anniversary of the first service held in this
sanctuary, on May 2nd 1915.
I have been a member of St. Stephen’s for the last quarter of that century, and
have greatly valued being part of this community. I know many of you have longer
associations, but longer or shorter, I believe we all value our membership here.
For me, one of the foremost pleasures is to be present in this space, whether for
morning worship, afternoon performances of memorable music, or the peace of
nighttime evensong.
And while I’m enjoying this space, I often wonder at the remarkable commitment
of our predecessors who gave us the gift of this sanctuary, by their faith and
dedication to St. Stephen’s. So it seems very appropriate that we celebrate this
centennial today.
This building is actually the fourth St. Stephen’s Church structure on this site, so it
seemed a good moment to recap some of the earlier history.
Four Church History
1725 Rev Samuel Johnson established a mission in Ridgefield known as the First
Society of Ridgefield, Church of England.
1739 a small plot of land 36’ x 26’ made available by the town Proprietors for the
erection of a church. (Roughly the size of this Chancel and steps) We have a copy
of the original document recording this transfer as registered by Timothy Keeler
for the town of Ridgefield. You can see this as part of a display set up in coffee
hour.
1740 First church built and in use.
1777 Burnt by the British on April 28th, as part of the Battle of Ridgefield, as it
housed colonial stores.
Hiatus during and after the Revolutionary War.
After Independence achieved Second Church built and services resumed in 1791.
We have original document granting land by Benjamin Smith to make this possible.
Plot increased to 73’ x 43’ Roughly the size of this sanctuary space. We have some
wonderful original documents pledging support by parishioners to make this
possible. Money donations in pounds, shillings and pence, and promises of labor.
The two leading donors were Benjamin Smith and Nathan Dauchy The plaque on
the South wall records the service of Nathan Dauchy during this time as a ‘Zealous
friend and supporter’ of the church. This service included a pledge, not only for
money, but also for ‘Carting 1 load, 1 day , with Thomas Stebbins’ The plaque on
the North wall here records the devoted service of Samuel Stebbins who became
Senior Warden in 1793 at the age of 27 and was Senior Warden at the time of his
death in 1836, some 43 years later!. The Stebbins connection with St. Stephens
endured for several generations after that. His granddaughter, Elizabeth Stebbins
Waterbury Clark was a member of St. Stephens and died in 1913 at the age of 86.
This building was opened just two years later and her three sons donated $1000 for
a pew in memory of their mother – see plaque in second pew. There is also a
memorial inscription to her on the column supporting this pulpit. She had a
grandson, Henry Austin Clark Jr. who was a wealthy collector of cars and
accumulated a vast archive of personal documents, which were donated to the
Benson Ford Research Center in Dearborn MI. A diligent professional archivist
researcher contacted his family and learned that Henry Austin Clark’s
granddaughter had a collection of historic St. Stephen’s papers, which were
delivered to St. Stephen’s in August 2014. Some of these can be viewed today.
Second church in use from 1791 to 1841, 50 years, so the efforts of the supporters
were well rewarded. However, by 1841 the church had a full-time rector (for the
first time) and the facilities were no longer adequate. The building measured just
44’ x 32’ , or about half the size of this sanctuary space. ‘Its appointments were
primitive and somewhat uncomfortable’. No heat or light for example. Albert
Nevins in ‘An Historical Sketch of Ridgefield’ noted:
“Women and children were allowed to bring foot-stoves to church to mitigate the
cold during the hour-long sermon, for the wind whistled through a series of cracks,
but had any man used them, he would have been indelibly disgraced”
1841 Third Church built which addressed some of the shortcomings of the second
church. Gift of adjoining land by Isaac Jones more than tripled the space available,
and a Committee was instructed to erect a more suitable building nearly twice the
size of the second church. Cornerstone laid in August 1841, and now preserved in
the rear wall of this sanctuary. The third church also displayed the Stebbins and
Dauchy memorial tablets I already mentioned
Third church in use from 1841 to 1914, 73 years.
But from about 1905 onwards the 70 year-old church was ‘beginning to show the
afflictions of its age.’ Electric lighting had just been installed for the first time, but
there is, once again, no record of any heating.
The Rector at the time was Rev. John Chapman, and he was authorized by the
Vestry in March 1913 to consult an architect to evaluate whether to renovate the
old church or to build anew. In July the Vestry determined to proceed with
detailed plans to build a new church and appointed a Building Committee to
supervise the project. The Parish annual meeting in April 1914 approved the Vestry
decision to proceed, and the last service in the old church held on May 25th 1914.
The building committee decision was to build the new church on the site of the old
one, meaning that construction would be preceded by demolition of the third
church. We have an ancient photograph of the partially demolished third church,
taken at the end of May 1914, shortly after the last service.
The selected architect was Mr. Rainsford who designed the building and also the
interior furnishings, pews, pulpit, altar and chancel furnishings. The committee
originally had in mind to build a Gothic style church, but found ‘that the old
colonial traditions of civil and religious life proved to be strongly grounded in the
hearts of the people’. The committee were so pleased with Mr. Rainsford’s
colonial style plans that they were accepted without a single dissenting vote. The
cornerstone for the new church was laid on June 28th 1914.
Of course this activity was accompanied by considerable discussion of how to raise
the necessary funds – the church had gradually accumulated a building fund which
held about half the estimated construction cost. Dr. Chapman seems to have been
very successful at obtaining donations from parishioners and by September 1914
had increased the fund to about three quarters of the expected cost. To provide
the remaining funds the Vestry approved the placing of a $10,000 mortgage with
the South Norwalk Trust Co.
Dr. Chapman’s vigorous participation in the whole undertaking was central, so it
came as a real shock to the parish when he announced in July 1914, that he
intended to end his 8 year tenure as rector, in order that a new rector could begin
a new chapter in the life of the church in its new building.
So the parish embarked on a new rector search while pressing ahead with the
completion of the new church building. Both major tasks were successfully
completed by May 2nd 1915, when the first service was held in this sanctuary, less
than one year after the last service in the third church. Extraordinary!
The May 2nd service for the Blessing of a Church was the led for the first time by
the new rector, Rev William Lusk, and both he and Rev. Chapman preached on
that day.
As it turned out, Rev Lusk was obliged to immediately follow his predecessor’s
example in seeking donations for the building costs. The sanctuary was scheduled
to be consecrated by the Bishop in May 1916, but this could not happen until the
mortgage had been paid off. It seems that the haste of the project resulted in
some disorderly bookkeeping and an outstanding debt of $13,000 took everyone
by surprise.
With less than a month before the planned consecration Rev Lusk led a whirlwind
campaign to clear the debts, which amounted to about a quarter of the total cost.
A combination of generous donations and personal guarantees by the building
committee accomplished this in, and the consecration by the Bishop went ahead
as scheduled, on May 30th 1916.
We have a unique photo collection (HERE) showing the finished church
substantially as we know it today, although there have been a number of
significant additions since 1915.
The stained glass windows were added almost immediately by Mrs. F.E. Lewis as a
memorial to her parents Clara and Samuel Russell.
In 1927 it was determined that the church interior needed painting, and a
committee of five was formed to recommend the color scheme details. There
were no men on this committee. The blue ceiling we know so well, and the gold
detailing on the tablets in the chancel were introduced at this time.
The church now had a heating system, originally powered by a coal furnace,
replaced by oil in 1937. The introduction of oil-fired heating may not have seemed
such a good idea when it inflicted severe trauma to this sanctuary. Just after
Christmas in 1979, the hot air furnace suffered a major failure, with the result that
the entire church was filled with soot, and it was not possible to see from one end
of the church to another until all the windows were opened. There followed an
intense clean-up period lasting a month, when every surface had to be cleaned
and painted, every organ pipe removed and vacuumed out, and every cushion sent
away to be cleaned.
25 years later, in 2004 we embarked on a more deliberately planned summer-time
‘Restore & Renew’ campaign to refresh the entire sanctuary. We took out all the
pews and refinished the wooden floors beneath, and we removed all the organ
pipes and renewed leaky 40-year-old leather seals on the air chests. 150 families
contributed to make this thorough restoration possible, and their names are
recorded on the plaque in the Narthex.
In 1957, at the suggestion of Rev Aaron Manderbach, the baptistry as we now
know it, was created as a memorial to Rev Lusk who died in 1953. Rev Lusk had
served as rector from the very first service in this sanctuary until his retirement at
age 81, an extraordinary 35 years later.
Other major changes in this Sanctuary were the installation of the current organ in
1962, by the Moeller Organ company, and specified by our own Dr. Alec Wyton.
The crypt was created in 1979, towards the end of Rev. Manderbach’s 30 year
rectorship. His recognition of the need for a suitable resting place for the cremated
remains of parishioners was surely reinforced by the presence on a shelf in his
study of several sets of ashes lacking a better resting place.
I have mentioned the names of some of the leading figures in our history, now
departed, but I would also like to highlight two more names, still living. Rev Aaron
Manderbach was Rector here from 1950 to 1980 and is surely the only current
parishioner who was born before this sanctuary was built. Joyce Nelson was our
first Women Senior Warden, serving for 6 years from 1985 to 1991 and
remembered as the first name recorded on the Senior Wardens staff.
The rich history of St. Stephen’s is full of figures who deserve our remembrance,
and it is inevitable that we can only acknowledge a few of them in our time this
morning, so please forgive what may seem like omissions.
Fourth Church Sanctuary
So here we are sitting in pews that have been used by parishioners for 100 years,
enjoying the beauty of this space that our predecessors created. I wonder what
they would make of us and the uses we have found for our sanctuary?
I like the wording of the first church records which permit the erection of ‘a Church
or Meeting House’, and it seems to me that the rich variety of activity in this space
today is fulfilling that vision. Of course we have regular services where we come
together to Worship, and we have wonderful celebrations to mark Baptisms of
new members, Marriages of couples committing lives together, and
Remembrances of lives lived richly by those we loved.
We are also blessed to enjoy music in many forms in a space with outstanding
acoustics, enjoying choral and organ works, and even occasional Ridgefield CHIRP
concerts fleeing from inhospitable weather.
During the summer Vacation Bible School week, you might be amazed to see
scores of young children running around this space in brightly colored T-Shirts,
balloons everywhere, and fun music and dance being noisily enjoyed by children
and staff alike. That sight would surely amaze the good parishioners of 1915!
As St. Stephen’s extends its reach in to the community, I’m certain we will
continue to see this space used in new and unexpected ways.
Consider some of the changes we have seen during the first 100 years. Our seats
are now, famously, FREE
Hard to imagine that in 1915 this was not the case. Rent of pews was not done
away with until 1919 , following some challenging disputes about who might sit
where.
Another change absorbed by worshippers here was the transition of the ‘Book of
Common Prayer’ in use – first to the ‘1928 Book’ which was well accepted, and
then to the 1979 version, which was not. Nowadays of course we look back at
1928 as ‘antiquated’, and we are beginning to see alternate prayers and liturgies
being developed.
Of course 21st century technology is gradually infiltrating. Nowadays you can go
home after a Sunday service, and enjoy an ‘Encore presentation’ of the sermon via
the internet. None of which would have been remotely comprehensible to the
good people who built this space. I’m sure we will soon see use being made of
visual displays to greet, or deliver messages, or illustrate sermons, because our
younger generations are so accustomed to communication that is visual as well as
aural. As the costs to do this decline, this seems very likely to happen.
Does this idea of ‘moving with the times’ make you shudder?! If so this may be a
good moment to reflect on our part in the continuing history of St. Stephen’s, and
the balance between the merits of tradition and the benefits of change.
Tradition vs. Change - Reflections
I love this space and would be quite comfortable if it remained unchanged – so
you could reasonably label me a Traditionalist. I love the presence of memorials
around the church to remind us of the service of predecessors whose works we
now benefit from. I love the comfortable familiarity of this space and the solidity
which reassures me that changes will only occur slowly. It all seems to me to
embody the wisdom of history which should not be quickly set aside.
But I also know, from my own experiences that, like it or not, changes are
necessary and healthy. So we all have to be open to the evolution of new
sanctuary experiences that support the ongoing mission of St. Stephens.
I recently read a nice expression of this tension between tradition and change,
summed up as “We should respect traditions, but not be ruled by them”.
Well I wonder what the next 100 years does hold in store for this space? We just
put on a new roof good for that period, so we have done a bit already to secure
the second centennial. This year we are ensuring that our iconic steeple endures
as a landmark of Ridgefield Main Street.
Ten years from now we will be celebrating the 300th Anniversary of the original
formation of this church, and perhaps 100 years from now, parishioners of St.
Stephens will be gathering to celebrate 200 years of worship in this building. If that
seems like a challenge, remember that in Europe 200 year old church buildings are
commonplace!
Many of you will be involved in caring for this sanctuary and continuing to balance
tradition and change. At some point I will not be around to be part of those
actions, but I will be keeping an eye on things from my space already reserved in
the crypt, somewhere underneath the pews over there. POINT
I hope you all will continue to love and enjoy this space as much as I do – Thank
You.