5th Sun of Easter - May 19th
Acts 11:1-18
Psalm 148
Revelation 21:1-6
John 13:31-35
8:00AM
Preacher: Denice Lesile
Celebrant: Rev. Jim
10:00AM
Ushers: Carol Mohan & Jane Fisher
Lector: Toni Álvarez
Eucharist Minister: Toni Álvarez
Preacher: Denice Lesile
Celebrant: Rev. Jim
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Food Bank
2nd-4th Wednesdays @ 2:30PM
The Cottage Shop
Wednesdays @ 12:30PM-4:30PM
1st-3rd Sat. @ 9:00AM-1:00PM
Choir Rehearsal
Wednesdays @ 6:30PM
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Youth Event: Miniature Golf
Saturday, May 25 - 12:30PM
Blackbeards
Men's Group Breakfast
Saturday, June 1 - 7:30AM
Yosemite Falls Cafe
Buildings and Grounds Mtg.
Saturday, June 1 - 9:00AM
Conference Room
Preservation Committee
Sunday, June 2 - 12:00PM
Conference Room
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THE PILGRIMAGE OF HOPE
Diocese United and Walks for Immigrant and Refugees
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As of today, Wednesday, May 15th, the Pilgrimage has traveled
178 miles of the total 226.5 miles from Fresno to Sacramento.
The Pilgrimage of Hope began May 4th at St. James Cathedral with an Interfaith service that included the washing and blessing of the pilgrims' feet. The pilgrims' feet were blessed with these words:
"Walk with love, be kind to others and yourself with every step. Your pilgrimage is a gift from God--to you and to the world."
The Pilgrimage has made stops so far in Kerman, Medera, Fairmead, Le Grand, Merced, Livingston, Turlock, Modesto, Ripon, Manteca, Stockton, and Lodi. With a great group of volunteers in support, pilgrims have been cared for, fed, prayed over, encouraged, and cheered.
Each evening, at the host Church, members of SJRAISE, the Diocese's Immigration Task Force, have made a presentation about the Diocese's goal to bring about immigration reform that respects the dignity of every human being. Many of the host congregations have been other faith communities--Roman Catholic, Methodists, and Lutherans. The hospitality and generosity along the pilgrimage has been amazing!
The Pilgrimage has been covered by a couple of new organizations in the Central Valley:
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On May 14th, Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs presented the Pilgrimage with a "Certificate of Recognition" signed by Mayor Tubbs and the members of the Stockton City Council. Mayor Tubbs attended the presentation at St. John the Evangelist Episcopal Church.
The pilgrims left Stockton today with a new challenge awaiting them: rainy weather!
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Presiding Bishop Michael Curry recently recorded a message to the Pilgrimage of Hope participants and the Episcopal Church. In his message, PB Curry encourages the pilgrims and speaks about the Episcopal Church's history of working on behalf of our immigrant and refugee sisters and brothers. A link to the video is below.
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The Pilgrimage of Hope concludes on the "Day of the Immigrant," Monday 20th in Sacramento. For over 20 years, the California immigrant rights movement has convened annually at the state capitol for a day of advocacy to champion the rights of the community and celebrate immigrants as a vital part of our state.
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For daily updates on the Pilgrimage, please visit the
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LABOR OF LOVE SERVICE WEEKEND
at The Episcopal Conference Center Oakhurst (ECCO)
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Want a free weekend stay at the beautiful Episcopal Conference Center Oakhurst?
Join us for the
ECCO Labor of Love Service Weekend, June 7-9th. Volunteers will be provided overnight lodging and meals.
The focus of the weekend will be improving the trails at ECCO. Participants are asked to bring, if possible, wheelbarrows, rakes, shovels, and work gloves. Come for a day or the weekend!
Registration closes on May 26th! More information and a schedule is available of the
ECCO website.
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On Saturday, May 25th, 12:30PM, St. James will host a miniature golf outing for the youth of the Cathedral and their friends. The event will be at Blackbeard’s (4055 N Chestnut Diagonal, Fresno).
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THE FIRST VESTRY MEETING OF ST. JAMES
by Emily Niblick
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One hundred thirty years ago, five of a group of seven newly appointed men gathered at the Saint James Episcopal Church on N Street for the first official meeting of the brand new church’s vestry.
Well, the congregation wasn’t exactly brand new. Founded ten years previous as a mission church, it had grown in size and seven years before had built the first church building on five lots at the corner of Fresno and N Streets. These lots had been donated by Moses J. Church, who had also donated land to other fledgling churches in Fresno. What was new about the church was that it had finally been chartered and incorporated as a parish church and was no longer a missionary church. Along with this big step came the formation of the very first vestry. And these five men attending that day, and a couple of others who were absent, had been designated as members.
So on May 22nd, 1888, these men met, probably in the church, to plot the future. They were pillars of the community, some professional, some not, but all had been proven capable in their endeavors in building a new town and church. Let us take a look at these men who were Saint James first church leaders.
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Strangely enough, the gentleman who would serve as the first senior warden was absent on this day. DR. HENRY ST. GEORGE HOPKINS, M.D., was appointed to serve in this capacity. Dr. Hopkins was born in Winchester, Virginia, on October 21st, 1834. A member of a prosperous family, he attended medical school at the University of Pennsylvania. He was practicing medicine in Baltimore when the Civil War began, and he quickly enlisted as a private in the 27th Virginia Infantry of the Confederate Army. He distinguished himself in battle and was soon promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and given posts in the second and third Virginia Artillery. Under personal orders of General Robert E. Lee, Dr. Hopkins was assigned surgeon in charge of the ambulance corps and General Hospital 19 in Richmond. The hospital was located in a four story building which had previously served as a tobacco company’s headquarters. He was ultimately promoted to surgeon in chief on the staff of Major General Daniel Ruggles and was present at the surrender of Augusta, Georgia, at the end of the war. During the war he had many experiences of note; he was present when Stonewall Jackson died after being accidentally wounded by his own men, and escaped death when a bullet hit a watch he carried in a pocket over his heart. He carried both watch and bullet throughout his life.
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After the war, Dr. Hopkins practiced medicine in Philadelphia, and then moved to Oakland, California in 1875. He came to Fresno in 1881. Dr. Hopkins and his wife Annie were married at St. James in December of 1886 by Rev. D. O. Kelly. He practiced medicine in Fresno for many years, from his office in the Temple Bar Building. He died on May 25, 1914 and is buried at Mountain View Cemetery.
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JAMES M. COLLIER was appointed junior warden and attended the first meeting of the vestry. He was born in Alabama in September of 1857 and it appears he came to California in the 1870’s, settling in Fresno around 1878. In the city’s directory for that year he is listed as an assistant in the recorder’s office and was living at the Southern Pacific Hotel. By 1900 he was secretary of the San Joaquin Electric Company and living in a home on Q St. In 1892 he served on the committee to prepare for the Fresno exhibit at the Chicago World’s Fair which would take place from May to October of 1893. He and his wife Mary (married in 1900) were very busy in various civic groups and clubs in Fresno. James died May 21ST, 1907.
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WILLIAM GILMORE, like many other Fresnans of the time, was born in Canada and emigrated to California in 1868 when he was twenty years old. He and wife Emily opened a millinery store. Unfortunately, Emily suffered a severe stroke and paralysis and died on May 15, 1899. The following year William was married to wife Laura and listed his occupation in the census as “capitalist”. Apparently the millenary store was successful as by 1910 the Gilmores had moved to Alameda and his occupation was “fruit rancher.” William died February 5th, 1918, at age 70.
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Another immigrant to Fresno was WILLIAM MORE YOUNG, who arrived in the United States in 1879. Born May 3, 1860, in Scotland, he came to Fresno and took up farming. In 1880 he is reported to have a forty acre farm, with six acres in vineyards. On May 13th, 1887, he married Australian Elizabeth Abrams at St. James in a ceremony officiated by Rev. D. O. Kelley. Still a newlywed, he was attending this first vestry meeting very close to his first wedding anniversary. He also served as secretary of the Fruitvale Wine Company. The Youngs apparently left Fresno for the Bay Area, as by 1910 they were living in Alameda.
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Just two months after this first vestry meeting of the St James Episcopal church, WALTER GEORGE URIDGE would file in Fresno Superior Court a Declaration of Intention to become a naturalized citizen of the United States, promising to “renounce forever allegiance to…Victoria, Queen of England.” Born on that green isle in the town of Lewes, in Sussex, in 1866 he had immigrated to the U.S. earlier in the year of this vestry meeting. Perhaps in a nod to youth, Walter was only twenty two (and a newcomer) when he was appointed to the vestry. In late December of 1893 he married Ethel Mott who, after giving Walter three sons, died in May of 1898, two months after giving birth to her last child. The following year he married Margaret Nock, a marriage that would produce four more children. From the beginning a farmer, he was a member of the Fresno Farmer’s Club. He died in Long Beach, California, on April 12, 1935, at the age of 69.
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An enterprising fellow was PHILLIP STEWART. Born in 1848, he doesn’t appear until he rides into Fresno about the year 1878 when he opened a law office on Mariposa St. In 1885 he formed a partnership with S. J. Hinds, another Fresno attorney. In 1886 we find him in partnership with Johnson Rhodes, another member of the vestry, and a lawyer. Stewart appears to have been a very eager politician. Everywhere he went he ran for justice of the peace (Fresno) or district attorney (Santa Maria and Santa Barbara). By 1894 he was a judge in Santa Maria, and in 1898 he ran for district attorney as a judge in Santa Barbara county. It seems that his time on the vestry at Saint James must have been short, and perhaps because of his partnership with Rhodes. At any rate, his hard work and perhaps his great desire to succeed caught up with him. According to the Los Angeles Herald of August 26, 1899, “paralysis amounting to paraplegia was the cause of death.” In other words, a stroke. His wife Annie survived him.
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One thing that is quickly discovered when delving into nineteenth century Fresno history is that there was no lack of lawyers. I suppose with folks moving into town, some just passing through, new boundaries on new farms and ranches, local government still in infancy—there no doubt was an added need for attorneys. Another lawyer, who served on this first vestry (although absent at the first meeting) was JOHNSON G. RHODES. Born in Pennsylvania, he arrived in Fresno in 1881. After a short stint with a real estate agent, he opened his law office in the Donahoo Block on Mariposa Street in 1882, moving eventually to the Bradley Block by the time he was appointed to the first vestry. His very talented wife Mary Isabelle was an entrepreneur herself. She had her own profession of teaching music, both vocal and instrumental. They had married in New York in 1881 and, perhaps heeding the oft quoted words (though not proven) of Horace Greeley, the editor of the New York Tribune (“Go west young man, go west”) the intrepid couple left for Fresno within the year. Rhodes practiced law in Fresno until he retired in 1920 and he died here on January 11, 1935. He in interred in the Fresno Mausoleum in Mountain View cemetery.
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And so this completes our little study of a few of our church pioneers. They quickly got to work, The business completed that day, aside from plans for the future, was still quite important. The organist’s salary was set at $15 per month, and the janitor’s salary at $5 per month. In order for the organist to have something to play, it was agreed to purchase a new organ at a cost of $600. They voted to borrow the first $100 as a down payment, and then pay $15 each month at 10% APR until it was paid off. We do not know when the $100 loan was paid off.
Partly, I am sure, because at the very next meeting they voted to raise Rev. D. O. Kelley’s salary to…$100 per month.
As always, my greatest thanks goes to Ruth Smead, former historian of Saint James Cathedral in the 1960’s, who left some fabulous facts and figures concerning our church’s past.
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Those making the pledge, affirm that they "long to grow loving, liberating, life-giving relationship with the whole of God’s Creation" and that they "pledge to protect and renew the Earth and all who call it home."
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MEN’S BREAKFAST - SATURDAY, JUNE 1ST
The men of the Cathedral Congregation will gather on Saturday morning, June 1st, at Yosemite Falls Cafe (4020 N Cedar Ave.—across the street from the Cathedral). The breakfast will begin at 7:30AM. Please note the new start time!
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If you have any feedback, comments, or questions for the Midweek Missive Editors, please
email us
. Submissions to the Midweek Missive are welcomed and must be submitted to
midweek@stjamesfresno.org
by Tuesday at noon.
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