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SA I N T C L E M E N T ’S E P I S C O P A L C H U R C H

SAINT C LEMENT’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH

The First 100 Years 1908-2008 Berkeley, California

Berkeley, California

SAINT CLEMENT’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH

T h e Fi r s t O n e H u n d r e d Ye a r s 1 9 0 8 - 2 0 0 8 B e r ke l e y, C a l i f o r n i a

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St. Clement’s Church

ST. CLEMENT’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH © 2010, St. Clement’s Episcopal Church All Rights Reserved No part of this book may be duplicated, transmitted or reproduced in any format without the permission of the Rector of: ST. CLEMENT’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH www.stclementsberkeley.org 2837 Claremont Boulevard Berkeley, CA 94705-1446 (510) 843-2678 ISBN 978-0-9819945-5-0 Book design and additional photography by: Susan Davis PAINTBOX PRODUCTIONS www.paintboxproductions.com (510) 839-7229 Printing and Binding: Fred Fassett MINUTEMAN PRESS www.minutemanpress.com (510) 540-7113

Berkeley, California

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The Centennial History Project Committee Judith Davis, Chair Mary Louise Chapman George Nikolaieff

Barbara (Deedee) Martin Susan Waller

Researchers/Writers Marion McConnell Bailey - Vietnamese Refugee Project Jane Brooks - Canterbury Children’s Chapel Kathryn Burns - Sunday School and Youth Activities Suzanne Cartmell - Outreach Programs Mary Louise Chapman - Diocesan Relationships, Liturgy, Special Gifts, Stained Glass Windows Judith Davis - Honduras Outreach Program, Palache Hall, Publication Process, Researchers, St. Clement’s History Linda Dobson - Parish Retreats, Supper Club Marcine (Mitzi) Francis - “The Churchman” Neysa Garrett - Building Permits, Vestry Minutes Linda Gavenda - Music Programs Victor Gavenda - Music Programs

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St. Clement’s Church

Dian Gillmar - Vestry Minutes Mary Hanna, Ph.D. - Film Group, St. Mary’s Guild Pearce Hurley - Church Service Bulletins, Vestry Minutes Robert Kreider - Building and Grounds Committee Reports Wendy Markel - Palache Family History Barbara (Deedee) Martin - Architectural Plans, Braille Project, Firestorm 1991, St. Clement’s History, Scouting, Vestry Minutes George Nikolaieff - The East Bay, History of the Episcopal Church in California, Publication Process, Willis Polk Diana Pickworth, PhD - The Judson Studios/Stained Glass Windows Antonio Rossmann, Palache Family Gift of Land David T. Samson - World War II Years at St. Clement’s Charlotte Saulsbury - Parish Annual Reports Barbara Smith - Firestorm 1991 Janet Towler - Vestry Minutes Lynne Turner - “The Clarion” Kenneth Wachter - Vestry Minutes Edward Waller, M.D. - Vestry Minutes Susan Waller - Biographies of Vicars and Rectors, Guilds, Scouting, St. Clement’s History, Vestry Minutes, World War II

Writing and Editing by the Project Committee

Berkeley, California

W I T H M U C H G R AT I T U D E

It has been an honor to serve as rector of St. Clement’s during our Centennial Year. Traditionally, we have observed February 7, 1909, as the date of the first service held in the then-new mission church. To celebrate the one-hundredth anniversary of that occasion, on February 8, 2009, the Rt. Rev. Marc Handley Andrus presided and preached at a festive Eucharist, followed by a grand reception.

With the publication of this book we now commemorate and honor the history of St. Clement’s Episcopal Church. This project was made possible by the leadership of Judith Davis. Her knowledge, organizational skills, and sense of humor provided a great example of Christian service. She and her committee members, Mary Lou Chapman, Deedee Martin, George Nikolaieff, and Susan Waller, met regularly, shared their various gifts, and worked tirelessly for over a year. I give thanks for the Centennial History Project Committee.

I have been touched, not only by the hard work and dedication of the committee, but also by the extensive and outstanding contributions from so many parishioners who, both independently and collaboratively, worked ceaselessly to carry out the initial research and writing. Borrowing imagery from St. Paul, this was clearly an example of “One Body with many parts.”

I feel confident that you, the reader, will find the result of this effort to be both enjoyable and informative. As for me, having read about the first one hundred years of St. Clement’s, I feel energized as we begin our second.

Bruce Douglas O’Neill Rector

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St. Clement’s Church

TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S

Introduction _______________________________________________________ The Episcopal Church in California ____________________________________ The East Bay ______________________________________________________ St. Clement’s Parish ________________________________________________ The Early Years _________________________________________________

A Gift of Land ______________________________________________

St. Clement’s Chapel _________________________________________

The Church Building _________________________________________

The Mystery of the First Service in the New Church ________________

Architect Willis Jefferson Polk __________________________________

Parish Status _______________________________________________

The Community House / Palache Hall ___________________________

A Different Church Building? __________________________________

The Stained Glass Windows ____________________________________

Needlepoint Kneelers _________________________________________ The Middle and Later Years _______________________________________

The Rev. Joseph Henry Thomas, D.D. ____________________________

The Rev. Canon Charles Mortimer Guilbert _______________________

The Rev. Elvin Woodrow Smith _________________________________

The Rev. Gordon David Griffith, Th.D. __________________________

The Rev. Richard Mapplebeckpalmer _____________________________

The Rev. Rudolph Johnson, Ph.D. _______________________________

Palache Hall Retrofit _______________________________________

The Rev. Bruce Douglas O’Neill ________________________________ A Short History of the Liturgy of St. Clement’s __________________________ St. Clement’s in the Episcopal Church World and in the Community __________

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Our Church Community _____________________________________________ Religious Education ______________________________________________

Children’s and Youth Ministries _________________________________ Canterbury Children’s Chapel ___________________________________ Adult Education _____________________________________________

Scouting ___________________________________________________ The Historic Guilds ______________________________________________

St. Clement’s Guild __________________________________________ Women’s Auxiliary to the Board of Missions and Other Guilds ________ Present-Day Guilds ______________________________________________ St. Mary’s Guild _____________________________________________ Altar Guild _________________________________________________ Music Programs _________________________________________________ Outreach Programs ______________________________________________ The Braille Project ___________________________________________ Vietnamese Refugee Program ___________________________________ Our Little Roses Home for Girls, Honduras _______________________ Outreach in the Later Years ____________________________________ Book of Remembrance ______________________________________________ Conclusion _______________________________________________________ Appendices ________________________________________________________ Biography of St. Clement of Alexandria __________________________ Vicars and Rectors, 1908-present ________________________________ Assistant Rectors, 1965-present ________________________________

Interim Rectors, 1965 - present ________________________________ Stained Glass Windows, Chronological Listing _____________________

The Judson Studios __________________________________________ Palache Family History ________________________________________ Research Sources ____________________________________________

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45 46 46 49 52 53 56 56 57 60 60 62 64 68 68 69 72 73 76 77 78 79 80 81 81 82 84 84 84

St. Clement’s Church

D E D I C AT I O N

This Book is Dedicated to

James and Helen Whitney Palache

The Palaches on the occasion of their Golden Anniversary August 1905

Berkeley, California

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ST. CLEMENT’S A UNIQUE PLACE OF WO RSHIP

t. Clement’s is a special place of worship.

The interior is peaceful and elegant. The beautiful stained glass windows admit soft lights that blend with the unadorned woods, red carpet and brass appointments. In this simple and sacred space, which slowly evolved through the years, one feels the Holy Spirit.

A church is dedicated to God, but it is the congregation, the community of the faithful, that gives it its character and colors its soul. St. Clement’s, from its beginning, has been blessed with more than its share of outstanding theologians, university, business and professional leaders as well as devoted lay people.

Despite its relatively small congregation, the church has always supported community and welfare outreach, several working guilds, musical organizations, theological study groups and social groups. Members and clergy participate in Deanery, Diocesan and Seminary affairs as well.

This history tells of the joyful beginnings of St. Clement’s as a chapel of St. Mark’s and of its growth into maturity as an independent parish.

It is also the story of individuals, both clergy and lay, who brought their talents and energies to build and sustain a House of God. With His blessing St. Clement’s continues to thrive today.

The Sanctuary of St. Clement’s Church, 2009 Photograph by Susan Davis

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St. Clement’s Church

THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA

he establishment of St. Clement’s Episcopal Church in 1908 seems, in the total scheme of things, a recent event. However, it had a valuable role in the history of the Anglican denomination’s development in America’s Far West.

Therefore, it is appropriate to include here some mention of the larger events that gave rise to it.

Christianity itself first gained a foothold in this part of the world with the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century. Later, in settling the area that is now California, they built a series of missions up the Pacific Coast to spread the Roman Catholic faith along with loyalty to Spain.

Anglicans had a brief moment of involvement in 1579 when explorer Sir Francis Drake’s legendary ship, the Golden Hind, dropped anchor in a bay some forty miles north of San Francisco. During the month-long stay the ship’s chaplain, Francis Fletcher, held services using the English Prayer Book.

Reputedly these were the first Anglican services held on the shores of North America.

In time Drake sailed away, and with him all semblance of formal Anglican institutions. Fortunately for the denomination, colonists continued to arrive and increase on the East Coast. By 1784, not long after the Declaration of Independence, American Anglicans received their first Bishop, Samuel Seabury, and the Anglican Church had become organized and firmly entrenched on the Eastern seaboard. In 1789 the first General Convention of the Episcopal Church was

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Nova Albionis / New Britain, the cove north of San Francisco where Drake anchored in 1579

Sir Francis Drake and his ship, The Golden Hind

Berkeley, California

held, which led to the first Constitution and Canons of the Church, as well as to the first American Book of Common Prayer.

Settlers from the East continued to move to this sparsely populated territory of Mexico throughout the 19th century. Bit by bit they shouldered aside the Mexicans and native residents. Not until America won the war against Mexico in 1849 was California finally recognized as a part of the United States, and in 1850 it became the thirty-first state.

Even as the pioneers pushed westward, the observance of faith was left largely to individuals and families. That changed abruptly when the discovery of gold in 1848 triggered a massive influx of people into California. San Francisco, a small village of 300, became the key entry port for arriving prospectors from around the world and rapidly grew to include 30,000 people.

Chaotic and free spirited as it was, the city also included many deeply devoted Anglicans. Some of them banded together and in 1849 formed their first parish. Services were held in the newly created Holy Trinity Church, presided over by the Reverend Flavel S. Mines of the Diocese of New York and the Reverend Augustus Finch, who had just returned from missionary work in the Sandwich Islands.

Within a year yet another congregation formed Grace Church, the forerunner of today’s Grace Cathedral.

The Reverend J. L. Ver Mehr took charge.

The two churches and their spiritual leaders were close and supportive of one another. Together they wanted to formalize their efforts through the appointment of a bishop from the traditional established churches “from East or from the West.” Unfortunately, neither Mines nor Ver Mehr held out much hope for a bishop to be sent, so they held an organizational convention. They adopted a canon prescribing the diocesan institutions of a seminary, a college, a place for disabled clergy, and a retreat for elderly women of the church. They named

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their creation “The Church of California.”

At first the General Convention of the Episcopal Church did not recognize or admit the San Francisco entity to its ranks. Nevertheless, the San Francisco congregations continued to grow so quickly that the national church soon relented and recognized their needs. In 1853 it appointed Dr. William Ingraham Kip, son of a wealthy and respected New York City family, to Missionary Bishop of California, formalizing the union and making it into an Episcopate. The first diocese in California was the “Diocese of California,” which technically covered the whole territory and was based in San Francisco. Today six dioceses cover the state.

First Bishop of California

The first Grace Church, San Francisco, erected in 1849 Graphics courtesy of Grace Cathedral, San Francisco

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St. Clement’s Church

THE EAST BAY

he history that led to the establishment of St. Clement’s Church is a classic story of urban development in California. Before 1900 the East Bay of San Francisco was essentially farm and ranch country. Only a handful of small communities had sprung up along the bay to provide goods and services to the city of San Francisco itself.

Among them was the unincorporated working class community of Ocean View. This small settlement was the start of what is today the city of Berkeley.

To the south of Ocean View was the more established and populous city of Oakland. Here, in 1855, two New England ministers started a non-denominational Christian institution of higher learning named the College of California. Soon they bought a large farm in the rolling foothills five miles northwest of downtown Oakland, where they intended to create a spacious campus for their college. To finance the move they planned to sell building lots adjacent to the campus for a new community, hoping to appeal to people eager to live in the stimulating atmosphere of a college town.

To buttress that image the college trustees formally named this area Berkeley, after George Berkeley, the 18th century man of letters, philosopher and Anglican Bishop of Cloyne, Ireland.

Although a few people bought property in the new area, the expected profits did not materialize. In 1868 the trustees transferred their properties to the State of California and the school merged with the state-run Agriculture, Mining and Mechanical Arts College to

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form the University of California. The school moved from Oakland to the present site in September 1873, and the former farm became the permanent home of the University of California, Berkeley, today one of the leading public universities in the world.

These events, and the land on which they took place, were critical in the establishment of St. Clement’s.

Two prominent men, Judge John Garber and James Palache, had become large land owners of acreage adjacent to the university grounds. Subdivision of the Palache property, in what was known as Claremont Court, began in 1905. A year later Whitney Palache and John Garber donated land for a wide boulevard through their properties, for the purpose of linking the center of Oakland and the University of California.

By the summer of 1907 the gates at Russell Street and Claremont Boulevard had been built. Designed

by John Galen Howard, principal architect for the University of California, the gates are noteworthy.

They are built of “hard-edged red brick with moldings of ivory colored terra cotta.” Graceful and dignified they form a grand entrance leading toward the campus.

The formal presence of Episcopalianism in the East Bay began in 1877 when a group of University of California faculty and students established St. Mark’s Church. Today the church stands in central Berkeley on Bancroft Way. Meanwhile, the newly established areas near Russell and Claremont, on and near the Garber and Palache spreads, continued to attract residents. Starting in 1906, the year of the great earthquake and fire in San Francisco, the trickle became a torrent as burned out residents of the city sought new and presumably safer places to live.

Understandably, the population of Berkeley grew by leaps and bounds—from 10,000 residents to 42,000 between 1900 and 1910. So did St. Mark’s, which had grown to include 550 congregants. But as the community spread, it became increasingly time consuming for many Episcopalians to get to church.

Berkeley, California

For those in outlying areas the horse and buggy journey often took an hour or more.

The Reverend Edward Lambe Parsons, Rector of St. Mark’s, came to the conclusion that there was a need to establish missions, so that “every considerable area in Berkeley should have a church, convenient for people who live in that area.” The idea found strong

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support from both parishioners and the diocese.

Concept turned to action and All Souls Episcopal Church, now located at 2220 Cedar, opened its doors in 1905. Then, with unstinting moral and material backing from the Palache family, St. Clement’s was built and opened for services in 1909.

A view of the Palache property, looking north from Oak Knoll, c.1905

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St. Clement’s Church

A few pages from the

Palache Family Album

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Berkeley, California

S t . Clement’s Parish The Early Years

St. Clement’s Church, c.1915 Note the Claremont Hotel, the Russell Street trolley, and the John Galen Howard Gates

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St. Clement’s Church

A GIFT OF LAND

he land on which St. Clement’s Church and its Parish Hall now stand was donated

by Helen Whitney Palache in memory of her husband, James. California has more than its share of stories about legendary men and women who struggled to get here, built fortunes and contributed to the common good at the same time. The Palaches fit that mold.

James Palache was born in New York in 1834 into a cultured and well-educated family. A predictable,

settled life seemed assured. At age 13, however, the adventurous and free-spirited James left St. John’s College to seek adventure at sea. After a rough voyage around the Horn he landed in San Francisco in 1849, in the midst of the Gold Rush. Caught up by the frenzy he started work as a surveyor’s helper in the gold country, the foothills of the Sierra Nevada.

Apparently he didn’t strike gold as such, but he did manage to meet a charming young lady named Helen Whitney, who had arrived with her family by wagon train from Wisconsin via the Overland Route.

Helen and James were married in 1855 and moved to San Francisco in 1862, where James eventually became a partner in the successful firm of Kittle & Co., makers of linseed oil. In 1879 they purchased a large tract of land adjoining the Judge Garber estate and, with their five children, moved to Berkeley. The Palaches were devout Episcopalians, and every member

The Claremont Hotel, with the Palache home in the lower right, 1907 - 8 -

Berkeley, California

soon became active at St. Mark’s Church. For many years James Palache served as Senior Warden.

James died on January 27, 1906, at the age of 72, in Pacific Grove, California, while on a short vacation with his daughter, Eliza. In a letter written in September 1906 by Eliza to her brother, Charles, a student at Harvard University, she said, “Your heart will have told you that Mother would feel the need of providing a memorial to Father in some form. She has for years fostered the hope of some day seeing a chapel on portions of ‘Fairview’ (their Berkeley estate).

Since Father’s passing she has talked much with Mary and me about it and finally decided the matter must be arranged. When mother expressed her desire to Whitney (another son) he received it with enthusiasm and was inspired to place his finger on the spot that appealed to all of us as the appropriate site—the corner of Claremont and Russell.”

Two days later she wrote again to tell her brother that the matter had been laid before their pastor. “His enthusiasm and sacred joy (as it seems right to call it) was beautiful to see. To our surprise we found that one of the matters pressing heavily on him was provision in Claremont for a chapel, and also a suitable memorial to Father was desired by the Church members. The chapel as well as ground will, he says, be a spontaneous expression of love and veneration for Father’s work and life.”

The Deed of Gift donating the choicest piece of land in Claremont Court to St. Mark’s Parish, Berkeley, was dated May 11, 1907. However, almost a year and a half passed before a group of St. Mark’s parishioners met to discuss the founding of a mission. Finally, on October 24, 1908, at the home of Whitney Palache, at 2801 Claremont Boulevard (today 3015 Garber Road) Berkeley, St. Clement’s was formally organized.

To celebrate the event the first St. Clement’s mission service was held the following afternoon, October 25, at the nearby home of Mr. and Mrs. George

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Herbert Kellogg, at 98 El Camino Real. Some 15-20 families from the area were present. The Rev. E. L. Parsons, Rector of St. Mark’s, officiated.

At that ser vice Fr. Parsons was assisted by the Rev. Donald Mayo Brookman, the Parish’s Director of Religious Education.

Some 20 years later Fr. Brookman would recall: “I well remember, in the Stained glass window at the entry autumn of 1908, when to the house at 98 El Camino Real, I first went to help (the Berkeley, where the first mission now) Bishop Parsons… service was held that among the first Photograph by Victor Gavenda things he mentioned to me was the newly planned Chapel for the Clairmont (sic) district of the parish. We took a walk there, one afternoon, and together we became enthusiastic over the site and its prospects. To be sure in that early day the houses in the neighborhood were few; the (Claremont) hotel was standing, but my recollection is that it was not in use.

On the other hand the “Key Route” had established itself nearby and houses were being erected steadily….”

The “Key Route” was part of a privately-owned interurban train and ferry system linking the East Bay with San Francisco. It thrived from 1903 until 1958. The trains to the Claremont Hotel ran between the hotel’s tennis courts, now part of the Berkeley Tennis Club.

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St. Clement’s Church

S T. C L E M E N T ’ S CHAPEL n January 17, 1909, at the Diocesan Convention, St. Clement’s was received into the Diocese of California as a Mission. It was to be known officially as St. Clement’s Chapel in St. Mark’s Parish, Berkeley. By definition a parish is a financially self-sustaining community of congregants.

Parish clergy are paid by the parish itself. Missions, on the other hand, are an outreach by an established church entity, most often the Diocese. In St. Clement’s case, the sponsor was the Parish of St. Mark’s. Mission clergy, usually vicars, are paid by the sponsoring organization.

St. Clement, a distinguished scholar, was chosen as the patron saint of the new chapel in order to connect it with the parish church of St. Mark’s, as well as with the university town of Berkeley. St. Mark, by tradition, was the evangelist who brought Christianity to Egypt.

St. Clement was head of The Catechetical School of Alexandria, and one of the most distinguished Christian fathers of the second and third centuries.

In 1908 the so-called “Municipal Policy of Berkeley” had been set in motion. Under this policy the Episcopal churches in Berkeley, instead of working separately, were organized under the aegis of St. Mark’s Parish. These included St. Mark’s, All Souls, St. Clement’s, and the Northbrae Sunday School.

Together they formed a single administrative group.

The Church of the Good Shepherd was a part of this group as well, although nominally a diocesan mission.

St. Matthew’s, also under the charge of the rector of

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Stained glass window of St. Clement of Alexandria, our patron saint The scholar at his desk Photograph by Susan Davis

Berkeley, California

St. Mark’s Parish, retained its canonical position as a diocesan mission. Under canon law this status allowed the two missions to send representatives to Diocesan Conventions.

The members of all the churches were considered members of St. Mark’s Parish. While the rector of St. Mark’s was also the rector of the local missions, the priests-in-charge of All Souls and St. Clement’s were known as vicars. St. Mark’s Vestry, composed of nine members, two from each congregation and three from the parish at large, managed all business affairs. For local affairs each unit had a congregational committee, or board, headed by a vestryman ex officio.

Efforts were made over the years to change the policy to allow the two churches representation at Diocesan Convention, but to no avail. Not until All Souls and St. Clement’s formed independent parishes in 1926 did the Municipal Policy end. The new congregations were welcomed into the Diocese of California at the 1927 convention.

Mr. Whitney Palache, like his parents before him, was initially a member of St. Mark’s. He then became

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the first Chairman of the Committee at St. Clement’s.

Mr. Lucien Lance became the Secretary. The Rev. Mr. Brookman was appointed Priest-in-Charge, and he remained in that post until the end of 1909, when he left to return to his former position at St. Mark’s.

Later he became Canon, then Dean, of All Saints Cathedral in Albany, New York. In a retrospective, the September 1919 issue of The Pacific Churchman noted that “During his stay of only a few months he had laid a solid foundation upon which others might build.”

He was succeeded by the Rev. Francis G. Williams, the first vicar of St. Clement’s Chapel, who served until November 1911, when he was compelled to resign due to the ill health of Mrs. Williams. He accepted a call to St. Clement’s, Honolulu, Hawaii.

Of his tenure The Pacific Churchman stated: “At the time of his resignation every activity of the chapel was splendidly organized and in shape to prove the wisdom of the Rector and its founders.”

The newly-constructed Chapel, 1909 Photo Postcard from the collection of Edmund Clausen, Oakland, California

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The Rev. Donald M. Brookman, D.D. Priest-in-charge, 1908-1909

St. Clement’s Church

THE CHURCH BUILDING

he important task of constructing a church building for the new St. Clement’s congregation began in the autumn of 1908. In a letter written years later, Bishop Parsons recalled one of the earliest planning sessions. “I find a record in my diary that on September 1, 1908, I met Mr. (Whitney) Palache and Mr. Willis Polk, the San Francisco architect, at the lot to plan for the new building.”

Polk had been picked to work on the project partly because of his earlier services to the church. “He had designed the pulpit and rood screen for St. Mark’s and built the Parish House,” the Bishop wrote.

Construction began in December 1908 and was quickly completed. The result was a small redwood, wood-shingled church, with a steep-pitched roof reminiscent of an English country church. A Celtic cross rose from the peak. The front door was protected by a small overhang which echoed the angle of the roof.

The interior was finished in natural redwood, with scissor trusses to support the roof. Handmade Gothic style lighting fixtures were suspended from the ceiling.

The floor plan consisted of a nave and one aisle. The sacristy was on the southwest side, and the rector’s study was located on the southeast side. The north side, partitioned off from the nave, held a very small Guild Hall, including a kitchen.

A hand-written note from the St. Clement’s archives states: “…it was a very small House of God, but from the first it had that warmth and simplicity which it has

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always retained despite the (later) additions…”

The first service in the new church was held in early1909. Unfortunately, Helen Palache did not live to take part in this culmination of her dream. She died on October 30, 1907. Still, one imagines she would have been pleased with the result.

Certainly the congregants were, as the Rev. Brookman recalled: “One of the mild surprises in connection with our moving into the new building was the discovery that the people would no longer be content with an afternoon service, but instead were insistent that they have one in the morning.

This meant my separation from morning service in St. Mark’s Church, of which I had grown fond, and I missed very much the opportunity to listen to the gifted rector.”

As with any new construction a few shortcomings soon surfaced. Another of Mr. Brookman’s letters notes, “I remember also a warm spring day when the chapel was invaded by swarms of flies, as never before or since have I ever known any building to be invaded. My sermon that morning was accompanied by ceaseless gesticulations as first with one hand, and then with the other, I drove the flies away from my face. Needless to add, before the following Sunday some kindly hearted listener had seen to it that the windows and doors were screened.”

As expected, it took time, patience, and money to acquire even some of the traditional necessities for the church. An early photograph of the interior shows seating provided by individual chairs. In March 1911 members of the Church Committee asked the Ladies Guild to raise one-half of the $400 estimated cost of pews for the Chapel. The committee itself would provide the other half. By May 1911 the funds had been raised, the pews installed, and the individual chairs loaned to another church.

Berkeley, California

The My s t e r y o f t h e F i r s t Service i n t h e N e w C h u r c h

Tradition has long held that the first service in the new church building took place on February 7, 1909, and that is the date we celebrated in 2009. However, in the Palache Family Notes we have on file, the date of the first service is given as January 3, 1910. The problem with this date is that in 1910 January 3rd was a Monday. Further checking on a Perpetual Calendar shows that in 1909 both January 3rd and February 7th were Sundays! In addition, we have a photo postcard of the early church, postmarked March 12, 1909, 12M, CA. The message reads: “This is the new chapel in the Claremont District, St. Clement’s, of which the Rev. D. M. Brookman has charge.

Four months ago when he came here there was not even an organization, and now we have our Guild Auxiliary, Sunday school, Altar Guild and regular services…” This information coincides with the dates we have for Mr. Brookman, so, it appears that the 1909 date is a valid one.

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However, we are not so sure about the month. February 7, 1909, has come down to us from remembrances written at least ten years after the fact. This could be a case of “once written, always factual.” Our most recent research has turned up what appears to be an undated St. Mark’s Parochial Notes, which states that the first services were held on January 3rd an early celebration of Holy Communion; then, in the late afternoon, Evening Prayer. “Since that date services have been held regularly, the Holy Communion twice a month at 7:30 a.m., Sunday School at 9:45 and Evening Prayer at 4 p.m.” It seems difficult to deny that this is an accurate report.

The article also notes the rector (the Rev. E. L. Parsons) was absent on that date. A letter he wrote later confirms this. “I remember so well that a sad errand had taken me East at the beginning of January in 1909 so that I was not present at the opening service in the little new St. Clement’s…” Might it be possible that February 7th was the first service in which the rector was able to participate? At the time of publication we

have not been able to resolve this small mystery.

St. Clement’s Chapel, 1910

The original Chapel interior showing clear glass window above the altar and individual chairs

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St. Clement’s Church

ARCHITECT WILLIS JE F F E R S O N P O L K (1 8 6 7 - 1 9 2 4 )

illis Jefferson Polk, the architect for the construction of St. Clement’s church building in 1908, was a gifted and prolific professional whose multitude of projects completed in San Francisco and nearby areas earned him the accolade of “Master Builder” in the local press. In the eight years between 1906 and 1914 he had, by one count, designed 106 buildings and helped with the reconstruction of so many others that he left an indelible mark on the city’s architectural heritage.

In 1915 he was the Supervising Architect of the Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco.

“That legacy,” wrote David Weinstein in the San Francisco Chronicle, “includes the Bay Area’s tradition of homes that were rustic but sophisticated, with unfinished redwood interiors, open beamed ceilings and shingled exteriors.” These are precisely the elements that characterize St. Clement’s. In subsequent years the church built additions and made other modest changes, but the basic structure and its unadorned wood interior remain true to the architect’s original design.

These qualities were characteristic of the earlier stages of Polk’s work and seem to echo his personal growth.

Willis Polk was born in Jacksonville, Illinois, in 1867, where his father worked as a carpenter. Polk himself received no formal education, but starting at the age of eight he began work as a carpenter’s helper.

This launched an evolving career of apprenticeships (in draftsmanship and design) that eventually led to

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his becoming a full fledged builder and architect in his own right. Along the way he either worked for or brushed shoulders with some of the leading lights of American architecture. They included: renowned Chicago architect and city planner Daniel Burnham; Chesley Bonestell, who took part in the design of the Golden Gate Bridge; Bernard Maybeck, one of the fathers of the Arts and Crafts movement, as well as the designer of San Francisco’s Palace of Fine Arts; and the senior partners of McKim, Mead & White.

Polk was deeply influenced by Stanford White’s implementation of classicism in design.

By all accounts, Polk had an artist’s eye, a dignified good taste that wealthy patrons found pleasing, and an unvarnished skill for self promotion. After the devastating earthquake and fire of 1906 Polk persuaded Daniel Burnham to open a San Francisco office with himself in charge. It was a good move.

The firm was swamped with new and reconstruction projects, especially new homes for the wealthy. In response to their needs Polk increasingly moved toward a more formal, classical design-- “buildings rooted in historical styles but assembled with an artist’s touch.”

Unfortunately the relationship with Burnham foundered after a few years. Polk struck out on his own and managed to garner a number of highly visible assignments, including the reconstruction of San Francisco’s Mission Dolores. Unfortunately, Polk’s poor business skills, along with an arrogant flamboyance eventually took their toll. He died at the age of 57 with few projects on his tables.

Berkeley, California

Interior detail showing scissor trusses of native redwood, the original Willis Polk design Photograph by Christian Rideout

Willis Jefferson Polk, Architect

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1908-2008

St. Clement’s Church

PARISH STATUS

embership in the newly built St. Clement’s grew steadily, first under the leadership of the Rev. Frederick Augustus Martyr, who officiated from December 1911 to May 1923, and then under the leadership of the Rev. Mark Rifenbark, from May 1923 to November 1925. By the mid 1920’s there were more than 150 communicants.

These were trying times for the nation as a whole.

World War I raged and was felt directly by the church community. Stars for the thirty-two parishioners who served in the war were placed on a Church Service Flag, which today hangs in the parish hall.

At the same time local issues emerged. As the congregation grew parishioners felt an increasing sense of frustration with their status as a Chapel of St. Mark’s and the lesser representation it meant in larger church affairs. The solution was to seek Parish status within the Diocese. The first steps were taken in January 1926 when the Rev. Lindley Hoffman Miller was Vicar. “It was duly moved…that the name of the Parish be St. Clement Parish…” At the same time “…

Articles of Incorporation were adopted in conformance with the laws of the State and the required number of 15 members signed the papers….” On February 24, 1926, Edward L. Parsons, whose idea when Rector of St. Mark’s brought St. Clement’s Mission into being, now as Bishop of the Diocese of California gave his “…canonical consent to the organization of said Parish.”

The congregation gathered to attend two meetings

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on March 7, 1926. At the first, financial matters and the division of parish property, as held by St. Mark’s under the old Municipal Policy, were explained. At the second, a vestry was elected. The third meeting of the day was the first meeting of the vestry of the new St. Clement’s Parish. Officers were elected; the salary of the Priest-in-Charge, set; the Minutes of the Corporation, ratified; payments authorized to the Episcopal Convention and to the Nation Wide Campaign Funds; and, among other such matters, the Rev. Lindley H. Miller was unanimously selected to be the first Rector. As noted earlier, the Parish was officially welcomed as a member of the Diocese of California at the Diocesan Convention in 1927.

Fr. Miller seems to have been a popular and well-liked Rector. The Minutes of both the Women’s Auxiliary and the St. Clement’s Guild indicate that he regularly attended and took an active interest in their meetings.

It is recorded that at a meeting in 1930 he distributed leaflets to them about the “…serious menace of the moving pictures in the lives of children.” On another occasion he spoke of his concern that “…Orientals were barred from burial in Caucasian cemeteries,” prompting the members to vote that a protest be made.

He also enjoyed leading the singing at their Christmas parties, and during the summer he and Mrs. Miller invited both groups to spend a day with them at their vacation home, Lakoyia, in the Napa Valley.

Fr. Miller resigned in December 1932 to take up duties in San Mateo.

Berkeley, California

The Reverend Edward Lambe Parsons, Rector of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, whose vision led to the founding of St. Clement’s Chapel

The Reverend Frederick Augustus Martyr Vicar 1911-1923

The Reverend Mark Rifenbark, D.D. Vicar 1923-1925

The Reverend Lindley Hoffman Miller Vicar, 1925-1926 First Rector, 1926-1932

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1908-2008

St. Clement’s Church

Bishop Parsons was unable to attend the ceremony, so he wrote a letter to the Rev. Lindley H. Miller and asked that it be “…read to your people and Mr. Palache’s friends…”

THE COMMUNITY HOUSE / PALACHE HALL

There is no one in the memories of my ministry whom I would more delight to honor than Mr. James Palache.

aving achieved Parish status, and with the enthusiastic support and encouragement of the Rector, Lindley Miller, enough pledges were soon secured to move forward with plans to build a community house. Architect Benjamin G. McDougall was hired and bids for the project, solicited. At their first Annual Meeting on January 12, 1927, the members present voted to go with the low construction bidder, Lawton & Vezey. They requested that ground be broken within two weeks, if possible. An Application for Building Permit was issued by the City of Berkeley on February 18, 1927. The cornerstone was laid on April 10th, and four months later construction was completed – at a cost of some $40,000.

The dedication of St. Clement’s Community House was held on August 24, 1927. The unveiling of the memorial plaque took place on Sunday, February 3, 1928. It reads: THIS BUILDING IS ERECTED IN MEMORY OF JAMES PALACHE 1834 – 1906 SENIOR WARDEN OF ST. MARK’S PARISH 1884 – 1899 1905-1906 UPON LAND GIVEN BY HIS WIDOW HELEN WHITNEY PALACHE “O YE HOLY AND HUMBLE MEN OF HEART BLESS YE THE LORD”

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He was far more than an active and earnest Churchman, ready to do his duty on the Vestry and in the furtherance of all parochial needs.

He was a man whose religion was of a deep and real personal character. One could not be with him without realizing that he walked in the presence of God and that his work, his daily conduct and his purposes were all guided by the divine light and his love for Christ.

In the Church he did, of course, many things besides being a Vestryman and Warden, but always one felt that his greatest service was in the devotion and simplicity of his Christian character. He was, in the language of the Bendicite*, which I am happy to see that you are placing upon the memorial, ‘one of the holy and humble men of heart’ who most truly reveal to us the life of Our Lord. (* Bless ye the Lord)

Berkeley, California

The Community House is a splendid complement to St. Clement’s Church, all the more remarkable because it was built so quickly. Paying off the construction debt, however, proved more time consuming. It was only on February 11, 1945, with the Rev. J. Henry Thomas, Rector, presiding, and the Rt. Rev. Edward Lambe Parsons, Bishop, on hand to deliver the sermon, that the debt was finally retired. The church service bulletin states: “Today, upon the Altar, we are burning the mortgage…Palache Hall was built at a cost exceeding forty thousand dollars. About twenty thousand dollars was raised by various means, and the mortgage we are burning today is the culmination of the effort to free the Parish from debt.”

On the following Tuesday a gala dinner and mortgage-burning party was held. It was attended by 200 parishioners and friends, including Bishop Parsons, former Vicar, the Rev. F. Augustus Martyr and Mrs. Martyr, Mr. Whitney Palache, first lay leader of St. Clement’s Mission, and Mrs. Palache, and other old friends of the Parish.

Palache Hall, 1945 View from Claremont Boulevard

Palache Hall, the south side Invitation to the event celebrating the symbolic “burning of the mortgage” when the debt was paid

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Photograph by Susan Davis

1908-2008

St. Clement’s Church

A DIFFERENT C H U R C H B U I L D I N G? nyone familiar with the blessings that led to the construction of St. Clement’s – the donation of the beautiful site, the splendid design by a gifted architect, the additions to its interior – might be forgiven their incredulity that some of the leadership of the church saw them only as a preface to the construction of a far more grandiose structure.

However, the restless pioneer spirit, questing for something bigger and better, was not to be denied, even in this quiet corner of Berkeley.

Shortly after the first service in early 1909, Lucien Lance, the Secretary of the Committee at St. Clement’s Chapel, referred to the newly constructed St. Clement’s as “the present temporary church building.” Similar thoughts were expressed in Vestry Minutes between 1912 and 1919. According to The Berkeley Churchman, November 1912, both St. Mark’s and All Souls church buildings were consecrated in a joint ceremony on October 17, 1912, but “St. Clement’s was not consecrated since it seems apparent that a larger church will soon be needed for the congregation…the parishioners of St. Clement’s feel the need of a new church, one that would be more in tone with the community…”

After being received into the Diocese as a parish in March 1926, and upon receiving title to the property from St. Mark’s, the vestry passed a resolution stating: “…that St. Clement’s Parish does take immediate steps to erect and build a church and parish house upon said property, and that said church and parish

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house shall be erected as a perpetual memorial to James Palache…”

Appropriate actions followed and planning took shape. By April 28, 1926, Architect Benjamin G. McDougall, in a letter to the vestry, presented two schemes for the new church building. He noted that number one would be best, but that he feared the cost of $60,000 would be excessive for the parish to undertake. “Number two is a more modest design,” he wrote, “and would make a very pleasing picture on the property.” The cost for that plan was $40,000.

It appears the vestry was interested in the former presentation, because a rendering of that building appeared on church stationery in 1927. In June 1931 the rector reported to the vestry that he had asked Mr. McDougall to revise the drawings for the new church building. Following that decision, a rendering of the number two building was used on the letterhead.

After late 1932 no further information about a major change in the church has been found in St. Clement’s Archives. We can only speculate about the reasons. One factor might have been the December 1932 departure of Rev. Lindley Miller, who seemed to have had a zest for building. A second reason could have been the fact that there was still considerable debt from the construction of the Parish House in 1926.

Finally, by 1933 the Great Depression undoubtedly was taking a toll on the finances of the church, as it did on so many others. Whatever the reason – perhaps all three - we do know that any further building plans were abandoned.

ENHANCEMENTS Subsequently, however, under the leadership of the Rev. J. Henry Thomas, who came to the parish in 1933, there were additions to the original building.

The first, in 1935, was an enlarged (18’ x 24’) chancel area to the east. At the same time, the north

Berkeley, California

Two proposals for a new church building, 1926 By architect Benjamin G. McDougall

Plan One

1908-2008

side of the church was pushed out and the present chapel area created. The chapel altar now stands in the place of the original kitchen. In 1941 the west end of the church was pushed out to add more seating, and the narthex added to dignify the entrance. The narthex was a memorial to Mr. Lucien C. Lance, who served the parish as vestryman, secretary, and senior warden from 1909 until his death in 1941, and also to his wife. The rector’s office and the sacristy also were renovated at that time. It was not until the early 1960’s that the rector’s office was moved from the church to Palache Hall to be closer to the church office. In its place the Prentiss Room was installed, to be used by the clergy for vesting.

Further expansion to the church building was discussed. Plans were drawn up in 1957 to increase the seating from 174 to 224 or even to 306, but these projects were never pursued. A cupola and bell were added to the east side of the building in 1969.

Over the years there were other major changes to the inside of the building. In 1930 an 8’ x 14’ organ room was built in the former Guild Hall space; and in December 1987 the Griffith Room was put in place, completing the upgrade of that area. Earlier in 1987 the oak reredos, designed and built by Theron (Ted) Turner, a local carpenter, was installed behind the main altar. It was funded by the St. Clement’s Altar Guild and three parishioners in honor of the ministry of then-rector, Gordon Griffith. The Children’s Choir Stalls were given as a memorial to Douglas Drew McConnell by his wife Marion in April 1993.

Plan Two

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St. Clement’s Church

T H E S T A I N E D G L ASS WINDOWS

erhaps the loveliest features of the church building are the stained glass windows.

Most were made by The Judson Studios of Los Angeles and were memorial gifts. If one enters the darkened church on a sunny day, it has oft been said that the scene reminds one of the upper chapel of La SainteChapelle in Paris. Mr. H. Douglas Judson called the church a “jewel box.”

The history of the windows is fascinating. It covers a span of 48 years, from 1939 to the completion in 1987. The first installed window depicts Christ in Glory, the center window over the altar, and the last are the St. Cecelia and the Father Serra windows, on the farthest north side, out of sight from the main body of the church.

Over the years the plan for the subjects and placement of the windows changed many times. The donors had a voice in these decisions. Now, on completion, the sequences are as follows: baptismal-themed windows are in the doors near the font; the life of Christ is depicted in the eight windows on the south wall; the Narthex doors, windows, and screens contain mostly religious symbols; and the windows of the north wall are of saints, often with symbols meaningful to the donors.

Correspondence in the church files between the donors and The Judson Studios and the church gives the reader a clue as to how the windows were designed.

Judson’s were masters not only of their artistry and craft, but experts in Christian knowledge. They

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seemed happy to conduct no end of research for a donor and, on the other hand, happy to make changes in a design to suit the donor. Correspondence with Dr. Hine, the donor of the St. Clement window, gets down to the size of the urn at St. Clement’s feet and the choice and number of flowers in the vase. Other donors asked to have other changes made, such as facial expression, or symbols added to the projected designs, called “cartoons” by Judson’s.

The lower section of some of the windows, called a “ventilator,” is hinged so that it can be opened. This cost $50 more in the 1970’s. All window designs do not allow for this feature, and it was always a subject for discussion and decision.

These precious windows have twice suffered vandalism but were reparable. The first occurrence was in the 1960’s, when the windows over the altar suffered six BB shot holes delivered with a sling shot; and the second was the disappearance of the ventilator section of the St. Joseph of Arimathea window.

Those who presently enjoy the beauty of these windows owe so much to the generous parishioners who gave them; to the rectors who guided the process; and to The Judson Studios, whose heart is in every window. Judson has a reputation far and wide. One of their most notable projects is the Faceted Glass Dalles in the Protestant Chapel of the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.

So, St. Clement’s has a Willis Polk building with Judson Studios windows. What a treasure!

Berkeley, California

1908-2008

Stained glass is the only art in the service of Christian worship wholly developed during the Christian era.

The Story of Stained Glass The Stained Glass Association of America

The Rose Window

On the unveiling of the main window above the altar in 1939, a brief description of the window was printed by the company and handed out to the congregation….

“The idea of the window is expressed in the words, “My peace I leave with you.”

This peace which passes all understanding was given to all men (sic) throughout the world by means of the twelve Apostles depicted by stars in the background. The vine in the border is symbolic of the Sacrament of Holy Communion by means of which we may be in constant living union with Him who is our peace.

Above the Vine the flames remind us of the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost which conveys peace to the world.”

Horace T. Judson The Judson Studios: Designers and Craftsmen of Stained and Facetted Glass and Mosaic since 1897

The Christ in Glory Window

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St. Clement’s Church

N E E D LE P O I N T KNEELERS

Other items designed and worked by Deedee Martin include:

• the wedding kneeler, white on white crosses • the kneelers for the priests, near the choir stalls, in honor of the Rev. Gordon Griffith • a needlepoint bench cover for the harpsichord

he needlepoint kneelers at the St. Clement’s altar were designed by Sally Reid of Los Angeles, with the help of Deedee Martin, who suggested that crosses and flowers be used, with the colors of red, green, white, and gold. In 1971 the first design arrived, and new designs continued through 1976.

The kneelers include: • 1971 – Latin cross with lilies - Deedee Martin • 1974 – Jerusalem cross (Crusaders’ Cross) with

holly - Lynn Heimbucher

Celtic cross with poppies -

Deedee Martin and Elizabeth Steward

• 1975 – Canterbury cross with ivy Lynn Heimbucher

St. Clement’s cross with daisies Deedee Martin

Cross Cercelie with pomegranates Deedee Martin

• 1976 – Alpha and Omega with gold crown Deedee Martin

Chi Rho Sigma of Christ with gold crown Deedee Martin

IHC in Latin Form with gold crown Deedee Martin

Plain red kneelers in decorative stitch were worked by

Deedee Martin, Elizabeth Steward, Lynn Heimbucher, Marily Johnson.

Designs on the main altar kneeling cushions

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Berkeley, California

1908-2008

S t . Clement’s Parish The M iddle and Later Years

The St. Clement’s Chapel, c.1960. The Christus, inspired by “The Christ of the Andes,” was carved by the Rev. and Mrs. Matthew Bigliardi in the 1950’s

t. Clement’s congregants always have taken great pride in the beauty and vibrancy of their church and the community house that adjoins it. These are the products of a common effort, one in which individuals, sometimes well-off and sometimes less so, worked hard and selflessly to build a home for their community of worship. Financial contributions were key but so were parishioners’ efforts to invest these physical structures with the spiritual values upon which our faith is based.

The services of traditional liturgy and the sacraments are central to worship at St. Clement’s.

These are augmented by Christian education for the

parish children as well as for the adults, by the choirs that add beauty to ritual, and by guilds that seek to do good works in support of church members and the community at large.

In these endeavors the leadership of the clergy is essential. They define the standards, they articulate the moral needs, and they provide the necessary inspiration when times demand it, most often harmoniously, but sometimes less so. Through the years St. Clement’s has been blessed with outstanding leaders when they have been most needed. Their contributions to both church and community chart the growth of our parish.

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St. Clement’s Church

TH E R E V E R E N D JOSEPH H E N R Y T H O M A S , D . D .

(1933-1956)

The Rev. Joseph Henry Thomas arrived at St. Clement’s from the Missionary District of Eastern Oregon on January 1, 1933. It was a period of difficult times for the church, as the Great Depression wreaked its economic and human havoc across the nation.

Fortunately the Reverend Thomas was a highly gifted leader whose life experiences and training had prepared him to deal with almost any issue or crisis. Born in 1884 in Liverpool, England, he enlisted in the British Army at age 18. His tours of duty included that nation’s defense of the Khyber Pass in India. Later as a civilian he moved to Bombay where he studied and received a Schoolmaster’s Certificate. At age 22 - 26 -

he married Jennie Bradley, a commitment that was to last seventy years. They had three children, two boys and a girl.

After India the Thomases emigrated to Winnipeg, Canada, where he studied at St. John’s Seminary and was ordained to the priesthood in 1916. For the next nine years he ministered to three small mission churches outside Winnipeg, before the family once again crossed frontiers to settle in Klamath Falls, Oregon. Here Fr. Thomas served the Church of St. Paul, established a radio Sunday School of the Air, and served as Archdeacon of Southeastern Oregon, conducting services at the Chiloquin Indian Reservation. He also helped raise funds to build the mission church of St. Barnabas in the Langell Valley near Klamath, which has since served that farming community for over eighty years.

When he arrived at St. Clement’s in 1933, Fr. Thomas immediately confronted a series of difficult problems. A year earlier the vestry had obtained a Bank of America loan of $1,500 to meet expenses.

The sexton’s salary had been reduced, and salaries for

The Rectory, 2733 Ashby Avenue. 1937-1949

Berkeley, California

members of the choir had been cut off. The organist was let go in 1933, and the vestry had projected that a new one could not be hired until the fall of 1934.

The debt on the new organ, purchased in 1929, was only partially paid. The debt on the Community House (Palache Hall) was over $22,000. In light of the church’s crushing load of debt, hopes for the construction of a rectory on the church property were cancelled by the vestry in 1933.

Nevertheless, under Fr. Thomas’ leadership, whose personal stewardship pledge in 1933 was his salary, parishioners addressed these issues vigorously and successfully. The church building was enlarged twice, once in 1935 and again in 1941. Interior upgrades were made. The organ debt was paid off, largely due to a bequest to the parish in the 1932 will of Miss Anna Head, a long time member of the church and founder of Miss Head’s Preparatory School for Girls in Berkeley. The church grounds were landscaped. The first rectory was purchased by the parish in October 1937. Designed by Julia Morgan, a well-known local architect, it was located at 2733 Ashby Avenue, a mere eight-minute walk from the church. In 1945 the debt on Palache Hall was retired. This in turn cleared the way for the vestry to sell the Ashby Avenue property and purchase, in 1949, the present rectory adjacent to Palache Hall. By the time of Fr. Thomas’ retirement in 1956 the parish had doubled in size.

As notable as Fr. Thomas’ leadership was on the material side of St. Clement’s, it comes second to his spiritual leadership during those years. The trying times of World War II were strongly felt in the parish.

The War in Europe began on September 1, 1939, with Germany’s invasion of Poland. In a letter to the congregation just before Armistice Day 1939, he wrote: “Our times are out of joint. Hate is rampant in the world. Pessimism is pervasive at home. Men’s hearts are ... failing them for fear.

1908-2008

There is distress of nations. November 11th and Sunday, November 12th, are dates of peculiar significance in view of the world’s cataclysm.

Assemble with me …on Sunday, November 12th in intercession and remembrance.

Intercession that Grace may heal the hurts of the day and remembrance of the price that others paid in 1917-1918 that we might avoid transitory beguilements and live for, and cherish eternal values…”

He concluded with a quote from a letter written by Bishop Block: ‘Values that are essential to our lives…are being destroyed by a resurgent paganism. It is now Christ or chaos...’ ” Records indicate the church was actively involved in the war effort from the beginning. Groups engaged in war relief activities were welcomed by the rector and vestry to use Palache Hall for their purposes. The largest of these groups was the Claremont Branch of the American Red Cross, which used it for a variety of classes and other endeavors. They were joined by British War Relief and for a time by French War Relief groups. As the war progressed doctors and psychiatric workers also used it for training purposes, and the Red Cross began classes for occupational therapists to aid in the rehabilitation of the wounded and shell-shocked men returning from war.

In discussing the church’s involvement in community activities in 1944, Fr. Thomas stated: “St. Clement’s has achieved distinction amongst the churches in the East Bay for what it has done and is doing in the community.” He maintained that the Claremont Auxiliary to the Red Cross was enabled to be so productive in the war effort because the church so freely placed its facilities at its disposal. He said, “it is my high hope that until the end of the war the Church will display the same ungrudging and ready spirit.”

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St. Clement’s Church

The chapel altar served as a War Shrine during World War II. Note the parish Service Flag, with the framed Honor Roll on either side

Fr. Thomas routinely recited prayers for peace, for success of arms, for civilian victims of the war, for the well-being and safe return of Allied military personnel engaged in the fighting, and for the bereaved families of those not returning.

In 1942 he requested that the Property Committee purchase sand and make other adequate preparations for the defense and protection of the church property in the event of a bombing raid. Later the Red Cross Auxiliary prepared the Parish House for use as a disaster hospital, with a store of blankets and other supplies on hand should an emergency arise.

The chapel altar was designated a “War Shrine,” and as the war progressed there were 168 names of service men and women on the parish Honor Roll.

Their names were read regularly, and special prayers were offered for them at the shrine. Christmas parcels and Reader’s Digest subscriptions were sent, and “an unending stream of letters from the rector’s pen” offered spiritual strength to these men and women.

One of them, a prisoner of war in Germany, learned to embroider linens for the church altar in the prison camp. He also grew flowers for the altar from seeds

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sent by the Red Cross. The Parish Service Flag, which initially hung above the Chapel Altar, can be seen today in Palache Hall.

The parish as a whole contributed generously to the Army and Navy Commission for the support of the five hundred Episcopal chaplains (far above the quota) serving in the Armed Forces.

Ten young men from St. Clement’s Parish gave their lives in this war. They were honored at a special Armistice Day Service in 1950. Two new stained glass windows above the altar, St. John the Baptist and St. Paul, were unveiled at that service.

At the cessation of open hostilities after WWII, St. Clement’s Church founded a Living Memorial at Church Divinity School of the Pacific in memory of the fallen from the parish. The Living Memorial was designed to help educate young men through the Divinity School “that they may become messengers of peace.”

Fr. Thomas was awarded a D.D. in 1956 from CDSP for his training of seminarians in pastoral work.

At the end of that year he retired and moved to San Mateo, where he continued ministerial work. At age 85 he again retired from active ministry, and he and his wife joined their daughter Elizabeth in Oakland, where he lived until his death in 1980 at age 96.

Service Cross distributed during World War II

by Episcopal Chaplains of America’s Armed Services

Berkeley, California

THE REVEREND CANON C H A R L E S M O RT I M E R GUILBERT (1957-1961) The long, successful ministry of the Rev. Joseph Henry Thomas was followed by two relatively brief rectorships. The St. Clement’s Vestry called the Rev. Canon Charles Mortimer Guilbert in the fall of 1956. Canon Guilbert had served for twelve years in the Diocese of Oregon before coming to San Francisco in 1949, where he spent eight years as Director of Christian Education and of Promotion and Publicity for the Diocese. He was Editor of The Pacific Churchman, a special lecturer in Canon Law at CDSP, a member of the Diocesan departments of Christian Education and Finance, and a trustee of St. Margaret’s House.

During his four-year tenure he had three prioritiesChristian Education: to make the 9:15 service more

1908-2008

family oriented and to start teacher training using the new Seabury curriculum which he helped to develop; Stewardship Education: “we are not so much concerned with increased financial support, important though that is; but, rather, with training people to give gladly, from grateful hearts, in proportion as God has given to them, for their souls’ sake;” Evangelism: within the church boundaries, i.e. parish home visiting. He also presided over the events celebrating the Fiftieth Anniversary of the St. Clement’s Parish.

The 1957 statistics for Christian Education are worth noting. There were 16 Sunday School teachers, 16 associates, 11 substitutes, 4 seminarian counselors, and 3 administrative workers to tend to the needs of 230 children, with an average attendance of 125 on Sundays. There were 29 boy acolytes, 15 serving every Sunday.

In an early interview with the vestry Canon Guilbert described himself as “slightly to the right of center” in matters of churchmanship (a little on the AngloCatholic side); he believed in more meaningful participation in ceremonial. At the 1959 Annual Meeting he expressed concern about how few people were attending the once-a-month Communion held at the 11 a.m. service on the first Sunday. “Does this indicate a slackening of devotion to Our Lord in his Sacrament? If so, it is very serious indeed.

We are a community of people constituted by the Eucharist – and apart from our regular reception of the Sacrament our strength withers and our growth and health deteriorate.”

During 1960 the number of Communion services increased to the first Sunday of the month at 11 a.m., the fourth Sunday at 9 a.m. and every week at the 7:30 a.m. Sunday service. At the 1960 Annual Meeting the rector spoke clearly once again about the lack of participation in Holy Communion and his belief that not more than a third of the congregation took Communion as frequently as once a month. He

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St. Clement’s Church

is quoted as saying: “We are a sacramental church.

The altar - not the pulpit - is the center of our worship. The Body and Blood of our Redeemer is our spiritual substance. The statistics would indicate that as a Parish we are suffering from spiritual starvation – or at least malnutrition.”

The Vestry Minutes of February 26, 1961, note: “Canon Guilbert submitted his resignation as Rector, effective May 31, 1961, to assume the position of Secretary of the National Council of the Protestant Episcopal Church.”

THE REVEREND ELVIN WOODROW SMITH (1961-1965)

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The Rev. Elvin Woodrow Smith became Rector at St. Clement’s in September 1961. He was 48 years old and a graduate of Santa Barbara State College.

He later earned an LLB from the University of California and a BD from CDSP. During his tenure Fr. Smith introduced several new programs and strategies. He formed a Strategy Committee to set short and long-term objectives for the parish. He called mid-year parish meetings, “to arouse fruitful discussions.” He established the St. Clement’s Foundation, “to deepen and broaden our abilities for Christian responsibility.” He employed the talents of a “special group of Consultants,” although there is no additional information about why or how. He enlarged the Visiting Committee.

He also addressed the changing role of women in the church, noting the abolishing of the word “Auxiliary” attached to women’s groups, so as to encourage women’s equal-status membership and participation in church affairs. He also noted that nationally women were being elected to vestries and diocesan conventions and would likely soon be elected to the National Convention.

Under his leadership the number of communicants rose from 421 to 443.

Apparently, in spite of these positive programs Fr. Smith failed to meet the expectations of the vestry.

Dissatisfaction with his performance gradually increased. After numerous attempts to reconcile the two, vestry and parishioners eventually became emotionally split on whether or not he should remain at St. Clement’s. By June 1965 he had resigned.

Berkeley, California

THE REVEREND GORDON DAVID GRIFFITH,Th.D. (1965-1987)

After the departure of the Rev. Elvin Smith in June 1965, the priest called to replace him was to be another long-term outstanding leader, greatly needed in a turbulent time. The Rev. Gordon David Griffith would serve both St. Clement’s and the Berkeley community for over twenty-two years. He had a love for the church, for humanity, and a keen interest in almost everything. Under his leadership the parish would grow and thrive.

When he came to St. Clement’s the congregation was divided and demoralized. The community of Berkeley and its university were in the midst of a

1908-2008

decade of turbulence, student uprisings, protests, the counter-culture movement, anti-war demonstrations, elementary school busing, and a riot that required the intervention of the National Guard.

That a traditional Episcopal church could not only exist, but thrive, in the midst of these events is a testimony to Fr. Griffith’s fine leadership and his own strong principles. Although he was not afraid to express his convictions, he firmly believed that church services were for the worship of God, and he made sure that they were conducted with a dignity appropriate to the house of God. On one occasion, when three parishioners were running for the Berkeley City Council, one of them asked to speak in church.

Fr. Griffith would not give his permission for this. He also refused when some women of the parish asked him to make a public statement in support of mandatory school busing, a highly emotional issue at the time.

At the height of the unrest in Berkeley, Mayor Wallace Johnson called for a rally on the Fourth of July to promote peace and understanding among the varied elements of the local population. Mayor Johnson wanted to have a Berkeley religious leader on the program. Such an assignment, in the riotous climate of the times, was not a comfortable place to be. Fr. Gordon Griffith was the sole volunteer from the religious community. The rally was a successful effort in helping to calm the situation.

Gordon’s sense of the fitness of things also extended to his civic activities. When the rector of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Berkeley, wanted him to cancel a Boy Scout Court of Honor for an Eagle Scout in order to march in a Vietnam War protest, he refused.

For him the Court of Honor was a higher priority.

Fr. Griffith’s personal interests extended into the community, and he served on boards and as an officer of many public-benefiting organizations, such as the Red Cross, Alta Bates Hospital, YMCA, and Rotary, among others. He sincerely enjoyed people and had

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St. Clement’s Church

friends in the civic, social, academic, and business areas of Berkeley. Many of them became parishioners.

During his tenure he added a 9:15 Family Service to the 8:00 and 11:00 o’clock services. In between the two later services, he conducted intellectually stimulating and challenging adult education lectures.

There was also a service of Holy Communion each Wednesday noon; and for many years he conducted a service of Evensong every evening for one person, an Englishwoman who was headmistress of a private elementary school in Berkeley.

As the parish grew he sought enjoyable ways for members to become better acquainted. One such event was the popular Supper Club, a church-wide pot-luck held once a month. These always included a good speaker, often an acquaintance of his from the University of California. Another was the Men’s Annual Dinner, with an “attitude adjustment hour” at the beginning of the evening. He loved playing the

drums, and an impromptu band, The Clementines, was formed. Their performances enlivened the annual Crab Feed and other parish gatherings. He also started the Rally Day around-the-block marches, led by bagpipers; a living Nativity; and he organized and led a parish trip to the Holy Land. He was very partial to the 1928 edition of the Book of Common Prayer, as were most parishioners at that time, and it remained in use throughout his tenure.

In 1979 Fr. Griffith was proposed by the St. Clement’s congregation as a candidate for Bishop, to succeed Bishop C. Kilmer Myers. However, in spite of an enthusiastic campaign he was not selected. The Rev. William E. Swing was chosen to fill the position.

On the occasion of Bishop Swing’s first visit to St. Clement’s, he was welcomed by The Clementines playing “When the Saints Go Marching In,” with Fr. Griffith on the drums – inside the church! It was an unforgettable experience for the Bishop.

Bagpipers lead the annual September Rally Day march around the block to celebrate the start of the Sunday School Year

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Berkeley, California

Gordon loved music and had a fine tenor voice. He believed that music was an integral part of the worship service, but he also loved leading impromptu group singing. On one very special occasion he had the pleasure of conducting the Cal Band during half time of a football game.

During his tenure membership doubled, the operating budget and outreach grew, and the current pipe organ was installed in 1973. In 1983 The Gordon Griffith Endowment Fund was established in his honor by parishioners. The purpose of the Fund is to lay a permanent foundation for the preservation and improvement of the physical facilities of the Parish.

Gordon David Griffith was born in Hamilton, N.S.W., Australia on June 21, 1921. When he was eighteen he served for two years in the Australian Military forces in the Eighth Garrison Company, First Field Ambulance Brigade. After his discharge he went on to earn six academic degrees (Th.L., 2 B.A.s, M. Div., M.A., and Th.D.) from universities in Australia, the University of Oxford, England, and the General Theological Seminary in New York, in several instances graduating with distinction and honors.

Fr. Griffith then served churches in Australia, England, New York, and Maine, before being called as Assistant Rector to Trinity Church, San Jose, California, in 1963. During these years he also taught classes in the English Bible, (General Theological Seminary, New York), Old Testament, Hebrew, Greek and Latin (St. John’s College, N.S.W.), and philosophy and ethics (at an auxiliary campus of the University of Sydney, in Newcastle). He received numerous academic awards, scholarships and fellowships. His many published works include: “A History of the Interpretation of the Bible,” “The Dead Sea Scrolls,” and a summary and dissertation entitled “Authority and Revelation in Anglican Theology.”

He married Natalie Laidlaw, June 17, 1952, and

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they had four children, Samuel, Melinda, John, and Angela, all of whom grew up in the rectory on Claremont Boulevard.

In August of 1965, when the St. Clement’s Search Committee and Vestry unanimously chose him to be the new rector, they found that delivering the call to him was another matter. It required the help of the postmaster in Gold Beach, Oregon, where the family was vacationing – with no telephone and before cell phones. The postmaster finally found him and delivered the message to contact the church.

Fr. Griffith retired at the end of December 1987 and was named Rector Emeritus the following year.

He died at his home in Santa Rosa, California, on February 26, 2004.

Fr. Gordon Griffith, Drummer, c.1975 A man of many talents - 33 -

St. Clement’s Church

TH E R E V E R E N D RICH A R D WA R W I C K MAPP L E B E C K PA L M E R (1988-1989)

Toward the end of the long and successful tenure of Gordon Griffith, knowing it would be no easy task to replace him, the congregation began the search for their next rector.

During the search period the Rev. Wilfred H. Hodgkin was called to St. Clement’s as an Interim Rector, to help in the transition period from a longterm and beloved rector to a new, unknown, and untried pastor.

Members of the search committee traveled to the Diocese of Oxford in England and interviewed the Rev. Richard Warwick Mapplebeckpalmer. Richard was born near London, graduated from Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, and studied for ordination at Cuddeson College, Oxford. He was ordained a deacon in 1958, then as a priest in 1959, at York Minster.

Following ordination he served as a Chaplain for the Territorial Army for 21 years. From 1979 to 1988 he served a rural parish of five villages near Oxford.

When called as rector of St. Clement’s, he moved his wife and two young children to Berkeley in May of 1988.

St. Clement’s had high hopes that under the leadership of Fr. Mapplebeckpalmer the congregation’s good fortune would continue. Sadly that was not to be. Soon after his arrival conflicts occurred. After mediation with assistance from the Diocesan Office of the Bishop, it was concluded that a dissolution of

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the pastoral relationship was unavoidable. When this occurred in 1989 some members of St. Clement’s followed Richard to the Grace Institute of Religious Learning, a congregation he founded in north Berkeley.

The months that followed were difficult ones for the parish, and the schism took time to heal.

Several Interim Rectors were called to help with the reconciliation process and to keep the business of the church moving forward. The Reverends Tally Jarrett, Wilfred Hodgkin once again, and Richard Paul Vaggione, OHC (Order of the Holy Cross) all served during the period from July 1989 through August 1990.

When asked about the Interim Process in general, Fr. Vaggione wrote: “One of the purposes of an interim period is to allow a parish to look at its needs and identity apart from any particular pastor. That’s one of the reasons it’s best if it isn’t rushed. The Interim Rector’s job is to guide that process (not, however, the selection process). In St. Clement’s case, because there had been a long pastorate with a very definite character, followed by a short one that ended unfortunately, one of our goals was simply to restore ‘normality’ – worship, fellowship, and reconciliation – and to enable the parish to get on with its life.”

Berkeley, California

THE REVEREND RUDO L P H J O H N S O N , P h . D .

(1990-1995)

The Rev. Rudolph Johnson arrived at St. Clement’s in September 1990 and served in an interim capacity, until April 1991. His appointment to the position of permanent rector in early 1991 was a further step in the healing of the Parish after its several years of interim rectors. Spiritually he was a true “father” to his flock. His sermons were of love, kindness, and building bridges, conveying a sense of permanence and stability after a time of crisis. His experience in education and love of church history made him an excellent teacher. His regular Sunday adult education classes were very well attended. During his tenure

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church membership grew, with many new families attending services.

The first major challenge Fr. Johnson and St. Clement’s faced together came from outside the parish - the Oakland/Berkeley Firestorm, which started on Saturday, October 19, 1991, as a small brush fire outside the east portal of the Caldecott Tunnel. Firefighters thought they had brought it under control. Sunday morning dawned hot and windy, and the Diablo winds fanned a spark that set off the worst disaster to occur in the San Francisco area since the 1906 earthquake.

On Sunday afternoon, as the fire approached the Claremont Hotel, just above the church, an evacuation was ordered. Fr. Rudy Johnson, and his wife Marge, aided by several parishioners, packed up their two cars and drove to the home of parishioners in El Cerrito, intent on saving church records, silver, and vestments. Fortunately, the fire line was held at the back of the hotel, and the church buildings were saved. A few days later it was possible to return to the church, and on Wednesday, October 23rd, at 8 a.m. the fire was declared under control – almost 72 hours after it had started.

St. Clement’s parishioners mobilized immediately in response to the tragedy. Housing was found for those in need. The church office served as a clearing house for information on fire-related matters. Mary Ann Hurlburt, the parish secretary, kept invaluable records of where displaced people could be found and how they could be reached. Clothing and household items were donated. Sunday School children were asked to bring a toy or gift for those children who had lost everything. Each parishioner who had lost his/her home received a check for $1000 “to help replace the endless things that cost money.” The money was sent from the Diocese through St. Clement’s and “was not charity…but brother and sister reaching out to share.”

On October 27th there was a meeting in Palache Hall

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for those who had lost their homes. Bishop William E. Swing of the Diocese of California was present, and a counselor led the meeting. Two days later the parish hosted a fellowship dinner for the residents of Hiller Highlands, with the purpose of providing a place for people to sit down informally and talk about issues affecting their properties. Palache Hall was made available for community gatherings throughout the first year after the fire.

The Oakland/Berkeley Firestorm was the equivalent of a 107-alarm fire. 3,354 houses were lost, as were 437 apartments and condominiums. 25 people died; 150 were injured. 17 St. Clement’s families lost their homes. The total economic loss passed 1.5 billion dollars.

The fire approaches the Claremont Hotel

The second challenge came from within the parish how to adapt to use of the 1979 Book of Common Prayer. In 1993 the vestry supported Fr. Johnson in increased use of the Book. As often happens, a few parishioners decided to leave in protest, but the

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majority, although not completely happy, remained.

The third major challenge came when it was learned that Palache Hall, an un-reinforced masonry building, would be unsafe in an earthquake. Fr. Johnson became a firm advocate for the retrofitting of Palache Hall.

He said “we have no choice in the matter; it is the right thing to do.” With his encouragement plans for the retrofitting and remodeling of the hall were completed; money was raised in difficult times; and work started. During construction it was necessary to vacate the entire hall, and he and his wife moved back to their home in Pleasanton so the rectory could be used for Sunday School classes and other church activities.

The Rev. Rudolph Johnson was born in Boulder, Colorado, where his father was an attorney and state senator. His mother, who was a lecturer on the Chautauqua circuit, died at age 39. Fr. Johnson was raised by his father’s sister and her husband, who belonged to the Lutheran Church.

After graduating from the University of Colorado, Fr. Johnson served in the military and then attended Stanford University for graduate study. It was there that he met and married his wife Marguerite McNair in 1958. They have two children.

While working in education he decided to go into the Lutheran Ministry and attended Lutheran Theological Seminary, earning an M.Div. As a Lutheran pastor he developed two new parishes in Sacramento and Palo Alto, the latter being a mission to Stanford students and faculty.

Fr. Johnson left the Lutheran ministry, obtained a Ph.D. from Stanford, and took a post as an administrator in the Palo Alto School District.

He also worked as a consultant in Sacramento and Washington D.C. and was appointed to a state committee on education.

By this time he and Marge were active Episcopalians, and he yearned to re-enter the ministry. With the

Berkeley, California

encouragement of Bishop William E. Swing he was ordained and became the priest-in-charge at Trinity Church, Hayward. There he was successful in rebuilding a deeply divided church. When a court settlement awarded the church property to one segment of the congregation, it was necessary to incorporate a new parish, Holy Cross, buy property, and build a new church.

The Rev. Rudolph Johnson’s full tenure at St. Clement’s lasted from September 1990 until June 1995, when he resigned for health reasons.

Fr. Johnson’s departure led to another interim period for the parish, one that was to last for two years. The Rev. Robert McCann served from August 1995 through July 1996, to be followed by the Rev. Malcolm C. Young, September 1996-August 1997.

Each priest brought his own talents to the parish. Fr. Rob McCann, having served at a neighboring church, was acquainted with many parishioners. He was a man with a keen sense of humor who liked people, enjoyed our parish, and had an interest in the welfare of our flock. Fr. Young, at one time a U.C. Berkeley student who attended St. Clement’s during his college years, had been hired as an Assistant by Fr. Johnson in August 1994. After assuming responsibility as Interim Rector in 1996, he was called upon to oversee the planning and fundraising connected with the renovation of Palache Hall, as well as to keep general parish activities on track in the midst of ongoing construction, all from his temporary office in a trailer parked at the curb on Claremont Boulevard! He presided over the re-dedication of Palache Hall in June 1997, shortly before departing to enter a doctoral program at Harvard Divinity School.

PALACH E H A L L R E T R O F I T Sixty-two years after the dedication of Palache Hall, a large earthquake struck the San Francisco

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Bay Area in 1989. It shook the City of Berkeley into developing a “required repair” list of un-reinforced masonry buildings in 1992. Palache Hall was on the list. Andy Ball, contractor and member of St. Clement’s, was named Building Committee Chair.

Under his leadership the congregation chose to accept the proposal of John Malick, architect and also a member of St. Clement’s, to “preserve and enhance the original architecture.”

In an introductory letter to the Vestry Mr. Malick wrote: “Palache Hall is more than a building. It is a symbol of continuity which traces the layers of history that brought us here. It recalls our older, deeper roots. It gives us a sense of time as well as place. It is a built gift from earlier generations to our own. In preserving it we honor our past as well as our future.

When Palache Hall was built, it was intended to fill an entirely different set of needs. The hall consists of classrooms and an auditorium. No provision was made for offices, music, rehearsal rooms, small meeting rooms, storage, acoustics, or security. The basic enclosure and the symbolism is appropriate for St. Clement’s…The challenge is to adapt the building to meet our current diverse needs, while preserving its remarkable character…

In short, the building looks right for St. Clement’s. Now it must be made to work right for St. Clement’s.”

A major fund-raising campaign ensued. The building was vacated on May 31, 1995, and on August 1st construction began. Slightly less than two years later the retrofit project was completed and the building brought up to code in all safety and handicapped aspects.

More spectacularly, Mr. Malick had matched the interior in Tudor style to its original Tudor exterior.

The main hall was transformed into a baronial hall of hand-crafted beauty. Newly created meeting rooms and administrative offices were designed with classical ornamentation and a vibrant, traditionally inspired - 37 -

St. Clement’s Church

color palette. The new oak doors were designed by Mr. Malick in the 16th Century Tudor tradition.

Wrought iron gates now enclose the courtyard between the church and hall and mirror the main gates of Claremont Court. Two of the new walkways feature memorial bricks purchased by members of the congregation.

At the re-dedication ceremonies for the hall on June 8, 1997, Bishop Swing announced: “This is the best parish hall I have ever seen anywhere. It is the finest in all Christendom. You have blown me away!”

Palache Hall now houses the church offices on the main floor. The large hall with its stage is used for social, educational, and cultural events. Behind the stage is an elegant, small, cherry-paneled library, which doubles as a bride’s room for the many weddings held in the church. Between the hall and offices is a kitchen and a paneled conference room with all the modern facilities for multi-media presentations. Three large painting reproductions hang on the walls of the long hall from the entry door to the church offices, given by parishioners many years ago – “Joseph and Dreams” (original, 1781), “Abraham Sending Off Hagar” (16th Century), and “Madonna and Child” (unknown). Just outside the library hangs the beautifully framed old processional banner of St. Clement of Alexandria.

The top floor is devoted to a nursery, Sunday School classrooms, and a children’s chapel. The lower floor houses the music department, with a rehearsal room, robing room, and office. On this level is also a room for the EYC, the church youth group.

The earthquake retrofitting and beautiful renovation were done at a cost of $1,400,000. John Malick & Associates were the architects, and Andreoni & Stanton was the construction company.

Newly renovated Palache Hall

The Judy Davis Library

“Catherine & Al Orselli Hall”

The EYC Room

Photographs by Susan Davis

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New gates and terrace between church and hall. Gates are a memorial to Franklin S. Malick, Inventor, Mountaineer

Berkeley, California

THE REVEREND BRUC E D O U G L A S O’ N E I L L (1997-present)

By September 1, 1997, the Rev. Bruce O’Neill had accepted the call to St. Clement’s and was ready to begin his ministry. During his tenure the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, occurred, and as a result church attendance rose. Another uncertain year was 2003. The country was at war, the economy was on a roller coaster, and both the Episcopal Church USA and the Anglican Communion faced schism.

However, as the Rector noted, “there have been many changes in the world, yet St. Clement’s has weathered well…while there is controversy over various issues in the Episcopal Church, as well as wide-ranging views on other political issues, St. Clement’s continues to be a place for a diverse group to gather in worship and fellowship.”

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Locally, St. Clement’s navigated difficult conversations with the Diocese with respect to property ownership and reached a compromise agreeable to both parties. The church has strengthened its relationship with the Church Divinity School of the Pacific, and in the Fall of 2009 welcomed the fifteenth Field Education student. The Endowment and Reserve Funds have grown from $100,000 to $2.5 million at their peak.

Fr. O’Neill grew up in the East Bay and was sponsored for ordination by St. Anselm’s Church, Lafayette, California. He married Michele Lemm on July 2, 1994, at St. Clement’s, with the Rt. Rev. William E. Swing and the Rev. Dean Wolfe presiding. Their son Jeremy was born in 1999. Fr. O’Neill graduated from U.C. Berkeley, with majors in English and Social Welfare. After graduation he worked as an Employee Benefits Consultant with the San Francisco law firm Pillsbury, Madison, Sutro. He enrolled at Virginia Theological Seminary in the Master in Divinity program in 1990. Between his second and third year there, he served an internship at Christ Episcopal Church in Los Altos. After graduation in 1994 he was ordained a deacon, then a priest in 1995, both at Grace Cathedral. Before coming to St. Clement’s he served as Associate Rector of St. Bede’s in Menlo Park.

Fr. O’Neill currently chairs the Personnel Practices Committee for the Diocese of California. He has served on the Board of Directors of Episcopal Charities and of both Stanford Canterbury and Berkeley Canterbury, where he also served as Board President.

From 1998-2003 he chaired the Department of Campus Ministry for the Diocese of California, and he is a former President of the Board of the Berkeley Food and Housing Project.

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St. Clement’s Church

“In the future I would like to see St. Clement’s continuing its mission and ministry with the strong foundation of our first century. We may be known for our traditional liturgy, but we are far from being the ‘frozen chosen.’ I would love to see us grow in number and in spirit by increasing our evangelism and outreach ministries.

The mission field in our own community is vast as we enter our second century together.”

- Fr. Bruce O’Neill

The present Rectory, 2833 Claremont Boulevard

St. Clement’s Church, 2009 Photographs by Susan Davis

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Berkeley, California

A S H O R T H I S TORY O F T H E L I T U R G Y AT ST. CLEMENT’S he Book of Common Prayer, which defines the liturgy, is at the heart of the Episcopal Church. One of the earliest liturgies was known as St. Mark’s, and the name associated with it was St. Clement of Alexandria, a philosopher and liturgist. It was deemed that St. Clement was an apt and fitting name for an Episcopal church in the large university center of Berkeley.

Was this a foreboding of the importance of liturgy to St. Clement’s rectors and parishioners?

The next mention of liturgy in the early documents of the church refers to the coming of the new and now famous Prayer Book to be published in 1928 to replace the 1892 edition. Most notably, the words “obey” and “endowment” in the marriage service were removed from this edition. St. Clement’s seemed to accept the new 1928 Prayer Book, as 150 of them, along with 30 new hymnals, were ordered in 1927.

Following years of work and experimentation by the Standing Liturgical Commission, the group charged

by General Conventions to draft policies with respect to the common worship of the Episcopal Church, the General Convention of 1979 approved a revised Book of Common Prayer to replace the 1928 Prayer Book. It introduced a distinctive change in language, rhythm, and format, as well as changes in special services. Thus began years of paper and oral dueling with the Diocese of California leadership over the reluctance of St. Clement’s to adopt the new 1979 Prayer Book.

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As time and new rectors came and went, St. Clement’s began to use the 1979 Prayer Book at weddings and some baptisms, on Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Palm Sunday and the Great Vigil, but never on Sunday. As late as 1987 the 1928 Prayer Book was given to newly-confirmed members.

In June of 1990 Bishop Swing visited the vestry.

The mutual agreement that resulted from this meeting stated that the 1979 Prayer Book would be put in the pews, that there would be study courses on the Prayer Book, that it would be used two or three times a year, and that St. Clement’s would use the new Lectionary.

Many parishioners were unhappy even with this pact; but the Rector, Fr. Rudy Johnson, torn by the continued pressure from the Diocese, his conscience, and the differing attitudes of the congregation, asked the vestry three years later to vote for the Prayer Book use that is in place today. On September 27, 1993, the Senior Warden sent a letter telling of the vestry’s action to all parishioners. On October 17th Bishop Swing presided at the 10 o’clock service using the 1979 Prayer Book. His sermon is on file and available.

On receipt of the Senior Warden’s letter some parishioners left St. Clement’s, and many were sad.

The beauty of the 1928 Prayer Book language seemed to fit St. Clement’s, and those who had heard it since childhood were sorely affected. The alternate choices of places to worship paled for most congregants, however, and the storm was weathered.

In 2009 St. Clement’s uses the 1928 Prayer Book at Wednesday morning Communion Services, the 8 o’clock Sunday Communion Services, and the 10 o’clock Morning Prayer Services on the 4th Sunday of the month. The 1979 Prayer Book is used at all other services.

In recent years Quiet Days have been offered to parishioners during Lent and Advent. A labyrinth for contemplative prayer was given to the church and is often used on those days.

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Over the years there has been increased lay participation in worship services. While Lay Eucharistic Ministers previously served at the 10 o’clock service, in 1997 they started serving at the 8 o’clock service as well. In addition the number of Lay Readers has grown. Beginning in 1999 some Lay Eucharistic Ministers have received further training through the diocese and have been licensed, not only to assist at services of Holy Communion, but also to take the sacraments to shut-ins in homes and hospitals.

The liturgy of St. Clement’s remains traditional in nature and conservative in style. As parishioner Reeves Cross said in 1972: “the services have dignity appropriate to the house of God - and you aren’t always wondering what’s going to happen next by way of Mickey Mouse liturgical stunts.”

The window of St. John the Divine on Patmos

Prayer Book Cross, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco Commemorates the first use of the Book of Common Prayer in California by Sir Francis Drake’s chaplain in 1579

Photograph by Susan Davis

Photograph courtesy of San Francisco Recreation and Parks

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Berkeley, California

S T . C L E M E N T ’ S IN THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH WORLD AND THE COMMUNITY he relationship of a church to a diocese is one of organization, financial support and spiritual guidance. The diocese, headed by a bishop, is the church’s link to the national church. The Episcopal Diocese of California, with headquarters at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, is comprised of eighty-two churches. The national headquarters of The Episcopal Church is in New York City, with the Presiding Bishop’s “Chair” in the National Cathedral in Washington D.C. St. Clement’s has sent delegates to the Annual Diocesan Convention since 1927, and over the years parishioners have served on many diocesan studies and committees. This means there is communication from church to diocese to national church. At present St. Clement’s quota to the Annual Convention is seven delegates. The number of delegates is related to membership numbers as reported in the annual parochial report.

Throughout its 100-year history, St. Clement’s has contributed funds to the Diocese. The interesting factor is that sometimes the amount was purely voluntary on the part of the church, and at other times the church was assessed a specific amount. Over the years St. Clement’s has at times asked to be relieved from making a full payment on an assessment. This usually happened when St. Clement’s was involved in

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a building or renovation program, or, as in 1989, a contract-fulfilling situation with a released priest.

St. Clement’s also has responded to requests from other Episcopalian entities, some of which have particular interest because their nature springs from circumstances so different from today. For example, in the late 1940’s St. Clement’s gave $400 to a Berkeley “Protestant Christian Education Council” that was trying to reach “un-churched students” in the Berkeley schools. Shortly after, however, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against religious education in the schools. Thus ended the Council. That same year the vestry was asked by the rector for a donation to the Bishops’ Bed Fund, a fund for sick clergy at St. Luke’s Hospital in San Francisco. This was evidently before health insurance for clergy. Also in 1949 the Vestry sent $250 to the National Church Radio Program, which had a very short life.

In the 1960’s race relations was a big issue everywhere. The Presiding Bishop in 1964 asked Episcopalians to face the truth about appalling injustices and “…not support forces of injustice with your silence.” The City of Berkeley formed a “Berkeley Community Relations Committee” to work on racial unfairness as it affected jobs, housing, and other social conditions. Several St. Clement’s parishioners were members of the local committee, and they prepared a pledge for parishioners, indicating that each one who signed would be a “Good Neighbor.” California State Proposition 14 became a cause célèbre. The intent of this Proposition was to allow real property owners to rent or sell to whomever they pleased, in opposition to the Rumford Act which ruled against discriminatory practices. The vestry was asked but refused to take a stand on the proposition. A few people left the church.

Both the California and the United States Supreme Courts eventually ruled against Proposition 14 because it violated the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. St. Clement’s apparently tried to help in

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St. Clement’s Church

racial concerns projects while staying clear of political stands. One such project supported monetarily by St. Clement’s was the West Berkeley Play School, a Head Start program at the Church of the Good Shepherd.

Berkeley churches are fortunate to have the Church Divinity School of the Pacific located here. During Fr. Thomas’ tenure an annual gift was made to the school.

Today St. Clement’s supports the seminary through its field education oversight program. Each year two or more seminarians from the school are invited to St. Clement’s for field work. They are welcomed warmly by parishioners and participate in all phases of Episcopal church life. The rector provides supervisory support and guidance. Currently he is working with his fifteenth student.

Contributions to the Diocese changed again in the 1960’s. The vestry voted to send 25% of pledged income in 1964. In 1965 the Diocese said their 25% assessment was only a guideline, so the vestry voted something less than 25%. In 1969 St. Clement’s pledged $13,000-$15,000 to the Diocese.

About this time reports of participation in Deanery meetings appear in various minutes. The Diocesan churches are divided into geographical sections called Deaneries. Each church, according to its size, has yearly dues and sends delegates to its meetings.

Deanery funds are distributed to local organizations in the form of grants. St. Clement’s record of participation in Deanery affairs is spotty. In fact one delegate reported to the vestry in 1964 that “Deanery meetings have lost their punch.” At the present time St. Clement’s supports the Alameda Deanery financially, and interested parishioners attend the meetings, which are held quarterly.

The late 1960’s and early 1970’s brought turmoil to the Episcopal Church. There was conflict over the Civil Rights movement, widespread opposition to the Vietnam War, the issue of women’s ordination, and disagreements over the liturgical renewal movement.

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An irregular ordination of eleven women to the Episcopal priesthood was held in Philadelphia in July 1974. The General Convention of the Episcopal Church approved the ordination of women in 1976.

A year later the eleven women were fully ordained.

Then, in 1979 the General Convention approved a revised Book of Common Prayer to replace the 1928 Prayer Book.

There was a growing perception among Episcopalians that the National Church was becoming more liberal, and several conservative churches left the fold, taking their church property with them. In response, the General Convention adopted a new Constitution and Canons, which purported that all real property owned by a parish was held in trust for the diocese.

St. Clement’s 1926 deed of trust includes special provisions that restrict the gift of land made by Helen Palache. Briefly, the deed states that the land must always be used for religious or charitable purposes under the control of the vestry of the St. Clement’s parish, or else revert to the Palache heirs. Over previous decades the Diocese asked many times that the parish articles of incorporation be amended to conform to the Episcopal Church’s national laws, placing the land in trust for the Diocese. Finally, in 2007, largely through the efforts of parishioner and attorney Antonio Rossmann, an agreement was reached with the Diocese that the property would remain in the unencumbered control of St. Clement’s so long as the church retained its membership in the National Church. Failing that, it would become the property of the Diocese of California. This short paragraph does little to describe the emotions of the congregation and the many years of legal maneuvering which affected St. Clement’s relationship with the Diocese.

Of interest is our present Diocesan assessment: $69,968.

Berkeley, California

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S t . Clement’s Parish Our Church Community

View of St. Clement’s property from Claremont Boulevard Photograph by Mary Louise Chapman

“Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”

Matthew 18:20

n addition to worship and study, Episcopalians are called to do God’s work in whatever form or shape it takes. Since its inception the members of St. Clement’s have organized into numerous groups in an effort to answer that call effectively. Their goals reflect the many interests and talents of a diverse community. The rewards for their toil are fellowship and the pleasure of working together for a worthwhile cause.

On the pages that follow are the stories and records of some of the special programs initiated by the St. Clement’s congregation and passed along from one generation to the next.

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St. Clement’s Church

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION CHI L D R E N ’ S A N D YOUT H M I N I S T R I E S

Sunday School classes started soon after the organization of the new chapel in 1908. The Rev. Donald Brookman, Director of Religious Education for St. Mark’s Parish, was appointed priest-in-charge, and within a short time forty pupils were enrolled.

They met on the lower level of the home of Mr. and Mrs. George Kellogg on El Camino Real, Berkeley, where services also were held while the church was under construction. The Berkeley Churchman of November 1913 refers to 177 scholars in the Sunday School. Attendance grew steadily over the years, and St. Clement’s soon was considered to be “one of the most successful church school programs” in the area.

Christian Education was a priority with both clergy and parents, and Sunday School enrollment reflected this interest. By 1934, in the midst of the Great Depression, there were 168 students, eighteen instructors and four additional support staff, with “all grades well covered.” The largest enrollment reported was 286 children in 1949. In 1953 there were sixteen different classes ranging from nursery to high school.

The first Sunday School “Christmas and Manger Service” was held in 1911, and in various forms it has been repeated annually. By the 1970’s it had become a “living Nativity” and was held outdoors on the front lawn. This continued until 1985 when it

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moved indoors and evolved into the present Christmas Pageant performed each Christmas Eve. St. Cecilia’s Guild, active from 1947-1966, supported a wide range of activities for the youth of the parish. They organized family square dances, father and son dinners, and youth dances, as well as sponsoring both a boys’ and a girls’ choir.

Two guilds for acolytes, or altar boys, were developed.

The junior group belonged to the Guild of St. John the Evangelist and served at the 9:30 a.m. Family Service every Sunday. A junior choir sang at this service, and other young boys served as ushers. The senior boys belonged to the Guild of St. Stephen the Martyr and assisted at all the regular services.

In 1955, as the Sunday School continued to thrive, the rector, Fr. Thomas, spoke of creating additional classrooms in the Parish Hall basement and of his desire to see “a junior chamber of worship in Palache Hall with its own altar and appointments.” Fr. Thomas retired in 1956. Twenty-three years later his vision became a reality, with the consecration of the Canterbury Children’s Chapel in 1979.

On October 13, 1915, the St. Clement’s Young People’s Society was organized. The name was soon changed to Young People’s Fellowship (YPF) and included youth of high school and college age. By 1933 there were forty members, with four advisors.

The 1940 Annual Report states that… “at the Christmas Pageant at Grace Cathedral, St. Clement’s was represented by more young people than any other church in the Bay Area.”

This program, which always has included study, service, fellowship, social activities, and stimulating outreach projects, has continued to attract members since it’s founding. In the early 1960’s the name changed to Episcopal Young Churchmen (EYC), and today it is known as the Episcopal Youth Club.

The goals have remained the same: “to provide an opportunity for boys and girls of Senior High School

Berkeley, California

age to experience Christian fellowship in a peer group and to express their Christian convictions through corporate action.”

Over the ensuing years the Church School continued to grow - in number of students and teachers, and in curriculum development. By 1986, under the enthusiastic leadership of the Rev. James E. Williams, Assistant Rector, the children were involved in a number of outreach programs which supported: an orphan in Thailand; Clausen House and Henry Ohloff House, Episcopal Charities agencies in

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Oakland and San Francisco; and St. James’ Food Pantry in Oakland.

One of the most exciting outreach programs was the EYC’s summer trip to Mexico in 1985, organized

by Fr. Williams. For two weeks the young people participated in a multi-faceted program of education, cultural and historical interaction, and work projects at the diocesan retreat facility and the adjoining parish church. Not long after their return home a major earthquake struck central Mexico, bringing great destruction. As a result the EYC began a “Mexican

Sunday School class in the Children’s Chapel, c. 1951 Teachers, Mrs. Dora Cryer on the left, and Mrs. Ellen Gandy on the right

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St. Clement’s Church

Earthquake Relief Fund,” which raised over $4,000 for the people in the region. The facility where the EYC had worked and stayed was converted into an orphanage for small children whose parents were killed in the earthquake.

The departure of the popular Fr. Williams in 1988 was deeply felt by EYC members. In an attempt to fill the resulting vacuum, several adults stepped in and, together with the young people, worked hard to make sure the program continued. Subsequent trips were made to: St. Dorothy’s Rest on the Russian River, to clean and wash windows; the Bishop’s Ranch, to do garden projects and participate in a start-up music camp; St. James Church in Tigard, Oregon, for gardening; Alert Bay, Canada, to help rehabilitate a church garden. These trips were financed mostly by rummage sales and car washes. At home, for many years the EYC, with the help of adult volunteers, prepared and served the Shrove Tuesday dinners.

In 2006 the Assistant Rector, the Rev. Salying Wong, took a group of EYC members and chaperones to Mississippi to assist with post-“Hurricane Katrina” (August 2005) recovery there.

Over the years clergy and volunteers have prepared many of our teens for Confirmation, which often has taken place during a Bishop’s visit to St. Clement’s, or sometimes, at Grace Cathedral with others from around the Diocese.

St. Clement’s Children’s and Youth Ministries have continued to thrive, which might seem a little surprising given the number of “outside” distractions available today – non-church programs and classes, sports, computer games, television, among others.

That our youth continue to be involved in church classes and outreach is surely a tribute to our dedicated parents and other lay persons, as well as to the clergy of our parish.

EYC Trip to Oregon and the San Juan Islands, 1989

St. Clement’s Sunday School, 1932

Nativity Pageant, Children’s Christmas Eve Service, 2006 - 48 -

Berkeley, California

CANTERBURY CH I L D R E N ’ S C H A P E L

The Canterbury Children’s Chapel, located in the northeast corner on the second floor of Palache Hall, is the result of children’s and adults’ joint efforts over decades to create a small chapel where children in the Parish are introduced to church liturgy and participate in worship services in surroundings appropriate to their age and size.

The chapel is the outgrowth of the work of long-time Sunday School teacher, Mrs. Dora Cryer, who taught the kindergarten class from 1940 until about two years before her death in 1977 at the age of eighty-eight.

Mrs. Cryer, a much-beloved English woman, taught Bible stories and church songs to the little ones, but she also saw it as her responsibility to teach them to understand and participate in the church service. She used a small table as an altar, with linen and small vases for flowers. Here the children participated in an abbreviated service of prayers and blessings. Miss Margaret Jewell, who oversaw the nursery, became tired of seeing “cast-off things” considered as good enough “for the most impressionable group in all the church;” so in 1951 she ordered an altar built for the chapel, with a plaque that reads: “GIVEN IN THANKSGIVING FOR ALL THOSE WHOSE WORK BUILT THIS KINDERGARTEN.” The kindergarten children gathered items for a White Elephant sale and purchased a cross for the altar. Candlesticks were donated, and Mrs. Cryer made new linens for the altar.

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Initially the kindergarten class moved from the first floor to the basement and then up to the second floor. In the 1970’s Assistant Rector James Williams organized new efforts and encouraged donations to furnish the chapel. Parishioners donated a new Knabe console piano. Pews were obtained from an Episcopal agency in San Francisco, and new lighting and wooden doors were purchased. Everett Turner, who designed the church baptistry and the plaques on the front doors of the church, made a new cross and missal stand for the altar. Parishioners Reeves Cross, Robert Kreider, and Duncan Fancher painted walls and stained and hung the doors.

During this period the church school children collected donations for the preservation of Canterbury Cathedral. In 1978 the Historic Churches Preservation Fund in Canterbury, England, sent them a small stone from the ancient stonework at Canterbury Cathedral in recognition of their contributions. This stone is embedded in the top of the altar, and a wall plaque reads, “The Altar stone taken from the ancient stonework of Canterbury Cathedral was given to the Glory of God and in thanksgiving to the Children of St. Clement’s Parish by the Historic Church Preservation Fund, Canterbury, England, Anno Domini 1978.” On June 17, 1979, the Right Honorable Gerald Alexander Ellison, the Lord High Bishop of London, came to St. Clement’s Church. Wearing his impressive cope, with all the churches in the Diocese of London depicted on it, he consecrated the Canterbury Children’s Chapel.

In the early 1980’s money was raised to have five stained glass windows installed, three given in 1982 in honor of Mrs. Cryer by Miss Margaret Jewell. As part of the Church’s 75th Anniversary celebration, on October 30, 1983, Bishop Swing dedicated the Canterbury Children’s Chapel in memory of Mrs. Dora Cryer, who had endeared herself to many children and to seminarians, who later wrote to tell her how much they had learned working with her.

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St. Clement’s Church

Throughout the 1980’s money was raised to complete the windows, and in July 1991 a dedication of the final windows occurred.

Four decades passed from the donation of the chapel’s altar in 1951 to the completion of the chapel in 1991. Successive generations of children and adults gave their time and effort so that this might come to pass. The Canterbury Children’s Chapel continues to be used so children can learn about and participate in the liturgy of the Episcopal Church. It is also a place of meditation for adults.

The Stained Glass Windows in the Canterbury Chapel: • Centered behind the altar is the window of Jesus as teacher, with Easter lilies beside him, donated in 1982 by Margaret Jewell.

• The window to the right of Jesus depicts St. Paul holding a sword pointing upward, representing the sword of the spirit as part of the Christian armor, and was donated in 1982 by Margaret Jewell.

• The window to the left of Jesus depicts St. John the Evangelist holding a small scroll representing the Gospel, the Epistles, and the Book of Revelation, and was donated in 1991 by St. Mary’s Guild.

• Along the side wall three windows represent scenes from the Old Testament: Moses carrying the Tablets of the Law, donated in 1991 by the Esther Branch Memorial Fund, Mrs. Harriet Wood, the Mel Heinz Memorial Fund, the Children’s Chapel Memorial Fund in memory of Mrs. Gerald Branch, Harold Wood, and Mel Heinz; Noah holding a model of the Ark, donated in 1982 by Margaret Jewell; Adam and Eve in the Garden with Eve clasping the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, donated in 1991

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by Roland and Anthony Gibbs and the Reggie Gibbs Memorial Fund, in memory of D. Regina Gibbs.

• The window of St. Francis of Assisi, showing him clad in a monk’s habit, with a dove and deer to depict his mild and gentle nature, was donated in 1983 by Mr. and Mrs. Duncan Fancher in memory of Hazel Fancher, W. Raymond Girton and Bertha M. Girton.

• The St. Nicholas window shows him wearing the regalia of a bishop, including miter and crozier, and carrying bags of gold to represent his kindness to children. It was donated in 1982 by the Reverend James Williams, in honor of his grandmother India Mae Josifko; by Mrs. Sue Hone and Family, in memory of her parents, Joseph Edward and Hazel Meadows; and by Mrs. Ruth Hand, in memory of her mother, Mary Marteny.

• The Canterbury Coat of Arms in a transom light shield was given by the Reverend and Mrs. Gordon Griffith in honor of their children who grew up in this parish, September 2, 1963, to January 1, 1988: Samuel David, John Robert, Melinda Louise Ethel, and Angela Evelyn Rachel.

• The Diocese of California in a transom light shield was given in 1991 by Maxine Heinz in memory of Mel Heinz.

Berkeley, California

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Re-dedication of the Canterbury Children’s Chapel, June 8, 1997 The Rt. Rev. William E. Swing, Bishop of the Diocese of California Stained-glass Windows St. Nicholas on the left St. Francis of Assisi on the right

Stained-glass Windows Adam and Eve - left Noah - middle Moses - right

St. Clement of Alexandria Banner Created by Lois Pinneo, c.1975

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St. Clement’s Church

ADULT EDUCATION

hroughout the history of St. Clement’s, Adult Education has played a prominent role in the overall education program. A variety of weekday study groups, seminars, Sunday morning classes, and parish retreats have all attracted the interest of parishioners. St. Clement’s has been blessed with many scholarly rectors, seminarians, and lay people who facilitate these programs. The topics range from spirituality to Church history to the application of Christian principles in daily life.

During his tenure Fr. Griffith began to offer lectures between the two Sunday services. This proved to be very popular, and Fr. Johnson continued the tradition with well-attended classes on Sunday mornings during the 1990’s. The first parish retreat, led by Fr. Johnson, was held in March 1991 at Bishop’s Ranch. This popular family event has been repeated annually, with a different study theme each year.

In keeping with the times, in 1993 the Diocese asked that churches offer classes on human sexuality.

St. Clement’s complied and added classes on medical ethics.

Over the past several years a forum for parishioners has been offered at 9 o’clock, between the two Sunday services. The sessions, on varying topics, have been led by both clergy and lay persons and have provided opportunities for serious discussion. Attendees have reported coming away with feelings of greater understanding and tolerance.

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The Rev. Salying Wong teaches an in-depth Old Testament Class two weekdays a month. The class explores the Torah, the Prophets and the Writings and other Jewish literature from an historical and theological perspective. A group dedicated to reading and discussing religious books, “Theology Roundtable,” led by a lay person, meets monthly to discuss selected religious books.

For the serious seekers of religious education, a four-year course, “Education for Ministry”, is offered.

Mentored by a trained layperson, the group meets weekly during the academic year to study the Bible and other Christian documents.

While not strictly an Adult Education gathering, “The Movie Group” is composed of parishioners who meet monthly for a potluck dinner and lively discussion about two movies that all have viewed during the previous month. It was formed in 1996 at the suggestion of then-Interim Rector, Fr. Robert McCann, and continues today (2009) with an enthusiastic group of participants.

Parish Retreat, Bishop’s Ranch, 2004

Berkeley, California

SCOUTING AT ST. CLEMENT’S

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“…and to obey the Scout Law…” The mission of the Boy Scouts of America is to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices.”

SEA SCOUTS “On my honor, I will do my best: To do my duty to God and my Country…” Thus begins the pledge of the Boy Scouts of America.

BOY SCOUTS The first mention of Scouting at St. Clement’s, in The Berkeley Churchman of September 1911, noted only that the Boy Scouts met in the Church on Fridays at 7:30. The tradition of church sponsorship of the Troops began in 1917 with the organization of Troop 7, which continued to meet at St. Clement’s until the 1980’s. Troop 9 was organized in 1923. For a brief time in the 1950’s a Cub Scout pack met at the church also.

During World War II the Boy Scouts gathered at the Berkeley Tennis Club in order to enable the Red Cross to make full use of the Parish House for their work.

On April 10, 1952, David Hodghead of Troop 30 of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church received the “God and Country” Award from the Rev. J. Henry Thomas of St. Clement’s, where David served as a member of the choristers. To be eligible the honoree was required to complete 300 hours of service to a church and to show evidence of knowledge of church doctrine and history. This was only the third time St. Clement’s had presented the Award.

The Sea Scout Troop began meeting at St. Clement’s in the mid-1930’s. At that time they had a membership of only ten Scouts, a mate and a skipper.

The unit was small because their floating equipment was only a 21-foot motor dory that sat less than ten boys at a time. They did, however, take cruises on the Bay and on the Sacramento River. On Navy Day they participated in the festivities at Mare Island.

By 1940 the Troop had thirty Sea Scouts who met weekly in Palache Hall. The United States Navy had given them a 35-foot Navy motor boat, powered by a six-cylinder Navy marine engine. On board the San Clemente they participated in regattas at Richmond, Berkeley, and Redwood City. They also served on boat patrol and traffic duty.

Scout Troop, date unknown

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St. Clement’s Church

Boy Scout Troop 7, c.1917 Note the 48-star flag

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Berkeley, California

GIRL SCOUTS

Discussion about the formation of a Girl Scout troop at St. Clement’s occurred as early as January 1928, but no action was taken. In 1940 Girl Scout Troop 37 began meeting in the basement of Palache Hall, with 24 girls in attendance. Their activities included: providing the Altar Guild with flowers; buying clothing and food for a family of five at Christmas; and collecting soap wrappers. With the money earned from the latter project, they proudly turned over $2.00 to British Relief and $2.00 to the American Red Cross. At the close of 1942 there were

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three Girl Scout Troops meeting in the Hall; by 1943 there were six groups, with 123 girls and 13 leaders.

In 1960, as a thank-you to the church for providing them with a meeting place, the twenty-one girls of Troop 13 decided to wash the windows in the meeting room. After the job was finished, one girl declared, “I’m never going to wash windows again. I am going to marry a rich man!” According to the troop leader, she did not.

“On my honor I will try: to serve God and my Country, to help people at all times, and to live by the Girl Scout Law.”

Girl Scout Troop13, 1960 - 55 -

St. Clement’s Church

T H E H IS T O R I C GUILDS I n t r o d u c t ion omen’s contributions to the welfare of the church traditionally involved the formation of groups, usually called “guilds” or “auxiliaries,” dedicated to specific projects. From its earliest days St. Clement’s had two groups: The Women’s Auxiliary to the Board of Missions, which performed social services and works; and St. Clement’s Guild, which concerned itself with the physical maintenance of the church and parish hall.

Although the groups shared a common membership they maintained separate sets of officers. Both participated in a variety of money-raising events to fund their particular projects, but they joined in sponsoring the annual bazaars.

In the latter part of the twentieth century women’s groups ceased to use the term “auxiliary” as it implied subservience.

ST. CL E M E N T ’ S G U I L D Within just ten days of the first worship service, women of the chapel began to organize themselves.

On November 2, 1908, forty-three churchwomen responded to an invitation from Mrs. Whitney Palache to meet at her home for the purpose of forming a guild. With an impressive membership of sixty, the

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infant St. Clement’s Guild went right to work and held their first sale the following March. It is not clear what was sold, but they earned $370, a substantial amount for that time.

The group quickly developed into an effective and well-ordered guild whose primary purpose was raising funds for parish needs. They met every week, holding a business meeting and luncheon once a month and devoting the other weeks to preparing and sewing items for the bazaar. This event was so successful that it was repeated annually for many years. They also held card parties, teas, dances at the Tennis Club, and “Thimble Parties” at members’ homes as other sources of income.

One of their first major goals was to raise money to purchase the vicarage on Lewiston Avenue and to assume responsibility for its mortgage. In September 1925 the guild agreed to Fr. Rifenbark’s request to repair the garage roof, paint the front porch and add a screened porch. However, when he resigned one month later, they decided not to add the porch. The new vicar, the Rev. Lindley Miller, purchased his own home on Plaza Drive in May 1926. The Lewiston property was sold in January 1927 and cleared $5000.

The women voted to donate $4500 from the sale to the building fund for the new parish house, keeping $500 in reserve.

Before the Community House was built all groups met in what was called the Guild Room or Guild Hall.

This was a partitioned space in the original church building, approximately where the organ chamber and chapel altar area are today. A small wood-burning stove was used for heating. The January 1926 minutes suggest that the ladies, when they arrived for one of their meetings, were not pleased to find that the Men’s Club had left an empty wood box and an untidy room.

They decided to pay the janitor an additional $2.00 a month to “see that the room be made clean and orderly before each meeting, the fire made ready for

Berkeley, California

lighting and wood left in the box.” This issue found its way to the vestry meeting of the same month and the minutes state: “It being reported that the Men’s Club had thoughtlessly burned up the supply of wood belonging to the Women’s Guild, the (Building and Grounds) Committee was authorized and requested to secure a supply.”

In general, the plans for the new Community House pleased the guild members. They successfully petitioned for a larger kitchen, but a request to add a three-room apartment for a resident janitor was not approved. Their successful fund raisers enabled them to contribute substantially to the construction and to the interior furnishings of the new building. These donations made it possible to upgrade the roofing material to slate, purchase a large stove, coffee urn, tables and linoleums. Before the dedication reception, which they hosted, the Guild also provided the stage curtains and window drapes requested by the Rev. Miller. A year later they were able to purchase a grand piano for the Sunday School.

These ladies were precise in business matters. They appointed a Courtesy Committee to write notes to members who were ill and to send flowers to those who were very ill. The maximum flower expenditure was set at $2 for an illness and $3 for a member’s death.

They were also practical. In 1928 Mrs. E.H. Scott, their treasurer, was given a vote of thanks for her many years of dependable service. They had just noted a statement in their by-laws that no office could be held for more than two years by the same person. However, when no one else agreed to fill this position, they voted to change the by-laws, and Mrs. Scott continued as treasurer.

The last minutes recorded for St. Clement’s Guild were dated December 1928.

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W O M E N ’ S A U X I L I A R Y T O THE B O A R D O F M I SS I O NS AND OTHER GUILDS All members of the separate Episcopal missions in Berkeley were considered members of St. Mark’s Church as well. A branch of the Diocesan Women’s Auxiliary had been active for some years in St. Mark’s Parish. In May 1911 St. Clement’s churchwomen decided to establish a separate branch, abiding by the same rules and regulations as the parent organization.

The stated purpose of this group was Worship, Study, Service and Fellowship. The minutes from 1911 state: “We confidently believe that our Auxiliary Society will not only teach us to work for others but will really help ourselves. The more we give the more we receive.”

This auxiliary was dedicated to assisting missionary work. Many hours were given to sewing - blankets, comforters, household linens - and to renovating donated clothing. Other items, as requested by specific missionaries, were collected or purchased. Boxes were packed and sent to destinations in the Philippines, China, Japan, Hawaii, Tahiti, South America, Germany, and Liberia, as well as to a mission hospital in Jackson, Mississippi, and to American Indians.

Their work ceased temporarily during the Spanish Flu Pandemic of 1918 and 1919, when all public meetings were cancelled by the State Board of Health.

In 1923 the auxiliary responded with emergency aid to the mission in Japan following the “great earthquake” and to Nome, Alaska, during a diphtheria outbreak there in 1925.

Among the local charities to which the auxiliary contributed were the Seaman’s Institute, Canon Kip, St. Dorothy’s Rest, Girl’s Friendly Society, The Church Periodical Club, and, in later years, to Fairmont, Highland, St. Luke’s and Oak Knoll - 57 -

St. Clement’s Church

Hospitals. Popular fund raising activities included “Silver Teas” (format unknown), carnivals, and the bazaar, which was already an annual church event.

When St. Clement’s became an independent parish in 1926, the group voted to continue as a member of the “Berkeley Branch of the Women’s Auxiliary to the National Council.”

During the 1930’s, areas of concern discussed at the meetings included juvenile delinquency, how best to develop culture and religion in children, and “the serious menace of moving pictures in the lives of children.” The group voted to “make a protest” after Fr. Miller reported that “Orientals were barred from burial in Caucasian cemeteries.” The Asian Exclusion Act would not be repealed until 1943.

In 1932, in the midst of the Great Depression, when there were few social programs for the poor, the guild organized a Secret Service, which provided clothing, food and milk to needy families, helped children in schools and colleges, and assisted those in need of work to find employment.

There are no further minutes until January 1957.

By September 1958 eight smaller guilds had been formed. Their activities and interests varied, but they all convened monthly with the auxiliary for a luncheon meeting and program.

ST. B R I D E ’ S G U I L D (also called St. Bridget’s Guild)

Assisted the rector with his house visits, called upon new members of the parish, and raised money through arranging wedding receptions. Its last Annual Report was in 1965.

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S T. A N N E ’ S G U I L D Did mission work and tended to church school needs.

Over time they sponsored many interesting fund raisers including a silent auction, wine tasting party, play readings, and monthly coffees with book reviews. The guild was active for approximately thirty-four years. Its last Annual Report was written in 1992.

S T. C E C I L I A’ S G U I L D Had a special interest in the youth of the parish.

Members planned and organized events involving the young people and their families and fundraisers that benefited the youth programs. Through the years they also supported the music program, sponsoring both a boys’ and a girls’ choir. In addition they made small improvements to the church site, including the purchase of “a new cloth in front of the organ pipes in the left choir stall.” The last Annual Report of this guild, which was formed in 1947, was made in 1963 and the last membership list was dated 1966.

S T. E L I Z A B E T H ’ S G U I L D Worked “to make spiritual and social contacts and to make money for the financial needs of the parish and diocese.” The members assisted in missionary projects, specifically collecting and sending eyeglasses and lenses to the Vellore Institute in India and shoes to a girls’ school in Liberia, whose principal was Elizabeth TenBroeck, a member of St. Clement’s. Its last Annual Report was in 1966.

Berkeley, California

ST. H E L E N ’ S G U I L D Met to study the Bible.

S T. H I L DA’ S G U I L D Interested in mission work.

ST. M A R G A R E T ’ S G U I L D Organized to earn money for the general upkeep and work of the church.

ST. M O N I C A’ S G U I L D

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ECW voted to suspend its activities for the year 1964.

It was reactivated a year later and a new guild, St. Luke’s, was formed. It was a prayer group but also kept in touch with the sick and shut-ins.

In October 1966 the ECW president reported on a years’ research concerning women’s work. She attended many meetings and noted a similarity in the various groups: “In every place women are allergic to pressure and disinterested in ongoing work. It is impossible to assume any program will be interesting to all women.”

At the suggestion of the new rector, Fr. Griffith, a group of women met on April 10, 1967, to discuss starting a guild for younger women. They favored having a working rather than a formal guild, but no action was taken at that time.

By the end of 1967 the ECW and all the guilds, with the exception of St. Anne’s, had ceased to exist.

Gathered for fellowship, while working on family relations and sewing layettes.

The auxiliary changed its name in April 1959 to “St. Clement’s Branch of Episcopal Church Women of the Diocese of California” (ECW) in accordance with the change of name by the Diocese. Fund raising activities continued and were supported by all the guilds. Their benevolence at this time was focused more on the needs of the church and the local community than on foreign missions. To the delight of everyone, in 1959 the first dishwasher was installed in the renovated kitchen.

By 1963 the four Guilds above, were no longer active.

The role of women had gradually changed since the end of World War II. By the mid-sixties women’s rights groups were demanding equality for women. The City of Berkeley and the nation were experiencing turbulent times with anti-war protests and other demonstrations.

Confirming the sense of general discontent, the

The venerable Sequoia Gigantea North side of the church

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St. Clement’s Church

and ’03.” These were dinner parties with both silent and live auctions, held at first in the Parish Hall and later at the Bellevue Club in Oakland. Items of real value were donated by members of the guild, parishioners and merchants. Between 1982 and 2003 a total of $149,438 was raised.

PRESENT-DAY GUILDS ST. M A R Y ’ S G U I L D

t. Mary’s Guild, a group of younger women, was formally established in 1970.

They welcomed all women of the church who wished to participate in fund-raising activities. The money earned was to be used to provide parish needs not covered in the regular budget.

In 1970 close to one hundred people attended a luncheon and fashion show, the first of the guild’s many successful and profitable events.

For twenty-two years St. Mary’s Guild sponsored a “Christmas Tea” in early December. Both tea and sherry were served, along with sweet and savory items.

Felt ornaments, preserves, breads, and other treats made by members were offered for sale. The teas were held in private homes until the popular event grew too large; it was then moved to Palache Hall. After 1992 Christmas and Easter bake sales replaced the Tea. Since the mid-1970’s and continuing today, the Guild has sponsored a Crab Feed in early February when crab is plentiful. Following a social hour, guests feast on crab, salad, dessert and wine. Music is provided by a small combo for listening and dancing. Before the parish hall retrofit reduced the capacity, this popular event attracted well over two hundred people.

The most lucrative of all the events sponsored by St. Mary’s Guild were the eight major auctions called “Treasures and Trifles” and “Auction ’96, then ’99,

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Lawn Sale on Avalon Avenue, 2004

Another oft repeated money maker has been the all-church Lawn Sale organized by the Guild. Indeed, for many years it actually was held on the parish front lawn, but more recently it has become a “street sale.” Permits from the city and permission from the neighbors have allowed a portion of Avalon Avenue to be closed all day.

Centennial Nativity Exhibit, 2009

Berkeley, California

Through the generosity of member, Judy Davis, St. Mary’s Guild has sponsored exhibits of her personal collection of nativity scenes five times since 1997.

More than two hundred and fifty crèches from some eighty countries have been attractively displayed in Palache Hall during the three-day event. This is a very

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special Christmas gift from the St. Mary’s Guild to the St. Clement’s parish and to the community at large. Portions of the proceeds have been donated to local charities.

TH E M A J O R P R O J E C T S OF S T. M A R Y ’ S G U IL D

Prior to the 1996 Retrofit: Remodeling of the kitchen, including all new appliances, 1977-1981 Renovation of East Room, Bride’s Room, Nursery and four bathrooms in the parish hall, 1984 - 1985 Re-roofing, south side of church building, 1987 Numerous large donations to the Palache Hall Building Fund After the retrofit: A new roof on the church building, 1999 A new church audio system, 2005 A new lighting system in the church, 2002 - 2005 Landscape improvements on the east side of the property

St. Mary’s Guild Cookbook, 1993 Cover by Jean Ann Smith

Over the years there have been numerous individual fund-raisers, including the publishing in 1993 of a parish cookbook, “… A CONTINUAL FEAST.” It was dedicated to church members and others who lost their homes and recipe collections in the Firestorm of 1991.

The funds earned by St. Mary’s Guild during the past forty years total in excess of $315,000. They have been used to provide many improvements, some large and some smaller, in the rectory, parish hall, church and grounds. In addition, the Guild has consistently supported a number of community and Episcopal charities.

At the time of publication of this book, St. Mary’s Guild and the Altar Guild are the only active guilds at St. Clement’s. With an average membership of twenty-five women, St. Mary’s continues to seek ways to provide for the needs of the church. A by-product of the effort involved in arranging guild activities

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responsible for everything that is now considered “altar guild work.” Later, laymen became the sacristans, and in the nineteenth century women became assistants to sacristans. By the turn of the twentieth century they THE A LTA R G U I L D were beginning to organize into “altar guilds” and assumed the sacristan’s duties under the guidance of their priests. To this day the rector of the parish is Unlike other parish organizations the Altar Guild is the president, ex-officio. He attends all meetings and, not involved in parish business or social matters. Its with the directress, defines the duties and rules of the members assist the priest in making the worship life of guild. Membership is now open to both women and the church run smoothly. Especially in the early years men. Although numerous men have helped the Altar of the church it was one of the few meaningful ways Guild in many ways, none have yet become members. lay people could participate in actual services. The An exception is the current Sexton, Phillip Gallardo, Altar Guild has the privilege of preparing the altar who was voted an honorary member in 1994 for his for every service held in the church. The members years of good-natured and dependable help. are also responsible for the purchase and care of all Minutes of the earliest meetings of St. Clement’s furnishings, vestments and linens; arranging for Altar Guild are missing, but entries for August flowers; replenishing the supply of candles, wine and 23, 1923, suggest an established organization with wafers; and advising about memorial gifts for use in regular monthly meetings. The minutes of that the sanctuary. meeting report plans for a “Silver Tea” to raise money Altar guilds in the Episcopal Church developed to carry on their work. It must have been a success, as as a natural outgrowth of what had been from the the October minutes state that they paid for electric beginning an exclusively male world. For hundreds work to light the altar. They also purchased a green of years lesser clerics (later called sacristans) were dossal (cloth) to cover the large window above the altar, because worshippers were bothered by the sun Cost of Weddings streaming through the clear

glass. A permanent solution

1924 2009 to this was the installation

Member Non-member in 1939 of a stained glass

window. In February 1928 No charge for use of the church. $600. $1250. there were sixteen members and nine junior members.

If the following services were required, the cost: The vestry voted to give the Organist - $5. - with rehearsal $7.50 $125. $125.

Altar Guild $5.00 a month Candles - $3.

$50. (Altar Guild) $75. for necessary expenses.

Janitor (and other services) $5. $50. $50.

Altar guild minutes from Decorations committee $5. n/a n/a 1929 through 1982 are has been the lasting friendships that have developed among the members.

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missing. The following information was found in Annual Reports.

By 1950 members of the guild had developed a keen interest in sewing altar linens. An embroidery class was started, and during that year a large number of items were completed, including a set of altar linens for St. Barnabas, Langell Valley, Oregon, the mission church established by the rector, Fr. Thomas, during his time in Oregon. In the fall of 1957, Mrs. Anna Crossley of the Diocesan Altar Guild conducted an advanced class in ecclesiastical embroidery at St. Clement’s.

This class, composed of members of altar guilds from the East Bay and Orinda, met weekly for five months. During the same year the Guild supervised improvements to the room above the sacristy, now called the “loft.” Curtained hanging space was created for storage of large items such as the funeral pall and dossals, as well as a small storage room for supplies and sewing materials. Many gifts for the church were received in 1957. One of particular note was an old brass missal stand for the chapel altar. Given by Mr. and Mrs. William Reanier, this little stand came from the private chapel of Lord Darnley of Kent, England, and is still in use.

During the previous two decades the amount of embroidery and other needlework done by members of St. Clement’s Altar Guild for the church was impressive. Some of the altar linens and vestments they stitched are still in use today. Sometime during the 1970’s the sewing ceased and linens and vestments were purchased. The Flower Committee retired and a florist was engaged to supply flowers for all services.

The Prentiss Room was remodeled and the sacristy became the domain of the Altar Guild alone. The specially designed closets, cabinets and drawers, built by the husband of a Guild member, conveniently store all linens and other equipment, making it an unusually spacious and well-appointed work-room.

Altar guilds need to be flexible, diplomatic, and

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able to adapt to procedural changes as requested by the clergy, whether permanent, visiting or interim.

The St. Clement’s Altar Guild was put to the test beginning in 1988 when, following the retirement of Fr. Griffith, they served under the direction of six different interim pastors and three rectors.

Over the years members of the Guild have assisted at most weddings held in the church. These happy events are often full of surprises. Guild members have made emergency repairs to gowns and corrected floral mistakes. On one notable occasion a member loaned her own shoes to a bride who arrived wearing combat boots with her wedding dress. They have been called upon to remind the wedding party that celebrations begin after, and not before, the ceremony - and not in the Prentiss Room or the Bride’s Room. The question of appropriate attire for church weddings came up so often that rectors began to discuss it during premarital counseling sessions.

In their zeal to capture every moment wedding photographers consistently bent church rules which prohibit photography during the wedding service.

Despite the best efforts of the Altar Guild this conflict continued for years, until the recent development of less intrusive camera equipment.

Clergy use small “traveling” communion sets when taking communion to shut-ins. Altar Guild minutes record the purchases, and then the mysterious disappearances, of a surprising number of these.

Apparently they kept on traveling, as there is no mention of any returning.

The Altar Guild meeting in October 1991 was a sad occasion because three members and many friends had lost everything in the Firestorm a few days earlier.

A surprise luncheon was held for them following the November meeting, and they were given gifts for their present and future homes. Guild members also brought copies of their favorite recipes.

During 1996-1997 the sacristy was renovated with

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new lighting, carpeting and wall paint. As part of the renovation the bars on the corridor windows and door were removed. They had been installed before the church had a safe for storing the silver.

The Altar Guild has not only served its home church. On a weekend retreat at the Bishop’s Ranch in February 2000, the Guild polished, laundered, and thoroughly cleaned the sacristy and chapel. They repeated the gift the following year.

In spite of the fact that this service for the Lord is full of minutiae, for the past one hundred years St. Clement’s Altar Guild has maintained high standards and fulfilled its mission.

St. Clement of Alexandria Early St. Clement’s processional banner Photograph by Suzanne Cartmell

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MUSIC PROGRAMS

he music program at St. Clement’s took some time to become established and was not always the successful blend of amateur and professional musicians parishioners have come to expect today. From the parish’s founding in 1908 until the early 1930’s, the music program was mostly in the hands of willing volunteers, aided by a small cadre of trained musicians.

In June of 1912 a reed organ (most-likely footpowered) was purchased for the church for $190.

Around the same time, members of the parish approached the choirmaster of St. Mark’s for musical guidance. He, in turn, asked one of his own choir members, Herman Franklin Hiller, to lead a vocal quartet. Another St. Mark’s musician, Marie Leacock, was appointed organist. Within two years Herman and Marie were married.

By 1914, however, Marie had resigned, the choir was disbanded, and the congregation was called upon to provide all the musical needs of the liturgy. The August 23 issue of The Berkeley Churchman exhorted its readers: “We strongly urge you to remember that the responsibility for the singing will rest with you. Do not wait for some one else to begin. Remember that if you do not sing, there will be no music.”

In 1926 the parish tried again. A director was hired to start a volunteer choir but was let go a little more than a month later due to lack of response. The rector then asked Herman Hiller to hire an organist and singers. Meanwhile, after the original reed organ expired during a Sunday anthem, the vestry researched

Berkeley, California

pipe organs. In 1929 an instrument was ordered from M. P. Möller, Inc. of Hagerstown, Maryland, at a cost of $4,100. It was dedicated on Palm Sunday 1930.

Much of the musical progress made by St. Clement’s in the 1920’s was undone by the Great Depression.

By January 1933 the choir members and the organist were let go due to lack of funds. In 1934 the parish still owed $1,000 toward the new organ. That autumn Mynard Jones was hired as organist and choirmaster, beginning a relationship that was to last twenty-five years (divided between two terms). In 1944 Mr. Jones was lured away by Trinity Methodist Church, also in Berkeley. To the parishioners of St. Clement’s, however, he was merely on a leave of absence. In 1953 he was persuaded to return, and he continued at St. Clement’s until 1968. His service is commemorated by a plaque next to the organ console.

During Mr. Jones’s tenure a children’s choir program began. A junior choir of 25 voices is mentioned in 1939, and by 1940 it had grown to 30 members. The children’s program received an additional boost in 1946 with the founding of the Boy Choristers, which included 31 boys between the ages of 8 and 14. The group was led by the Rev. Kent Haley, a seminarian, and made many guest appearances throughout the area. At home they sang regularly at monthly Evensong services and at Lessons and Carols services each December.

References to the Senior (Adult) Choir became more common in church records in the 1950’s, but often these were appeals for singers to join the group.

Meanwhile, the Junior Choir began to include girls in 1953, many of whom were recruited from the nearby School for the Blind and Deaf, and membership remained strong, between 30-35.

Mynard Jones retired in 1967 and was succeeded

by Philip Keil. Early in his tenure St. Clement’s experienced another instance of dramatic “organ failure,” when the Möller instrument broke down

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during Easter services in 1968. In 1970 a new organ was ordered from Swain & Kates of San Francisco.

It was installed in late 1972 and dedicated in early 1973. Mr. Keil expanded the adult choir, dividing it into a Sunday Choir and a Repertory Choir, a concert ensemble. He also instituted the Palache Hall Concert Series, featuring outstanding Bay Area artists.

Among the section leaders he hired were Cheryl Keller, soprano, and Wendell Brooks, bass, the latter still with the choir since 1971.

Mr. Keil resigned in 1976 to take the position of Organist and Music Director at St. Matthew’s, San Mateo, where he still serves as Organist. He was succeeded by a series of U.C. Berkeley graduate students, who spent but a short time at St. Clement’s before continuing on to prominent academic posts elsewhere: Graydon Beeks, Music Director, 1976– 1978, followed by Christopher Reynolds, 1978– 1979, and Larry Archbold, Organist, 1976–1982.

Cheryl Keller was promoted from singer to Music Director in 1979, and in 1982 she hired Linda Corum (now Gavenda) as organist. The 75th anniversary of the parish in 1983 was an event marked by the commissioning of a choral work from the composer Jean Berger, “Peace Be within Thy Walls.” Berger himself conducted the St. Clement’s Choir in the premiere of the work at the service on October 30.

After Ms. Keller’s departure in 1984, Charles Corum took over the directorship of the Adult Choir, while Linda Corum remained as Organist and took over the Youth Choir. After Charles moved on in 1985 Linda became Adult Choir Director. She remains Music Director and Organist to this day and was joined by Victor Gavenda as Choirmaster in 1998.

The music program at St. Clement’s continues to be active and varied, with special events for both children and adults. Each year the Youth Choirs prepare a major performance, either a concert or dramatic work. Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors has been

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St. Clement’s Church

Youth Choir (date unknown)

Choirs, under the leadership of Linda Gavenda, perform at the re-dedication of Palache Hall, June 1997

Choir performs “Amahl and the Night Visitors,” Epiphany, 2006

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done three times, and Britten’s Noye’s Fludde, four times. Concerts have included excerpts from shows like Godspell and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, or works such as Buryl Red’s Celebrate Life. At Christmas they go caroling to the elderly in assisted-living facilities.

In a typical year the Adult Choir performs a major work on Good Friday (examples include settings of the Requiem by Mozart, Brahms, Fauré, Campra, and Cherubini; excerpt’s from Bach’s St. John Passion, the Seven Last Words by Haydn; and the Musikalische Exequien by Schütz). They also give a half-hour concert before the main service on Christmas Eve, which has featured selections from the Saint-Saëns Christmas Oratorio, the Charpentier Midnight Mass, the Fantasy on Old English Christmas Carols by Vaughan Williams, the Ceremony of Carols by Britten, and the Christmas Cantata by Daniel Pinkham. A particular favorite of the choirs is the Epiphany Evensong service, which is done by candlelight. In 1994 Linda organized the first of many weekend-long Adult Choir retreats at Bishop’s Ranch near Healdsburg.

In the 1990’s the choirs commemorated the Feast Day of St. Clement (December 5) by performing a Bach cantata with instrumental accompaniment.

Twice (2000–2001 and 2008–2009) the choirs performed almost all of Handel’s Messiah, distributed throughout the church year. The Centennial of the founding of the parish (1908) was celebrated in February 2009. The Bishop presided over a special afternoon Eucharist service at which the Adult Choir sang the complete Coronation Mass of Mozart, accompanied by small orchestra.

A harpsichord in 18th-century Flemish style by Berkeley maker John Phillips was added to the parish’s collection of keyboard instruments in 1986. A new Yamaha upright piano replaced the deteriorating grand in the choir room in 2004, and an identical piano was purchased for the sanctuary in 2007. In

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2009 the Swain & Kates organ began showing signs of mechanical and electrical trouble. A successful capital campaign will make its renovation possible in early 2010, preventing yet another mid-service catastrophe.

Individuals in the choirs contribute to the program in other ways. Tenor section leader and cellist/gambistin-residence David Morris established the Cappella Clementina in 2004 as a small instrumental ensemble, including both adults and children. Victor Gavenda has lectured on various musical topics at Supper Clubs, as well as at Parish and Choir Retreats.

As St. Clement’s enters its second century, its music program remains deeply interwoven with the life of the parish, bringing spiritual enrichment as well as entertainment to performers and congregation alike.

Junior Choir performs “Noye’s Fludde”, April 2001

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a small Honduran orphanage known as “Our Little Roses Home for Girls.”

These and other programs in recent years are all heart-warming tales that point up the commonality of our concerns and the difference that skilled, faithbased charity can make.

OUTREACH PROGRAMS

THE BRAILLE PROJECT od’s work comes in many forms. For some it is to bring His word to others. For some it is to roll up one’s sleeves and do His work directly, wherever and whatever the call may be. For still others it is to dig deep into one’s own material fortunes and share these with those who are in desperate need of such support.

On all these counts, both at home and abroad, St. Clement’s parishioners have been represented generously over the years, from the time of the organization of the Chapel in 1908 to the present day.

In the first decade of the Twentieth Century there was vigorous expansion of the overseas mission of the Episcopal Church, and the newly-organized St. Clement’s Chapel enthusiastically embraced these evangelistic enterprises. Beginning in 1911 the St. Clement’s Branch of the Women’s Auxiliary to the Board of Missions worked tirelessly for many years to support missionary activities. A different sort of program was started in the 1950’s, when St. Clement’s spearheaded the translation of Sunday School lesson materials and hymns into Braille. This program supported the School for the Blind and Deaf in Berkeley, as well as people in need in other communities as far away as Alaska.

The year 1979 brought the sponsorship of a Vietnamese refugee family, with many members of the Parish participating in programs to welcome them to our country and to our corner of California. In 1991 church members played a role in the support of

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St. Clement’s was a pioneer in the production of loose-leaf church material in Braille. The Parish received permission from the Seabury Press to translate published lesson materials into Braille without infraction of copyright laws.

In the 1950’s there was a great need to help the children at the State School for the Blind and Deaf in Berkeley (now the Clark Kerr Campus of the University of California). Three ladies from St. Clement’s Church (Miss Margaret Jewell, Mrs. Gilbert Jones, and Mrs. R. H. Hinkle) prepared the worship service in Braille for each Sunday of the Liturgical Year for the blind children.

St. Clement’s choir members from the State School for the Blind and Deaf, Berkeley, mid-1950’s

Berkeley, California

By 1957 Miss Jewell had transcribed a total of 300 hymns into Braille. In that year a blind child was enrolled in the Kindergarten at St. Clement’s. The ladies set the Kindergarten service and lesson materials into Braille. The child was not reading yet, but these efforts were to make her feel that she “belonged” and to give her a bit of self-assurance.

The program branched out into the Mission field in 1958. Some 127 loose-leaf pages of hymns in Braille were sent to a blind member of St. Elizabeth’s Church in Ketchikan, Alaska, thus enabling her to sing in the Church choir. She wrote delighted thank-you letters in Braille on receiving the hymns.

No charge was ever made for Braille work. It was meant to be a free gift. As such, it went through the post office without cost.

VIET N A M E S E R E F U G E E PROGRAM The most extensive outreach program ever conducted

by St. Clement’s was the adoption of a Vietnamese refugee family in 1979. The experience provided an opportunity for every member of the parish to become involved, changing the way many viewed their role in the church and in the world.

When the Vietnam War ended on April 30, 1979, an exodus of some three million people began.

Most left the country with few possessions, in small boats, which were subject to attacks by pirates, who took what valuables and money they had been able to carry. Refugee camps were set up by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and the National Episcopal Church became involved. Local parishes were asked to assume responsibility for the re-settlement of a family, and St. Clement’s agreed to help.

A committee was formed to handle the necessary

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Five members of the Nguyen Family in a refugee camp in the Malay Archipelago

planning – housing, clothing, furnishings, as well as the raising of funds to support the project. Word was received on August 7, 1979, that a family of five would be arriving – Nguyen Thua Tri, his wife, Vu Thi Hien, and three of their four children, Chi, Hau, and Phu. Mr. Tri had worked as a sugar refinery executive in Vietnam and had also served in the South Vietnamese Army. He was blinded in one eye when he was struck

by Viet Cong shrapnel in 1972. The family escaped from Vietnam in 1978, with some 140 others, on a boat so small there was no room to lie down. They were attacked twice by pirates and lost all their possessions.

After eight days on the Indian Ocean, they landed on a small island in the Malay Archipelago, where they lived amid starvation and disease in a refugee camp for almost a year.

In the pandemonium of the escape from Vietnam, the oldest son had become separated from his family.

When the boat he had boarded broke up in the water, he and the others were rescued by a Dutch freighter and ended up in Holland. St. Clement’s parishioner, Marion McConnell was instrumental in contacting

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The Nguyen Family is reunited after 16 months of separation when the oldest son arrives at San Francisco Airport.

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Berkeley, California

the U.S. State Department to ask for information, finally confirming that the young man was indeed in Holland. The 16-month separation of the family ended in February 1980, when Nguyen Thua Dung arrived at San Francisco’s International Airport for a joyful reunion with his family.

The hardships endured by the family caused many medical problems, which were solved through the generosity of St. Clement’s parishioners. The family slowly became established in the community. Mr. Tri had eye surgery, which restored the sight in his blinded eye. He was offered a job, and by January he was able to support his family. The children entered school, adjusted quickly and did well at their studies. By 1981 the family was able to buy a small home in El Sobrante. All became part of the St. Clement’s community, regularly attending Sunday services. The children participated in Sunday School activities, Hau sang in the junior choir, and Mrs. Hien joined the St. Mary’s Guild.

Mrs. Hien was the first member of the family to become a naturalized citizen. Shortly thereafter Mr. Tri was diagnosed with cancer. He was eager to become an American citizen before he died. He was not physically able to attend a large gathering, so arrangements were made with a federal judge in San Francisco to have the swearing-in in his chambers on February 18, 1987. It was a happy-sad occasion; and not long afterwards Tri entered the hospital and died, with his family at his bedside.

Fortuitously, the purchase price of their home was covered by insurance. Mrs. Hien found a job at the U.C. Faculty Club, and the children, especially the oldest boy, took odd jobs. The St. Clement’s Parish established a Scholarship Fund to help pay for future higher education for the children.

Today, the two older boys are married and living in San Jose, California. Hau, the daughter, is living and working in Washington D.C. Hien and her

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son, Phu, are in southern California, part of a large Vietnamese community.

Mr. Tri becomes a U. S. citizen, 1987

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OUR LIT T L E R O S E S H O M E FOR G I R L S , H O N D U R A S

The first contact about the needs of the Mission Diocese of Honduras, head-quartered in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, Central America, came to St. Clement’s in a July 1991 form letter from James Sheppard, a priest from the Diocese of San Joaquin serving as a Missionary in Honduras. Support was desperately needed for Mission projects, he wrote.

Could anyone help?

There was great interest in, but also concern about, the legitimacy of the request for funds to support such projects. Contacts with the Rt. Rev. William E. Swing, Bishop of the Diocese of California, revealed that he personally knew and recommended the Rt. Rev. Leo Frade, Bishop of the Mission Diocese of Honduras, and his work.

St. Clement’s members, Bob and Judy Davis, extended their October 1992 trip to Guatemala to include the Diocese of Honduras. Their purpose was to assess the needs of the Diocese and the potential for St. Clement’s to extend help. On returning home they recommended support for two programs: a Home for girls, which was changing the lives of the girls from one of poverty, abuse and misery to one of hope, confidence and love; and a Diocesan Lay Minister program, which supported these men and women as they traveled throughout the country spreading the Word of God. Nuestras Pequenas Rosas / Our Little Roses Home for Girls, whose Director was/is Mrs. Diana Frade, was started in 1988 with 28 girls in a rented house.

By 1990 a large piece of land had been donated by local authorities and several buildings constructed to house and feed the girls. The Home takes in

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Residents of Nuestras Pequenas Rosas / Our Little Roses Home for Girls, San Pedro Sula, Honduras, Central America

abandoned, abused, maltreated girls sent or referred by the juvenile authorities. Those who are orphans become legal wards of the Home.

At the time of the Davis’ visit in 1992, the Home had 33 girls, 6 of whom had no sponsor. Sponsorship of one girl cost $60 a month / $720 per year. The cost of schooling was separate: $50 per month for the Technical High School; $500/year for the Cathedral School. The support of a Lay Minister for one year was $720.

The St. Clement’s Vestry pledged support for two girls for one year. Twelve parishioners pledged support for one child for one year. A parish couple pledged support for one Lay Minister for one year. The Altar Guild sent two cotton chasubles to the church. In December 1993 Diana Frade visited St. Clement’s.

She attended Sunday Evensong and met with parishioners to discuss events in Honduras.

Today, in 2009, support for this program continues, and the St. Clement’s Goode-Ritson Fund is considering making a grant to the Home.

Berkeley, California

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O U T R E A C H I N T HE L A T E R Y E A R S arish outreach at St. Clement’s is too broad and comprehensive for one committee or guild to perform all the tasks involved.

Therefore, in 1985 the Rector and the Senior Warden…established a coordinating and planning outreach committee, chaired by a member of the Vestry, with the overall responsibility of marshalling the leadership talents, the personal skills and the material resources of the entire parish for the purpose of fulfilling the traditional Christian mandate to assist and comfort the less fortunate members of our parish and our community and to support the charitable programs of our Diocese and the National Church.

This 1987 Parish Report summary of Outreach at St. Clement’s describes a number of the initiatives of the program and conveys the spirit of St. Clement’s support for them over the years.

“St. Clement’s has two very active committees devoted to local outreach, the Visiting Committee… (which) has done a superior job during the year in bringing comfort and loving concern to members of our Parish who have been ill or are shut-ins.”…(and) the Food Committee…(which) is primarily involved in supporting an emergency food pantry at St. James’ Episcopal Church, located in a depressed area of East Oakland…(we) have been providing donations for more than eight years…this year the committee made twenty deliveries of food donated by our members, along with $1861 in monetary contributions.”

Other efforts also were ongoing, including:

St. Clement’s EYC members help with the clean-up in Mississippi (2006) after Hurricane Katrina Photograph by the Rev. Salying Wong

“Clothing…has been transported to the Episcopal Sanctuary in San Francisco. Books and magazines… have been taken to the Episcopal Bay Area Seafarers’ Service Library…” In addition, “We provide space in Palache Hall for the Claremont Respite Center, an activity of the Senior Resources Program…which supports Alzheimer’s patients and their care givers.”

Yet, parishioners’ efforts were extended even more broadly: “St. Clement’s continued its financial assistance of $1200 annually to H.E.L.P., an ecumenical effort of twenty-six Berkeley churches and synagogues providing limited emergency aid and referral service to the needy and homeless in this city. St. Clement’s continued its support for the second year, along with fourteen other parishes and the Alameda and Southern Alameda Deaneries, for An Episcopal Ministry to Convalescent Hospitals.

The organization is devoted to the long-term care of patients in East Bay convalescent hospitals and their families, in coordination with the hospital staffs and other religious and community programs. Our parish

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contributed $1200 in 1987 and will continue that level of support in 1988.”

At the diocesan and national levels: “In 1987 St. Clement’s raised $8175 for the Episcopal Charities Appeal, the largest amount of the eighty-seven parishes in the Diocese of California. The United Thank Offering (UTO) forwarded another $300 from this church…St. Clement’s also supports directly two Episcopal Charities agencies, sending $1200 to Canterbury House and $200 to St. Luke’s Hospital.”

These descriptions, though written in 1987, characterize a number of efforts which continued in the ensuing years, even through unforeseen challenges.

In 1989 San Francisco suffered a major earthquake, which destroyed part of the Bay Bridge and disrupted life in the entire Bay Area for months thereafter. About

that time, also, the parish itself was experiencing a change of leadership, which caused divisions among parishioners and the loss of some church members.

Then, in 1991 the Oakland/Berkeley Firestorm occurred, affecting parishioners and non-members alike. Still, the Outreach Committee continued its work and included in its efforts the St. James Food Pantry, the Seafarers Service, An Episcopal Ministry to Convalescent Hospitals, the Canterbury Foundation, H.E.L.P., St. Clement’s program of tutoring in Berkeley public schools, the Claremont Respite Center Alzheimer’s Group, a home for girls in Honduras, together with EYC outreach, the Visiting Committee, and an in-parish program to take Christmas gifts, meals, and trees to seven families.

The 1995 Annual Report reveals that the Parish

St. Clement’s parishioners participate in a “Rebuilding Together” house renovation project, 2002 Photograph by “Rebuilding Together Albany - Berkeley - Emeryville”

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was facing significant financial challenges presented by the mandated seismic upgrade retrofit to Palache Hall. The church staff had been asked to do without cost of living increases, the budget was cut, and the diocesan assessment had been reduced, thanks to a successful petition to the diocese. The parish secretary was working fewer hours, the assistant rector had moved into the rectory to save the housing allowance, and other rooms of the rectory were being used for church events. Rental income from Palache Hall was no longer available while the building was being retrofitted.

Nevertheless, moving forward, in 1996 the Outreach Committee chose several projects which included: donations to the elderly at Oak Center Towers; Help for the Homeless at the Alameda Food Bank; cooking at a homeless shelter; as well as participating in the Diocesan program of “Christmas in April,” rebuilding homes for those in need. These efforts continued while also collecting funds for the annual Episcopal Charities Appeal, gathering food donations at Thanksgiving for Clausen House and St. James’ Food Pantry, and collecting wrapped Christmas gifts for Clausen House and St. James.

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The year 2002 saw the establishment of the GoodeRitson Fund with money received from a parishioner’s bequest. A portion of the income from the fund was to be directed to local charitable activities that the church or its members supported as volunteers or with financial contributions. Parishioners also instituted a new initiative called “St. Clement’s Cooks,” in which a group from St. Clement’s gathers to cook, serve, and enjoy a monthly meal with residents of the Berkeley Emergency Housing Project.

In 2008 St. Clement’s set and met a goal of helping at least thirty people through the Heifer Project. Our monetary contributions filled an “ark” with animals such as pigs, water buffaloes, donkeys, and other animals, to be donated to people around the world, to help those on the brink of starvation have hope and a way forward out of poverty. Each family receiving livestock will pass on one or more of the animal’s offspring to other needy families in their community, thus multiplying the value of the gift for years to come.

This fund-raising success culminated with the Rector kissing a cow on the front lawn of the parish property!

St. Clement’s fills an “Ark” for the Heifer Project, 2008 - 75 -

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St. Clement’s Remembers

S T . C LE M E N T ’ S BOOK OF REMEMBRANCE n 1935 parishioners Clara and Fannie Heck decided that a record should be kept of the material gifts given to St. Clement’s Church.

They purchased a large book made especially for that purpose by the Church League in New York City and dedicated it to their mother, Anna Tuttle Heck. The book contains a description of gifts, with the names of the donors, dates, and, when known, the name of the person honored by the gift.

The Centennial History Project Committee feels that the Book is complete to date with all known facts.

The Book is kept in the church office and is available to everyone. It is a pleasure to leaf through it and find that the original main altar was hand-made by Mr. Whitney Palache; that the wooden cross over the chapel altar was carved by the Rev. and Mrs. Matthew Bigliardi; and that the earliest notation is of an altar cloth made in 1916 by the grandmother of Mrs. W. R. L. Campbell. One of the most heart warming, yet somewhat puzzling, entries is that Stuart Harding gave a candle extinguisher, bought with his first pay check. His age and the date are not listed.

The book, as well as a separate, complete list of the contents as of November 1, 2009, is available in the St. Clement’s Archives.

World War I Church Service Flag

World War II Church Service Flag

Honoring those who served their country - 76 -

Berkeley, California

“What’s past is prologue” It is customary in celebrating centennials to review the past as a means of fathering the future, of giving recognition to past leadership, and of marking the milestones that give an institution its identity.

Our mission in preparing this book has been to review and consolidate the history of St. Clement’s in order to provide precedents for present and future leadership and to reveal the singular and delightful character of our parish to all who are interested.

The Centennial History Project Committee

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1908-2008

St. Clement’s Church

A PPE N DICE S Biography of St. Clement of Alexandria Vicars and Rectors,

1908-present

Assistant Rectors,

1965-present

Interim Rectors,

1988 - 1997

Stained Glass Windows, Chronological Listing The Judson Studios Palache Family History Research Sources

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Berkeley, California

ST. CLEMENT OF A L E XA N D R I A F E A S T D A Y, DECEMBER 5 T H

itus Flavius Clemens was born in the middle of the second century to parents who were pagans. It has been said that he is called Clement of Alexandria to distinguish him from Clement of Rome. He became a cultured Greek philosopher who sought truth in many schools until he met Pantaenus, founder of the Christian Catechetical School at Alexandria, Egypt. It was there he became a Christian and later, a priest. He succeeded Pantaenus as head of the school in about 190 AD, and was for many years an apologist for the Christian faith to both pagans and Christians. Clement’s learning and allegorical exegesis of the Bible helped to commend Christianity to the intellectual circles of Alexandria.

His work prepared the way for his pupil Origen, the most eminent theologian of early Greek Christianity, and his liberal approach to secular knowledge laid the foundations of Christian humanism. During the persecution of Christians under the Emperor Severus in 202 AD, he fled Alexandria for Caesarea in Cappadocia. The exact time and place of his death are unknown, although it is believed he had died prior to 215 AD. Clement lived in the age of “Gnosticism”, a comprehensive term for many theories or ways of salvation current in the second and third centuries, all emphasizing “Gnosis” or “knowledge.” Salvation for Gnostics was to be attained through a secret and rather esoteric knowledge accessible only to a few. It was salvation from the world, rather than salvation

1908-2008

of the world. Clement asserted that there was a true Christian Gnosis, to be found in the Scriptures, available to all. Although his understanding of this Christian knowledge – ultimately knowledge of Christ – incorporated several notions of Greek philosophy which the Gnostics also held, Clement dissented from the negative Gnostic view of the world and its denial of the role of free will.

What Rich Man Will Be Saved? was the title of a treatise by Clement on Mark 10: 17-31 and the Lord’s words, “Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.” His interpretation sanctioned the “right use” of material goods and wealth. It has been contrasted to the interpretation of Athanasius in his Life of Antony, which emphasized strict renunciation. Both interpretations can be found in early Christian spirituality, Clement’s called “liberal” and that of Athanasius, “literal.”

Among Clement’s other writings are the hymns, “Sunset to sunrise changes now” and “Master of eager youth.”

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St. Clement’s Church

V I CARS AND R ECTORS 1908-PRESENT

October 1908 - October 1909 The Rev. Donald Mayo Brookman, D.D.

March 1957 - May 1961 The Rev. Canon Charles Mortimer Guilbert

1910 - November 1911 The Rev. F. G. Williams

September 1961 - June 1965 The Rev. Elvin Woodrow Smith

December 1911 - May 1923 The Rev. Frederick Augustus Martyr

September 1965 - December 1987 The Rev. Gordon David Griffith, D.D.

May 1923 - November 1925 The Rev. Mark Rifenbark, D.D.

June 1988 - June 1989 The Rev. Richard Mapplebeckpalmer

1925 - 1926 – Vicar October 1926 - December 1932 - Rector The Rev. Lindley Hoffman Miller

April 1991 - June 1995 The Rev. Rudolph Johnson September 1997 - present The Rev. Bruce Douglas O’Neill

January 1933 - December 1956 The Rev. Joseph Henry Thomas, D.D.

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Berkeley, California

ASSISTANT RECTORS

1908-2008

INTERIM RECTORS

1965 – PRESENT June 1965 - June 1966 The Rev. Harold Weicker

January - May 31, 1988 The Rev. Wilfred H. Hodgkin

June 1966 - May 1969 The Rev. Robert E. Neily

July - September 1989 November - December 1989 The Rev. Tally Jarrett

June 1969 - June 1971 The Rev. Lawrence K. Mikelsen August 1971 - September 1972 The Rev. David R. Bowden

October 1989 - August 1990 The Rev. Wilfred H. Hodgkin

February - October 1973 The Rev. Martin Risard

October 1989 - August 1990 The Rev. Richard Paul Vaggione, OHC (Assistant to Fr. Hodgkin)

October 1974 - June 1975 The Rev. Kent Pinneo

September 1990 - April 1991 The Rev. Rudolph Johnson (called as Rector, April 1991-June 1995)

January 1976 - December 1987 The Rev. James E. Williams June 1992 - February 1994 The Rev. Dean Elliott Wolfe

August 1995 - July 1996 The Rev. Robert McCann

August 1994 - September 1996 The Rev. Malcolm Clemens Young

September 1996 - August 1997 The Rev. Malcolm Clemens Young (Assistant, August 1994-September 1996)

March 2002 - June 2005 The Rev. Katherine G. Flexer September 2005 - present The Rev. Salying Wong

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St. Clement’s Church

T H E S T A I N E D G L ASS WINDOWS IN ST. C L E M E N T ’ S C H U R CH A C H R O N O L OGICAL LISTING

St. Paul & St. John windows (flanking the Christus window) Donor: Mr. Ramsey Probasco Honoree: Mrs. Clara Probasco

1954

Suffer the Little Children (north interior wall) Donors: Mr. & Mrs. Harry W. Browne Honoree: Sarah George I. Browne

1965

The Stoning of St. Stephen (chapel) Donor: Minty Reanier Honoree: Wilber Avery Reanier

1967 The Nativity (south wall)

Donor: Margaret Jewell

Honoree: Dora Stubbs Cryer

1939 Christus window over altar

Donor: Prifold Family

Honoree: George Prifold, Sr. 1944

1965 St. Christopher & St. John St. George & the Good Samaritan (Chapel doors, windows & transom)

Donor: Esther Hudson Branch

Honoree: The Rev. Gordon D. Griffith

1967 The Resurrection (south wall)

Donor: Mrs. Frederick Laubscher

Honorees: Peggy & Martha Bullington,

Louis & Elise Laubscher,

Frederick Laubscher 1967 St. Clement of Alexandria (chapel)

Donor: Dr. Charles Hine

Honoree: Grace Gibson Hine 1968 The Annunciation (south wall)

Donor: Mrs. John Pescio

Honorees: John & Emily Lassen,

Erma Lassen

1955 Jesus in the Temple (north interior wall)

Donors: John A Tench & Family

1971 The Cross & the Lamp (Narthex)

Donors: Eichelberger Family

Honorees: Mary Ellen & Kirk Eichelberger

1955 Rose Window

Donor: Mrs. Eugenia Patten 1955 Narthex Screen Windows

1971 St. Andrew’s Window (Narthex)

Donor: Margaret Jewell

Honoree: Lucien Charles Lance

1961 Trial before Pilate and The

Crucifixion windows (south wall)

Donors: The Father and Brother of

Honoree: Charles William Weill

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Berkeley, California

1971 The Transfiguration (south wall)

Donor: Mrs. John Gilman

Honoree: John Rae Gilman 1971 The Great Commission (south wall)

Donor: Mrs. Wallace Atherton

Honoree: Wallace Atherton 1971 St. Francis of Assisi (chapel)

Donor: Mrs. Carola Lachman

Honoree: Rev. Georg Strauch 1973 St. Richard of Chichester (chapel)

Donors: Richard and Dorothy Haas 1973 St. Catherine of Alexandria (chapel)

Donor: Ruth Cheney Streeter

Honoree: Katherine A. Towle

1908-2008

1987 St. Cecelia & Fr. Junipero Serra windows

(north wall behind chapel)

Donors: Robert Cleary &

Cecelia Flournoy Hoover

Honorees: Suzanne Whitby Flournoy & Dorothy Higgs Cleary Hoover

Un- Narthex door to church dated Donor: Daughter of

Honorees: Hattie & Robert Irvine

The Revelation at Emmaus (south wall) Donor: Mrs. Sharp

Medallion Windows (chapel, rear wall) Donors: Ramsey Probasco & Nieces Honoree: Clara Tuttle Probasco

1973 St. Joseph of Arimathea (chapel)

Donor: Berwyn Edmund Stewart

Honoree: Berwyn Edmund Stewart 1973 St. John the Divine of Patmos (chapel)

Donor: Mrs. John Pescio

Honorees: John & Anita Pescio 1975 Harp & Trumpet (Narthex)

Donor: Marie & Herman Hiller 1975 St. John (Baptistry door)

Donor: Mr. Philip Marks 1986 St. James (Baptistry door)

Donors: Family & Friends of

Honoree: Mercedes B. Pape

The Resurrection Window

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St. Clement’s Church

THE JUDSON STUDIOS

RESEARCH SOURCES

The Judson Studios, maker of stained glass windows, had been in operation forty-two years when St. Clement’s ordered its first window. W. Lees Judson, a noted California artist, and his three sons saw the need for a stained glass company on the West Coast.

They opened shop in 1897 in Los Angeles as the Colonial Art Glass Company. In 1931 the company was incorporated as The Judson Studios. The business has remained in the Judson family since its inception, and great-great grandson David Judson is the present owner and president.

Over the years Judson artists have worked with many architectural greats, including Frank Lloyd Wright.

Although their main works are in stained and faceted glass, their interests in the art world are varied. The Judson Gallery of Contemporary and Traditional Art is located on the gracious and extensive grounds of their offices at 200 Avenue 66, Los Angeles.

ARCHIVES

Archival Records of St. Clement’s Episcopal Church, Berkeley, California Archives of the Diocese of California “The Pacific Churchman” Diocese of California, San Francisco, California Volume XLVIII, Number 3, October 1912 “A Municipal Policy in Berkeley” September 1919 “History of St. Clement’s” BOOKS

THE PALACHE FAMILY HISTORY Papers outlining the genealogy and history of the Palache and Whitney Families are filed in the Archives of the St. Clement’s Episcopal Church. We are grateful to Judith Palache Gregory, great-grandaughter of James and Helen Palache, for sharing them with our researcher.

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Bartlett, The Very Reverend Julian, D.D., Dean.

A Welcome to Grace Cathedral, San Francisco. Pitkin Pictorials Ltd., London, 1967 Bean, Walton, and Rawls, James K. California, An Interpretive History. McGraw-Hill, Inc., 1983

Berkeley, California

Saint Mark’s Berkeley Celebrates 125 Years, 1877-2002, April 25-28, 2002

Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association, The. Berkeley, California Berkeley Urban Conservation Survey. no date Claremont Court, Berkeley’s Most Fashionable Residence District. 2005 (reprint of 1993 House Tour Brochure) The Grand and Gracious Homes of Claremont Court. 1993 House Tour Brochure.

Berkeley, California, 1993

Story of Stained Glass, The. Prepared and Sponsored

by The Stained Glass Association of America, June 1963, Fifth Edition Wollenberg, Charles. Berkeley, A City in History.

University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, 2008 NEWSPAPERS

“Berkeley Churchman, The”. September 1911-June 1916 (bound) Fire In the Hills. A Collective Remembrance. Edited by Patricia Adler and Marion Abbott Bundy, Linda Morris Fletcher, Nancy A. Pietrafesa, Terry Shames, Jane Staw. c. 1992 by Patricia Adler. Printed through Penn & Ink by Colorcraft, Ltd., Hong Kong

1908-2008

Berkeley Daily Gazette. Monday, November 3, 1958.

Story about St. Clement’s Episcopal Church on the occasion of its 50th Anniversary

Lesser Feasts and Fasts. Church Publishing Inc., New York, 1997

Berkeley Reporter, The. Vol. 5, No. 124. Saturday, October 6, 1906. Berkeley “St. Mark’s Parish to Build Episcopal Church in the New Claremont District”

“Pacific Churchman, The”. Diocese of California, San Francisco, California, Centennial Issue, February 1954

Herald and News, Klamath Falls, Oregon, no date.

“Couple Marks Anniversary 70”

St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Berkeley, California

Independent and Gazette, The. Wednesday, February 23, 1977 “Architectural heritage…Claremont’s English church”

“Saint Mark’s Missioner”. Fiftieth Anniversary Number. Volume 1, Number 3, April 1927 75 Years of St. Mark’s. St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 1877-1952

Oakland Tribune January 3, 1909. “Permits for the week - Church building to: St. Mark’s parish on Russell and Claremont. Cost $1500”

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St. Clement’s Church

January 17, 1909. “Mrs. George J. Jackson will entertain members and friends of St. Clement’s Guild of the new Claremont Church…”

April 17, 1909. “Hour of Service at St. Clement’s Changed” Richmond Independent. February 26, 1980, pages 1, 4. “Hugs, tears mark happy end to refugees’ story.”

By Norman Colby San Francisco Chronicle, Section F, page 1.

January 3, 2009. “Renaissance Man.” San Mateo Times, Saturday, May 27, 1961.

“Forty-fifth Anniversary as a Priest”

Foley, Gregory. “Drake’s landing site now almost certain” Point Reyes Light.

June 28, 2001. http://www.ptreyeslight.com/stories/ june28_01/drakes/estero.html Havey, Francis P. “Clement of Alexandria” The Original Catholic Encyclopedia http://oce.catholic.com/index.php?title= Clement_of_Alexandria San Francisco Recreation and Parks.

Prayer Book Cross, Golden Gate Park - San Francisco http://www.thecross-photo.com/Prayer_Book_Cross_ Golden_Gate_Park_San_Francisco PERSONAL INTERVIEWS

San Mateo Times, WEEKEND, cover, 2A, 4A. Saturday, March 26, 1966. “From Khyber Pass to Pulpit”

Natalie Griffith, widow of the Rev. Gordon D. Griffith (St. Clement’s 1965-1987). Interviewed at her home in Santa Rosa, California.

ONLINE SOURCES

Drake, Francis. “The World Encompassed by Sir Francis Drake (Voyage of 1577-1580).

Compiled by Drake’s Nephew, Francis Drake, from the journal of the ship’s chaplain, Frances Fletcher, and others; published 1628. Excerpts: Nova Albion (California) 1579” National Humanities Center, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, 2006. http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/pds/amerbegin/ contact/text5/drake.pdf

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Jean Hiller and Suzanne Hiller Herrick, daughters of Herman F. Hiller, the original and long-serving Treasurer of St. Clement’s, and Marie Hiller. They attended St. Clement’s starting in the 1920’s, and Suzanne was married in the church in 1946.

Interviewed at their residence in Greenbrae, California.

Francis Morgan, present member of St. Clement’s, attending since the mid-1920’s. Interviewed by telephone at her home in Walnut Creek, California.