Church of the Good Shepherd (Rosemont, Pennsylvania)

Last updated

Church of the Good Shepherd
Entrance and tower of Church of the Good Shepherd (Rosemont, Pennsylvania).jpg
The bell tower and north entrance
Church of the Good Shepherd (Rosemont, Pennsylvania)
40°1′28″N75°19′29″W / 40.02444°N 75.32472°W / 40.02444; -75.32472
Location1116 E Lancaster Avenue, Rosemont, Pennsylvania
CountryUnited States
Denomination Episcopal
Tradition Anglo-Catholic [1]
Churchmanship High church
Website The Church of the Good Shepherd, Rosemont, Pennsylvania
History
Statusactive parish
Founded1869
Consecrated 1910
Architecture
Architect(s) Baily & Truscott (Philadelphia) (main church); Samuel Fowler and Samuel Mountford (Trenton, New Jersey) (Baptistry, Cloister, and Lady Chapel)
Architectural type Gothic Revival
Style English Gothic
Groundbreaking 1893
Completed1894
Specifications
Bells11 in bell tower, one above sanctuary
Administration
Diocese Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania
Parish Church of the Good Shepherd
Clergy
Rector Kyle Babin

The Church of the Good Shepherd in Rosemont, Pennsylvania, is an Episcopal parish church in the progressive Anglo-Catholic tradition. [1] It is part of the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania and is located in the Philadelphia Main Line.

Contents

Good Shepherd offers a robust program of high church Anglican worship, using the Book of Common Prayer (1979) . The church welcomes all people, regardless of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, or socioeconomic status.

The 19th-century church building has been called "a gorgeous, absolutely stunning neo-gothic space, [whose] acoustics are fantastic". [2]

Location of Church of the Good Shepherd in Rosemont, Pennsylvania (white x), in relation to Bryn Mawr College (right) and Villanova University (upper left) Map showing Church of the Good Shepherd (Rosemont, Pennsylvania).png
Location of Church of the Good Shepherd in Rosemont, Pennsylvania (white x), in relation to Bryn Mawr College (right) and Villanova University (upper left)

History

The parish was founded in 1869 as part of the Anglo-Catholic Oxford Movement revival in the Anglican Church, [3] and was admitted to the Diocese of Pennsylvania in 1871. Its original church building, demolished in 1901, [4] was on the north side of Lancaster Avenue, just east of the present football stadium of Villanova University.

Through a donation of $27,000 (more than $900,000 in 2024 dollars [5] ) from parishioner Harry Banks French of the Smith, Kline & French company, [6] (in memory of his recently-deceased wife, Augusta Graham French [4] ) the present church building was designed by the Philadelphia architectural firm of Baily & Truscott. [7] Constructed in 1893 and 1894, the architecture is in the Gothic Revival style of a 14th-Century English country church. The first services were held in 1894, and the building was consecrated in 1910. [8]

Rectors

NameYears
Henry Palethorp Hay1869 - 1883
Arthur B. Conger1883 - 1912
Charles Townsend Jr.1912 - 1930
Thomas A. Sparks1930 - 1932
William P.S. Lander1933 - 1962
James H. Cupit, Jr.1963 - 1971
George William Rutler1971 - 1978
Andrew Craig Mead [a] 1978 - 1985
Jeffrey N. Steenson 1986 - 1989
David Moyer 1989 - 2002
parochus vacans [b] 2002 - 2012
Richard C. Alton2012 - 2014
parochus vacans2014 - 2020
Kyle Babin2020 – present

The parish rector is the Rev. Dr. Kyle Babin. Babin holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Rice University, a Master of Music degree from Yale University with a certificate from the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Manhattan School of Music, and a Master of Divinity degree from Virginia Theological Seminary. Immediately before accepting his call as rector in August 2020, Babin was a member of the clergy of St. Mark's Episcopal Church, an Anglo-Catholic parish in Philadelphia. [9]

Art and architecture

West Window, with St. Michael the Archangel (center), a memorial to the dead of the First World War West Window, Church of the Good Shepherd (Rosemont, Pennsylvania).jpg
West Window, with St. Michael the Archangel (center), a memorial to the dead of the First World War
Floor plan of the church: (1) west door; (2) baptistry; (3) Good Shepherd votive shrine; (4) Lady Chapel; (5) tower bells console; (6) Marian votive shrine; (7) icons; (8) Rood Screen; (9) High altar; (10) altar rail; (11) bishop's chair; (12) organ pipes chamber; (13) organ console; (14) chancel; (15) Our Lady of Walsingham votive shrine; (16) war memorial; (17) bishop's door; (18) sacristy entrance; (19) nativity window; (20) Good Shepherd statue above the north door; (21) bell tower Plan of Church of the Good Shepherd (Rosemont, Pennsylvania).jpg
Floor plan of the church: (1) west door; (2) baptistry; (3) Good Shepherd votive shrine; (4) Lady Chapel; (5) tower bells console; (6) Marian votive shrine; (7) icons; (8) Rood Screen; (9) High altar; (10) altar rail; (11) bishop's chair; (12) organ pipes chamber; (13) organ console; (14) chancel; (15) Our Lady of Walsingham votive shrine; (16) war memorial; (17) bishop's door; (18) sacristy entrance; (19) nativity window; (20) Good Shepherd statue above the north door; (21) bell tower

Entrance and bell tower

Above the main (north) entrance to the church is a polychrome statue depicting the boy Jesus as the Good Shepherd. The crenellated bell tower contains bells playing the Cambridge Quarters, as well as ringing the Angelus and ringing before Mass; a bell elsewhere sounds during the eucharistic consecration. The chime of bells, donated in 1913, are playable from a console in the Lady Chapel. Ten of the bells are stationary; the largest (the 11th bell) can be swung. [10]

Church building c. 1910. Note the rose window above the west door; the window was replaced after the First World War with the Archangel Michael memorial window. Church of the Good Shepherd (Rosemont, Pennsylvania) ca. 1910.jpg
Church building c. 1910. Note the rose window above the west door; the window was replaced after the First World War with the Archangel Michael memorial window.

There is a hammerbeam roof. [4] The nave comprises five bays and a clerestory, all with stained glass. In all, the building's stained glass includes 50 figurative windows and six ornamental windows. [11]

Rood screen

Rood screen and chancel ceiling Rood Screen and Chancel ceiling, Church of the Good Shepherd (Rosemont, Pennsylvania).jpg
Rood screen and chancel ceiling

A large carved wooden rood screen surmounted with a crucifixion separates the chancel from the nave. The screen, designed by Percy M. Fowler of Trenton, New Jersey, [12] was added to the building in 1912. Its cast iron gates are by celebrated blacksmith Samuel Yellin (1884–1940). [13]

Chancel

The chancel contains a decorated coffered ceiling.

High altar and reredos

The high altar is made of Caen stone and was installed in 1905. [14] In 1929 the artist and parishioner George Fort Gibbs created seven paintings for the high altar's reredos as a memorial to his parents. The center panel is a Virgin and Child flanked by panels depicting other figures from the Christian era and Old Testament: Saint Francis of Assisi, Saint Peter, King Saint Edward the Confessor (last king of the English House of Wessex), Moses, Aaron, and King David. [13]

Lady chapel

There is a separate Lady chapel, dedicated in 1918, at the top of the south aisle. The space was originally a sacristy and choir room. [12] The current limestone altar was installed in 1954. The tabernacle and triptych, as well as the carved double-desk, are by parishioner Davis d'Ambly and date from the 1980s. [13] There is a carved Marian votive shrine in the chapel.

Lady Chapel Lady Chapel, Church of the Good Shepherd.jpg
Lady Chapel

Baptistry

An octagonal baptistry with carved font and stained glass was added off the south side of the nave in 1932. The chandelier is by Samuel Yellin and the glazing and polychrome are by Valentine d'Ogries (1889–1959). [13]

Stations of the Cross

The fourteen Stations of the Cross were painted between 1956 and 1962 by parishioner and local artist Constance LaBoiteaux Drake. Models for the male images ranged from the artist's sons, to lifeguards on Nantucket Island, students at Haverford College, and (for the Roman soldiers) Italian sailors aboard the SS Leonardo da Vinci. [15] The stations are painted in tempera, on wood. The frames were made by Philip Jenney. [16]

War memorial

The war memorial, created in 1942, honors parishioners who have served in the armed forces in and since World War II. It was installed at the urging of a parishioner, Lt. Gen. Milton Baker, who also established the nearby Valley Forge Military Academy and College. [13]

Crypt

There is a columbarium and funerary chapel in the crypt of the church, along with a burial vault containing the remains of benefactor Harry Banks French and members of his family.

Memorial Garden

Adjacent to the church outside, there is a memorial garden for the interment of cremated remains.

Stained glass

Bell tower narthex (North door)

West wall

Clerestory Windows, Gospel Side

Clerestory Windows, Epistle Side

Worship

Schedule

The church is open Monday through Friday for eucharistic adoration, and meditation. Masses are celebrated on Sunday at 8:00 am (Low Mass) and at 10:30 am (Sung High Mass). Separate children's and adult formation classes are held before and after Mass.

Morning Prayer is held on Monday to Saturday at 9:00 am and Evening Prayer on Monday to Friday at 5:30 pm.

Mass is also celebrated on Wednesdays, Fridays, and major holy days regardless of whether they fall on Wednesdays or Fridays.

Choral evensong with Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament is held throughout the year.

Our Lady of Walsingham shrine at Good Shepherd. The original shrine in England was suppressed in 1538 during the English Reformation, but devotion to her was revived in the 20th century by Anglo-Catholics. Shrine to Our Lady of Walsingham, Church of the Good Shepherd (Rosemont, Pennsylvania).jpg
Our Lady of Walsingham shrine at Good Shepherd. The original shrine in England was suppressed in 1538 during the English Reformation, but devotion to her was revived in the 20th century by Anglo-Catholics.

Practice

As at other high Church, Anglo-Catholic churches, worship and liturgy at Good Shepherd incorporate the later Catholic Revival's devotional and eucharistic practices:

Music program

Since January 2024, the parish organist and director of music is Robert McCormick.

The choir comprises a professional core, auditioned volunteer singers, and one or more choral scholars from area colleges. The choir sings weekly at the 10:30 High Mass on Sundays, roughly once monthly for Choral Evensong or another similar service, and at special liturgies throughout the year, including Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Ash Wednesday, the solemn liturgies of Holy Week, Easter, and Pentecost. The choir offers a sung setting of the Mass on most Sundays and feast days ranging from Palestrina and Victoria to Stanford and Parry and the great English cathedral repertoire, as well as sacred music being written for the church today such as James MacMillan, Eriks Esenvalds, and local Philadelphia composers. The Good Shepherd Choristers, for children ages 7 and above, was founded in September 2024. [17]

Organ

The organ at Good Shepherd is an Austin, Op. 2613 (1977), with three manuals and 57 ranks of pipes.

Outreach

Rosemont Community Retreat House

The parish has an adjacent community retreat house, located in the renovated former rectory. Accommodations include seven guestrooms, three bathrooms, and two kitchens. Part of the parish's outreach is to serve and strengthen the Church by offering formation for parish musicians, clergy, seminarians, students of sacred music, and all who wish spiritual nourishment. The parish especially values the arts in relation to liturgy and spirituality. The retreat programs feature contemplative encounters with literature and visual art, as well as instrumental and choral music. In addition to "program" (multi-day) retreats and "day" (single-day) retreats, anyone is welcome who wishes to make an individual retreat in a peaceful setting where there is a regular rhythm of public prayer. [18]

Main Line Early Music

The church is the venue for an annual early music series of concerts, including some of the region's finest early music ensembles, performing on period instruments. [19]

Galleries

Art and architecture

Stained Glass (examples)

Stations of the Cross

Notes

  1. Fr. Mead went on to serve as Rector of St. Thomas Episcopal Church on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, New York City, from 1996 to 2014.
  2. In 2002 Rev. David Moyer was deposed from the priesthood by the bishop of Pennsylvania, Charles E. Bennison. Fr. Moyer remained de facto rector of Good Shepherd until 2011 when the parish was returned to control of the Diocese of Pennsylvania by court order, and he vacated the premises.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Patrick's Basilica (Ottawa)</span> Church in Ottawa, Ontario

St Patrick's Basilica is a Roman Catholic Church in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Located at 281 Nepean Street in Downtown Ottawa, it is the oldest church in the city that serves the English-speaking community. The Basilica is one of the regular buildings featured in the Doors Open Ottawa architectural heritage day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Thomas's Anglican Church (Toronto)</span> Church in Toronto, Ontario

St. Thomas's Church, Huron Street is a parish of the Anglican Church of Canada in Toronto, Ontario. One of the earliest Anglo-Catholic congregations in Canada, it was established in 1874, moving twice before settling into its present building, adjacent to the Annex on the western edge of the University of Toronto's downtown campus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist (Charleston, South Carolina)</span> Church in South Carolina , United States

The Cathedral of St. John the Baptist is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charleston, located in Charleston, South Carolina. Designed by Brooklyn architect Patrick Keely in the Gothic Revival style, it opened in 1907. The Most Reverend Jacques E. Fabre, the fourteenth Bishop of Charleston, was ordained and installed on May 13, 2022

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Church of the Holy Family, Singapore</span> Church in Singapore

The Church of the Holy Family, also known as Holy Family Church and Katong Catholic Church, is a Catholic church in the Archdiocese of Singapore. It is located at Chapel Road, off East Coast Road, and has one of the largest parish populations in the archdiocese.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Mark's Episcopal Church (Philadelphia)</span> Historic church in Pennsylvania, United States

Saint Mark's Episcopal Church is an Episcopal church located at 1625 Locust Street in Rittenhouse Square in Center City Philadelphia. It is part of the Diocese of Pennsylvania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christ Church St Laurence</span> Church in City of Sydney. New South Wales, Australia

Christ Church St Laurence is an Anglican church located at 814 George Street, near Central railway station and Haymarket, in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is the principal centre of Anglo-Catholic worship in the city and Diocese of Sydney, where the Anglicanism is predominantly Evangelical in character. Anglo-Catholicism is manifested at Christ Church St Laurence by an emphasis on the sacraments, ritual, music and social action, all of which have been prominent features of Anglo-Catholicism since the 19th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cathedral Basilica of Christ the King</span> Church in Hamilton, Ontario

The Cathedral Basilica of Christ the King is a Roman Catholic church in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The cathedral was consecrated on December 19, 1933. It is the seat of the bishop of the Diocese of Hamilton, and the cathedral of the Diocese of Hamilton. The cathedral contains the cathedra of the bishop, the Most Rev. Douglas Crosby. The cathedral was raised to the status of a minor basilica in February 2013 by Pope Benedict XVI.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Clement's Church (Philadelphia)</span> Historic church in Pennsylvania, United States

Saint Clement's Church is an historic Anglo-Catholic parish in Logan Square, Center City, Philadelphia. It is part of the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania. The church, designed by architect John Notman, was built in 1856. It originally incorporated a spire more than 200 feet (61 m) tall; this was found to be too heavy for the foundation and was removed in 1869. In 1929, the church building, which includes the parish house and rectory, and weighs 5,000 short tons (4,500 t), was lifted onto steel rollers and moved 40 feet (12 m) west to allow for the widening of 20th Street. On November 20, 1970, Saint Clement's Church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Episcopal Parish of the Messiah is a family-sized, Anglo-Catholic parish located in the village of Auburndale in Newton, Massachusetts, in the United States. Messiah is in the Charles River Deanery of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts and the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. The parish was founded in 1871, and is located at the corner of Commonwealth Avenue and Auburn Street. The Rev. Devin McLachlan was the 12th rector of the parish. The Rev. James R. La Macchia is the current rector.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Thomas of Canterbury Church, Chester</span> Church in Cheshire, England

The Church of St. Thomas of Canterbury is an active Anglican parish church situated in the City of Chester, in an area of the city informally known as "The Garden Quarter", a densely populated area, close to the University. The church was built in 1872, but the parish of St. Oswald which it serves is much older, dating back to about 980 AD. One of the earliest references to St. Oswald's can be found in Bradshaw's. The parish registers date back to 1580. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building. The church is part of the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Chester and the deanery of Chester. The patrons of the parish are the dean and chapter of Chester Cathedral.

Immaculate Heart of Mary (IHM) Seminary is a Roman Catholic college seminary for men in Winona, Minnesota, in the United States that is sponsored by the Diocese of Winona.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Calvary Episcopal Church (Pittsburgh)</span> Historic site in Shadyside neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Calvary Episcopal Church is a parish of the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The parish was founded in 1855.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Novaliches Cathedral</span> Roman Catholic cathedral in Quezon City, Philippines

The Cathedral Shrine and Parish of the Good Shepherd, commonly known as Novaliches Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic church located along Regalado Avenue in Barangay Fairview, Quezon City in the Philippines. It is the seat of the Diocese of Novaliches. The church was established on August 5, 1975, by Manila Archbishop, Jaime Lachica Sin, who designated Fidelis Ruben Limcaco as the church's first parish priest.

The Church of the Incarnation is a parish of the Diocese of Dallas of the Episcopal Church, located at 3966 McKinney Avenue in Dallas, Texas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ayr Cathedral</span> Church in South Ayrshire, Scotland

The Cathedral Church of Saint Margaret, also known as Ayr Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral located in Ayr, Scotland. It is the seat of the Bishop of Galloway, and the mother church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Galloway. St Margaret's was designated a cathedral in 2007, due to the closure of Good Shepherd Cathedral, Ayr.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Boniface Church, Germiston</span> Church in Gauteng, South Africa

St Boniface Church is the mother church of the Anglican parish of Germiston, Gauteng which also includes the chapelries of St Mary and St John in Lambton, and St Mark in Rosedeep. The parish is part of the Diocese of the Highveld, which is in turn part of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Basil's Church (Toronto)</span> Church in Ontario, Canada

St. Basil's Church, built in 1856, is the founding church of the Congregation of St. Basil in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the college church of St. Michael's College, Toronto, and a parish church serving a large local congregation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. John's Episcopal Church (Keokuk, Iowa)</span> United States historic place

St. John's Episcopal Church is a parish church in the Episcopal Diocese of Iowa. It is located in Keokuk, Iowa, United States. It was listed, together with the parish hall, on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Peter's Episcopal Church (Morristown, New Jersey)</span> United States historic place

St. Peter's Episcopal Church is an active and historic Episcopal church in the Diocese of Newark in Morristown, New Jersey. Located on South Street, St. Peter's congregation has roots going back to the 1760s. Officially founded in 1827, with the current building consecrated in 1911, it is notable for its gothic-revival architecture, medieval interior and fine stained glass. St. Peter's congregation has traditionally worshipped in the High Church tradition. The church was added to the National Register of Historic Places, listed as a contributing property of the Morristown District, on October 30, 1973.

St Patrick's Church is a Roman Catholic church in the Beaumont Leys area of Leicester. The current church building dates from 1959, built to accommodate Leicester's growing Catholic population, although the parish was first created in 1854. The current church building is in the Romanesque style with three distinctive domes in the nave of the church. A stained glass window depicting Saint Patrick, the parish patron, stands at the back of the church. The current parish priest is Father Raphael Imoni, who arrived at St Patrick's in September 2018. The church serves St Patrick's Catholic Voluntary Academy and English Martyrs Catholic School.

References

  1. 1 2 "About Anglo-Catholicism". www.goodshepherdrosemont.com. 2020. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
  2. Anne E. Johnson (March 6, 2023). "Early Music is Flowering on Philly's Main Line, and Beyond" . Retrieved June 27, 2023.
  3. It is Pennsylvania non-profit corporation entity number 66578, incorporated 23 May 1870 (Records of the Pennsylvania Secretary of State).
  4. 1 2 3 Hill 2005, p. 1.
  5. "CPI Inflation Calculator" . Retrieved December 23, 2024.
  6. "An Historical Sermon Delivered in the Memorial Church of the Good Shepherd Rosemont Pa. By the Rector the Rev. Arthur B. Conger A.M. On the Third Sunday After Trinity June 12th, 1910" . Retrieved December 9, 2018.
  7. "Baily & Truscott (fl. 1890-1904)" . Retrieved December 24, 2018.
  8. Coates, Edward Osborne. An historical sketch of the Church of the Good Shepherd, Rosemont, Pennsylvania, 1869-1934 (unknown publisher, 1935).
  9. "Kyle Babin" . Retrieved October 10, 2021.
  10. Church of the Good Shepherd (2019), Treasures of Heaven, The Art and Architecture of Good Shepherd, Rosemont, a Self-Guided Tour
  11. "Census of Stained Glass Windows in America" . Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  12. 1 2 Hill 2005, p. 3.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 Church of the Good Shepherd 2019.
  14. Hill 2005, p. 2.
  15. Constance LaBoiteaux Drake, Six Years Fourteen Stations, Bryn Mawr Alumnae Bulletin (Winter 1963).
  16. Hill 2005, p. 13.
  17. "Choir at Good Shepherd" . Retrieved November 27, 2019.
  18. "Rosemont Community Retreat House" . Retrieved June 27, 2023.
  19. "Main Line Early Music" . Retrieved June 27, 2023.

Bibliography

Further reading