"And in the dream I knew that he was goin' on ahead. And he was fixin' to make a fire somewhere out there in all that dark and all that cold, and I knew that whenever I got there, he would be there..."
- No Country For Old Men
On July 1, 1901, The Reverend Irving Peake Johnson became Gethsemane's Fourth Rector. At the time, there were 1,200 members; in 5 years, there would be 2,000. This may well be linked to Johnson's emphasis on social activity as well as Gethsemane's continuing mission work.
One of the first things Johnson did was to encourage parishioners to talk to each other after the service, and the effect was contagious. 1902 saw the addition of a bowling alley and a basketball court for the Brotherhood in Knickerbacker Hall. And Johnson converted one room into a parlor, increasing social space.
Johnson also opened up the building for other uses. Renters included a kindergarten, the Philharmonic club, and the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra. Increasing the convenience and comfort of the facility, 1906 saw church electrification; Johnson also saw the full and final payment on the church mortgage.
At about this time, two splinter parishes enjoined Johnson for aid, and he responded, over the concerns of the vestry that he might overtax himself serving as rector for three parishes. As he did so, refurbishing and modernizing the church continued apace, with many improvements to the kitchen, basement, and sanctuary.
Despite the assistance of eight curates, Johnson resigned his position to become a Professor of Old Testament Literature at Seabury Divinity School on October 1, 1913.
4 comments:
I like this short story. Why did you match it with the quote from "no country" - other than the obvious reason that the quote is beautiful?
psssh, anne gg, way to not memorize each and every one of my posts :)
the quote is for the "Old School" series as a whole, (though i did forget it a few times) in which i'll profile all of the rectors of my church.
anyway,the quote, and the movie as a whole, gets at the notion of our fathers, spiritual or otherwise, preparing the way for us. we're shaped by the places we worship and inhabit, and i wanted to show my gratitude for those in gethsemane's history who had done so much to put gethsemane where it is- and as it is.
since the garden, as we call it, is so manifestly an old church trying to do new tricks, it seemed pertinent, i thought, for continuity.
Nice. Good answer. Love that movie . . . have you seen Fargo? We just watched it this past week. It's curiously similar.
Yeah, I remember Fargo. The Cohen Brothers (who produced/ directed both) were a little better this time, i thought. i've heard they haven't ever really hit a wrong note, but haven't seen their earlier stuff.
i am always glad to see that their people look more or less like people, and not cinematic per se. excellent casting.
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