Thanksgiving for the Example of Unity
I have been asked to share encouraging words from our church’s history on each of the four Thursdays in November—encouraging words from the Communion of Saints who surround us still and who have given us many gifts. Today I want to share an encouraging word about unity—what it looks like and how it is achieved.
In September of 1928, The Church of St. Michael and All Angels (St. Michael’s Church) learned that St. George’s Church, founded in 1845 in the city, was in financial difficulty and would be forced to dissolve or merge with another parish. The vestry of St. Michael’s Church voted unanimously on September 27 to extend a merger invitation to St. George’s Church. The vestry then called a parish meeting, and those in attendance expressed their approval for the merger. Parishioners were polled, and “The Church of St. Michael & St. George” was selected as the name for the merged parish.
St. Michael’s Church then extended an invitation for a merger to St. George’s Church. Things moved swiftly. Three days later, St. George’s Church took a vote to get a “sense of the house” on merger invitations they had received from three churches. More than two-thirds of those in attendance voted in favor of merging with St. Michael’s Church. Arrangements were left in the hands of the vestry.
On October 9, the Rev. Dr. Karl Morgan Block, rector of St. Michael’s Church, sent a letter to the vestry of St. George’s Church. The letter informed the church that St. Michael’s Church had met to discuss the merger, and the parishioners in attendance had decided unanimously to approve a merger of the two parishes. Dr. Block’s letter included proposed terms that tell us much about what unity looks like and how it is achieved:
- The formal name of the merged parish shall be The Protestant Episcopal Church of St. Michael & St. George.
- As many of the memorials of St. George’s Church as practicable shall be placed in the enlarged, merged church.
- Four of the vestry of St. George’s Church shall be invited to sit with the vestry of St. Michael’s Church at meetings for the balance of the current year, after which time it will be recommended that four members from the former St. George’s parish be elected to the vestry of the merged parish at the annual meeting in January 1929.
- The present treasurer of St. George’s Church shall be appointed associate treasurer of the merged parish to serve as such during the current year.
- St. Michael’s Church shall guarantee the Rev. Raymond Brock, upon his resignation as rector of St. George’s Church, the balance of his salary for the year at the rate of $300 per month.
The new parish immediately became the heir to the rich background of the fourth oldest Protestant Episcopal church in the diocese and to the vigor of the youngest. On October 28, the first worship service of the merged parish was conducted at our present location.
Mergers in the business world often have a different tone. The distressed company is not welcomed as an equal, and relationships between the employees of the stronger company and the weaker company that is perceived to have been “taken over” often cause significant strain. The leadership of the weaker company is often jettisoned, and the leadership of the stronger company moves in like hawks to eradicate all symbols of the weaker company’s culture. After all, it failed, didn’t it, and who wants to perpetuate a failed culture?
But we are about the Lord’s business. This was not a merger of two companies. It was a merger of two of God’s parishes. Everything about the merger was a witness that St. Michael’s Church understood this and was intent on creating a merger that would build harmony and unity among all parishioners. The proposed terms for the merger listed above indicated how that goal was achieved. There were other indicators.
Dr. Block always called the merged parish by its full name—The Church of St. Michael & St. George. Dr. Floyd Stewart, who served on the vestry of St. George’s Church at the time of the merger and on the first vestry of the merged parish, thanked the vestry “in the name of all those of the congregation of St. George’s Church for the fine welcome and wholehearted kindliness extended to everybody and which has governed all relationships since the amalgamation of the two parishes.” Dr. Block, reflecting later on the merger, said: “I often think what a blessing it was for this combined parish to have the grand people from St. George’s. They have given this church a tone and a devotion which it seems to me would have been impossible otherwise.”
