Brown Memorial Presbyterian Church
Encyclopedia
Brown Memorial Park Avenue Presbyterian Church of Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
, is a large, Gothic Revival
-style church built in 1870 and located at Park and Lafayette Avenues in the city's Bolton Hill section. Named in memory of a Baltimore financier, the ornate church is noted for its exquisite stained glass
windows by renowned artist Louis Comfort Tiffany
, soaring vaulted ceiling, and the prominent persons associated with its history. Maltbie Babcock
, who was the church's pastor 1887–1900, wrote the familiar hymn, This is My Father's World
. Storied virtuoso concert performer Virgil Fox
was organist at Brown Memorial early in his career (1936–1946).
Called "one of the most significant buildings in this city, a treasure of art and architecture" by Baltimore Magazine, the church underwent a $1.8 million restoration between 2001–2003. It is part of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
denomination.
, chairman of the Baltimore-based investment firm, Alex. Brown & Sons
, and one of the founders of the pioneering Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
in 1827.
Construction was funded by a gift of $150,000 from his widow, Isabella McLanahan Brown, an amount equivalent to more than $4 million in 2009. George Brown was described by a Baltimore historian as a successful businessman and civic leader who "regarded religion as preeminent above all other things and loved his church with all the ardor of his noble nature". John Sparhawk Jones was the church's first pastor, serving from 1870 to 1884. Several of his collected sermons were later published in such books as Seeing Darkly, The Invisible Things, and Saved by Hope.
The church's pastor between 1887–1900 was Maltbie Babcock
, who was formally installed on September 28, 1887. His biography in a 1910 encyclopedia described him as "a fluent speaker, with a marvelous personal magnetism which appealed to all classes of people, and the influence of which became in a sense national. His theology was broad and deep ... he reached people in countless ways and exerted everywhere a remarkable personal magnetism ... [having] an unusually brilliant intellect and stirring oratorical powers that commanded admiration". While at Brown, he led fund-raising efforts to assist Jewish refugees from Russia who were victims of an anti-Jewish pogrom
. He was also a popular speaker with students at Johns Hopkins University
. Under Babcock, the church acquired additional property at North and Madison Avenues for a chapel and Sunday School complex.
When Babcock was called to New York City's Brick Presbyterian Church in 1900, many prominent Baltimoreans, including the faculty of Johns Hopkins University, unsuccessfully implored Babcock to remain at Brown instead of accepting the call to Brick Church. Babcock resigned on January 17, 1900, to pastor the Manhattan church but died suddenly the following year at age 42. At his New York funeral, the presiding clergyman eulogized him, "We do not need a candle to show a sunbeam...The work our brother has done – the life he lived speaks for him." A memorial service for the esteemed former pastor was held at Brown Memorial on May 22, described as "impressive" by the New York Times
. So inspired was former U.S. Postmaster General
James Albert Gary
, a member of Brown Memorial, that he chaired a committee to raise $50,000 (the equivalent of $1.4 million in 2009) for construction of a new church in memory of the beloved former pastor. More than half of that amount was raised the first day from the wealthy congregation, the New York Times reported, and the new Babcock Memorial Presbyterian Church was soon constructed on Brown Memorial Church's North Avenue property.
Babcock's successor as minister of Brown Memorial, John Timothy Stone, also presided over a large memorial gathering in Baltimore on June 2, 1901, choosing as the text for his address to the throng: "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" (Matthew 6:21). Babcock was eulogized at the Baltimore service by various prominent educators, including Daniel C. Gilman
, the first president of Johns Hopkins University, John F. Goucher, the founder of Goucher College
, and Francis L. Patton
, president of Princeton University
. A poem by Babcock was published posthumously the following year by his wife as the familiar hymn, This is My Father's World.
The sanctuary was enlarged in 1905 with the addition of a transept and several Tiffany windows while Stone was minister. Further significant development occurred in 1931 under T. Guthrie Speers, with the addition of the current chancel
designed by notable architect Ralph Adams Cram
and the installation of the present 4-manual pipe organ
by Ernest M. Skinner
. Speers had a popular ministry at Brown Memorial Presbyterian Church from 1928 to 1957. He began an outreach program to Baltimore's Jewish community, occasionally exchanging pulpits with local rabbis.
After Speers' retirement in 1957, John Middaugh was minister from 1958 to 1968. Middaugh was a regular panelist for ten years on the weekly television program To Promote Goodwill, an interfaith discussion of social and religious issues produced by WBAL-TV
and broadcast worldwide on the Voice of America
. He was also in the forefront of the civil rights movement in the early 1960s. Along with William Sloan Coffin and dozens of other clergymen and civil rights activists, Middaugh was arrested in a clash with police at Baltimore's Gwynn Oak Amusement Park
in July 1963 over efforts to desegregate the popular attraction.
Membership peaked at 1,336 in 1952 but subsequently declined in the late 1950s as much of the city's population migrated to the suburbs. In response, a portion of the congregation decided in 1956 to build a church in the suburban Woodbrook area north of Baltimore. Other members wished to remain at the Bolton Hill location, prompting a decision to operate one church at two locations, with a shared ministerial staff. In the early 1970s, the church began a tutoring program for neighborhood children and a "Meals on Wheels
" service under then-ministers Iain Wilson, pastor, and Clinton C. Glenn Jr., assistant minister. In 1980, the congregations of the two churches voted for separation. The original Bolton Hill church was subsequently constituted as "Brown Memorial Park Avenue", to distinguish it from "Brown Memorial Woodbrook", when the separation was completed in October, 1980.
The immediate past minister of the church is Roger J. Gench, pastor from 1990 to 2002, who is now pastor of historic New York Avenue Presbyterian Church
in Washington, D.C.
The full list of senior ministers from 1870 to present is:
, he earned a Bachelor of Arts
from Duke University
and a Master of Divinity
degree from Columbia Theological Seminary
in 2001. He is a recipient of the prestigious David H. C. Read Preaching Award, named for Presbyterian clergyman and author David H. C. Read
of New York City's Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church.
His wife, Kate Foster Connors, whom he met while both were student interns for U.S. Representative
David Price
, is also an ordained minister and serves as youth director at Brown Memorial. The Connors have two children.
Under the pastorate of Andrew Foster Connors, the church’s historic leadership continues in social justice issues including national peace efforts, a statewide campaign for marriage equality, local efforts to rebuild blighted neighborhoods, and advocacy of after-school programs to invest in the youth of Baltimore. His views on current affairs are frequently reported in the Baltimore Sun
daily newspaper. Connors has also taken an active role in dialogues between the Jewish and Christian faith communities.
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The minister of music at Brown Memorial Presbyterian Church since 2004 is internationally renowned concert organist and CD
recording artist John Walker
. Formerly director of music and organist at Riverside Church
in New York City (1983–1992) and Shadyside Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (1992–2005), he has a Doctor of Musical Arts
degree from Stanford University
. Walker is a Fellow of the American Guild of Organists
(AGO), the highest level of certification granted by the organization, and sits on the AGO Board of Examiners. Walker is also national vice president of the AGO, elected in 2008. He is on the Organ Department faculty of Baltimore's well-known Peabody Institute
.
Previous organists include the celebrated virtuoso Virgil Fox
, who gained considerable fame as a concert performer and recording artist while at Brown Memorial early in his career, from 1936 to 1946. Later, Richard Ross was also a significant music figure in the life of the congregation, succeeding Fox as choirmaster and organist, while also composing music. Francis Eugene Belt then served as organist for more than 50 years, spanning the 1950s to the late 1990s. The church's current Adjunct Organist, David Bucher, studied under Belt.
The 4-manual Ernest M. Skinner
pipe organ
has 2,939 pipes and remains essentially the same today as when it was installed in 1931 and tonally finished by G. Donald Harrison
, as Skinner's opus 839. The organ underwent a complete restoration between 2002–2005, with all original 45 ranks of the instrument fully preserved. A 99-memory level Capture System was added to the organ in 2005.
The choir sings a wide range of choral music at Sunday services, from works of classical composers, such as Mozart
's Ave verum corpus
and choruses by Handel
and Johannes Brahms
, to spirituals
and anthems by composers, such as Jane Marshall's My Eternal King. Major choral works are also performed during the year, such as the oratorio Elijah
by Felix Mendelssohn
, conducted by Walker and accompanied by guest organist Frederick Swann
, and Johann Sebastian Bach
's cantata, God's time is always the very best time
("Actus Tragicus", BWV106), in the 2008–2009 season. The choir's May, 2009, performance of Elijah has since been released on CD.
, founder of the Children's Defense Fund
, who spoke on Children in Peril: What Does Our Faith Require of Us? on March 16, 2008. The series "Wednesday Nights at Brown" offers dinner speakers for adults, such as John Walker's "Christian Hymnody and the Theology Behind It," and arts or music activities for children.
The church is active in numerous missions, both locally and on the national and world scenes. Its Urban Mission committee sponsors the Tutoring Program, the oldest volunteer school tutoring program in the nation, and partners with a local elementary school in a story-reading program and yearly donation of books to all pupils. High school and college age youth participate in "Share," an annual summer missions trip to El Salvador
. The church also has a longstanding outreach program with the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation
in South Dakota
, where Brown Memorial youth and adults conduct summer learning camps for Lakota children.
Among the considerable number of stained glass windows, those crafted by Louis Comfort Tiffany
in 1905 are especially prized for their vibrancy and exceptional depth. Baltimore City Paper called the church and its collection of a dozen Tiffany windows, "the most magnificent interior space in Baltimore City". During the restoration survey in 2000, various stained glass experts praised the extent and craftsmanship of the windows. As part of the church's $1.8 million restoration project between 2001-2003, all of the stained glass windows were releaded and restored to their original lustre. They are:
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, is a large, Gothic Revival
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
-style church built in 1870 and located at Park and Lafayette Avenues in the city's Bolton Hill section. Named in memory of a Baltimore financier, the ornate church is noted for its exquisite stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
windows by renowned artist Louis Comfort Tiffany
Louis Comfort Tiffany
Louis Comfort Tiffany was an American artist and designer who worked in the decorative arts and is best known for his work in stained glass. He is the American artist most associated with the Art Nouveau and Aesthetic movements...
, soaring vaulted ceiling, and the prominent persons associated with its history. Maltbie Babcock
Maltbie Davenport Babcock
Maltbie Davenport Babcock was a noted American clergyman and writer of the 19th century. He authored the familiar hymn, This is My Father's World, among others.-Early years and personal life:...
, who was the church's pastor 1887–1900, wrote the familiar hymn, This is My Father's World
This is My Father's World
This is My Father's World is a well-known Christian hymn written by Maltbie Davenport Babcock, a minister from New York. The piece was published after his death in 1901 at age 42. The poem was set to music by Franklin L...
. Storied virtuoso concert performer Virgil Fox
Virgil Fox
Virgil Keel Fox was an American organist, known especially for his flamboyant "Heavy Organ" concerts of the music of Bach. These events appealed to audiences in the 1970s who were more familiar with rock 'n' roll music and were staged complete with light shows...
was organist at Brown Memorial early in his career (1936–1946).
Called "one of the most significant buildings in this city, a treasure of art and architecture" by Baltimore Magazine, the church underwent a $1.8 million restoration between 2001–2003. It is part of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
The Presbyterian Church , or PC, is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination in the United States. Part of the Reformed tradition, it is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the U.S...
denomination.
History
The Brown Memorial Presbyterian Church building was dedicated on December 4, 1870, in memory of George BrownGeorge Brown (Financier)
George Brown was an Irish-American investment banker and railroad entrepreneur. He emigrated from Ulster to Baltimore, Maryland, at the age of 15 in 1802....
, chairman of the Baltimore-based investment firm, Alex. Brown & Sons
Alex. Brown & Sons
Alex. Brown & Sons was the first investment bank in the United States, founded by Alexander Brown in 1800 and based in Baltimore, Maryland. The firm was acquired by Bankers Trust in 1997 to form BT Alex...
, and one of the founders of the pioneering Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. It came into being mostly because the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania, which...
in 1827.
Construction was funded by a gift of $150,000 from his widow, Isabella McLanahan Brown, an amount equivalent to more than $4 million in 2009. George Brown was described by a Baltimore historian as a successful businessman and civic leader who "regarded religion as preeminent above all other things and loved his church with all the ardor of his noble nature". John Sparhawk Jones was the church's first pastor, serving from 1870 to 1884. Several of his collected sermons were later published in such books as Seeing Darkly, The Invisible Things, and Saved by Hope.
The church's pastor between 1887–1900 was Maltbie Babcock
Maltbie Davenport Babcock
Maltbie Davenport Babcock was a noted American clergyman and writer of the 19th century. He authored the familiar hymn, This is My Father's World, among others.-Early years and personal life:...
, who was formally installed on September 28, 1887. His biography in a 1910 encyclopedia described him as "a fluent speaker, with a marvelous personal magnetism which appealed to all classes of people, and the influence of which became in a sense national. His theology was broad and deep ... he reached people in countless ways and exerted everywhere a remarkable personal magnetism ... [having] an unusually brilliant intellect and stirring oratorical powers that commanded admiration". While at Brown, he led fund-raising efforts to assist Jewish refugees from Russia who were victims of an anti-Jewish pogrom
Anti-Jewish pogroms in the Russian Empire
The term pogrom as a reference to large-scale, targeted, and repeated antisemitic rioting saw its first use in the 19th century.The first pogrom is often considered to be the 1821 Odessa pogroms after the death of the Greek Orthodox patriarch Gregory V in Constantinople, in which 14 Jews were killed...
. He was also a popular speaker with students at Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
. Under Babcock, the church acquired additional property at North and Madison Avenues for a chapel and Sunday School complex.
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
. So inspired was former U.S. Postmaster General
United States Postmaster General
The United States Postmaster General is the Chief Executive Officer of the United States Postal Service. The office, in one form or another, is older than both the United States Constitution and the United States Declaration of Independence...
James Albert Gary
James Albert Gary
James Albert Gary was a U.S. political figure. He served as the Postmaster General between 1897 and 1898.He spent much of his working life in textile manufacture in the Baltimore, Maryland, region, and was involved with cotton mills along the Patapsco and Patuxent Rivers, including Ely, Guilford,...
, a member of Brown Memorial, that he chaired a committee to raise $50,000 (the equivalent of $1.4 million in 2009) for construction of a new church in memory of the beloved former pastor. More than half of that amount was raised the first day from the wealthy congregation, the New York Times reported, and the new Babcock Memorial Presbyterian Church was soon constructed on Brown Memorial Church's North Avenue property.
Babcock's successor as minister of Brown Memorial, John Timothy Stone, also presided over a large memorial gathering in Baltimore on June 2, 1901, choosing as the text for his address to the throng: "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" (Matthew 6:21). Babcock was eulogized at the Baltimore service by various prominent educators, including Daniel C. Gilman
Daniel Coit Gilman
Daniel Coit Gilman was an American educator and academician, who was instrumental in founding the Sheffield Scientific School at Yale College, and who subsequently served as one of the earliest presidents of the University of California, the first president of Johns Hopkins University, and as...
, the first president of Johns Hopkins University, John F. Goucher, the founder of Goucher College
Goucher College
Goucher College is a private, co-educational, liberal arts college located in the northern Baltimore suburb of Towson in unincorporated Baltimore County, Maryland, on a 287 acre campus. The school has approximately 1,475 undergraduate students studying in 31 majors and six interdisciplinary...
, and Francis L. Patton
Francis Landey Patton
Francis Landey Patton , American educationalist and theologian, and the twelfth president of Princeton University.-Background, 1843-1871:He was born in Warwick Parish, Bermuda and attended Warwick Academy...
, president of Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
. A poem by Babcock was published posthumously the following year by his wife as the familiar hymn, This is My Father's World.
The sanctuary was enlarged in 1905 with the addition of a transept and several Tiffany windows while Stone was minister. Further significant development occurred in 1931 under T. Guthrie Speers, with the addition of the current chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
designed by notable architect Ralph Adams Cram
Ralph Adams Cram
Ralph Adams Cram FAIA, , was a prolific and influential American architect of collegiate and ecclesiastical buildings, often in the Gothic style. Cram & Ferguson and Cram, Goodhue & Ferguson are partnerships in which he worked.-Early life:Cram was born on December 16, 1863 at Hampton Falls, New...
and the installation of the present 4-manual pipe organ
Pipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air through pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and volume throughout the keyboard compass...
by Ernest M. Skinner
Ernest M. Skinner
Ernest M. Skinner was one of the most successful American organ builders of the early 20th century.-Early years:...
. Speers had a popular ministry at Brown Memorial Presbyterian Church from 1928 to 1957. He began an outreach program to Baltimore's Jewish community, occasionally exchanging pulpits with local rabbis.
After Speers' retirement in 1957, John Middaugh was minister from 1958 to 1968. Middaugh was a regular panelist for ten years on the weekly television program To Promote Goodwill, an interfaith discussion of social and religious issues produced by WBAL-TV
WBAL-TV
WBAL-TV is the NBC-affiliated television station in Baltimore, Maryland. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 11. It is one of the flagship stations of Hearst Television, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Hearst Corporation, which also owns sister radio stations WBAL and...
and broadcast worldwide on the Voice of America
Voice of America
Voice of America is the official external broadcast institution of the United States federal government. It is one of five civilian U.S. international broadcasters working under the umbrella of the Broadcasting Board of Governors . VOA provides a wide range of programming for broadcast on radio...
. He was also in the forefront of the civil rights movement in the early 1960s. Along with William Sloan Coffin and dozens of other clergymen and civil rights activists, Middaugh was arrested in a clash with police at Baltimore's Gwynn Oak Amusement Park
Gwynn Oak Amusement Park
Gwynn Oak Park is a park that was a privately owned amusement park located just outside the northwest corner of Baltimore, Maryland, about ¼ mile off of Liberty Heights Avenue. At the corner of Gwynn Oak and Gwyndale Avenues, it was situated on of land currently owned by the Baltimore County...
in July 1963 over efforts to desegregate the popular attraction.
Membership peaked at 1,336 in 1952 but subsequently declined in the late 1950s as much of the city's population migrated to the suburbs. In response, a portion of the congregation decided in 1956 to build a church in the suburban Woodbrook area north of Baltimore. Other members wished to remain at the Bolton Hill location, prompting a decision to operate one church at two locations, with a shared ministerial staff. In the early 1970s, the church began a tutoring program for neighborhood children and a "Meals on Wheels
Meals on Wheels
Meals on Wheels are programs that deliver meals to individuals at home who are unable to purchase or prepare their own meals. The name is often used generically to refer to home-delivered meals programs, not all of which are actually named "Meals on Wheels"...
" service under then-ministers Iain Wilson, pastor, and Clinton C. Glenn Jr., assistant minister. In 1980, the congregations of the two churches voted for separation. The original Bolton Hill church was subsequently constituted as "Brown Memorial Park Avenue", to distinguish it from "Brown Memorial Woodbrook", when the separation was completed in October, 1980.
The immediate past minister of the church is Roger J. Gench, pastor from 1990 to 2002, who is now pastor of historic New York Avenue Presbyterian Church
New York Avenue Presbyterian Church
The New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C., is a congregation of the Presbyterian Church . The church was formed in 1859-60, but traces its roots to 1803 as the F Street Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church and another congregation founded in 1820 on its current site, the Second...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
The full list of senior ministers from 1870 to present is:
| Minister | Years of appointment |
|---|---|
| John Sparlock Jones | 1870–1884 |
| Frank Wadeley Gunsaulus | 1885–1887 |
| Maltbie Babcock | 1887–1900 |
| John Timothy Stone | 1900–1915 |
| John McDowell | 1915–1921 |
| G. A. Hulbert | 1921–1928 |
| T. Guthrie Speers | 1928–1957 |
| John Middaugh | 1958–1968 |
| Iain Wilson | 1968–1973 |
| Charles Ehrhardt | 1975–1980 |
| David Malone | 1980–1990 |
| Roger J. Gench | 1990–2002 |
| Andrew Foster Connors | 2004–present |
| Sources: Jane T. Swope, A History of Brown Memorial Presbyterian Church 1870–1995 and church website |
|
Current ministry
The current pastor of Brown Memorial Park Avenue Church since 2004 is Andrew Foster Connors. A native of Raleigh, North CarolinaRaleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...
, he earned a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
from Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
and a Master of Divinity
Master of Divinity
In the academic study of theology, the Master of Divinity is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America...
degree from Columbia Theological Seminary
Columbia Theological Seminary
Columbia Theological Seminary is one of the ten theological institutions affiliated with the Presbyterian Church . It is located in Decatur, Georgia. Dr. Stephen A. Hayner is the seminary's president.-Description:...
in 2001. He is a recipient of the prestigious David H. C. Read Preaching Award, named for Presbyterian clergyman and author David H. C. Read
David H. C. Read
The Reverend Doctor David Haxton Carswell Read, B.D. D.D. was a Scottish Presbyterian clergyman and author who served as Senior Minister at the Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York City, New York from 1956 - 1989...
of New York City's Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church.
His wife, Kate Foster Connors, whom he met while both were student interns for U.S. Representative
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
David Price
David Price (American politician)
David Eugene Price is a professor and the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1997 and previously from 1987 to 1995. He is a member of the Democratic Party...
, is also an ordained minister and serves as youth director at Brown Memorial. The Connors have two children.
Under the pastorate of Andrew Foster Connors, the church’s historic leadership continues in social justice issues including national peace efforts, a statewide campaign for marriage equality, local efforts to rebuild blighted neighborhoods, and advocacy of after-school programs to invest in the youth of Baltimore. His views on current affairs are frequently reported in the Baltimore Sun
The Baltimore Sun
The Baltimore Sun is the U.S. state of Maryland’s largest general circulation daily newspaper and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries....
daily newspaper. Connors has also taken an active role in dialogues between the Jewish and Christian faith communities.
Music ministry
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
recording artist John Walker
John Walker (organist)
John C. Walker , more familiarly known as John Walker, is an American concert organist, choirmaster, and CD recording artist. Walker has performed throughout the United States, Canada, Asia, and Europe...
. Formerly director of music and organist at Riverside Church
Riverside Church
The Riverside Church in the City of New York is an interdenominational church in New York City, famous for its elaborate Neo-Gothic architecture—which includes the world's largest tuned carillon bell...
in New York City (1983–1992) and Shadyside Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (1992–2005), he has a Doctor of Musical Arts
Doctor of Musical Arts
The Doctor of Musical Arts degree is a doctoral academic degree in music. The D.M.A. combines advanced studies in an applied area of specialization with graduate-level academic study in subjects such as music history, music theory, or music pedagogy. The D.M.A...
degree from Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
. Walker is a Fellow of the American Guild of Organists
American Guild of Organists
The American Guild of Organists, or AGO, is a national organization of academic, church, and concert organists in the U.S., headquartered in The Interchurch Center in New York City. It was founded in 1896 as both an educational and service organization...
(AGO), the highest level of certification granted by the organization, and sits on the AGO Board of Examiners. Walker is also national vice president of the AGO, elected in 2008. He is on the Organ Department faculty of Baltimore's well-known Peabody Institute
Peabody Institute
The Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University is a renowned conservatory and preparatory school located in the Mount Vernon neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland at the corner of Charles and Monument Streets at Mount Vernon Place.-History:...
.
Previous organists include the celebrated virtuoso Virgil Fox
Virgil Fox
Virgil Keel Fox was an American organist, known especially for his flamboyant "Heavy Organ" concerts of the music of Bach. These events appealed to audiences in the 1970s who were more familiar with rock 'n' roll music and were staged complete with light shows...
, who gained considerable fame as a concert performer and recording artist while at Brown Memorial early in his career, from 1936 to 1946. Later, Richard Ross was also a significant music figure in the life of the congregation, succeeding Fox as choirmaster and organist, while also composing music. Francis Eugene Belt then served as organist for more than 50 years, spanning the 1950s to the late 1990s. The church's current Adjunct Organist, David Bucher, studied under Belt.
The 4-manual Ernest M. Skinner
Ernest M. Skinner
Ernest M. Skinner was one of the most successful American organ builders of the early 20th century.-Early years:...
pipe organ
Pipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air through pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and volume throughout the keyboard compass...
has 2,939 pipes and remains essentially the same today as when it was installed in 1931 and tonally finished by G. Donald Harrison
G. Donald Harrison
George Donald Harrison crafted some of the finest and largest pipe organs in the United States. He started out in 1914 as a patent attorney but after military service he began to pursue an interest in pipe organ building working with Henry Willis & Sons of London.After immigrating to America,...
, as Skinner's opus 839. The organ underwent a complete restoration between 2002–2005, with all original 45 ranks of the instrument fully preserved. A 99-memory level Capture System was added to the organ in 2005.
The choir sings a wide range of choral music at Sunday services, from works of classical composers, such as Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
's Ave verum corpus
Ave verum corpus (Mozart)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Ave verum corpus in D major was written for Anton Stoll who was musical co-ordinator in the parish of Baden bei Wien, near Vienna. This setting of the Ave verum corpus text was composed to celebrate the feast of Corpus Christi and the autograph is dated 17 June 1791...
and choruses by Handel
George Frideric Handel
George Frideric Handel was a German-British Baroque composer, famous for his operas, oratorios, anthems and organ concertos. Handel was born in 1685, in a family indifferent to music...
and Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene...
, to spirituals
Spiritual (music)
Spirituals are religious songs which were created by enslaved African people in America.-Terminology and origin:...
and anthems by composers, such as Jane Marshall's My Eternal King. Major choral works are also performed during the year, such as the oratorio Elijah
Elijah (oratorio)
Elijah, in German: Elias, is an oratorio written by Felix Mendelssohn in 1846 for the Birmingham Festival. It depicts various events in the life of the Biblical prophet Elijah, taken from the books 1 Kings and 2 Kings in the Old Testament....
by Felix Mendelssohn
Felix Mendelssohn
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Barthóldy , use the form 'Mendelssohn' and not 'Mendelssohn Bartholdy'. The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians gives ' Felix Mendelssohn' as the entry, with 'Mendelssohn' used in the body text...
, conducted by Walker and accompanied by guest organist Frederick Swann
Frederick Swann
Frederick L. Swann is a prominent American church and concert organist, recording artist, choral conductor, and former president of the American Guild of Organists . During his career spanning more than a half-century, he has performed on most of the well-known pipe organs in the world and made...
, and Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
's cantata, God's time is always the very best time
Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit
Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit , BWV 106, also known as Actus Tragicus, is a sacred cantata composed by Johann Sebastian Bach in Mühlhausen, intended for a funeral.- History :...
("Actus Tragicus", BWV106), in the 2008–2009 season. The choir's May, 2009, performance of Elijah has since been released on CD.
Programs and activities
Along with regular worship services on Sundays and holy days, Brown Memorial Park Avenue Church offers various programs of enrichment and outreach, such as concerts, lectures, and study forums. The "Tiffany Series" presents high quality classical concerts as well as distinguished speakers at the church. Speakers have included Harry Belafonte and Marian Wright EdelmanMarian Wright Edelman
Marian Wright Edelman is an American activist for the rights of children. She is president and founder of the Children's Defense Fund.-Early years:...
, founder of the Children's Defense Fund
Children's Defense Fund
The Children's Defense Fund is an American child advocacy and research group, founded in 1973 by Marian Wright Edelman. Its motto Leave No Child Behind reflects its mission to advocate on behalf of children...
, who spoke on Children in Peril: What Does Our Faith Require of Us? on March 16, 2008. The series "Wednesday Nights at Brown" offers dinner speakers for adults, such as John Walker's "Christian Hymnody and the Theology Behind It," and arts or music activities for children.
The church is active in numerous missions, both locally and on the national and world scenes. Its Urban Mission committee sponsors the Tutoring Program, the oldest volunteer school tutoring program in the nation, and partners with a local elementary school in a story-reading program and yearly donation of books to all pupils. High school and college age youth participate in "Share," an annual summer missions trip to El Salvador
El Salvador
El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
. The church also has a longstanding outreach program with the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation
Pine Ridge Indian Reservation
The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation is an Oglala Sioux Native American reservation located in the U.S. state of South Dakota. Originally included within the territory of the Great Sioux Reservation, Pine Ridge was established in 1889 in the southwest corner of South Dakota on the Nebraska border...
in South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
, where Brown Memorial youth and adults conduct summer learning camps for Lakota children.
Stained glass windows
Louis Comfort Tiffany
Louis Comfort Tiffany was an American artist and designer who worked in the decorative arts and is best known for his work in stained glass. He is the American artist most associated with the Art Nouveau and Aesthetic movements...
in 1905 are especially prized for their vibrancy and exceptional depth. Baltimore City Paper called the church and its collection of a dozen Tiffany windows, "the most magnificent interior space in Baltimore City". During the restoration survey in 2000, various stained glass experts praised the extent and craftsmanship of the windows. As part of the church's $1.8 million restoration project between 2001-2003, all of the stained glass windows were releaded and restored to their original lustre. They are:
- The Annunciation to the ShepherdsAnnunciation to the shepherdsThe Annunciation to the shepherds is an episode in the Nativity of Jesus described in the Bible in Luke 2, in which angels tell a group of shepherds about the birth of Jesus...
– the birth of the infant Christ is announced by angels to shepherds tending their flocks. Tiffany employed a confetti glass technique for the flames of the shepherds' bonfire as the star of BethlehemStar of BethlehemIn Christian tradition, the Star of Bethlehem, also called the Christmas Star, revealed the birth of Jesus to the magi, or "wise men", and later led them to Bethlehem. The star appears in the nativity story of the Gospel of Matthew, where magi "from the east" are inspired by the star to travel to...
gleams with etched glass.
- The Baptism of ChristBaptism of JesusThe baptism of Jesus marks the beginning of Jesus Christ's public ministry. This event is recorded in the Canonical Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. In John 1:29-33 rather than a direct narrative, the Baptist bears witness to the episode...
– portrays Jesus with John the BaptistJohn the BaptistJohn the Baptist was an itinerant preacher and a major religious figure mentioned in the Canonical gospels. He is described in the Gospel of Luke as a relative of Jesus, who led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River...
at the River Jordan. Mottled glass is used for the area around the water, with a layer of wavy glass over Christ's left foot to create the illusion of looking through water.
- Christ Blessing the Children – the Lord holds a child in his lap, whose face is that of the boy for whom this window was donated as a memorial by his grieving parents.
- I am the Way – Jesus walks on tempestuous seasWalking on waterJesus' walks on water, or Jesus walking on water, is one of the miracles of Jesus in the Gospels. Accounts of the miracle appear in three Gospels: Matthew 14:22-33, Mark 6:45-52 and...
surrounded by storm clouds. Opalescent glass is used to create a glow of light around the figure of Jesus.
- Christ in Gethsemane – portraying Christ praying in the Garden of GethsemaneGethsemaneGethsemane is a garden at the foot of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem most famous as the place where, according to Biblical texts, Jesus and his disciples are said to have prayed the night before Jesus' crucifixion.- Etymology :...
, surrounded by trees made of stippled glass.
- The young DavidDavidDavid was the second king of the united Kingdom of Israel according to the Hebrew Bible and, according to the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, an ancestor of Jesus Christ through both Saint Joseph and Mary...
– the future Israelite king is pictured.
- If I Be Lifted Up – Christ is portrayed in the clouds, with light radiating from behind His head as the penetrating eyes seem to follow the viewer around the nave. An extra layer of mottled glass behind the clouds was used by Tiffany.
- Lead, Kindly LightLead, Kindly LightLead, Kindly Light is a hymn with words written in 1833 by John Henry Newman as a poem titled "the Pillar of Cloud". In some hymnals, one may find a fourth verse added by Edward H. Bickersteth, Jr...
– the cross at its center is made of etched glass and glows brightly in the rays of the afternoon sun. - The Holy City – St. JohnJohn of PatmosJohn of Patmos is the name given, in the Book of Revelation, as the author of the apocalyptic text that is traditionally cannonized in the New Testament...
's vision on the isle of PatmosPatmosPatmos is a small Greek island in the Aegean Sea. One of the northernmost islands of the Dodecanese complex, it has a population of 2,984 and an area of . The highest point is Profitis Ilias, 269 meters above sea level. The Municipality of Patmos, which includes the offshore islands of Arkoi ,...
of the "New JerusalemNew JerusalemIn the book of Ezekiel, the Prophecy of New Jerusalem is Ezekiel's prophetic vision of a city to be established to the south of the Temple Mount that will be inhabited by the twelve tribes of Israel in the...
", as described in . Brilliant red, orange, and yellow glass is etched for the sunrise, with textured glass used to create the effect of moving water. Said to be one of the two largest windows (along with The Annunciation to the Shepherds) ever made by the Tiffany Studios, this 58-panel stained glass window honors the church's beloved pastor of the 1880s–1890s, Maltbie Babcock.
- GabrielGabrielIn Abrahamic religions, Gabriel is an Archangel who typically serves as a messenger to humans from God.He first appears in the Book of Daniel, delivering explanations of Daniel's visions. In the Gospel of Luke Gabriel foretells the births of both John the Baptist and of Jesus...
– the archangel Gabriel in the clouds, with feathers individually made of opalescent glass by Tiffany.
- John, the VisionaryJohn of PatmosJohn of Patmos is the name given, in the Book of Revelation, as the author of the apocalyptic text that is traditionally cannonized in the New Testament...
– Wearing a red cloak and having an intense expression, St. John is portrayed by Tiffany in the style of the 17th century Flemish painter Reubens. The window is made of drapery, opalescent, and mottled glass.
- The New Creation – located at the rear of the church, it is based on the description in , with stained glass depictions of trees, mountains, and streams of Living Water. At the top is a star morphing into a cross, with rays made of nuggets.
External links
- Official website
- "John Walker and the Choir of Brown Memorial Presbyterian Church", November 14, 2010, program on Sacred ClassicsSacred ClassicsSacred Classics is a weekly two–hour radio show originating from WBVM-FM in Tampa, Florida, featuring choral and organ music from international venues. Founded in October 1983, it is broadcast on Saturdays and Sundays, as well as streamed over the Internet at various times to accommodate...
radio broadcast.