Next Year marks the 20th anniversary of the Dedication of St Stephen’s Church, and there is no better way to begin the celebrations than by honoring the people who brought the parish into being.
By merest coincidence, next year will also mark the 25th anniversary of my arrival here as rector. At that time St Stephen’s was a relatively new parish. At the time of my “call” to Baltimore, it had only been in existence for eight years or so.
It was founded in 1982 by the Baltimore Branch of the Prayer Book Society of the “Protestant Episcopal Church of the United States of America (PECUSA)” as today’s “The Episcopal Church” (TEC) was originally known.
The PECUSA Diocese of Maryland forbade the use of the 1928 Book of Common Prayer and insisted on the use of the then–new 1979 Book. And the Baltimore Branch of the Prayer Book Society promptly responded by sponsoring 1928 Evening Prayer services in borrowed or rented accommodation.
Curiously enough, one might actually claim PECUSA as one of our founders. If the Maryland Diocese had acceded to the Prayer Book Society’s request that it allow an occasional 1928 service to be said in one of the city churches, it is unlikely that St Stephen’s would have come into being.
Our founders were a feisty lot—not surprising, seeing that a number of them served with the Maryland Division during and after the D–Day Landings. The feistiness was by no means confined to the men. There was at least an equal number of feisty ladies.
On the Commemoration of the Feast of All Saints, Sunday, November 3rd, between the 9″15 AM and 11:15 AM services, we shall be dedicating two rooms rooms—the reception room and the parish hall—and the courtyard garden in honor of four of our founders and benefactors: Col. Thomas F. Cadwalader, Mary Elizabeth and Albert Quimby, and Joyce Holmes.
Tom Cadwalader was with St Stephen’s from the very beginning. Mary Elizabeth and Al, and Joyce came somewhat later, but they played such pivotal roles in the development of the parish that they have earned the right to be considered founders anyway.
The fact that that these people have been honored in this fashion, however, should not be interpreted as a slight to those—who no less worthy of honor—have not had rooms named after them.
Rather, these four people represent our regard for all of our founders who now worship with us, “but on a different shore and in a far brighter light.”
Tom Cadwalder stands out among all our founders. He was a true Christian gentleman—generous to a fault, unfailingly kind, a devoted churchman and a faithful friend.
Born in 1912, he was directly descended from Arthur Middleton, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and General John Cadwalader, a friend of George Washington and the commander of the Pennsylvania troops in the 1776 campaign.
He attended Calvert School, the Gilman Country School, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania. Acclaimed as a player of soccer and lacrosse, he was a keen horseman and for two years hunted with the Carrolton Hounds.
In 1940, as Lieutenant in the National Guard, he ran the 100th Field Artillery Horse Show. Among the exhibitors were horses owned by then Colonel George S. Patton and ridden by Patton’s daughter.
The sports love of his later life was tennis. He played year round until his 94th year. His commitment to the sport earned him medals in tennis at the 1999 Senior Olympics.
As with many of the founders of the parish, he was called to active duty in 1941 with the famous 29th Division. From October 1942 to September 1945 he served with the 110th Field Artillery Battalion.
By the invasion of Europe in 1944, he had been promoted to captain and on D–Day he served on Omaha Beach, Normandy, as the artillery liaison officer with the Second Battalion 115th Infantry.
He was wounded in action the next day while acting as forward artillery observer. He was awarded the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart. Tom remained with the National Guard after the war, retiring in 1958 as a colonel.
In 1946, he married Phyllis Jane Clegg Norrie of St. Hellier (the capital of Jersey, one of the British Channel Islands) whom he met while stationed in England, and the couple settled in Roland Park.
Tom served the community in many roles—among others, boards of the Community Fund, the Benevolent Society of the City and Council of Baltimore, and St. Paul’s School for Girls from1956 to 1964.
Naturally, he served as vestryman of a number of Baltimore’s Episcopal Churches, before helping to found St Stephen’s Church from 1984 to 1990. I used to call him the parish’s “grass root.”
Mary Elizabeth and Al—who left us the bulk of the funds to enlarge the parish hall now to be named after them—played a rather different role in the church.
They were among the leading founders of the Parish Life Committee and Mary Elizabeth, in particular, was a pioneer of the Cookie Walk.
Parish Life Committee meetings were frequently convened in drawing room of their home on West Timonium Road where Mary-Elizabeth would serve sumptuous refreshments, including lavish quantities of her homemade baklava—a delicious Greek honey cake.
Al Quimby was a gracious host—modest, self effacing and ever attentive to his guests. He was a reliable source of excellent advice, but was reluctant to serve on the vestry as he was rather hard of hearing.
He was a remarkably patient and considerate man. He always listened patiently, politely, and with apparent great interest.
Somebody once asked him what the conversation had been about. “Sorry, but I really couldn’t make out what he was saying,” Al replied, “but he was so very enthusiastic about it and I hadn’t the heart to stop him.”
Joyce Holmes, after whom the Courtyard Garden is to be named, was for many years chairman of the buildings and grounds committee. She was an acclaimed horticulturalist and a gifted special education teacher who devoted countless volunteer hours to helping children with learning difficulties.
She was a longtime volunteer at Cylburn Arboretum and enjoyed writing gardening articles for various local publications, including the Valley Times, a monthly magazine.
In addition to her work at Cylburn and writing, Mrs. Holmes maintained a small nursery at her home where she bought and sold plants. She enthusiastically collected stamps and—believe it or not—owls.
Mrs. Holmes, whose glorious soprano frequently enriched services at St Stephen’s, also performed with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra chorus as a member of the Choral Arts Society.
But, remember, these are but four of the extraordinary people who have graced the pews of St. Stephen’s to whom we shall be paying tribute during the course of our 20th year. GPH✠
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