Frank H. Nelson of CincinnatiHerrick, Warren Crocker
Religion
Frank H. Nelson of Cincinnati
Herrick, Warren Crocker
Nelson, Frank Howard, 1869-1939
The truth is that he was different from certain brands of so-called
liberals. Like many of them he was an individualist but not, as in the
popular conception of that word, an eccentric. His individualism resided
in his strong personality, whole and complete rather than partial. He
had an immense scorn of the petty narrow-minded points of view. He said,
"There is no one so narrow as the broad-minded liberal! Look out! Be
sure that you do not develop a closed mind toward the other man's point
of view!" Frank Nelson stood in the stream of the best traditions of
historic Anglicanism. He had, for instance, a tremendous feeling of
reverence for the Altar and the appointments for the celebration of the
Holy Communion; and his manner of conducting the Lord's Supper brought
that service very close to the most sensitive of worshipers. On the
first Sunday of each month the Holy Communion was celebrated at eight
and at eleven A.M., and he made it the chief factor in building
up the younger members of the parish into the Church. Usually Christ
Church was crowded for the first as well as the later service, and it
was immensely impressive to contemplate the congregation that came at
the early hour of eight o'clock from all parts of the city and from
distant suburbs. There is communicated serenity as well as reverence in
the stately, liturgical service, but that feeling-tone is dependent on
the minister conducting it. Mr. Nelson was a medium for the
communication of the very spirit of Christ in that service. The ancient,
familiar words were given a fresh beauty by his manner and his natural,
virile voice. His methods reflected certain qualities of his character.
It was his custom to read the service up through the Sanctus from the
north end of the Altar, moving to the center for the remainder, and at
the moment of the consecration of the Bread and Wine to turn halfway
around so that the congregation could see the blessing of the Elements.
It was in part an observance of the Apostolic custom of the minister's
standing behind the Altar and facing the congregation, and one which he
had learned from his days at St. George's under Dr. Rainsford.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account