Metadata
Title
John W. James correspondence, 1833
Date
1833
Digital Identifier
ChristChurch.CorporationCorrespondence_4-2-0-44
Call Number
4.2.0.44; F532
Description
Correspondence from Reverend John W. James asking for an appropriation of three hundred dollars to cover heavy expenses related to relocating to Philadelphia and taking up an active service. A second letter from Reverend James on the same date suggests several improvements to Christ Church: filling the galleries with single pews or slips, improving the Sunday School accommodations (notably for female and infant classes), relocating and organizing the church library to make it more accessible and useful, and improving the kneeling fixtures around the altar. The Vestry granted him 100 dollars for his financial request and appointed a committee to report on the suggested improvements.
Place
Pennsylvania--Philadelphia
Congregation
Christ Church, Philadelphia, PA
Extent
2 documents
Format (Digital)
tiff
Rights
http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/
Language
eng
Type
Text
Abstract
This work comprises two letters from the Reverend John W. James, assistant minister, addressed to the Vestry of Christ Church, Philadelphia, both dated April 15, 1833. In the first letter, James explains that his move to and settlement in Philadelphia involved expenses he had not anticipated, which had embarrassed him financially; having exhausted his own private means without full relief, he asks the Vestry for an appropriation of three hundred dollars for his benefit, noting that his regular salary was meant only to meet current yearly expenses and not the additional cost of establishing residence in a city and serving a large, respectable parish [p.1]. A docket note records that the Vestry granted $100 for the present [p.1].
In the second letter, James proposes several improvements for the benefit of the church. First, he recommends reconfiguring the galleries with single pews or slips, regularly divided, to improve comfort, convenience, appearance, and the number and value of sittings, believing more seats would be rented if arranged as in other churches [p.2]. Second, he addresses the inadequate accommodations of the Sunday Schools, describing the fatiguing access and insufficient dimensions of the female school room, an interesting infant class of 40 little girls taught in the church under disadvantageous circumstances, and the crowded conditions of the boys' school; he calls for at least three new spacious departments, citing that St. Peter's Church purchased a neighboring house, St. James Church built rooms, and Trinity Church was then arranging a building solely for its Sunday Schools. He notes about thirty teachers serving sixty or seventy children with no inducement but a sense of duty [p.2-4]. Third, he draws attention to the valuable Christ Church Library, which had suffered loss and damage from neglect and was kept in a room too small for use; he suggests a larger room with locked cases opened regularly for those with right of access, and offers to undertake its care and the recovery of lost volumes himself [p.3-4]. Fourth, among smaller matters, he notes that the fixtures for kneeling around the altar were so bad as to cause communicants a strained and uncomfortable position during a holy rite [p.4-5]. He submits these matters respectfully to the Vestry's judgment [p.5]. A docket note records that a committee was appointed to attend to these objects and report later [p.5].
In the second letter, James proposes several improvements for the benefit of the church. First, he recommends reconfiguring the galleries with single pews or slips, regularly divided, to improve comfort, convenience, appearance, and the number and value of sittings, believing more seats would be rented if arranged as in other churches [p.2]. Second, he addresses the inadequate accommodations of the Sunday Schools, describing the fatiguing access and insufficient dimensions of the female school room, an interesting infant class of 40 little girls taught in the church under disadvantageous circumstances, and the crowded conditions of the boys' school; he calls for at least three new spacious departments, citing that St. Peter's Church purchased a neighboring house, St. James Church built rooms, and Trinity Church was then arranging a building solely for its Sunday Schools. He notes about thirty teachers serving sixty or seventy children with no inducement but a sense of duty [p.2-4]. Third, he draws attention to the valuable Christ Church Library, which had suffered loss and damage from neglect and was kept in a room too small for use; he suggests a larger room with locked cases opened regularly for those with right of access, and offers to undertake its care and the recovery of lost volumes himself [p.3-4]. Fourth, among smaller matters, he notes that the fixtures for kneeling around the altar were so bad as to cause communicants a strained and uncomfortable position during a holy rite [p.4-5]. He submits these matters respectfully to the Vestry's judgment [p.5]. A docket note records that a committee was appointed to attend to these objects and report later [p.5].
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