Santa Clara County CA Archives Church Records.....Trinity Church, San Jose, CA Copyright Date 1903
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Preface
    Although there has been an earnest endeavor to avoid all errors in this
compilation, it seems hardly possible that an account extending over forty-three
years can be without error.
    In case of names and dates, the Church Records have been followed.
    Facts for the Parish History have been gathered here and there from sources
as nearly reliable as human memory and human records can be. There is a deep
consciousness that much more than has here been recorded has preserved the life
of the parish through all these years. Innumerable sacrifices, innumerable acts
of love and devotion have passed so gently, so quietly and so naturally into the
daily round of the parish life, that they have been recorded only by One who
sees all and knows all.

History

  To the younger generations that belong to Trinity Parish, it seems hardly
possible that there ever could have been a time when the center of the parish
life was not the little ivy-covered church on St. John Street. But venerable as
this building seems, it is only the last of a series which have served as the
home of the parish.

  On North Market Street there is, what is now an engine house, at one time the
City Hall of San Jose. In one of the lower rooms of this building, the life of
the parish began.

  There are Communicants of Trinity Church to-day who were present at the first
service held in this room, prior to the organization of the parish, forty-two
years ago. The officiating priest was the Rev. Sylvester S. Etheridge, a young
clergyman who had come to this western coast in search of health, and with a
determination to use what strength he had, in founding a parish of the Church
wherever need might be.

  There were a number of religious denominations already well established in San
Jose, and the Roman Catholic Church had for years been doing missionary work.
Services of the Protestant Episcopal Church had been held from time to time in
the Presbyterian Church on North Second street by the Bishop of the Diocese, the
Rt. Rev. William Ingraham Kip; but they were few and far between, as there were
no train accommodations from San Francisco to San Jose, passage being made by
stage coach.

  Mr. Etheridge found but nine Communicants of the Church in the city and
vicinity. He gave, however, notice of a service to be held on the first Sunday
in Advent, 1860, in the lower court room of the old City Hall.

  When the day came, people crowded into the little court room, and the Mayor
himself, who had expressed strong doubts as to the expediency even of this
tentative service, occupied a seat in the rear of the room. Mrs. Hayes-Martin
and Mrs. Hardy-Gregory had raised, within a few hours, two hundred dollars with
which to pay for the melodeon that stood on the platform. Mr. Etheridge served
as organist and chorister, as well as priest.

  At the close of the service, all interested in founding a parish felt that
success was ensured. Every shadow of doubt as to the advisability of "starting a
new church" seemed to have left the mind of the Mayor, for hardly had the
benediction been pronounced, when he walked down the aisle, and giving Mr.
Etheridge a warm grasp of the hand, offered him the upper court room for future
services. This room had an air of cleanliness about it that the lower room
lacked, and it was larger and better lighted.

  Before another service was held, the little melodeon had been moved upstairs
and temporary provision had been made for an altar. Altar linen had been
provided by Mrs. Hardy-Gregory, and a Communion set had been given by Mrs. James
R. Lowe. Though Mr. Etheridge continued to serve as organist, a volunteer choir,
led by Mrs. Hayes-Martin and Mrs. Morgan Miles, carried the singing. The growing
interest in the services called for immediate organization, and at a meeting
held in the City Hall on the evening of February 22d, 1861, the parish was
organized and incorporated under the name of "Trinity." Lawrence Archer, James
R. Lowe, William Daniels, Mark Hardy, William McCune, Stephen Thorn, and John N.
Appleton were elected vestrymen.

  At the first vestry meeting, held February 28th, 1861, a constitution was
adopted having for its basis the general constitution of the "California
Episcopal Convention of 1850." The parish boundaries determined upon were the
same as those of the county township. The Rev. Sylvester S. Etheridge was
unanimously chosen rector at a salary of seven hundred dollars per year, and a
formal call was extended to him. An organist was engaged for the small sum of
eight dollars per month. Prof, and Mrs. Hamm, known in the musical circles of
San Jose for so many years, were engaged as choristers.

  A Sunday School was organized without delay. Mrs. Jackson Lewis, Mrs.
Hardy-Gregory, Mrs. Henry Haskell, and Mrs. Frances Devine Estee were the
pioneer Sunday School teachers.

  Though nearly three years passed before a church building was erected,
services were regularly held in the City Hall, and the real life of the parish
had begun. During the first year a class of nineteen was presented for
confirmation. Mrs. Jackson Lewis, Mrs. Hardy-Gregory and Mrs. Redding Speights,
all still Communicants of Trinity, were members of this class.

  During the fall of the same year, the women of the parish put a thousand
dollars into the church treasury. In November subscriptions were solicited for a
lot and church building. It may be interesting to the older parishioners to
speculate upon what might have been, if the first lot that was purchased had
been retained. This was the lot on the northwest corner of San Fernando and
Fifth Streets. It was held by the vestry for a few months only, and then sold
with the prospect of getting what has proved to be a more satisfactory site.
This change in the selection of the lot was due to the farsightedness of James
Hart who bought the lot from the vestry that the way might be open for a better
choice.

  The present site was owned at this time by Major S. J. Hensley, being part of
a large property extending north to the vicinity of the Hotel Vendome. It was
used as a corral for horses and was surrounded by a high board fence. Fields of
golden California mustard stretched away on all sides of this barren spot, but
even these armies of mustard stalks, densely crowded as space would allow,
standing above a man's height and tossing their yellow heads with assurance,
could not shut the blue skies from view and the things that were to be. The lot
was purchased for the sum of three thousand dollars.

  The same year, 1862, preparations for building were made. Captain James W.
Hammond superintended the work, and the result was a pretty little church built
of timbers from the native redwoods of California, and finished within with the
same natural wood. All parts of the structure had been fitted together with the
shipbuilder's art, and it has been said, that in time of strong winds or heavy
earthquakes, this unique little building swayed like a ship on the seas, built
for weathering all storms.

  For some time, white muslin tightly stretched, served in place of the stained
glass windows which had been ordered from Doremus of New York, to be sent round
"The Horn"; the same windows through which the sunlight still glows in such soft
rich tones of red and blue and green and gold, to lighten and to beautify
Trinity Church to-day.

  Grateful acknowledgment was sent to the city authorities for the use of the
City Hall for three years, and the first services were held in the church on
Advent Sunday, 1863.

  About this time, the organ, the one still in use, built by William Stevens of
Boston, was on its way across "The Isthmus." An organ of two manuals and
twenty-four stops, from the far east, was a great possession for a pioneer
church, and its arrival was hailed with joy. The sum of eight hundred dollars
was paid for freight alone. Two hundred dollars, beside this sum, having been
remitted by the steamship company. The organ itself cost twelve or fifteen
hundred dollars and was paid for by subscription, a large part of the required
sum being given by Mrs. H. S. Ashley and Mrs. Samuel J. Hensley.

  Possibly no one was more interested in the setting up of the organ in the
church, than the rector who had played the melodeon in the City Hall three years
before. Since that time the little parish had steadily grown, but his strength
had steadily failed. He never preached in the new church, and a few weeks after
it was opened, he was forced to give up even the reading of the prayers,

  On February 18th, 1864, the parish lost its devoted founder and rector. His
body, at his request, was laid to rest under the Chancel of the Church. The
Church for which he gave his life is his monument. The memorial tablet in the
south transept, within the space formerly occupied by the Chancel, was placed in
the Church at this time. Until very recent years, fresh flowers lay upon it
every Sunday morning.

  There are still a few parishioners who can remember the little church building
as it looked at this time, standing on a bare, ungraded lot, facing St. John
Street, with its steep gable roof, its two straight rows of gothic windows, and
its unpainted redwood sides.

  But before many weeks had passed, the redwood was painted a stone gray, and
little shoots of green ivy began to creep up on the sides. Later the ivy covered
sides and roof, and hung in heavy masses round the porch and windows, and even
found its way through the weather-boarding to the interior of the church where
it wound itself round the supporting beams of the roof and clustered in every
corner.

  All of this wealth of green came from a slip of ivy brought by James R. Lowe
from the classic ruins of Melrose Abbey in Scotland. When the interior of the
church was lighted at night, and the beautiful colors of the windows glowed for
the outside world through the dark masses of green, there was for the passer-by
a vision of "sweetness and light"; and possibly there came to mind another
vision, "the ruins gray" of the old Abbey, covered with kindred ivy; ruins that
once served to foster the same spirit of love that made little Trinity Church
possible.

  After the death of Rev. Sylvester Etheridge, the Rev. T. A. Hyland took charge
of the parish until May, 1864, when the Rev. Dinsmore D. Chapin was called as
rector. During his rectorship, which lasted till January, 1866, there was a
class of seven confirmed and sixty-six persons were baptized. There were signs
of material prosperity as shown by the facts that gas fixtures were put into the
church, a fence was built, and a mortgage on the church lot was removed.

  In January, 1866, the Rev. Dinsmore D. Chapin resigned, and services were held
by the Rev. H. H. Messinger until August, when the Rev. Edward S. Peake came in
response to a call given him in April.

  During the second year of Rev. Edward Peake's rectorship, the church building
was consecrated, July 27th, 1867, by the Rt. Rev. William Ingraham Kip, Bishop
of the Diocese.

  All debt having now been removed from the church building and lot, the vestry
decided to establish a rectory fund. Money for this fund was raised in various
ways, but it is especially interesting to note, that the choirs of Grace Church
and of Trinity Church, San Francisco, gave two concerts for the benefit of the
fund.

  Among improvements made about this time, in and around the church building, it
may seem hardly worth while, in these days of brilliant electric light, to
mention the modest little lamp post that the vestry had placed on the southwest
corner of Second and St. John Streets; but it must have meant much to evening
church goers at a time in the city's history, when lawlessness was common and
streets were dimly lighted and poorly guarded.

  By this time, Trinity Church was strong enough to help neighboring struggling
parishes and missions; and, though this may not be the place to record efforts
in this direction, it is interesting as a matter of history to note, that on
January 10th, 1870, the offering at the morning service, thirty-five dollars,
was appropriated to a fund for putting permanent seats into the new church at
Santa Clara.

  Some one who visited the parish in March, 1870, writes, "the little church
never seemed prettier or more homelike, being as all know, one of the church
gems of the coast. The trees about the church have grown finely. The parish has
a valuable property, worth probably not less than twenty thousand dollars."
Mention is made also in this letter of the remarkably good attendance at the
services.

  Upon the resignation of the Rev. Edward S. Peake in November, 1870, Rev.
George W. Foote was called to the parish. He was formally instituted on March
12th, 1871.

  About a year later, February 12th, 1872, the following report regarding the
financial affairs of the parish was made by the rector. "The financial condition
of the parish, although not all that it should be, yet shows cause for
encouragement and good hope for the future. A year ago the parish was not only
in debt, but its current expenses exceeded its income by about one hundred
dollars per month. The income for current expenses during the past year, as
taken from the treasurer's report, amounts to $2300.50.

  For the eight months since we adopted our present plan of raising funds by a
monthly pledged offering, the income has been about $210 per month. This is
derived from the pledged offerings of about seventy-five persons, and from other
offerings in church on Sunday mornings. At present, the only debt resting on the
parish for current expenses is one hundred dollars, which would be nearly or
quite canceled if all dues were paid into the treasury.

  Besides this sum of $2300, raised for current expenses, this parish has done
nobly and well; and many must have given, not out of their abundance but from
their little, in a true spirit of self-sacrifice. There has been raised to pay
off the debt which rested on the church $1061, the amount of the Easter
offering; and notes amounting to $300 have been canceled. For improvements on
the church building, $652 was raised by subscription and $100 by the Guild. Of
this sum $150 still remains unexpended, with which to recarpet the church.

  The total amount in cash raised for all purposes during the year is $5154.65.

  This note is appended to the report: "We have done very little for diocesan or
domestic missions on account of our own debts and pressing needs. We must strive
to do more for these objects in the future."

  A bright little item in the issue of the Pacific Churchman for April 13th,
1872, headed, "Good news from San Jose," reads as follows: "That others may be
encouraged by our example and may rejoice with us at this happy Eastertide,
please tell your readers that the congregation of Trinity Church, San Jose, made
an offering on Easter morning of $1061 for clearing off a debt that has rested
upon the parish for nine years. No subscriptions were solicited. The rector
urged upon all to make this the object of their Lenten self-denial, and to bring
their offerings upon Easter morning. The result has surprised us all and made
our hearts very glad. The average attendance at the Lenten services, held every
Wednesday and Friday evening and every evening in Holy Week, has been about
fifty. We all feel much encouraged and hope ere long to be able to do our part
toward carrying on the Church's work in this diocese." The above was signed by
the rector of the parish, the Rev. George W. Foote.

  During the same year, the rectory was built. In order that expenses might be
lowered to meet the demands for full payment of the cost of building the
rectory, all expenditure for music was stopped; and it was gratuitously
furnished by members of the parish. For three years, Mrs. Edward H. Guppy served
as organist and Mr. O. W. Parker practiced regularly with a volunteer choir and
led the singing at the services. Other expenses were reduced as might be.

  The growth of the church during the first years of Rev. George Foote's
rectorship was so rapid, that in 1875 it became necessary to enlarge the church
building. For many months plans were discussed by the vestry. At last in the
summer of 1876 the work was begun.

  In order that the old building might be used to the best advantage, it was
literally rent asunder; one half of it to serve as the south transept, and the
other half as the nave of the new building. For days before reconstruction
began, the two portions of the little church stood in their respective places,
looking forlorn enough in the hot summer sun, with the ivy torn from its roots
hanging dry and dead from sides and roof—elements of construction and growth
with all the appearance of destruction and decay.
  While the church building was gradually emerging from material old and new,
services were held in Music Hall on North First Street.

  In September, 1876, the building committee reported that the improvements were
completed; and on Sunday, September 3rd, the church was formally re-opened by
the Rt. Rev. William Ingraham Kip, the Bishop of the Diocese. Bishop Whitaker of
Nevada assisted at the service.

  At this time the rector introduced the weekly celebration of the Holy
Communion. Formerly there had been but one celebration a month.

  The new church building need not be described, for it is the old church
building of to-day. The ivy roots again sent forth a wealth of green to lodge in
new corners and to spread over new surfaces in the same lavish mode of the first
growth.

  The few new windows that were put in, the rose window in the nave and some of
those in the north transept, were made in San Francisco.

  Most of the trees and shrubs, brought years before by older parishioners to
adorn the church grounds, had been carefully preserved during this time of
renovation. Each tree and shrub growing round the church to-day has a history of
its own; and there are one or two whose stories are still known. The white rose
that climbs over the door and roof of the robing room was originally planted at
one corner of the little old church building by Mrs. Hardy-Gregory near a
memorial window. One of the two palms that stand each side of the Second Street
entrance was given by Mrs. S. O. Houghton, and the other by John Rock. Both were
planted by Rev. George W. Foote.

  Of other trees and shrubs, since those who planted them have gone away or been
forgotten, it can only generally be said that they are expressions of some
individual thought or feeling on the part of those who planted them.

  With the enlargement of the church, four hundred sittings had been added,
making the entire seating capacity of the church about six hundred. The vestry
resolved that the rector be authorized to assign seats to church members in the
order of their connection with the parish, as shown by the names in the parish
register, with the understanding that the church was to be a free church,
assignment being made for the sake of order and convenience only.

  The following notice, copied from the Parish Guide, a leaflet published by the
rector, shows how it was hoped that the church might be supported: "This church
is free to all. It is supported entirely by voluntary offerings. To systematize
these offerings, a card is sent to every member of the congregation, which he
may fill out, promising to make a stated monthly offering. This card is returned
to the treasurer of the parish, who then sends twelve envelopes in which the
offering may be enclosed and placed in the alms basin of the church on the
second Sunday of every month. When the offering pledged is not received during
the month, the collector calls for the amount due."

  At this time the church began to feel the general financial depression of the
times. Notes that had been given for payment of expenses incurred in enlarging
the church, and in building the rectory, could not be redeemed. The burden of a
church debt was inevitable.

  It was the earnest desire of the rector to keep the church a free church, even
at a time of heavy indebtedness, and he personally showed his people how he
thought the church should be supported, by authorizing the treasurer to withhold
twenty-five dollars per month from his salary. Mrs. Foote gave her services as
organist. Later the rector's contribution to the church was doubled and the
rectory offered for rent; but as the necessary funds for paying indebtedness and
current expenses were not forthcoming, the vestry decided to rent the church
pews in order to secure a permanent income. This method of obtaining money for
the support of the parish has been followed without intermission up to the
present time.

  The Sunday School had grown with the Church, and by this time was having its
own morning service, as is shown by a notice in the Parish Guide. "The time of
the morning service has been changed to half past nine o'clock.

  At this early service the members of the Sunday School are expected to be
present, and all others are invited. The design is to make this a children's
service where they may learn to worship God, and to give an opportunity to
attend church to those who cannot come at the later hour."

  For six or seven years the Sunday School offerings had been devoted to a fund
for putting a chime of bells into the church tower; and at last one Sunday
morning in 1879, the Sunday School children listened in wonder to the ringing of
the bells which for so long had made music only in their dreams.

  About a thousand dollars had been given by the children toward getting the
chimes, and the rest of the required sum had been made up by subscriptions.

  The bells were made by the Meneely Company of Troy, New York.

  In the mean time, the services of Frank Loui King as organist, had been
secured, and the choir enlarged and improved. Upon the resignation of Mr. King,
in 1883, Clarence T. Urmy was elected by the vestry to the position of organist,
which position he has held, with the exception of a few short absences, up to
the present time. In 1884, after a ministry of nearly fourteen years, Rev.
George W. Foote tendered his resignation. Fortunately for the parish he remained
its rector all through the formative period of its growth.

  Until the coming of Rev. John B. Wakefield, who was called to take Rev. George
W. Foote's place, Rev. George H. Jenks, assisted by Rev. Edward S. Pidsley, had
charge of the parish.

  Rev. Edward Pidsley had become a familiar personage in the Chancel, as he had
constantly assisted Rev. George Foote in the Church services. For years there
had always appeared at the Christmas and Kaster festivals, a little white vision
with snowy locks and vestments, moving gently and quietly among the Christmas
greens or the Easter lilies. The active years of his life had been passed in
other parishes, but he brought to Trinity a beauty and loveliness of personality
that left a lasting impress upon the lives of those who knew him.

  Rev. John B. Wakefield entered upon his duties as rector in November, 1884.
During his rectorship important improvements were made in the church building
and in the interior furnishing of the church. The bell tower was raised and
finished with a spire, and the little English porch was built. The Altar, Altar
Cross and vases, a new Communion set, the alms basin, the Chancel chairs, the
lecturn and the pulpit, were all given as memorials or as Christmas and Easter
offerings by Sunday School classes.

  A real source of inspiration in the church life, during the earlier years of
Rev. John B. Wakefield's administration, was the Bible class under the
supervision of Mrs. Isabella Wakefield. Even in trying weather there were seldom
vacant seats in the vestry room where the class assembled on Sunday mornings.
Those who had the privilege of being members of this class, gained, through the
enthusiasm and earnest endeavor of Mrs. Wakefield, an interest in the books of
the Bible, and an insight into their meaning, that only those who give knowledge
with love can impart.

  Through the untiring effort of Mrs. Wakefield, the sum of four thousand
dollars was raised toward the erection of the Parish House, in which there is a
tablet bearing an inscription to her memory. The rose window was the gift of
Kdward Williams, who served so long and faithfully as vestryman of the church.

  One of the most active parish organizations at this time was St. Mary's Guild,
composed of young women who showed boundless zeal in devising means for
realizing any prospective improvements in the church buildings proposed by the
rector. It was through the energy of this guild that the little English porch
was built, and the guild rooms added to the Parish House. With the aid of the
Sunday School, St Mary's Guild furnished the Parish House with seats and gas
fixtures.

  It was during Rev. John B. Wakefield's administration, in 1890, that the
vested choir of men and boys was inaugurated under the direction of Clarence T.
Urmy as organist and choirmaster. The first boy to offer his services was Adrian
Machefert. The other boys who were members of the choir during the first year of
its organization were: Anthony Du Brutz, Hal Hathaway, Seymour Montgomery,
Arthur Caldwell, Albert Stephens, William White, Charles York, Edwin Dorsey,
Herbert Edwards, Percy Johnson, Loui King, Frank King, Edward Whitney, Henry
Plate, Leslie Harkness, Carl Crichton, Leverage Lenham, Harry Wishaar, Lloyd
Parmenter, Senior Gohranson, Henry Bretherton, Fred Perrin, Raymond Perkins.

  There were six men in the choir during this first year: Marcus T. Brower,
Charles W. Knox, Wallace O. Avery, J. J. Hendricks, F. C. W. Thompson, Stephen
Maynard.

  Only those who attended Trinity Church before the days of the vested choir can
realize how much it has helped, through all these years, to bring out the beauty
of the church service; and only those who have been present at choir rehearsals
can have a faint appreciation of the devotion of the choirmaster to his work.

  By April, 1895, the old church debt of about four thousand dollars, had all
been paid. A new debt, however, of two thousand dollars, had been incurred for
street improvement.

  In April, 1899, having served as rector of the parish for nearly fifteen
years, Rev. John B. Wakefield tendered his resignation, to take effect on
September the first of the same year. As a token of affectionate regard, and in
appreciation of his long service, the vestry conferred upon him the title of
Rector Emeritus.

  Just at the time when the parish was without a rector and wholly dependent
upon its vestry, a real loss was felt in the death of two tried and trusted
vestrymen, Judge A. S. Kittredge and Edward Williams.

  After the resignation of Rev. John B. Wakefield, Rev. Burr Miller Weeden
responded to a call from the vestry and entered upon his duties as rector of the
parish in October, 1899.

  As the church was again becoming over-crowded at the Sunday services, it
seemed wise to look for more space for building purposes. The lot adjoining the
church property on St. John Street was secured for the sum of twenty-eight
hundred dollars. Trinity Parish Guild, composed of women of the parish, and
incorporated with full power to act in legal transactions, undertook the
responsibility of paying for the lot, and had paid, up to Easter, 1903, all but
five hundred and fifty dollars of the required sum.

  The growing work of the parish called for an assistant for the rector, and the
reestablishment of a system of pledged offerings made it possible to engage the
services of a curate.

  In October, 1900, the men of the Parish organized as "Trinity Brotherhood."
The object of the Brotherhood, as defined in the constitution then adopted, was
to "promote the interests and quicken the activities of Trinity Church by
interesting men in its energies, thereby increasing its virility and extending
its power in the community."

  In November, the Very Rev. F. B. A. Lewis, Dean of the Convocation of San
Jose, who had been for many years active in the work of the parish, was
appointed associate priest.

  One of the notable features of the parish work at this time was the
publication by the rector, of a weekly leaflet which contributed not a little to
the churchly education of the parishioners, reviving >the spirit of the "Parish
Guide" published during the rectorship of Rev. George W. Foote. Besides the
regular weekly announcements of services and meetings of various organizations,
the "Trinity Messenger" always brought some exhortation or some bit of
information that roused a real interest in the life of the church.

  After fifteen months of active service, on February 18th, 1901, to the deep
regret of both vestry and people, Rev. Burr M. Weeden resigned from the
rectorship of the parish. At the same time, the Very Rev. F. B. A. Lewis
tendered his resignation as associate priest.

  Fortunately for Trinity Church, Rev. George W. Foote was within call and
willing to take charge of the parish for a few weeks, until the arrival of Rev.
Charles H. Mockridge, whom the vestry had called as rector.

  Rev. Charles Mockridge, Jr., rector of St. Philip's Church, Detroit, served as
curate until September, 1901, when his work in Detroit called for his return.

  Rev. William F. Venables served as curate from November, 1901, to Easter,
1902. From Easter, 1902, to Easter, 1903, no curate was engaged on account of
lack of funds to pay a salary.

  In December, 1902, Rev. Charles H. Mockridge tendered his resignation. Again
the vestry sent for Rev. George W. Foote, and again, like Cincinnatus of old, he
came from his mountain home to which he had retired. With strength apparently
restored, he entered upon his work with a heartiness that bore rich fruit A
"word" from him in the Lenten Leaflet, gives some interesting statistics. It
reads as follows: "I have consented to remain in charge of this parish until
after Easter. I came here thirty-two years ago and was rector for nearly
fourteen happy years. I love this dear old parish with all my heart and it is a
joy to be at work in it again. There is a great yearning desire to help this
parish to be and to do what it should be and do after all these years; first by
helping individual souls to the higher life, and next by helping in its material
prosperity. Thirty-two years ago your rector appealed to the few members of the
little church to free it from a crushing debt by their Easter offering. This was
done by that little handful of people who gave $1350 on Easter morning. On the
following Easter $1650 was given to build the rectory. The parish is again in
debt to the amount of $2200. This can be removed at Easter if every member of
the parish will really try to give according to his ability. There are now five
times as many people to help pay this debt as there were thirty-two years ago.
It surely can be done."

  In the midst of the pressing needs of the parish, strength, given unreservedly
for so many weeks, failed Mr. Foote, and he was compelled to stop short of what
he had hoped to accomplish materially for the parish.

  Rev. A. A. McKenzie, of the Divinity School at San Mateo, took charge of the
services for a few weeks, and Rev. John B. Wakefield, who through long service
had endeared himself to so many of the parishoners of Trinity, was welcomed
again into the chancel. Rev. Mardon D. Wilson of Christ Church, San Jose,
Secretary of the Diocese of California, and Very Rev. F. B. A. Lewis, Dean of
the Convocation of San Jose, gave most generous assistance to the parish in its
time of need.

  At the beginning of the Lenten Season of 1903, an auxiliary vested choir of
young women was organized to sing at the Lenten services and to join the regular
choir on Easter Sunday and other festivals.

  The Easter services of 1903 were full of the hope that the day inspires—hope
of a new and higher life for Trinity Parish; and the long shafts of Easter
sunlight that reached across the church, from roof to floor, seemed to herald
the coming of the truer light.

  As this little sketch closes, a new era in the life of Trinity Parish opens.
"There is no pause in the leading and the light."   "The best is yet to be."

  The growth of the Parish has been seen mainly from a material and temporal
point of view. There are outward and visible signs of spiritual growth embodied
in material form, which may be found scattered all along the years from 1860 to
1903; but the history of the real life of the Parish can never be written nor
can adequate expression be found for the earnest work of those who have
ministered to its highest needs.


Additional Comments:
This information extracted from:

TRINITY CHURCH
San Jose California
Advent, 1860, to Easter, 1903

PUBLISHED BY TRINITY PARISH GUILD,
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, 1903


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