Part 2 (1/2)

The six-story building, complete in every detail, was not finished until 1909 In it are club roo alleys At the corner next to the church rises a beautiful clock tohich before the day of skyscrapers could be seen from distant parts of the city, and which has been sketched by ift the parish took on increased vigor and extended the work into new fields A Baby Clinic set up by the Visiting Nurses' association provided one more opportunity for service; in 1910 the problem of crowded conditions in the nearby Guilford School was solved by the use of Christ Church parish house for Kindergarten and Do list of services which gave Christ Church and Mr Nelson a far reaching reputation for efficient and intelligent social service

In the Parish House wethe sa a coht, in faith, in desire Each row in breadth and depth, and the knowledge of God through his brother It is in recognition of this that we have a free church and free parish house No distinction of wealth may mar the worshi+p in the one; no distinction of faithyears brought fresh opportunities which were seized upon with tireless energy by this far-seeing rector In August, 1917 cah day and evening groups enlisted the woman power of the parish At the close of the war, Mr Nelson envisioned the continuance of this work on a scale far exceeding the conventional idea of churchcertain prejudices and narrow points of view, he again secured the enthusiastic support of the saest andthe indispensable Red Cross work, and enlisting larger nuram of the Woman's Auxiliary as it is conducted in Episcopal parishes throughout the country

In 1913 and again in 1937, floods devastated the Ohio River valley Mr

Nelson quickly organized his parish to do its share in caring for the refugees Committees fed, clothed, and entertained one hundred and fifty people on the first occasion, and two hundred on the second Experienced dieticians planned and supervised the meals, a trained nurse was kept on constant duty, and doctors gave medical service and examinations But Christ Church did more than provide physical care; it knew the moral and spiritual needs of the hoovernanizations, and individuals, it provided two hours of entertainht Mr Nelson conducted faees by his friendliness and personal interest in their present coland to California, and checks poured in from all over the country for this work The atmosphere of helpfulness in Christ Church was his creation, and ency were not of the parish at all One ed in this relief work found the associations so delightful that the mother remarked to Howard Bacon, the superintendent of the parish house, ”My daughter wants to join this place; it is the swellest club in the city!” Another instance revealing the sort of spirit which pervaded the parish house and filled the people of Christ Church was the serving of dinners to the Aionnaires at that time were not allowed in Cincinnati hotels

The fact that the people in the i its privileges in such great y for their services, and joining in the as i was the fruitage of many years of earnest labor, and amply justified his conception of the function of the church and parish house as a community center The rector always held that the work of the parish organizations should be a result of inspiration fro first-hand and immediate, so that the impetus of the services would not be lost In 1912, to mention only one year, there were more than two hundred volunteer workers In addition, his people were serving in nuhout the community, such as the Juvenile Protective association, the Bureau of Municipal Research, the Hospital Services, the Consurounds, Fresh Air Society, and Tene fact that the parish house had becoy of a group of young men, of whom Henry Bentley of City Charter Coenerated faith in Christian principles which led later to far-reaching usefulness throughout the city

No account of Mr Nelson's work could possibly be co the place in it of his chief assistant, Howard N Bacon, who has been superintendent of the parish house for thirty-eight years

Howard Bacon cae of twenty-tith the purpose of pursuing a business career Through Dr McKinnon of Kansas City, Mr Nelson learned of Bacon's marked abilities in church and social service lines They had dinner together, and Mr Nelson outlined the plans for the new parish house Though a relative had advised Bacon ”to cut-out the soul-saving business,” the avenues of service under Frank Nelson's leadershi+p ireement was made about salary until ive you much Will you come for a hundred dollars aof the church on Easter Monday, 1908, the rector lad to be able to tell you that Mr Howard N Bacon has joined the staff, giving up a very pro boys and young e the parish house as well as working in the Sunday School” It is not the slightest exaggeration to say that no appointment to the staff of Christ Church was ever more momentous and fruitful He served Mr Nelson thirty-one years, though many other attractive positions were offered hih the years he has perforh not ordained is often called ”Reverend” He took over the anized parish as did or could no other assistant or paid parish worker; consequently, Mr Nelson was able to devote his time to many civic enterprises, and to play a vital role in the national life of the Episcopal Church To have rendered such a serviceand richly et on without him”

The phenomenal development of the parish house as a corowth of the church During Mr Nelson's rectorshi+p the communicant list of the parish expanded from 599 in 1900 to 2089 in 1939; the nuet froets froh year; the Endowment Fund from 11,77000 in 1900 to 531,38400 in 1939 In a way it seemed as if Mr

Nelson had only to walk down Fourth Street and the money met him! In any case, in the prosperous years it flowed in steadily fro hethe past year, and thethe rector to his safety deposit box, he handed over a thousand dollar bond saying, ”I haven't done anything for Christ Church in a long ti in the course of the notices (with him, announcements were really an art) Mr Nelson spoke of his friend, Dr Paul Wakefield, who had been left stranded in China during the Co of 1927, and from who that ether with contributions sent in over the week, areat forty years of Mr Nelson's ifts wasthe parish house already an, and numberless others, all indicative of the liberality of the people These gifts were grandly climaxed by the erection of a chapel to coned to express the beauty, mystery, and nobility of the Christian faith, and to provide for the e church was unsuited The Chapel was largely a thank-offering on the part of parishi+oners and many others who had found in Christ Church a spiritual horateful Another reift was its conception in the uncertain days of 1917

As the years brought the ever-changing conditions of city life, and as civic institutions, social agencies, and the public schools afforded gyrounds, and social centers such as were scarcely known in the first decades of Mr Nelson's ious ave to all these recreational and social activities To the end of his days he held that religious faith gives to social work an enthusiasenuineness without which the one thing needful is lacking He led his people to see in the drinking fountain outside the parish house a sy service to the world of men The fact that passers-by, whether on foot or in pleasure car or truck, stopped to quaff of its ice-cold water was to him an expression of man's eternal need for the water of life, a need which, please God, would always be s of God's loving purpose for the children of men

FOOTNOTES:

[4] Frank H Nelson

[5] Frank H Nelson, _Centennial Address_, May 17, 1917

[6] Frank H Nelson, _Year Books_, 1902 and 1903

[7] Mr Nelson's report, _Year Book_, 1908

_The Shepherd A His Flock_

”_And he shall stand and feed his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God: and they shall abideand this man shall be our peace_”

--_Micah 5:4_

3

A Cincinnati taxi-cab driver said to me, ”Frank Nelson was sure a real ot a fifteen ot a fifteen minute service

He was just as concerned over the family with two rooms as the one with twenty” This man had lived all his life in the Queen City, and had driven Mr Nelson to innumerable services as far back as the days of horse-cabs, and though he was not aware of the restraint and brevity of the Prayer Book Service, he unwittingly put his finger on the very pulse of Mr Nelson's ministry

In all relationshi+ps with people, Frank Nelson possessed the true instinct of the pastor because he was er willingness to spend hiht word for the occasion, and responded with a finely balanced e sense of the human element in life's experiences was aiety were in order, and seriously when the word of faith was needed There is much to be learned fro on Mt Adams where a one an eency operation, Mr Nelson tore a button fro the room, and said in an off-hand manner, ”Oh! this has just coly unselfish fashi+on he thought of himself as the head of the Christ Church family, and it mattered not at all to hiister or were connected only through a parish house organization When told of soh the patient had ed to the Men's Club for instance, he would say, ”Oh! I ent for an Industrial Insurance Co in a home where the policy was about to lapse The woman said, ”I will see Mr

Nelson Will you come back at five o'clock?” When he returned, she had the ic years of World War II we have learned that time is of the essence, and Frank Nelson exeh all his years of service he seemed to have a special sense of timeliness He acted when one should act but does not always do so He hat a minister should be yet is not always He was there when needed, not when it suited his convenience Iain opened an opportunity that otherould have been lost and with it the possibilities for widening his circle of usefulness An out-of-town friend telegraphed requesting Mr Nelson to call on a certain er to Mr Nelson, and he went at once On another occasion a new member of the choir who had been in Cincinnati only a feeeks was suddenly taken ill The doctors at the hospital were soirl's roo Mr Nelson, she phoned him of her friend's serious condition, and he went immediately to her bedside