Part 5 (2/2)

Used by permission

[15] Farmer in his brilliant book, _The Servant of the Word_, :

”The wisdo the speaking of the ith the other sacraments, and the protestant habit, which is so is seen to have sound reason behind it It is part of our whole understanding and valuation of the person and the personal way in which God deals with hi intrusiveness, the interjection, of another's serious speech I believe there can be no substitute for the sermon” _Ibid_ pp 80-81

_Beyond Cincinnati_

_”He was easily the prince of us all in diocese and national church”_

--_ZeBarney Phillips_

6

The diocese of southern Ohio, of which Christ Church is a part, was vastly strengthened by the leadershi+p of Frank Nelson In the earlier years of his rectorshi+p he had had little time for diocesan affairs, not that he was indifferent, but he was essentially the kind of person who did one thing at a time, and never allowed himself to be diverted from the i convictions to express freely his pronounced views, he was considered radical, and was misunderstood and disliked by many churchmen The diocese of those earlier years was conservative and static, and politics then played aof Mr Nelson candidly stated, ”I had to grow into friendshi+p with hiainst his, but I soon saw nized that he was of nobler cast” He never sought position, and never until 1916, with one exception, was he elected a deputy to the General Convention, which is the highest body of authority in the Episcopal Church Even when the Convention met in Cincinnati in 1910 and Christ Church was the host to nus, he had no vote Until 1916 he had represented his diocese at the General Convention only in 1904; he was defeated for re-election in 1907 because he had defended Dr Algernon crapsey in a once faer interest in the diocese probably had its beginning when in 1908 as aValley, and was shocked by the abo conditions of the miners and the almost intolerable injustice of their economic circumstances His interest, thus fired, increased with the years until he came to be depended upon in every sphere of diocesan life, serving on the Standing Coy and Finance, and in practically every other committee and depart the ram, which he held to be the very heart-beat of the life of the Church Even during depressions, Christ Church never lowered itsof 24,000, and one year voted 300000 froet to et because as he said ”We have failed to educate the people” His thorough knowledge and good judgment were of infinite value to a succession of bishops On the occasion of Mr

Nelson's Fortieth Anniversary, the present Bishop, Henry Wise Hobson said, ”In all parts of the Diocese I have heard clergy and lay people say such words as these: 'The spirit of honesty, courage, fellowshi+p, and service which has grown up in the life of our Diocese is primarily the result of the influence of Frank Nelson, whose own spirit has been a contagious force in our rowth and increasing strength of this Diocese say that its present vitality has been generated, not by numbers, nor by wealth, but by the passionate spirit of certain recognizable characters of who Bishop Reese's long illness, Mr

Nelson largely conducted the business of the Diocese, and for a man with such positive convictions, he was extre at the Convention He leaned over backward to be just, and did not silence even those who brought up petty reasons for disagreement on the subjects under debate

When in 1929 the illness of Bishop Reese necessitated his resignation, the Diocese spontaneously turned to Frank Nelson as his successor There is a certain piquancy in the contee that by this time had come over the Diocese A man who at one time had been distrusted, and branded as radical if not reckless, had so won the respect and affection of his associates that they desired to express their trust and belief in hihest office of his Church Reverend Sidney E Sweet, now Dean of Christ Church Cathedral, St Louis, no, ”He is a ifts rank hihout the United States It will make the Diocese of Southern Ohio proud to present the name of Dr Nelson to the House of Bishops as the representative of this Diocese” Another discerning friend, Alfred Segal of _The Cincinnati Post_, put the case dramatically when he wrote in his column: ”The other day Rev Frank Nelson stood on the threshold of ecclesiastical glory He needed but to take one step and he would have been on his way to the e hands beckoned hi the nomination, Mr Nelson said that his decision came as a result of consultation with friends whose opinions he valued, and froainst his acceptance He felt that it was desirable to elect aties with the diocese made him an unsuitable candidate He had confided in friends his lack of diocesan consciousness, and confessed a reluctance to assue another kind of work Furthermore, the parish of Christ Church and the city were by now so deeply ee, if not a severance, of such ties was unthinkable He put forward the name of Dr Howard Chandler Robbins, who later refused the election The selection of Dr Robbins, important as it was, nonetheless seemed secondary to the insistent attempts of leaders to place this humble servant in the office of Bishop Upon Mr

Nelson's entry into the luncheon hall after the convention, he was greeted by a tre ht Reverend William Lawrence of Massachusetts did not dissuade him from his firm decision:

November 22, 1929

My dear Frank:

You well know that it is my rule not to ”butt in,” but as a Pull rules that you can't break when you have to”

I believe that you respect ment is that you are the one man who has the qualifications to be Bishop of Southern Ohio I know your loyalty to your parish and your humble estimate of yourself But the Diocese and the opportunity which the Church will give you as Bishop are greater than your parish

Think of Trinity, Boston, at Brooks' election and its result today Spaulding of Utah brought into the House of Bishops a breeze of fresh air, a new life and courage which abide there still--You will do the sa to Vincent, Reese, and the whole Diocese

Let them have your name and your life I never wrote such a letter before and no one knows that I a it now

Yours affectionately,

Willia convention another concerted effort was made to induce Mr Nelson to beco the ht for hie, a h he was gratefully aware of the well- intentions of his friends, and felt in the proposed honor the warmth of their personal affection, he did not want it said that he had permitted the election and then declined it In as tactful a manner as possible he labored to prevent the Co a stormy session of the Committee a movement was under way to over-ride Mr Nelson's wishes and present his name as the nominee of the Committee anyway At this juncture Dr Hicks, his close friend and a Vestryman of Christ Church, rose and protested with considerable indignation, ”Gentlemen, this means you simply do not know Frank Nelson” The debate went on, but Mr Nelson re on the Convention floor, ”I _may_ not be Bishop of Southern Ohio,” and he used the word _ ”power to prevent” ”I cherish the tribute, but I tell you without recourse to thought or prayer that I cannot do it” Finally, the Convention proceeded to the happy election of Henry Wise Hobson, and the Diocese of Southern Ohio reratitude that it owes Bishop Hobson to Frank Nelson

From 1916 until his death, Mr Nelson was a deputy to the triennial s of every General Convention, and became the principal spokesman in the House of Deputies This body is not always as decorous and staid in its deliberations as the House of Bishops, but Mr Nelson at all ti the deputies He came to be one of the leaders who, as a veteran church-paper correspondent put it, ”could read the signs of the tih not habitually swaying votes

In Diocesan circles as well as in Christ Church, he was absolutely fearless in utterance, and was aer for the Episcopal Church to e ventures of faith Like Bishop Brent, he commanded a vision and a breadth of spirit which were incomprehensible to those who could not conceive of a universal Christianity free of sectarian doctrines and dogreatness of Phillips Brooks who thus stated his position: ”I cannot live truly with the men of my own church unless I also have a consciousness of coious men, with all mankind” As a natural consequence of such conviction, Mr Nelson was insistent that the Episcopal Church become a constituent member of the Federal Council of Churches, and lived to see acconificant step towards cooperation a the churches