James Wilmer Gresham was the first Dean of Grace Cathedral. In many ways, he embodied the early life of the Cathedral, serving as dean for almost three decades, from 1910 to 1939. In the words of Bishop Edward L. Parsons, under whom he served half his tenure,

The Gresham Family Portrait

he managed to "convert a paper organization into a living organism." Poet, author, healer, mystic, he was above all a pastor's pastor, caring lovingly for his cathedral flock after the example of the Good Shepherd. Born in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, in 1871, Wilmer (he preferred Wilmer to James) grew up in a prominent Episcopal family. He attended the University of the South, the noted Episcopal seminary at Sewanee, Tennessee, and was ordained a priest in 1896.

James Gresham in Graduation Gown

His early rectorships included parishes in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and Charleston, and he had a brief period of study at Oxford University before being called to Trinity Church in San Jose, California. When a friend there castigated him for recklessly giving away chickens and eggs to the needy, he assured him, "God will take care of me." Called to Grace Cathedral in 1910, he had second thoughts because of the damp climate but was soon persuaded to stay.

Dean Gresham's early years were concerned with building up the new cathedral, which occupied the Founders Crypt, the intended basement unit of the building, from 1914-1932, before moving permanently into the partly completed present structure in that year. In 1918, he was unanimously elected Bishop of the Phillipines but respectfully declined with the words,"My duty lies here." A memorable figure in flowing white surplice, Dean Gresham was described by many as "floating up the aisle" at cathedral services, head erect but held at an angle. A pastel portrait in the cathedral's Chapter House captures that impression. Known and loved by virtually everyone, his mind was often focused on others, as his absent-minded driving showed. He once forgot to set the brake while parking next to the cathedral. The car rolled across California Street and down the steep Taylor Street hill. Fortunately, there were no cars or pedestrians on the slope at the time. Another aspect of his personality was seen in his love of tennis, played on a court on the present Cathedral School site. He once missed a high lob, hit the net and blurted out "Damn!", then contritely asked his opponent, "Did I say it?"

One of Dean Gresham's special concerns was healing, and his Mission of Healing helped thousands toward fuller and richer lives. His Wings of Healing (1927), containing a brief essay or poem for every week, is still in print today (Paraclete Press, www.paracletepress.com). Less well-known was his personal gift of charismatic healing, and the cathedral archives contain several remarkable letters testifying to this ability. Dean Gresham's poetic abilities were closely related to his healing concerns and, although we might find many of them too sentimental for modern tastes, they radiate his warm spirituality. Bishop Edward L Parsons, under whom he served, described him as a mystic, adding, "I have always thought that if he had lived in the fifteenth century in the Rhineland, he would certainly have been one of the Friends of God with Tauler and the rest of them. They were mystics who, in full loyalty to the church, nevertheless had found their way to God directly, and believed that the various rites and ceremonies of the church were desirous helps, but did not belong to the essence of their religious faith. So it was with Dean Gresham. He was a loyal son of his church, but his own religious faith lay deep down below the outward customs and their ceremonies which to so many Christians make up the main part of their religion."

One day, a Jewish businessman who had hit hard times, a total stranger, came to Dean Gresham and asked him for his help. On a "heavenly hunch" Dean Gresham gave the man a check for $500. to help him get back on his feet, and thought nothing more of it. A week later, the man paid him back with interest. A short time later, the Dean, now retired and in civilian clothes, stumbled and fell on a Market Street sidewalk. A policeman, thinking him drunk, was about to load him into a paddy wagon when the businessman the Dean had helped walked by, and recognized him. He knew the Dean was not drunk, and was probably unwell. In fact Dean Gresham had suffered a mild heart attack, and was rushed to hospital, where he eventually recovered.

Dean Gresham and his wife Emily

Through much of his adult life, Dean Gresham was sustained by his beloved wife Emily Cooke Gresham. Her death a year after his retirement was a terrific blow, and he often spent evenings standing outside their former Cow Hollow home, silently looking up at their former apartment and weeping. In her honor, he commissioned the cathedral's Twenty-Third Psalm Window from his good friend Charles J. Connick. This exquisite south transept window, one of the finest Connick ever crafted, is an eloquent testimony to their love and to his own pastoral ministry. Each panel depicts a scene from the famous psalm, "The Lord is my shepherd..." In the top main medallion, angels representing "Goodness" and "Mercy" hold a cup of water and an olive branch, and the words "my cup runneth over" literally run over into the border. Dean Gresham spent a quiet retirement as Dean Emeritus, living more fully "with God and himself" in Bishop Parsons words, and died in 1958. His many accomplishments live on in the life, community, and House of Prayer for All People that is Grace Cathedral.

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