Peace in Grace Peace-themed furnishings at Grace Cathedral

Grace Church and its successor Grace Cathedral have seen the tides of war and peace ebb and flow across the nation and the world for more than a century and a half. Destroyed by nature in 1906, San Francisco has been spared the destruction of war. Nearly a century earlier, in 1815, a young boy, John Ver Mehr -- later founder of Grace Church -- heard the distant cannons' roar from Waterloo, site of the vast battle that changed the face of Europe.

Reverend Robert Foute 1841-1903 (Rector of Grace Church 1884-1903)

While California remained in the Union during the Civil War, several of the early vestrymen and rectors of Grace Church were from the South, and the war tested their loyalty. One later Grace Church rector, the Rev. William Platt, vacated his shell-damaged Virginia church to preach outdoors before General Lee, during the siege of Petersburg. Platt's Grace Church successor, the Reverend Robert Foute, was the bow gunner on the ironclad Merrimac in its famous 1862 battle with the Monitor. He helped to build Confederate ships in England, joined several naval battles off the Carolinas, fought in the Army of Northern Virginia, and was jailed in Washington. Later, as an Episcopal minister, his "Let us pray" was said to have sounded like "an order from the quarterdeck." His memorial plaque is in the cathedral's north choir aisle. Foute would have been surprised to know that a famous foe and retired President, General U. S. Grant, was entertained in the Crocker mansion (on the present site of the cathedral nave) in 1879. In the nearby cathedral choir is a window to Captain Henry Nichols, who died of heat stroke at the Battle of Manila Bay, during the Spanish-American War. In contrast, a cathedral organ case is dedicated to the American and Philippine people of the Spanish-American War and World War II.

Singing Tower and carillon (dedicated 1943)

Several cathedral congregants and acolytes served in World War I, a few never to return from the trenches. Recovery work grew among cathedral women. Mrs. William H. Crocker financed the complete reconstruction of the French village of Vitrimont, and was made a member of the Legion of Honor for her relief work. The clouds of war again began to gather in the late 1930s, and it proved difficult to get the steel to start construction of the Singing (north) Tower, future home of the bell carillon.

Dean Wright and staff reviewing a blueprint in the crypt temporarily converted into a Red Cross center following Pearl Harbor.

Pearl Harbor, the 1941 start of American participation in World War II, had a deep impact. It was Sunday morning when an FBI agent quietly walked up the aisle and gave Dean Thomas Wright a slip of paper explaining the grave situation. Part of the cathedral crypt was turned into a temporary Red Cross hospital, and the Dean served as a fire lookout. A city blackout was imposed, as Japanese planes were expected over the city at any moment. Once, during a choir dinner in the crypt, a power failure plunged the group into darkness, and many expected the worst. Several cathedral congregants, choristers and acolytes served in the war, and some never returned.

War Shrine in 1944.

The Chapel of Intercession (later the Chapel of the Nativity) became the War Shrine, where individuals and families gathered to pray for loved ones. The General Robert H. Noble Center for Servicemen opened in the old cathedral crypt, offering friendship and relaxation to many a lonely serviceman. From the "Top of the Mark" lounge in the nearby Mark Hopkins Hotel, families watched navy ships slip out through the Golden Gate, and later, return from distant battles in the un-peaceful Pacific. The Singing Tower and carillon were dedicated in the middle of the war, 1943. Among the cathedral bells that rang the war in, and out, was the 1 3/4 ton Isaiah bell, called the Peace bell for its inscription, "Nation shall not lift up sword against nation." Christmas Eve, 1944, saw the largest crowd at Grace Cathedral to date. The little Wayside Chapel of St. Francis (view image), opened in 1945, was very popular with returning servicemen, and several marriages were performed in the tiny street-side chapel, which was always open. The "old soldier," General Douglas McArthur, was among those attending the memorial service for William Randolph Hearst at the Cathedral in 1951.

Sally Bingham blesses electric cars passing in front of Grace Cathedral on their way to the San Francisco peace march. (January 18, 2003)

With the rise of social conscience and television coverage in the late 1960s, war began to lose its heroic, idealistic luster. The Vietnam conflict was seen in all its stark horror on the evening news. The Peace Torch, lit in Hiroshima, began its journey across the nation from Grace Cathedral in 1967, and Bishop Myers denounced the Vietnam War as evil and destructive. Several Grace Cathedral peace rallies and services followed over the years. During the visit of Vietnam's Vice President Ky to the nearby Fairmont Hotel in 1971, students and police battled on Nob Hill, and many sought refugee in the Cathedral, with police in pursuit. The cause continues today. Bishop Swing launched the United Religions Initiative in 1996 to find common ground and peaceful reconciliation among world religions. In January, 2003, the Reverend Sally Bingham blessed a group of electric cars and marchers in front of Grace Cathedral before they joined the huge peace rally at San Francisco's Civic Center. Gathering for the rally, marchers passed the cathedral's bronze Singing Tower doors, which feature handles shaped as doves holding olive branches (view image). In the hope that their metaphor can become reality, may we realize that peace is waiting to be grasped, and new doors wait to be opened.

In 2006, newly-elected Bishop Marc Andrus decided to join San Francisco's weekly anti-war rally, and marched with others from Grace Cathedral to the local Federal Building, twelve blocks down Nob Hill. Following a celebration of holy communion, he and others were arrested for civil disobedience. "God is with all who have suffered in Iraq." the bishop stated. "Even though there is widespread sentiment against the war, we need to continue to push for peace." Grace Cathedral symbolizes that peace, a "peace that passes understanding", a shining goal to which we all aspire.

Peace in Grace: Peace-themed furnishings at Grace Cathedral

 
More Tales from the Crypt