Church of the Epiphany

By 1893 the church was struggling financially after years of ministering to the poor in a poverty-stricken neighborhood. Bishop Potter thought a merger with another parish would be the answer. Talks were successful with the Church of St John the Baptist, located on Lexington Avenue and 35th Street. Epiphany moved to the 35th Street location and joined with St John the Baptist.  The Rector of St John the Baptist, Dr. Duffie, became the Rector of the combined church, and the new vestry was made up of equal numbers from both churches. The name of the combined churches was the Church of the Epiphany, as Epiphany was the older parish. Although Epiphany had heretofore been a free church, in order to stay financially solvent, every other pew was rented.

By 1920 the Church, Parish House and Rectory needed extensive repairs. As the work was being finished on the church, a fire was started by a spark from a worker’s acetylene torch. The Fire Department was summoned, and the building was saved. The church had ample insurance. In 1921, 143 East 35th Street was sold, with the proceeds paying off the mortgage on 263 Lexington, which would be used as a Rectory.

Talks started in 1917 about consolidating with yet another parish.

RECTORS:

The Rev. Cornelius Duffie was the Rector of Epiphany from 1893 until 1894 when he became Rector Emeritus. He had been Rector of St John the Baptist from its very beginning in 1848. Born in 1821, he graduated from Columbia in 1841, and from General Theological Seminary in 1844. He was the first Chaplain of Columbia College, and held that position from 1857 until 1891. Dr. Duffie received the Doctor of Divinity from the University of New York. He was part of a distinguished New York City family. His father was the Rector of St Thomas’ Church. The family owned much of the Kips Bay area, and his aunts gave the church the land on which they built St. John the Baptist.. Dr. Duffie was known for his generosity- he served the parish with little or no salary, often paying the church’s expenses out of his own pocket. Dr. Duffie died in 1900.

1896 brought the Rev. Joseph  Hutcheson as Rector. Hutcheson, a graduate of Amherst and the Episcopal Seminary School in Cambridge, had been the assistant minister at St John’s Church in Providence, Rhode Island. He resigned in 1900. Under his leadership the church grew, and attracted prominent citizens from the Murray Hill area.

In 1901, Edward Lincoln Atkinson, a graduate of Harvard and of the Episcopal Theological School in Cambridge, and previously assistant minister of Emmanuel Church in Boston, became Rector of Epiphany at age 37. He was Rector until his accidental death by drowning the following summer. Though Rector for only nine months, his death was a deep blow for the congregation.

In 1903 The Rev. William Crocker, a graduate of Harvard and the Episcopal Theological School in Cambridge, became Rector and he served as such until 1933. He had been Rector of St Mary’s in Boston. In addition to his Epiphany duties, he was Chaplain of the NY National Guard from 1912 until 1918, working overseas in the Argonne with the 54th Infantry during World War I. Under his leadership the church paid off its debts in 14 years. He died in 1939 at age 76.

CONGREGATION

The mission work of the church was done through an association with St Bartholomew’s, and included the participation of Mrs. Lot Jones, aged 80.

The work of the church continued, even though for several years there was no Rector. In 1895 a group of young people was ready for confirmation-but there was no Rector or minister in charge to instruct them. A Miss Bishop took charge of the girls, and a layman took charge of the boys. The group was instructed and presented to Bishop Potter. The Bishop said it was the only time he had ever confirmed a group from a church without a rector.

The congregation grew in the early 1900s, but World War I took a toll. Fewer and fewer people were in regular attendance. Murray Hill was a changing neighborhood, with wealthy people moving away and immigrants moving to the area. In the 1920s the Church housed many groups including the Employment Society, Young Menís Club, Surgical Dressing Committee (which made surgical dressings and mufflers, wristlets and socks during the War), Girls’ Friendly Society, and the Sewing School for Children (during WWI they made articles to be sent to orphanages abroad).

Charles Howland Russell, Senior Warden of the Church, was a valued member of the congregation. He guided the church through the years without a Rector. Russell wrote the history of Epiphany’s first 75 years.