The Rev. Robert Nott Merriman
At the request of Bishop Ethelbert Talbot, of the Diocese of
Bethlehem, The Rev. Robert Nott Merriman, of St. Stephen’s Episcopal
Church, Brooklyn, where he was Curate, accepted the rectorship of the
Church of the Mediator,
West
Park
and
Turner Street
. Rev. Merriman came to
Allentown
to meet members of the vestry of the Church of the Mediator with whom he
went over the ground thoroughly, declaring he would have an answer ready
in a short time. After due
deliberations, the answer came favorably.
Rev. Merriman was originally from Rome, New York, was a graduate of
Hobert College and of the General Theological Seminary, New York City.
For several years he was secretary to Bishop Burgess of
Long Island
. He also had experience in
building up parishes although only 36 years of age at the time he was
hired by the Church of the Mediator.
For the past five years he was rector of St. Stephen’s
Episcopal Church in
Brooklyn
, with the results that through his efforts the parish grew from a
struggling parish to a membership of 350 communicants.
Rev. Merriman was married to the daughter of the Rev.
Gonzales, a noted clergyman of
Chicago
, and had one son when hired by the Mediator.
He was expected to take up the role of rector at Mediator by May
1, 1913, a position he retained for 36 years until his death in 1949.
Although the chapel of the Church of the Mediator had been in use
only since the previous summer, it was announced in a March 19, 1913
newspaper article that the parish “now had 137 communicant while the
Sunday school in two departments had about 50 children and adults.”
(This seems to conflict with another article that reported there
were 78 communicants when Rev. Merriman arrived.)
There was a Church Workers’ Society composed of women members
of the parish numbering 26, while the Laymen’s Association had more
than that number. There was
a Junior Church Workers’ Society as well.
All above were anxiously awaiting the arrival of the new rector so
that the real organized work of erection of a parish house, adjoining
the chapel, which had already outgrown its capacity for holding church
services could begin. The
plans for the new parish house, in which services were to be held until
the erection of a church, together with the plans of a rectory and
church building, were on exhibition.
During his tenure plans for the new Tudor-style parish house, the
first floor of which was to be used as the church, were drawn by Hewit,
Granger and Paist, architects of
Philadelphia
. Ground was broken on September 2, 1913 and on November 12 the
cornerstone was laid and the building completed and dedicated on April
12, 1914.
One of Mr. Merriman’s favorite quotations from the Scriptures,
taught him in his youth by his father is from Proverbs: 20, 7
“The just man walketh in his integrity; his children are
blessed after him.” KJV
Our
Easter Gladness
Gives Way
to Mourning
Article from The Mediator Bulletin Board,
Vol. 7, No. 3, June 1949
Little did those of us who were in attendance at our last Good Friday
three-hour service realize then that this was to be the last of such
services our late rector was to preside over.
The service itself was a memorable one in other respects, since Mr.
Merriman brought to his hearers in high relief the very poignant and
salient incidents connected with our Lord’s crucifixion and His Seven
Last Words on the Cross.
Then, again, on Easter Day he officiated at the two morning
Celebrations of the Holy Communion, as well as the Church School Easter
Festival, in the evening. Collectively,
these services exacted a heavy toll on Mr. Merriman’s mental and
physical resources, but good soldier that he was, never a word of
complaint escaped his lips.
Tuesday in Easter Week, April 19, dawned cool and beautiful as any
other day in spring. The
echo of the glad Easter hymns seemed still to float on the breeze.
Shortly after the noon hour on that sorrowful day for us, the rector
was seen walking down
Hamilton Street
, apparently in good health and spirits, intent on keeping a speaking
engagement in one of the local radio studios.
An hour or two later that same afternoon the news reached our
ears that Mr. Merriman had suddenly been taken ill and had been rushed
to the Allentown Hospital.
Up to this time we had no intimation of the impending disaster that
was to befall us as a Parish, before the sun had set.
From the moment Mr. Merriman entered the hospital, however, the
attending physicians declared his case to be hopeless and gave him but a
few hours to live.
Letter
received from Frank G. Merriman, son of our rector and friend
To the Vestry, Church of the Mediator,
Allentown
,
Pennsylvania
, April 22, 1949
Friends:
As inspiring as the Easter Sunday just passed is the prompt,
effective and generous action you took in the few hours between the
seizure of my father and his death, and in the long hours afterward.
Each of you certainly had his own affairs to distract him, some
of these affairs urgent, yet so immediate and complete was your response
that one might believe your only concern for time was to care for my
father and mother.
The Mediator is brilliantly revealed as a group of people, rather
than a structure, and its future is assured.
Fortunate indeed is the minister who inherits this group.
If father had the smallest part in nurturing this wonderful
spirit, his life has been more successful than most of us can
comprehend. Sorrow at his
death will be for our own loss. Gratitude
is due that he passed without hesitation, at a fair age, and was
destined to work for all these years with such vital and responsible
people. (Signed) Frank Merriman
The
Mediator Bulletin Board Memorial issue
(Vol.
7, No. 3, June 1949)
can be found in the archives at the Church of the mediator.
