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On Thanksgiving Day 1918, Bishop Philip Mercer Rhinelander gave thanks to God for the blessings of peace. The occasion was both solemn and festive, a time to celebrate the homecoming of those who had fought in World War I and to honor those who had died in service to the country. Rhinelander also used the Thanksgiving service as an opportunity to promote plans for the new diocesan cathedral, a monumental project that would be “a temple of God’s peace, a house of prayer for all God’s people,” and “a thank-offering for victory .”1 As he envisioned it, the cathedral would be the city’s religious crown jewel and a fitting tribute to the mother diocese of the Episcopal Church. The cathedral project epitomized the spirit of the Diocese of Pennsylvania in the opening decades of the twentieth century and reflected the theological and social outlook of its members. The period was marked by economic prosperity and a remarkable sense of confidence. Institutional maturity and diocesan centralization were bolstered by an increasingly national and nationalistic vision of the church’s role in public life and a fuller theological embrace of the church’s Catholic heritage. The cathedral plans embodied all of these developments. The triumphalism of the age, however, was soon tempered by depression and war. Yet those dark years were also an opportunity for the diocese to shine with a spirit of service and sacrifice. In adapting to the changing fortunes of the period, the diocese and its members responded to the new realities of modern American life. Prosperity and National Prominence In the opening decades of the twentieth century, the Philadelphia area prospered as a center of industry, commerce, and finance. Major corporations 7 The Church in Prosperity, Depression, and War, 1910–1945 thomas f. rzeznik the church in prosperity, depression, and war   217 like the Pennsylvania Railroad, Baldwin Locomotive, and Curtis Publishing shared the stage with a host of smaller firms that manufactured everything from soup (Campbell’s) to nuts and bolts (William Sellers & Co.). Between 1900 and 1950 Philadelphia consistently ranked as the third-largest city in the country, and for much of that time was the third-richest, too.2 The diocese benefited from the region’s good fortune. Between 1910 and 1930 the number of communicants in the diocese rose from 55,561 to 70,288, a 26.5 percent increase.3 In contrast, membership stagnated during the lean years that followed, so that by the end of World War II there were slightly fewer communicants than in 1932. Nevertheless, the diocese maintained a position of prominence within the national church, behind only New York in size and wealth.4 Growth inevitably transformed the physical and social geography of the city and surrounding counties. Rail and streetcar transportation opened up new districts to settlement. The grand estates in Chestnut Hill, the Whitemarsh Valley, and along the Main Line were converted from summer retreats to year-round residences, while middle-class families flocked to blossoming neighborhoods in West and North Philadelphia. The increased use of private automobiles led to the construction of new boulevards connecting far-flung areas—a development that almost cost the diocese one of its churches, St. Clement’s. When the city decided to widen Twentieth Street to accommodate downtown traffic, the building, in a feat of engineering, was lifted off its foundation and moved back forty feet to be spared demolition.5 With the membership gains and suburbanization of the 1910s and 1920s, the number of parishes and missions in the diocese increased, although the rate of expansion was slower than in the previous three decades.6 Church growth during these two decades was characterized by alterations, additions, and embellishments. Prosperity enabled many parishes to improve and expand their facilities in response to membership gains, especially once wartime scarcity ended and the government lifted construction restrictions. Temporary chapels were replaced with more permanent (and more impressive) structures.7 Benefactors lavished memorial windows, altars, statues, and other adornments on both new and existing churches. As in the earlier industrial period, some donors single-handedly financed the construction of new buildings, if not entire parishes.8 Parish beautification projects were a boon to local artists, artisans, and architects, and helped Philadelphia develop as a center for ecclesiastical art and architecture. Stained glass from the studios of Nicola D’Ascenzo and William Willett and decorative metalwork produced by Samuel Yellin garnered a national reputation for their beauty and craftsmanship.9 They and [18...

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