Fall Anniversary Perspectives: An Introduction

Detail: Steinhäuser Burd Children’s Memorial, 1852

Over the summer I pondered who we might be at St. Stephen’s in these evolving post-pandemic times. We seem to be a blend of virtual and (increasingly) in-person members, diverse and variable. Though the physical St. Stephen’s remains open two days a week for several hours, the virtual St. Stephen’s is available 24/7, with its recorded services and other offerings available to everyone (with access to the internet, anyway!). The physical and virtual churches aim to complement each other with resources for all—and to bring the virtual community into the physical church as much as possible.  

Towards that end, I  return to the physical church, what we can experience in person AND see virtually, with a new focus. There’s so much in what we simply see, large or small, that carries past experience that touches us now, some simply bittersweet turns of fortune. My gaze, for instance, rarely misses what you see above, the freshly lost toe on Steinhäuser’s compelling Burd Children’s Memorial, thanks to an energetic passerby, an intimate encounter then (albeit unintended) as now. Humble or less noticed small elements fire open-ended thinking in others. I’m still gripped by a debate in my presence between two black Muslims about our decorative floor grills. I thrilled to their cultural perspective and active eyes and minds. And they added unique layers to what I learned from church documents.

So on Fridays, I’ll regularly (if not weekly) offer vignettes on the physical church with different stories or questions. The first cluster, called “Perspectives Opened Up Close,” encourages us to open to small details, not just an integrated whole, and to honor our own open thinking. 

Stay tuned!

— Suzanne Glover Lindsay, St. Stephen’s historian and curator