The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1898-12-01
REV. ST. CLAIRE HESTER.
A Former Vance County Mans Sue
cess Abroad-Calied to the Rector.
ship of One of the Leading Churches
in RrOOklyn

in Brooklyn.
The following plimentary refer
ence to we'll known and talented
son of Vance county, will be read
with interest Mr.. Hester formerly
lived in Kittrell. and has many friends
and acquaintance among GOLD LEAF
readers. He is nephew Of Mrs.
Mamie Garden, of Henderson. We
copy from the Brooklyn On. Y. Eagle:
The vestry Of the Protestant Episco-
pal church of the Messiah. at Greene
and Clermont avenues, has extended
call to the Rev. ST. Clair Hester. at
present rector of ST. Georges Church.
at Gates and Marcy avenues, and the
call has been accepted. Mr.. Hester
is son-in-law of the former rector
of the church, the Rev. DR.. Charles
r. Baker.
The Church of the Messiah is one
of the richest churches in the Diocese
of Long Island and is one of the
strongest churches in the city. Its
roll of communicates. numbering be-
tween fifteen and eighteen hundred,
is the largest of any of the Episcopal
churches in Brooklyn. Its ediice,
large and striking, is well known to
Brooklynites and Episcopalians have
for long time been wont to look
upon it as one of the strongholds of
the denomination in the Eastern part
of the United States.
Its pulpit was made vacant last
summer by the sudden death of DR..
Baker, who died at Gratz, Austria,
where he was temporarily stopping
with Mrs. Baker. DR.. Baker was one
of the notable figures of the church
in America, and his work at the
Messiah has been of the highest
order. A man of large wealth, he
gave literally of his means to the
church, and no expenditure was con-
sidered too great if by it the church
might be helped. His sudden death
was a great blow to his parishioners
and the funeral services over his
body upon its receipt from Europe,
were marked by a great multitude of
the clergy and by sincere and deep
felt grief upon the part of all the
members of his parish.
The new rector of the parish was
born in 1868, and graduated from
the General Theological Seminary,
Chelsea Square, New York, in 1898.
He was ordained deacon that same
summer by Bishop Potter in New
York and went Immediately to the
Church of the Messiah, under DR..
Baker. After the canonical year in
deacon's orders he was ordained
priest by Bishop Litltejohn, and in
1895 he was called to ST. Georges, to
succeed the Rev. DR.. H. Richard Har-
ris, now rector of Grace Church,
Philadelphia.
When Mr.. Hester went to St.
Georges there was bonded indebt-
edness of some $4,000 on the church
and floating debt of $4,000. The
floating Indebtedness has been re-
moved and the bonded Indebtedness
has been reduced to less than $40, 900.
In addition to this. the chancel of the
church has been laid with a marble
mosaic floor, and the nave of the
church with a TerraZa mosaic floor.
These constitute the chief improve
ments to the buildings of ST. Georges
during Mr.. Hester's tenure.
1t was while serving at the Messiah
that Mr.. Hester married a daughter
of DR.. Baker, and it is this fact, to-
gether with the fact that he was at
one time an assistant minister, that
has largely induced the choice of the
vestry of the Messiah to invite Mr..
Hester to it's rectorship. Mr.. Hester
knows the needs of the Messiah from
actual work in the church, and is ex-
pected to fill the peculiar require
ments of such a large and active
church.
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