Evening star., 1949-09-25
Alexandra Church
One Of Two Exhibited
AT Episcopal Session
By Cospor Nonnes
Stor Stoff Cofrespopdent

Alexandria, va, has been chosen
as one of two Episcopal churches
in the United States to be ex-
hibited at the 56th Triennial gen.
eral convention of the Protestant
Episcopal Church in the United
States. the denominations Com
mission on Church Architecture
and the Allied Arts announced
today. The other church is
Christ Church of Cincinnati.
The announcement was made
rs thousands of Episcopal clergy
men, laymen and visitors arrived
IN San Francisco for the meeting,
which opens Monday and will
continue through October 7.
The Rev. Darby Wood Belts
rector Of Saint Clement, has put
up an exhibit in the upstairs foyer
Of the Civic Auditorium consisting
OF drawings, photographs and a
handmade model of the $125.30O
modernistic edifice.
N0A ais DCluS TlHlSneQ.
Most unusual feature of the
structure designed by Joseph H
Saunders Of Alexandria, is the
placement of the altar in the
center Of the sanctuary rather
than at an end. The church,
completely air conditioned, has no
windows. At present the murals
on the exterior of the building
are being completed by Robert
Davidson of the Cranbrook Aca-
deny of Art.
Work on the edifice was begun
In 1947. The church was COM
pleted in August 1948, except for
the murals. Saint Clement
organized in 1914, now has 232
confirmed communicates, SOC
pledging members and 800 bap-
tized members. Mr.. Belts, 9
graduate of Washington & Lee
University and of the Virginia
Episcopal Seminary at Alexandria
came to organize his charge in
October 1943.
Tomorrow the most Rev. Cyril
Forester Garbett, Archbishop OF
York, will deliver a sermon al
Grace Cathedral here as part OF
the pre-convention program.
A colorful procession of the
$500 bishops and clerical and lay
delegates will precede the conven-
tion's opening Monday morning
The meeting will be officially
opened by the Right Rev. Henry
Knox Sheriff., presiding bishop
who will deliver an address out
lining the proposed church pro-
gram for the next three years
The rest of Monday will be de-
voted to registration, roll call and
organization Of the convention.
A highlight of Mondays pro-
eeedings is expected to be the
election Of a new president OF
the House Of Clerical and Lay
Deputies. Former Supreme Court
Justice Owen J. Roberts, the In
eumbent, has notified convention
members that he will not stand
for reelection.
The general convention, supreme
legislative body of the church,
consists Of a House of Bishops
and House Of Clerical and Lay
Deputies. Both houses must pass
q proposal by majority votes be-
fore it becomes church law.
D. C. Area Representatives.
Washington will be represented
n the House Of Bishops by the
Right Rev. Angus Dun, Bishop
6 Washington. Four district area
dergymen and four laymen will
Gt in the house of deputies. Cler-
teal deputies are the Rev. Charles
w. Lowry, rector of All Saints
Church, Chevy Chase, Md; the
Rev. William MacD. Sharp. rector
Of st. Johns Church, George
town: the Very Rev. John Wallace
Suter, dean Of Washington Ca
thedral, and the Rev. Theodore
o. Wedel, canon of the Cathedral
and warden Of the College of
Preachers.
Lay deputies are Ernest w.
Greene, senior warden of st. Mar
garet's Church; H. L. Rust, jr.,
treasurer Of the diocese of Wash
ington; Thomas E. Robertson,
vice president Of the diocese's ex-
ecutive council, and Ogle r. Sin
gleton, secretary of the diocese
Of Washington.
On the convention agenda are
q record-breaking $5,552, ,095 bud
get for 1850, more than 50 900 900
above 1949: further discussion on
church unity with other Protes-
tant denominations, particularly
with the Presbyterian church in
the U. S. A., and additional de-
bate on the question of remarry-
ing innocent parties to a divorce
in the church.
It is also expected that the issue
of communism may be discussed
II the custer earlier this year of
the Rev. John Howard Melish as
rector of Holy Trinity Church,
Brooklyn. reaches the floor. DIR.
Melish was removed by the Right
Rev. James P. DeWolfe, bishop of
Long Island, at the request of YES
trymen of the church.
They asked his removal be-
cause he refused to dismiss his
son, the Rev. William Howard
Melish, as associate rector. The
younger man was an officer of the
National Council of American
Soviet Friendship, listed by the
Justice Department as subversive.
The Woman's Auxiliary to the
Episcopal National Council will
meet concurrently with the gen.
eral convention. A National Youth
Convention will meet September
20 to October 2.
Silver Spring Jaycees Plan