Church of the Good Shepherd (Rosemont, Pennsylvania)
The Church of the Good Shepherd in Rosemont, Pennsylvania, is a progressive and inclusive Episcopal parish church in the liberal Anglo-Catholic tradition. It is part of the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania and is located in the Philadelphia Main Line. History. The parish was founded in 1869 as part of the Anglo-Catholic Oxford Movement revival in the Anglican Church, and was admitted to the Diocese of Pennsylvania in 1871. Its original church building was on the north side of Lancaster Avenue, just east of the present football stadium of Villanova University. Through  a donation of $27,000 (approximately $823,000 in 2021 dollars) from parishioner Harry Banks French of the Smith, Kline & French company, the present church building was designed by the Philadelphia architectural firm of Baily & Truscott, and constructed between 1893 and 1894 in the Gothic Revival style of a 14th-Century English country church. The first services were held in 1894, and the building was consecrated in 1910. Good Shepherd Hospital. The parish set up Good Shepherd Hospital in the 1870s, originally to care for children whose parents could not afford to give them medical services. In 1903 the name  was changed to the Home and Hospital of the Good Shepherd, and in 1915 admissions were restricted to boys between 7 and 14. The hospital was conducted as a parochial institution until June 1922 when it merged with the Church Farm School, an Episcopal Church institution farther west in the Philadelphia suburbs. Move from Radnor to Rosemont. The original church building near Villanova was in use for about 20 years. It had been informally intended to be, in part, a memorial to two distinguished Episcopal bishops (Jackson Kemper and Samuel Bowman). A window honoring the bishops was installed in the  church. In the 1890s, the vestry decided to move to a more spacious location in neighboring Rosemont, Pennsylvania, and received the donation from Harry Banks French to erect what is today the church building. Rectors. Current rector. The current rector, from August 2020, is the Rev. Kyle Babin. Babin holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Rice University, a Master of Music degree from Yale University with a certificate from the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Manhattan School of Music, and a Master of Divinity degree from Virginia Theological Seminary. Immediately before  accepting his call as rector, Babin was a member of the clergy of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, an Anglo-Catholic parish in Philadelphia. Art and architecture. Entrance and bell tower. Above the main (north) entrance to the church is a polychrome statue depicting the boy Jesus as the Good Shepherd. The crenellated bell tower contains bells playing the Cambridge Quarters, as well as ringing the Angelus and ringing before Mass; a bell elsewhere sounds during the eucharistic consecration. The chime of 11 bells, donated in 1913, are playable from a console in the Lady Chapel. Ten of the bells  are stationary; the largest (the 11th bell) can be swung. Nave and stained glass. The nave comprises five bays and a clerestory with stained glass. In all, the building's stained glass includes 50 figurative windows and six ornamental windows. Rood screen. A large carved wooden rood screen surmounted with a crucifixion separates the chancel from the nave. The screen was added to the building in 1912. Its gates are by celebrated blacksmith Samuel Yellin (1884-1940). Chancel. The chancel contains a decorated coffered ceiling. High altar and reredos. The high altar is made of Caen stone and was installed  in 1905. In 1929 the artist and parishioner George Fort Gibbs created seven paintings for the high altar's reredos as a memorial to his parents. The center panel is a Virgin and Child flanked by panels depicting other figures from the Christian era and Old Testament: Saint Francis of Assisi, Saint Peter, King Saint Edward the Confessor (last king of the English House of Wessex), Moses, Aaron, and King David. Lady chapel. There is a separate Lady chapel entered at the top of the south aisle, dedicated in 1918. The space was originally a sacristy and choir room. The  current limestone altar was installed in 1954. The tabernacle and triptych, as well as the carved double-desk, are by parishioner Davis d’Ambly and date from the 1980s. Baptistry. An octagonal baptistry with carved font and stained glass was added off the south side of the church in 1932. The chandelier is by Samuel Yellin and the glazing and polychrome are by Valentine d’Ogries (1889-1959). War memorial. The war memorial, created in 1942, honors parishioners who have served in the armed forces in and since World War II. It was installed at the urging of a parishioner, Lt. Gen.  Milton Baker, who also established the nearby Valley Forge Military Academy and College. Crypt. There is a columbarium and funerary chapel in the crypt of the church, along with a burial vault containing the remains of benefactor Harry Banks French and three members of his family. Worship. Schedule. The church is open Monday through Friday for visits and meditation. Masses are celebrated on Sunday at 8:00 am (Low Mass) and at 10:30 am (Sung High Mass). Separate children's and adult formation classes are held at 9:30 am. Morning Prayer is held on Monday to Saturday at 9:00 am and  Evening Prayer on Monday to Friday at 5:30 pm. Mass is also celebrated on Wednesdays, Fridays, and major holy days regardless of whether they fall on Wednesdays or Fridays. Practice. As at other High Church, Anglo-Catholic churches, worship at Good Shepherd incorporates the later Catholic Revival's devotional and eucharistic practices: Music program. The organist and choirmaster is Matthew Glandorf, a graduate of and faculty member at the Curtis Institute of Music. The choir comprises a professional core with auditioned volunteer singers. The choir sings weekly at the 10:30 High Mass on Sunday, and at special liturgies throughout the  year, including Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Ash Wednesday, the solemn liturgies of Holy Week, Easter, and Pentecost. The choir offers a sung setting of the Mass on most Sundays and feast days ranging from Palestrina and Victoria to Stanford and Parry and the great English cathedral repertoire, as well as sacred music being written for the church today such as James MacMillan, Eriks Esenvalds, and local Philadelphia composers. The music program has a Choral Scholar Program for talented students from nearby colleges, including male and female choral scholars from, e.g., Bryn Mawr College, Villanova University, and Haverford College, to support them  in their studies. Organ. The organ at Good Shepherd is an Austin, Op. 2613 (1977), with three manuals and 57 ranks of pipes.