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Church Carpet Installation to Begin October 13

Dear Trinity Church and friends, 

With gratitude to parish leaders and staff who helped shepherd a project over many years, we are delighted to announce work will begin on the replacement of the nave carpets on Monday, October 13. This culmination of constancy and patience allows us to extend the Sarah Wyman Whitman design we enjoy in the center aisle, throughout the nave.  At the completion of the project, the side aisles will now match the center aisle, without the border.

As for practical impacts, we will relocate the October 14, 12:15 pm Tuesday Eucharist to the Chapel downstairs to provide the craftsmen with the space they need. Next week’s 5:45 pm, Wednesday Evensong and 12:15 pm, Friday organ recital will both occur as scheduled. Visitors Services will be closed through at least October 16. Sunday, October 19 services with Bishop Whitworth will not be interrupted. If necessary, carpet work will continue the week of October 20, and will be completed before Sunday, October 26, when we will pray our All Souls’ requiem.  

Late-19th century parishioner and groundbreaking artist, Sarah Wyman Whitman, created the design you will see on the carpet. Our Historian, Cynthia Staples, recounts of Whitman:

Sarah Wyman Whitman (1842-1904) was an accomplished painter, book cover designer, and stained-glass artist. Born in Baltimore, Maryland, she spent her childhood in Lowell, Massachusetts. In her twenties she married Boston merchant Henry Whitman.

John La Farge, principal artist of Trinity’s interior, would have a significant influence on Whitman, who is believed to have been part of the large painting team La Farge engaged to complete the work. It was La Farge who invited Whitman to create a carpet design.
 
Whitman’s skill caught the attention of Boston book publisher Houghton Mifflin. They hired her, the company’s first female book designer. She designed more than 200 book covers. Later in the 1880s, Whitman explored the world of stained glass. By the 1890s, she had become one of the leading stained-glass designers in the northeast. She founded her own firm, Lily Glass Works, located on Boylston Street. Today her windows can be found in churches and colleges throughout New England.
 
Whitman’s engagement with Trinity involved more than art. For the thirty years, between 1874 and 1904, she taught a Women’s Bible Study class at the church. A close friend of Trinity’s Rector, the Rev. Phillips Brooks, after his death in 1893, Whitman created the Phillips Brooks Memorial window located in the Parish House. The work began in 1895, and the window was installed in March 1896.
 

With our stewardship season now underway, you will inevitably hear me say, “everyone who makes a pledge to Trinity Church has a share in every ministry of this congregation.” Surely our ministries include the care of our historic buildings – a gift not only to our community, but a grace for the whole world to receive.  I give thanks for your generous commitments, which made this enhancement possible.

With a grateful heart,

The Rev. Morgan S. Allen
Rector 

* Sarah Wyman Whitman’s firm, Lily Glass Works, donated a window in her memory. It can be found in the Parish House. You will see a photo of this window on this year’s pledge card!