Seven downtown Roanoke churches had a chance to show off their ornate stained glass windows, vintage pipe organs, impressive stonework and interesting architecture last Sunday during a holiday tour organized as a benefit for RAM House. Roanoke Area Ministries provides meals, shelter and emergency financial assistance for many of the needy in the valley from its home base at 824 Campbell Avenue.
Calvary Baptist, First Christian, Greene Memorial, Second Presbyterian, St. John’s Episcopal, St Mark’s Lutheran and Trinity United Methodist opened their doors to those taking the tour, with members of each congregation acting as guides.
Many of these churches have histories that date back more than 100 years; Trinity Memorial (305 Campbell) for example began when Greene Memorial UMC was filled to capacity, with Civil War aides to Robert E. Lee (James David Johnston) and Jubal Early (Andrew Pitzer) two of the prime forces behind Trinity’s construction.
At Second Presbyterian, tour guide Boo Miller advised a couple that the beams and wood-planked ceiling looked like “the bow of a boat…if you turn it over, in the time of Jesus.” St Mark’s Lutheran showed off its Chrismon (Christ Monogram) Tree, first developed in 1957 by Frances Kipps Spencer at a Lutheran church in Danville.
The tall evergreen was adorned with Christian symbols. Chrismon trees have “spread all over the world,” said church member George Kegley, who liked the holiday tour idea. “[We] thought it would be nice to open the churches,” said Kegley.
St. John’s Episcopal features authentic Tiffany stained glass windows in its sanctuary, works that were featured in an audio tour put together by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. St. John’s, over 100 years old at its current location at 1 Mountain Avenue, just spent five million dollars to renovate its sanctuary and pipe organ, and may raise several million more for further changes.
Several styles of stained glass are featured in windows at St. John’s Episcopal, as explained by a tour guide – some used colored glass, others are clear glass painted in different hues. Many were donated by patrons in the 1940’s and were made by a company in New Jersey. Others date back to the 1920’s. Church member and tour guide Mary Green called it “the most inspirational [sight] when the sun comes through the stained glass windows during church services.”
Dedicated in 1903, Trinity UMC features a rotunda-style roof, unlike the arched style of many other churches on the tour. The small church conducts a community outreach program for local underprivileged children in the city, feeding them, taking them out on field trips and conducting Bible studies.
Early on, Trinity Memorial held Sunday school classes in the old opera house that once resided on the top floor of the City Market building, now undergoing renovations. “That’s where [poor children] learned to read and write,” said Trinity congregation and tour guide Eddie King of Sunday schools, when they offered lessons for those that could not afford to attend private schools.
At St. John’s Episcopal, Mary Green liked the idea of a holiday tour, as a way to expose Roanokers to some of the city’s more venerable congregations, in buildings that are historic. “I think it’s great. I loved talking to everybody today. It’s been amazing how interested people are…this has been really nice.”
