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Procession of Acolytes, Trinity Fort Wayne, 1930s, with John Wilding as crucifer
1media/Trinity procession 1930s305_thumb.jpg2019-12-01T13:23:49-08:00John David Beatty85388be94808daa88b6f1a0c89beb70cd0fac252310221Procession of Acolytes, Trinity Fort Wayne, 1930s, with John Wilding as cruciferplain2019-12-01T13:23:50-08:00John David Beatty85388be94808daa88b6f1a0c89beb70cd0fac252
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12020-01-27T11:15:15-08:00Acolytes of Trinity Episcopal Church1plain2020-01-27T11:15:16-08:00Acolytes have served the church since at least the 1890s, though there is no record of their membership. In 1932, when the Rev. James McNeal Wheatley was installed as rector, he was unimpressed the skills of Trinity's crew and invited the acolytes from St. Luke's, Evanston, Illinois, to serve at his installation service. John Wilding, who headed Trinity's corps, came to Wheatley afterward and said that "we want to be as good as they are." With Wilding as the leader, the acolytes organized into St. Hugh's Guild. They were drilled on precise techniques. They learned the names of all the vessels and vestments, wore only black shoes, and were trained to look straight ahead and not at the congregation. Initiation involved going down into the boiler room over night and looking at the fire. Once initiated, they were given formal patches to ear on their sweaters. The Rev. George Wood also demanded much from the acolyte corps. Members were given crosses to wear on Sunday morning, and he would have the boys line up, removing the crosses from those who had missed practice or a service.
By the 1970s, the corps became less militaristic and girls were invited to join in 1975.
