ECC has never been just one thing or another. For the first half of the twentieth century, we were a succession of "clubs" (St. Paul’s, Huntington, Canterbury, Seabury) led first by a University professor, then by a succession of curates from St. John’s Church, Ithaca’s only Episcopal parish. For the rest of the century, we were served by just two full-time chaplains, the Rev. Richard Stott (1948-1968) and the Rev. Gurdon Brewster (1969-1999), whose long tenures provided continuity for an academic community whose membership was constantly changing.

For as long as any of us can remember, we have been a people set apart from most of the University by our religious faith and united with it in our intellectual curiosity and skepticism. We have been, by turns and sometimes simultaneously, both traditional and innovative in our liturgy, our music, and our communion circle about the altar. For years, we used two chalices, one with grape juice, out of concern for the many students and other members who struggle with alcohol; we now use a single chalice, but with alcohol-free wine. We have been, with varying degrees of emphasis and intensity, a community of activists with a commitment to hospitality, who have embraced freedom marchers, draft resisters, irregularly ordained priests, Haitian outcasts, apartheid victims, and those shunned for their sexual orientation, and who have remained in respectful dialogue with those whose positions we oppose.

In governance, we have been blessed with chaplains who speak with quiet but prophetic voices, a constantly changing array of skillful lay leaders, a tradition of congregational decision making on all matters of singular importance, and increasingly close relationships with our bishop, who appoints and supervises our chaplain and chairs the Foundation that administers our endowment.

Until 1978, the Diocese paid the full salary of our chaplains and provided their residence. By 1992, when its financial support finally ended, the residence had been turned over to our community and converted to a meeting house, the income from an endowment that our alumni and friends had helped us raise had more than made up for the loss of diocesan payments, and the Diocese had designated us a formal chaplaincy, with full voting rights in its conventions.

Throughout our history, we have been defined by our constant working out of the tensions between our different identities, resisting the temptation to become one thing or another, and rejoicing in the wonderful possibilities of their continuous reconciliation.

Joe Shedd

ECC's History:A Personal Recollection
Having worked downtown close to 20 years, I was always aware that ECC was regarded as a place of intense ferment where controversy was welcomed and ideas were dealt with in courageous and imaginative ways. This atmosphere was fostered by a chaplain who was well known throughout the community for his own willingness to engage with students, and who was a prime mover (but by no means the only one) in getting important issues acted upon. He and I agreed that of all the many issuers taken up over the years, ECC seems to have made the greatest impact in four major areas: gender issues in the church; race relations; business ethics; and personal growth.

GENDER ISSUES: One of ECC's finest hours was the decision to include in its mission statement explicit welcome of gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and others dealing with problems of gender identity. ECC was the first congregation in Ithaca to make this commitment and did so in the face of hostility from outside the community and even from some alumni. Outreach was not limited to Sunday mornings: the chaplain and various ECC members gave workshops and lectures throughout the campus, and the chaplain worked privately with many individuals who sought him for counseling.

RACE RELATIONS: ECC was fortunate in having among its congregants various outstanding, members of the African and African-American communities. Through connections with the Africana Center, ECC members were able to provide workshops and lectures to many students and staff who might otherwise have been unaware of the depth of racial tension on campus. ECC brought in speakers such as Andrew Young and Martin Luther King, Sr., who attracted wide audiences from around then university and Ithaca at large. ECC also attempted to give students and other young people direct experience of history by organizing Freedom Rides in which groups went by bus along the routes of the original Freedom Trail. One group also visited Haiti in 1986-87, where several ECC members were working in education and agriculture.

BUSINESS ETHICS: Following the lead of the Church of the Savior in Washington, D.C., ECC instituted a series of study programs of which one of the most important was the Mission of Money. Drawing participants from ECC and other parts of Cornell, the program covered such topics as personal spending patterns, institutional investment, and the use of money as a force for good. Another program, still offered in the Hotel School, includes a course on housing and feeding the homeless, creates links between the hospitality industry and agencies serving the homeless in cities throughout the country, and develops research and advocacy for the homeless at Cornell.

PERSONAL GROWTH: The chaplain spent much of his own time counseling students and encouraged others to become involved with agencies or groups that provided such services. He helped developed a campus telephone counseling service known as EARS (Empathy and Reassurance Service) and was one of the founders of the Pastoral Counseling Service, which operated originally out of his home. Always interested in current issues, he and other members of ECC also created the Ithaca Men's Center, where men could meet to discuss how their lives were being affected by such issues as feminism.

In addition to these interests, the chaplain encouraged all manner of creative projects, from plays and a community orchestra to liturgical dance, art exhibits, and lectures by experts in the ECC community. For several years there was even an ecumenical Sunday school for children from ECC, the Catholic Community, and the Society of Friends.

Marian VanSoest