J. Stuart Wetmore

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The Right Reverend

James Stuart Wetmore

D.D.
Paul Moore, Jr.
Orders
OrdinationDecember 17, 1939
by William Moorhead
ConsecrationMarch 25, 1960
by Arthur C. Lichtenberger
Personal details
Born(1915-10-22)October 22, 1915
DiedDecember 28, 1999(1999-12-28) (aged 84)
Poughkeepsie, New York, United States
NationalityCanadian
DenominationAnglican
ParentsCharles Talbot Wetmore & Alberta Mae McCordic
Spouse
Frances Howard Robinson
(m. 1940)
Children5

James Stuart Wetmore or J. Stuart Wetmore (October 22, 1915 - December 28, 1999) was an

Episcopal Bishop in the Diocese of New York
.

Family

Born to Charles Talbot and Alberta Mae Wetmore, Wetmore became a deacon in 1938 and was ordained a priest in 1939 for the Diocese of Fredericton of the Anglican Church of Canada. He was descended from the Rev. James Wetmore, an early rector of Grace Church (now Christ's Church) in Rye, New York (1723–1760).

Early career

Wetmore was ordained a deacon in December, 1938.[1] His Canadian assignments included field secretary and general secretary of the General Board of Religious Education of the Church of England in Canada. He traveled constantly through eastern Canada and Newfoundland, building up local Christian formation programs and stimulating the creation of regional programs such as Camp Medley in Upper Gagetown, New Brunswick.[2] He moved to the United States in 1953, serving as director of Christian education of the Diocese of New York until 1960.

He was named a canon of the

suffragan bishop in December of that year.[1] He is noted for serving longer than any other in that capacity, for twenty-seven years,[3] retiring in 1987.[1]

Health issues

In 1963, Wetmore collapsed at a Christmas service at the cathedral and was taken to the hospital. Although the immediate diagnosis was heat exhaustion, the medical examination revealed that he was suffering from cancer of the larynx. After surgery to remove the cancer (and one vocal cord), Wetmore had to cope for the rest of his ministry with a voice which was faint and hoarse. For several years he made use of his own portable sound system, as voice amplification was rare in smaller churches in the diocese at that time, to continue to be able to preach and lead worship.[1]

Interfaith ministry

Wetmore was the first non-Roman Catholic to preach from the pulpit of

New York State
from 1965 to 1968.

He was a founding director of the Council of Churches of the City of New York, serving from 1960 to 1988. In that capacity he worked with Joachim Fiorillo, director of development for the council, to create the Society for the Family of Man, which Fiorillo initially envisioned, and was crystallized in the society's first awards dinner, honoring John F. Kennedy in November, 1963.[4]

Wetmore served as chair of the committee that oversaw the construction and functioning of the Protestant and Orthodox pavilion at the

1964-1965 New York World's Fair. One of his key contributions was successfully lobbying for the showing of the controversial short film, "Parable"[5]
at the pavilion, instead of the proposed dramatic readings from famous sermons.

Family

Wetmore married Frances Howard Robinson in 1940. Together they had five children, and at the time of his death Wetmore had eleven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wetmore, J. Stuart (December 1989). Ventures in Proclamation. self-published. p. 20. After months and months of not being able to speak above a whisper, my ability to project sound slowly began to recover, but my voice has been seriously handicapped ever since. Increasingly I was able to be picked up by public address systems, and for years I carried a portable system with me for use in those churches where there was no system in place.
  2. ^ Camp Medley
  3. ^ "H:\cpi\Convention Journal\obs\Directory.wpd" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-06-24.
  4. ^ "William S. Paley to Get Award Of Society for Family of Man". New York Times. August 22, 1982. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
  5. ^ Award-winning 'Parable' available from EcuFilm
  6. ^ "The Grapevine - Volume 7 Number 1 - Winter 2000". Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2007-06-25.