Memories: The Gold Cross

Photo by Beth Marquart.

I’ve told this before, and I share it with each new priest at St. John’s, but this is for the newcomers in the parish.

Mary Adelia McLeod and her husband, Mac, were serving as our rectors when she was elected bishop of the Diocese of Vermont. A campaign was begun, asking parishioners to donate gold to be melted and formed into a pectoral cross for Mary Adelia’s consecration.

Pectoral implies that the cross is worn high on the chest (pecs), and gold is the preferred metal worn by bishops, a tradition begun by the Roman Catholic Church and kept alive by the Church of England and her niece, The Episcopal Church.

After the McLeods had retired and returned to Charleston, Mary Adelia decided to return her cross to the people who had provided the gold (and five amethyst gemstones) that formed the cross. She asked me to introduce her to Susan Latimer, our rector at the time, so she could make the presentation.

When we met in the clergy vesting room, Mary Adelia handed the cross to Susan. Because priests don’t normally wear gold, Susan asked, “What would we do with it?” and Mary Adelia replied, “I think it would be appropriate for the rector to wear it on high holy days.”

And so our custom began. The cross has been worn, particularly for Christmas Eve and Easter services, by Susan Latimer, Kent Higgins, Marquita Hutchens, Donald Vinson, Michele Boomgaard, Chris Thompson and Eric Miller.