Address by Mr. Stanley Weeks at the dedication of the new
flags.
Dedication of Flags
St. Luke’s has been
my Parish Church from the date of my infant baptism 91 years ago, to date, and
will continue to be my Parish for the years I have left.
Through the years, the Church has meant much
to me. It has been part of my life. I was confirmed by the renowned Bishop
Brent. I sang in the early Boys’ Choir when we small choristers all wore high,
starched white collars and fluffy black silk ties. I served for several years
as an acolyte in the High Church under Father Willcox, and then later under Dr.
ward. I was a member of the first St. Luke’s Boy Scout Troop. I was a Sunday
School Teacher, and also an usher. I served 3 terms on the Church Vestry and
also on the Diocesan Council in Buffalo under Bishop Scaife, and in other
related activities, including assisting my wife, Sarita, when she professionally
costumed and directed the beautiful and unusual Coventry plays at Easter-time
and at Christmas here in the Church proper.
I think it was born in me to appreciate color
and decoration in the Church. The stained glass windows of our St. Luke’s are
probably the finest in the whole area. In 1965, it was my privilege to give the
8 stained glass clerestory windows, high in the church, as a memorial to the
Gory of God and to my parents, James L. Weeks and Louise Ross Weeks. Those
windows are to remind us of the ancient Biblical Old Testament patriarch
Abraham, and the prophets and elders, Moses, Samuel, David, Isaiah, Jeremiah,
Elijah, and Ruth.
Years ago when in the Chapel at Westminster
Abbey in London, I was aghast at the beauty of the colorful flags or banners
which hung on either side of its nave. And I have also been delighted on seeing
flags in other churches as well. With that background and my appreciation of
colorful additions to places of worship, came my thought of having flags for St.
Luke’s. They, I thought, should be not just flags ser se, but should be
representative and have a definite meaning. I determined, therefore, that they
should present the interesting steps of Anglicanism. The first banner should
represent the world renowned Canterbury Cathedral in England, the font of all
Anglicanism. Then the Aberdeen Cathedral of Scotland where Bishop Seabury was
consecrated, a step which saved the Episcopal Church in the United States from
possible extinction. Then, the flag of our beautiful Anglican Episcopal
Cathedral, the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., and lastly, the flag of
our own Diocese of St Paul’s Cathedral in Buffalo. Knowing the significance of
these flags, I feel, makes them the more meaningful to us.
These flags are given today to our Church,
first to the Glory of God, and then as memorials to my beloved uncle and aunt,
Emmet Hamilton Ross and Anna Brittan Ross. It was they who unselfishly fostered
my sister, brother and me following the death of our parents in the early years
of our lives.
I hope all of us will appreciate the
significance and beauty of these flags, which are dedicated on this day. They,
I might add, were especially hand-crafted by expert flag makers in Richmond,
Virginia.
Stanley Weeks,
June 8, 2003
