A portrait photograph of Walker K. Hancock (1901-1998), American sculptor.
On May 8, 1967, one of Hancock’s statues, Martin Luther, was dedicated at Friedens Lutheran Church, Hegins, Schuylkill County. The story of how the church acquired the statue and of the upcoming dedication was told in a news article that appeared in the Pottsville Republican, May 6, 1967.
LUTHER STATUE ORIGINAL TO BE DEDICATED AT FRIEDENS CHURCH
HEGINS –An original statue of Martin Luther will be dedicated at the Friedens Lutheran Church, Sunday, May 8 [1967]. Two identical services will be held at 8 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. The speaker will be the Rev. Clarence L. Lee Jr., Th.D., Philadelphia.
The statue which stands two and one half feet high was sculptured by Walker Hancock, Gloucester, Massachusetts. It is the original model from which was carved the statue of Luther which now stands in the cathedral of St. Peter and st. Paul in Washington, D. C., which was dedicated January 25 of this year [1967].
The original was a gift to the Friedens Cburch on October 23, 1966, in connection with the congregation’s 150th anniversary. The presentation made on behalf of the Washington Cathedral by the canon pastor, the Rev. Kenneth L. Sharp, who is a former pastor of the Friedens Church from 1950-1953.
The statue has been permanently installed in a specially prepared niche in the narthex of the Friedens Church, and is identified by a brass plaque.
Rev. Lee will speak on the theme, “The Reformation – Monument or Reality?”
A native of Minnesota, and the son of a Lutheran clergyman, Rev. Lee was graduated from Olaf College, 1951, and from the Lutheran Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1955. He received his Th.D. from the Harvard Divinity School earlier this year.
He has taught at the Lutheran Seminary, Mt. Airy, Philadelphia, since 1958, and now serves as Assistant Professor of Church History there. He is also general editor of the Historical series of Facet Books, published by Fortress Press of Philadelphia.
All of the music of the services will be chosen from that of the Reformation period, and all of the hymns used in the dedication will be ones either written or composed by Luther himself.
These services form a part of a dual celebration at Friedens. the 150th anniversary of the congregation in 1816 and the 450th anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation, commemorating specifically the act of Luther nailing the 95 Theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany, October 31, 1517.
Members of the Anniversary Committee are: Elmer R. Maurer, chairman, Mrs. Maurer, Roy Green, Elvin Huntsinger, E. Clair Klees, Nevin R. Miller, William W. Minnich, and Rev. Ralph W. Bagger.
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News article from Newspapers.com. Photo of Walker Hancock from Wikipedia.
Corrections and additional information should be added as comments to this post.