“A Legacy of Art and Faith” is based on the research of students enrolled in the Concentration Seminar in Art History at the College of the Holy Cross for the fall semester of 2014. Virginia Raguin,Distinguished Professor of Humanities (Professor of Art History) at Holy Cross directed the seminar. The focus of the course was the Romanesque Revival building designed by Stephen C. Earle as the Central Congregational Church of Worcester, Massachusetts, and constructed between 1884 and 1886. The Boston artist and book designer Sarah Wyman Whitman, a friend of the Reverend Daniel Merriman and his wife Helen, contributed interior design features that include the stained glass. Late in 2010, the congregation, now the United Congregational Church voted to donate its facility at 6 Institute Road and its endowment to the Worcester Area Mission Society, UCC, the mission arm of the Central Association of the Massachusetts Conference, United Church of Christ. This study of the architecture and design features of this important Worcester site was an unparalleled opportunity to study nineteenth-century American art in a setting designed for the expression of faith and we are grateful to WAMS for the warm welcome we received. We also express thanks to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Worcester Historical Museum, Preservation Worcester, members of the Central Congregational Church, and the American Antiquarian Society for assistance.

“A Legacy of Art and Faith” includes illustrated research essays prepared by the students and Professor Raguin, as well as two additional essays contributed by guest scholars Jim Welu and Stuart Walker. Welu is Director Emeritus of the Worcester Art Museum and Walker is former Conservator of Rare Books at Boston Public Library. The site has been designed for easy navigation and close viewing of the images. Most of the images of Sarah Wyman Whitman’s stained glass and the architecture of Stephen C. Earle can be downloaded in large-scale format. By right-clicking on each image an enlargement can be opened in a new window and downloaded and further enlarged for detailed study. These images may be copied for teaching and other educational purposes. The following acknowledgement may be used:  Photo credit, Michel M. Raguin. For further information about any of the issues addressed herein, please contact Professor Virginia Raguin at the College of the Holy Cross.