In January 1938, then-rector Rev. Gilbert Oliver complained in his report to Vestry that “whereas there were over 700 families in the Parish who look upon St. Matthias as their church, approximately only 400 families are regular attendants, and only about half of those families attending bear their share of the expense.” It was not the first such complaint from a Rector or a Warden, nor would it be the last, but in Rev. Oliver’s case, concern about attendance may have been exacerbated by an issue in the parish that had been ongoing since before his appointment a decade previous…