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Cathedral Films, Inc. was founded in 1939 by the Reverend James K. Friedrich, an Episcopal priest who believed in using film for Christian education and ministry. The company’s first production, The Great Commandment (1939), was a modest success but not widely distributed. Financial constraints shifted the company's focus to short biblical films for church and Sunday School use, which became its core output.

In 1943 Cathedral Films became a nonprofit corporation, and in 1947 the Articles of Incorporation were amended to stipulate that in the event of the dissolution of the corporation, its assets would go to The Episcopal Church.

For over four decades, Cathedral Films produced and distributed religious films, filmstrips, and recordings across denominations, including the acclaimed Day of Triumph (1954). In the 1960s and 1970s, the company and its subsidiary, Q-Ed Productions, addressed contemporary social issues such as drug abuse and premarital sex from a Christian perspective. Animated filmstrips—featuring characters like Disney’s Jiminy Cricket—were also used to teach children core Christian values. Under the Rev. James L. Friedrich in the 1980s and 1990s, Cathedral expanded into historical documentaries on the Episcopal and Anglican Churches.

In 1968, persistent financial challenges led President Ed Eagle to propose revoking the Trust to return Cathedral Films to for-profit status, which would allow broader funding sources and the production of secular educational content—activities potentially restricted under the nonprofit structure. Efforts to dissolve the Trust or buy back The Episcopal Church’s inheritance rights in the early 1970s were unsuccessful. In response, Cathedral Films created two subsidiaries: Q-Ed Productions in 1973 to produce educational films, and Religious Films Corporation in 1977 to support its religious media work.

By 1980, as Cathedral Films faced mounting insolvency, Eagle offered to sell the company to The Episcopal Church, which declined due to its financial liabilities. A year later, a tentative agreement was reached, but Trustee Elaine Friedrich withheld consent, citing concerns over the Trust’s dissolution. She and her son, the Rev. James L. Friedrich, raised allegations of financial mismanagement—including excessive spending on furnishings, vehicles, and gifts—and called for an audit. They submitted an alternative governance proposal, which the Board approved. Eagle resigned in 1982, and James L. Friedrich became President, continuing production into the mid-1990s.

The Brotherhood of St. Andrew was formed on November 30, 1883, by a group of young men at St. James Church in Chicago. Inspired by James Houghteling, who taught a Bible class at the parish, the twelve men committed themselves to following the example of St. Andrew, the apostle who brought Peter to Christ. Their aim was to bring men back to church by practicing personal evangelism among men and boys.

As their work spread, the Brotherhood grew into a national organization with formal chapters, a shared mission, and common practices, including daily prayer and weekly efforts to connect others with the church. By the end of its first seven years, the Brotherhood boasted 15,000 members in 17 countries.

Over the years, the Brotherhood evolved to meet the needs of the times. During both World Wars, it supported chaplains and service members through outreach and care, while in peacetime, it emphasized leadership development and community service. Though it once distanced itself from The Episcopal Church’s social justice efforts, it has since embraced localized service work as a form of ministry, including prison outreach and disaster relief. The Brotherhood continues to operate through local chapters, focusing on faith, community, and service.

Maurice Votaw began his service as a missionary in 1922 after applying for a post at St. John’s University in Shanghai, China. After helping to found the School of Journalism there, he taught journalistic writing, history, principles of journalism and advertising, and copy editing for seventeen years.

In 1939, during the tumultuous years of the Sino-Japanese War, Votaw was asked to become an advisor to the Chinese Ministry of Information in Chungking. A leave of absence from St. John's lengthened into a stay of nine years, as returning to Shanghai was deemed unsafe. After his return in 1948, he was elected Dean of the College of the Arts at St. John's. This appointment lasted only a year, however, as the Communist forces drew nearer to the city, and in 1949, Votaw returned to the United States on what he later recalled as “the last regularly scheduled ship.”

From 1950 until his retirement in 1970, Votaw taught journalism at the University of Missouri. He is remembered as a pioneering figure at the School of Journalism, a graduate who helped to carry “the Missouri Method” to China, and returned to give what he learned in China back to the students of Missouri.

Maurice Votaw died in 1981.

The Rt. Rev. Joseph Cruikshank Talbot was born in Alexandria, Virginia on September 5, 1816. In 1841 he began his course of preparation for Holy Orders and was ordained to the diaconate on September 5, 1846 and to the priesthood on September 6, 1848.

He moved to Indiana in 1853 and became rector of Christ Church, Indianapolis, where he served for seven years. In 1859, he was elected by General Convention to serve as Missionary Bishop of the North West and was consecrated the following year. The Missionary District of the North West covered nearly nine hundred thousand square miles and included Nebraska, the Dakotas, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Montana, and Idaho.

In 1865, Talbot was elected Bishop Coadjutor of the Diocese of Indiana, serving for five years before becoming diocesan bishop in 1872 after the death of Bishop George Uphold.

Bishop Talbot died in Indianapolis on January 15, 1883.