The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1891-06-11
history. w 'A''cn Oh

ITS FOUNDATION.
On the 10Th of July. 1888, the English Al
mifai; Lord Howard, went out from plr
mouth: and early in the morning described ,S-
mel. "'" cnah-
For ten years Philip of Spain, with the Ro-
man tathoiic powers, had been gathering the;y
resources and their strength to crush Fncland
our mother land. The Armada had 196 battle
shlps, the largest then known 10 naval arcb;
lecture, besides 100 vessels 10 attend them
rom the other end Of the channel the Duke
OF Iarma with another army and another
navy was TO meet them. They wore 10 div
the little British navy from the channel land
their armies upon the English coast. and.
Ehnlag a foothold, pour in upon England the
Natnolc powers of Europe to crush Protes-
tantism.
That was the plan. England had done
ner pest 70 get ready for this death
gfapple with her enemies. She had thirty
Tour oattle-ships, and they went out that
morning to meet 1856 battle-ships, all larger
than any one Of theirs.
GREAr RATTLE.
The armada moves with majesty up the
channel, the coast of England is crowded
with her brave people watching the stately
shlps IN battle array. Are they TO pass un-
scathed. Are the English captains
the daring sailors who have borne
the English flag around the globe, Are they
AFRAID OF the mighty odds The Armada
moves on. The English admiral allows them
70 pass and gather his vessels behind them.
between them and the ocean. and bears down
upon them with the southwest wind. The
next morning, the Zlst OF July. he IS closing
IN upon their rear. At daybreak the English
captains call their brave crews 10 the deck:
they Join IN the old church service, the
same as yours in this church: they kneel
around the Lords table and take the Holy
Communion, and sing a psalm and then they
gOdOwn o the battle, Howard and Drake and
Frobisher and Hawkins commanding and
leading to the fight, and you know the story,
the most gallant episode in modern history.
They fought four great battles. When the
second was over Sir Francls Drake sends a mes
sage to his brave Queen Elizabeth. Your
majesty must pray for US in all the churches
Of England BY the help of God we will drive
them from the sea" And England was praying
IN all her churches the simple. solemn prayer
OF the old Litany that we hear in this church
every Sunday. From our enemies defend us.
oh Christ" The prayer was answered and the
proud navy was driven and broken and seat
tered, and England was saved.
ATHoL BROKEN.
This gallant fight of your forefathers broke
} the Spanish and the Roman Catholic power
OF thesea; opened the free ocean for England's
civilization. religion and people 10 plantthem-
! 6tAktS On Ills tOAAAutnA.
Nineteen years after that our English fore
fathers landed and settled at jamestown and
built the first church, and the worship OF the
English liturgy for the first time awoke the
echoes of the wilderness IN America.
-Four years after Sir Thomas Dale
comes over with q gOOdly company OF
OF English. passes Jamestown, pushes up our
/ river and settles upon the peninsula that IS
| cut of by what is now known as Dutch Gap.
They called their settlement H~ennicopolis'
after Prince Henry, the eldest son Of James
l.. builds what was at that time a handsome
| church, and Whitaker, a clergyman Of the
! Church of England and one of the noblest
men of his age. was placed over 1t as its pastor
and rector. That church is the mother OF
this. the parish Is the same and Whitaker IS
its first minister. Here the speaker quoted
some remarkable extracts from Alexander
Browns volumes, entitled the Genesis OF the
United States
THE CHURCH OF THE PARISH.
When your vestry-book was begun in 1880
the principal church in the parish was Curle's
church on the north side of james river. ten
miles below Richmond. That church has been
demolished III the last half-century. The only
relic of il that remains IS the bowl OF your
baptismal font. II was found miles away from
Curle's church in q cellar, where 1t was used
as q mortar for beating hominy, and here 1t IS
10 hold the sacred symbol Of the waters OF
BAPTISM. wherein God declares your children
to be His children and the Holy Spirit his
Gift TO them and Christ's redemption their
glorious possession.
In 1879, under the ministry of the Rev. Mr..
Stth, the grandson Of William Randolph, OF
Turkey Island, who had received the best
education that America and England could
give, and who afterward became the historian
| of Virginia. the plan for building q new church
was agitated. After some debate and acting
under advice Of William Byrd, a distinguished
gentleman Of the colony, who gave the land,
the vestry of HenricO parish chose this
spot, called Indian Hill, at Richmond. Under
the superintendent Of Richard Randolph 1t
was built and entered for worship the 10th OF
June, 1741.
%BR0THERLY LOVE.
A kindly and genial book has been publish
ed here IN Richmond telling OF the loving
brotherhood between your rector, Dr.
Buchanan, and the Rev. John Blair, a Presby-
terrain minister in this city. The church was
loaned TO our sister church and each minister.
Blair the PRESBYTERIAN, and Buchanan the
Episcopalian minister, preached to their respec-
tive congregations on alternate Sundays. IL
may be that the kindly relations between these
two pastors of different churches may have
helped to transmit TO our people IN richmond
IA spirit Of sweet, reasonable and OF kindly
brotherhood between the various denomlna-
tions of Christians.
The church that asserts exclusive claims
for its ministry. its worship and its organlza-
ton is uncOnsciously to itself its own worse
enemy; the church that believes IN itself IS
loyal to itself. but loves and believes in and
welcomes with a brothers fidelity the sister
churches around it, is the church for the
people Of our land.
THE NAME OF THE CHURCH.
The church obtainedits name in 1923, under
the administration Of the Rev. William Lee.
The Rev. DIR. Norwood begun his ministry
in 1862, and resigned the rectOrship III 1868,
years of humiliation, but years Of noble en-
deavor. but years Of splendid sacrifice, but
years when your people were making names
in history that are never going to die. Then
comes DR.. Henry Wall. and succeeding him in
1875 comes the Rev. Alexander w. Weddell.
You can tell me more of him than | could tell
YOU. He had high aims, a manly heart, a lofty
enthusiasm in the work of ministering 10
souls. You have put q beautiful monument
Mt the door of your church that tells in
e|loquent words the record that he made
among YOU: for your children's sake may God
keep his memory green.
And here your old church has stood all
along these years that we have travelled; it
has been looking down from this hill upon
Richmond and has seen all the stages fits life;
II has reioiced in the birthdays and corner
stone LAYING of all these other churches Its
children. On the hill by the river 1t has
watched the steady but sure growth of your
beautiful city of the dead, and 1t has caught