The Washington herald., 1907-09-29
SUNDAY MORNING CHAT

At the opening service Of the general
conference Of the Episcopal Church,
which meets in Richmond, Va. October
p, at Holy Trinity Church, the sermon
viii be delivered by the Bishop Of Lon
don. The convention. which promises TO
be one OF the most important in the his
tory Of the denomination, will continue
its sessions until the 23d Of the month.
Incidental 10 this great convention will
be the excursion of the bishops 10 VIII
iamsburg. Va, on October .. Old Bruton
Parish Church will be visited. and the
Bible. King Edwards gift 10 the church.
viii be presented by the Bishop OF Lon
don. The lectern on which the Bible is
10 rest, given by President Roosevelt,
is the work OF Mr. J. Stewart Barney. of
New York. The base is Of symbolic de-
sign, from which rises the Angel OF
Peace. whose upraised hands and folded
wings support the desk. The figure
stands on a globe with one foot on Great
Britain and the other on the United
states. the globe itself being supported
by the British Lion and the American
Eagle. Between the figures is the coat
OF arms Of the English Washington
family. At the base OF the lecteTn are
three tablets On the front one are the
words. To the glory oSGod;" the tablet
to the right bears this Inscription. And
commemorative Of the three-hundredth
anniversary Of the permanent establish
ment Of English civilization in America
l6O7-ls07." On the other are the words.
Presented by Theodore Roosevelt, Pres
ident Of the United States"
Worthy Of the attention It is now re-
ceiving is Bruton Parish Church. rank
ing as II does next 10 the oldest church
in America, and outranking any In point
of continuous service. There is very 1T
Tie known Of the earliest history Of Bri
ton Parish. but there is no doubt that az
early as l665 a church was built in Will
iamsburg. There is a record Of two other
churches in the parish, an upper and
a lower. but in 1913 the vestry resolved
10 erect a new brick church in Williams
burg, to serve for all The first minister
was the Rev. Rowland Jones' who served
from 1917 until his death. In 1855. At the
completion of the new church it was ded-
icated by Mr.. Jones. and the vestry
caused it 10 be proclaimed throughout
the parish that the law against those
who absented themselves from church
would be enforced Though often vio-
lated, it is not recorded that this law
ever was put into effect. The present
church was commenced in I710 and finish
ed in us, during Gov. Spotswood's ad-
ministration The plan for the church
Was sent by the governor to the vestry
with the tender of aid in building It,
It's dimensions were to be seventy-fve by
seventy-two feet. with two wings. giving
it the form Of a cross, and the governor
offered 10 build twenty-five feet of the
length himself. This church succeeded
the old Jamestown edifce as the court
church Of Virginia" In the extensive
repairs and Improvements just put upon
IT, great pains were taken to conform in
every particular to its original form of
architecture. All historical tablets and
other relics Of its early life have been
preserved with scrupulous care.
Notable was the service Of Rev. James
Blair. commissary 10 the Bishop Of Lon
don. and founder and president of Will
lam and Mary College. who took charge
Of Bruton Parish in ITO and continued
in its ministry till his death, in 174S he
was a man Of strong character and great
ability, and his name is not only prom
inently associated with the history of
Williamsburg and the college, but with
the governors, the council, the assembly,
and Church of Virginia Dr. Blairs min
istry was a stormy one, as he was an
ncompromising reprover Of wrongdoing
at a time when the standard was in many
quarters very low. Though his congre-
CATION was often made up Of the intel
ligence, fashion, and wealth Of the COM
munity, he did not soften what he had
to say on that account, and some Of the
governors and other dignitaries COM
planned Of him as being personal In
deed. IT is said regarding him that few
clergyInen were ever engaged with such
fierce opponents IN high stations, who
not only bore up manfully against them,
but actually overcame them"
The pages Of Bruton Parish vestry-
book contain many Of Virginia's historic
names. Heading the list Of the first yes
try. in 1876. is the name OF Mr.. Daniel
PGrke, who was from Surrey. England.
10 whose memory a tablet was placed
in the first Williamsburg church, and aft
erward moved to the second. Another
vestryman was Mr. John Custis. George
Washington Parke Gusts, of Arlington.
Va, was a descendant of these two gen
tlemen.
St Adams Protestant Episcopal
Church is one Of Washingtons Oldest
houses of worship. and its site, so near
that of the Cathedral Of SIS. Peter and
Paul makes it conspicuous among the
churches Of the District. The parish has
the somewhat unusual fecord of never
having had n debt Interesting. too. in
with St Adams Is the fact
that for many years it stood like a SEN
tinel guarding the beautiful grounds.
which one might easily fancy predes-
tined TO just such use as that relating
10 the great cathedral and buildings ul-
timately TO stand there. The land orig