The Washington herald., 1920-05-08
.IIARMONY.IS WATCIIWORD OF CHURCH
OF THE COVENANT, ORGANIZED IN 1883
Handful Of Men and Women
Perfected Plans Of Con-
gregation Born in Home
Of Justice William
Strong.

Harmony Is the watchword of the
Church of the Covenant 1t Is the
boast Of its leaders and congrega-
tion that in the thirty-seven years
Of its history the church has never
known a schism or a clique.
They point with justihable pride
TO the fact that the men and women
who founded the church were in
perfect agreement, and that their
successors have followed in their
footsteps. OF that, tiny handful of
men and women. many are still liv-
ing and actively connected with the
work Of their church. Fifty-three
persons constituted the original
membership. and Of that number
only fifteen left the church to go
to others within or outside the city.
The germ from which the church
sprung was born in 1888. when a
number of influential members of
the Presbyterian Church in the
northwest section decided that the
rapid growth in population justified
an effort to bring a church of their
own faith into their midst. On
March 81 Of that year. upon the in
.vitation Of Justice William Strong
of the Supreme Court. a group OF
earnest men met at his house and
appointed a committee to examine
available sites for a church build
ing.
Site Is Selected.
One week later the present site
was selected. and the sum of s1s.450
subscribed toward its purchase.
Among the men responsible for the
organization of the church were:
William Ballantyne. Otis Bigelow,
Rear Admiral Samuel Carter, Chief
Justice Charles d. Drake. Gen. r C.
Drum. Reginald Fendall. Matthew
W. Gait, William NJ. Calf, Samuel F.
Phillips. Brainard H. Warner, James
G. Blaine. Rev. DR.. William Alvin
Bartlett, Rear Admiral Edmund r.
Calhoun. James E. Fitch, Gardiner
q. Hubbard. Claudius B. Jewell, Da-
vid r. Mckee. Samuel Shellabarger
and Charles H. Sheriff..
Two years passed before the plans
for the new church had been COM
pleted and the chapel erected, but
on the third of June. 1855, the Pres
bytery of Washington was asked to
permit the organization of the
church.
The Sunday school was'organized
m 1855. twelve days after. the or
ganization of the church. and its
nrst report showed twenty-three Of
heers and teachers and 129 pupils.
In 1855. the women of the church DR.
ganized The Society of the Cove
nant," under the presidency of Mrs.
Thomas s. Childs, to carry on the
missionary work of the church. A
Mems Society was organized in jan
uary, 1894, and has been unusually
popular with members of the church.
Notable Men Members.
Members of the congregation of
the Church of the Covenant have
Included many notable men. among
them President Benjamin Harrison,
Vice President Garret A Hobart and
many members of the Cabinet and
Supreme Court.
In its comparatively short career
ehe church, undivided in itself, has
suffered the partial destruction of
me building twice; once in. 1888
when the tower collapsed. and
again in 1892 when the interior of
the chapel was destroyed by fire.
! The present pastor of the Church
OF the Covenant is the Rev. DR..
Charles Wood. who came to Wash
tngton in 1908 from Philadelphia.
where he had been pastor of the
Second Church since 1897.
DR.. Wood Is regarded as one of
the most able speakers as well as
one of the most efficient pastors in
the National Capital, and has
through his efforts greatly in
creased the church membership
since he has been in charge. He Is
the author of several works on re-
Iigious subjects and a number of
vel-known books on foreign travel