Evening star., 1933-02-05
National ChurCH
about 0ne-Half Of the Thirty Religious Den
ingtom Haze Erected National Churches
Single Items of Municipal Wealth d,

instead Of the steam train and stage coach Is
Q vehicle, more transients than ever throng the
city over Sunday More persons can now &C.
tually zee the church for which they pur-
chased brick OF helped buy WINDOW, cir
cumstance which has had surprising effects
throughout the denominations.
THE designation national" church has not
] always been used to express the same fun
damental idea. More than 100 years ago,
Government clerk who was preaching to 20
Unitarians every Sunday afternoon In rooms
over q Turkish bath, wanted to 60 to other
cities to get money to help erect church here
for his little band. A wave Of criticism arose
over the proposed journey. 1t was argued that
his plea would be annoying to the congrega-
tions of other cities and embarrassing TO their
pastors. He went, however to Boston and to
Newport and Providence, r. I. All three cities
and others, too, raised funds for his proposed
church.
It is suggested in the Jennie Scudder history
of Unitarianism in the National Capital that
some of the money came from Abolitionists
who scented the strategy Of having a pulpit to
air such views SO near the South and the Con-
gress. So far available records show, this
was the first denomination to issue an appeal
outside Of Washington for such aid and 1t was
never made under the name Of national"
church.
This first Unitarian church was dedicated In
1922 The American Unitarian Association was
organized in 1925 and from these two events
has come the handsome All Souls Unitarian
Church and Edward Everett Hale Parish House
at Sixteenth and Harvard streets northwest.
Charles Bullhnch architect Of the United
States Capitol, designed that frst churcn
house which IS mentioned tn the newspapers OF
the day as being quite an architectural add
tion to the young city. 1t was located AZ Slxtn
and d streets northwest. In 1878 it was moved
to Fourteenth and L streets northwest under .
REORGANIZATION as All Souls Church. In time.
commerce pushed this structure farther up
toward the residential section. The money
realized from this change went into the Geor-
gian Colonial building which Is now the ma
tional church of the American Unitarian Asso-
citation.
It has introduced into a neighborhood OF
other national churches and embassy dwellings
of varied types, a fine specimen OF the early
American architecture which came from the
English genius, Sir Christopher Wren, and MS
pupils Slender Corinthian columns support
noble pediment with spire above that recalls
10 the observer the towers Of old Boston ana
St Martins in the Field, London The audi
torfum within is even more redolent OF the
meeting houses built by the New Englanders
as their first temples, this one being very Ike
Kings Chapel on fremont street In Boston.
The pews here have been given by churches
throughout the country one being from the
first parish church established in 1870 at Flym-
outh Mass This congregation cher1shS the
Revere bell made for its first church by Joseph
Revere to arouse the vicinity in case OF hre
This bell Is said to have tolled over John
Browns body In 1859.
THE Methodist Episcopal Church. popularH
! known as the Northern Methodists, was
sensitive to the possibilities OF fine house OF
worship here before the Civil War. In 1882
the general conference of that body passed the
following resolution, which is reproduced be-
cause it states so simply and SO similarly what
all of the denominations have set forth In their
legal steps looking toward q national building:
Resolved, That we erect tn the metropolis
Of our Nation o large, attractive denomina-
tional church edifce which would be regarded
as . connectional monument to our beloved
Methodism."
Seventeen years passed before the building