USA > Virginia > A digest of the proceedings of the conventions and councils in the diocese of Virginia > Part 11
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Resolved, That it is highly essential to the interests of this Diocese that one or more Institutions be established within its precincts of an. Episcopal character.
Resolved, That a committee of five individuals friendly to this object,. be appointed by this Convention, whose duty it shall be to devise and mature the best means for carrying the object of this resolution into effect, the result of their proceedings to be reported to the ensuing Convention of this Diocese.
The following resolutions were adopted:
Resolved, That in place of the present appropriation to the Bishop of the Diocese, the interest of the Episcopal Fund be hereafter annually paid to him, and if at any time the annual interest of that fund shall fall
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short of $300, that the deficiency shall be made up to the said Bishop out of the contingent funds of the Church; and
Resolved, That in addition to the present appropriation to the assist- ant Bishop of this Diocese of the sum of $300 per annum, the present amount of the late assessment on the parishes shall be paid to the said assistant Bishop, securing to him the sum of $600 annually, to be com- puted from the first day of November last; and
Resolved, That inasmuch as the Bishop of the Diocese deems the interest of the Episcopal Fund at this time sufficient to satisfy the pur- pose of its creation, that, therefore, the resolution passed in Conven- tion in May, 1818, in reference to this fund be, and the same is, hereby rescinded.
Mr. Robert Greenhow, the Treasurer of the Diocese, resigned, because of age and infirmity. The resignation was accepted, and Mr. William H. Hubbard elected in his place.
The following were offered, and because of the lateness of the hour, on the last day of the Convention, were, upon the motion of the author (Rev. C. W. Andrews), laid upon . the table:
I. Resolved, That the desecration of the Sabbath has become a sin of such magnitude, and is so rapidly increasing, as to create just alarm and call for new and vigorous efforts to arrest it.
2. Resolved, That as the Christian Church must be the leading instru- ment in reformation, she is called upon at this time solemnly to remon- strate against the profanation of the Sabbath by her members.
3. Resolved, That in the judgment of this Convention to journey, visit the post-office, transact any secular business, or make or receive social visits on the Sabbath, is a violation of that day which we are com- manded to keep holy.
4. Resolved, That it is the duty of all the members of our commu- nion to exert their influence against the most extensive, systematic, legalized and alarming profanation of the Sabbath, of comparatively recent origin, by steamboats, railroads and canals.
A long debate ensued upon the proposed amendments to Canon VII (Trial of a clergyman). 1. To allow no
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counsel except a clergyman. 2. To require the Council (or court) to indicate to the Bishop the sentence to be pro- nounced. Both amendments were lost.
CONVENTION OF 1838.
Convention met in Winchester, May 16th.
St. Thomas' church, Frederick parish, was admitted into union with the Convention.
Resolutions were offered as follows and referred to com- mittees :
Whereas, by the second article of the Constitution of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States the number of delegates to be sent to the General Convention is left to the discretion of each Diocese subject to the limitation of four clerical and four lay delegates ; and, whereas, in the opinion of this Convention the maximum number authorized by the Constitution is not necessary, and subjects the Dio- cese to an expense which may be more beneficially appropriated; therefore,
Resolved, That this Convention will send only two clerical and two lay delegates to the next General Convention.
Mr. Edmund Fontaine, offered the following resolution, which was referred to the Committee on the State of the Church :
Resolved, That the first article of the Constitution of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Virginia be so amended as to re- quire only biennial instead of annual Conventions, and that the Diocese, be laid off into convenient districts, and that the clergy, resident therein, be required to hold periodical associations.
By recommendation of the committee this resolution was rejected.
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The Rev. William M. Jackson offered the following, which was referred to a Select Committee, consisting of Rev. Wil- liam M. Jackson, Rev. William Norwood, and the Rev. Charles B. Dana :
Whereas, by a reorganization of the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society of the Protestant Episcopal Church, effected by the General Convention of 1835, all the baptized members of the Church are re- garded as members of the Missionary Society; and the Convention of this Diocese, by a resolution passed in 1836, has approved of the same, thus regarding itself, and the Diocese which it represents, as an integral part thereof, and thus also recognizing the obligations devolving upon it to further the objects which the General Convention designs to ac- complish; and, whereas, it is expedient that the connection now sub- sisting between this Convention and the Diocesan Missionary Society be dissolved; therefore,
I. Resolved, That this Convention do regard itself as the proper channel through which the Missionary contributions of the Diocese ought to be conveyed to the treasurers of the Board of Missions, and that the clergy be recommended to transmit the offerings of their re- spective parishes to the treasurer of the Convention for that purpose on or before the first day of each'annual session.
2. Resolved, That a portion of time be designated in the week, in which the Convention is assembled, for the purpose of holding a Mis- sionary meeting, the object of which shall be to excite a renewed interest in the cause, and "to pray to Almighty God for his blessing" upon it.
3. Resolved, That aj committee be nominated by the Chair at each Convention, to be called the COMMITTEE ON MISSIONS, whose duty shall be to examine the treasurer's accounts and report upon the same, and also to make the necessary arrangements for the Missionary meeting to be held during the sitting of the succeeding Convention.
4. Resolved, That the Convention do hereby dissolve its connection with the Diocesan Missionary Society, and recommend that as such the operations of said society be henceforth discontinued, and that any funds which may now be in its possession be transmitted to the Treas- urer of the Committee for Domestic Missions, to be applied to the cause of missions in Virginia. .
The second resolution was adopted. The others were postponed.
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From Bishop Meade's address, which gave an account of very many of the old church edifices in the Diocese-the following is extracted :
"On Saturday I preached at an old Church in Powhatan, which is oc- casionally visited by the Rev. Mr. Cook, of Hanover, and on Sunday to an overflowing congregation in a half-finished building at Manakin town, near James river, where formerly was the old Huguenot settle- * ment. * *
"On Wednesday I was much gratified by entering the old and vene- rable Fork Church, in Hanover county, and finding that at considerable expense it had been repaired and greatly improved in comfort and goodliness of appearance, so as to be now one of our most desirable houses of public worship. * * * *
"On our way to Port Royal, and only a few miles above it, we passed by a large brick building, once a temple of the living God, where our fore- fathers used to worship, now, by an act of the Legislature, converted into a seminary of learning. This house, like most of those built in ancient times, seems destined to survive generations of those more modern ones, which, hastily and slightly constructed, soon sink upon their own knees and fall into ruins. It stands on an elevated and beautiful hill, overlooking the river and country around, and is ren- dered very interesting by a number of large and venerable trees not far distant. It was deserted as a place of public worship some time before its conversion into a seminary. The melodious organ which once filled that house with enrapturing notes (said to have been the finest ever imported into Virginia, and of great price,) has long since been sold, and is now in a Roman Catholic chapel in the District of Columbia. During the interval of its use as a Church, and its appli- cation to other purposes, if common fame is to be credited (and we fear it deserves it but too well), this sacred house was desecrated to most unhallowed purposes. The drunken feast has been spread where the Holy Supper of our Lord was wont to be received; and the footsteps of the dance have sported over that floor where the knees of humble worshippers once bent before the Lord. * * *
"The association at Port Royal being over, my next appointment was at Vauter's Church, in Essex county, where the Rev. Mr. John P. Mc- Guire officiates. This Church lies immediately on the main river road leading from Port Royal to Tappahannock. It is an old, well-built, and venerable brick building, in the form of a cross, and promises for a long time to answer the pious object of its erection. It was repaired some years since at considerable expense, when the whole interior was fitted
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up in a most commodious and handsome style, so as to render it one of the most convenient and agreeable churches in our State, retaining all the air of temple grandeur which its original structure gave to it, with such improvements as modern architecture has supplied. *
"My next appointment was in King William county, at the Cat-tail Church, a place never before visited by myself, or, as I believe, by Bishop Moore. Services were performed here during two days by my- self and Mr. McGuire in the presence of very respectable congregations .. It was gratifying to perceive here and there in the assembly a few per- sons with Prayer Books, who united in the services, and to learn that there were a few families and individuals who still retained their attach- ment to the Church of their Fathers. It is hoped that the time is not. very distant when this attachment will be strengthened by the oc- casional services of some Episcopal minister. Cat-tail Church, which takes its name, as do all the other churches in this county, from the creek nearest to it, is a large oblong brick building, in tolerable repair .. Its walls are strong, and promise long to remain so. It has been pos- sessed for a great while by the Baptists, who are divided into two par- ties, and make it the theatre of angry strifes. The old pulpit still remains, but another of very rude structure has been planted where the. communion table once stood, the altar around which has been taken away, so that the Episcopal minister, who might wish to administer the memorials of a Saviour's dying love to humble worshippers, would look in vain for the place where our forefathers were wont to kneel. The old pews also have been taken away and benches put in their room.
" As it may be gratifying to the Convention to know something more of the old churches in this region, I would mention that in this narrow county, bounded by the rivers Pamunky and Matapony, which are only a few miles distant from each other, there were built at proper intervals. four large brick churches, which still survive, and are in frequent use. Their names are as follows: Mangohick, Cat-tail, Aquinton, and West Point churches. All of them are built in different forms, being either in the figure of the cross of the letter T, or oblong, and so well built as still to answer for purposes of public worship. They are used by the two divisions of the Baptist Church, either in common by both, or by one or the other as either prevails.
" It may also be gratifying to the members of the Convention to know something of the ancient churches in the neighboring county of King and Queen through which I had to pass. I cannot ascertain whether there were ever more than two Episcopal churches in this small county. These were, and still are, called the old, or lower Church, and the brick Church, in the upper part of the county. The old, or lower Church,
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after having been the subject of contest between three sects, has re- cently been set up for sale to the highest bidder, and being bought in by one of the contending parties is now held by the same; but on what ground of right it is difficult to understand. The upper, or brick Church is used by the Campbellites, and is a large and venerable building, in the form of a cross. The passing traveler may now see the remains of walls and tombs which formerly surrounded and covered the ground which enclosed the remains of those who once worshipped at its altar according to the forms of our beloved Church. The situation of this building, and the large forest trees around, render it still an object deeply interesting, and truly venerable.
" As an instance, however, of the total insensibility of some persons to anything sacred in regard to the temples of religion, it was men- tioned to me that, not long since, one of these venerable oaks, almost touching the hallowed structure, was cut down for the sake of a little wild honey, supposed to be in a hollow part of it, and which, when obtained, was only sufficient to gratify for the moment the appetites of those who felled it to the earth, as it was all consumed on the spot.
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"On Monday I went in company with Mr. Nelson to Yeocomico Church, in Westmoreland, where I preached, and administered the rite of confirmation to three persons.
"Yeocomico Church, so called after the river of that name, is one of the old churches, being built in the year 1706. The architecture is rough, but very strong, and the materials must have been of the best kind. Its figure is that of a cross, and situated as it is in a little recess from the main road, in the midst of some aged trees, and surrounded by an old brick wall, which is fast mouldering away, cannot fail to be an object of interest to one whose soul has any sympathy for such scenes. It has undergone but little repair since its first erection, and indeed has needed little. It is not known, or believed, that a new shingle has ever been put on the roof, and the pews and whole interior are the same. During the late war it was shamefully abused by the soldiers who were quartered in it while watching the movements of the British in the Potomac. The communion table was removed into the yard, where it served as a butcher's block, and was entirely defaced. Being of sub- stantial materials however, it admitted of a new face and polish, and is now restored to its former place, where it will answer, we trust, for a long time to come, the holy purposes for which it was originally de- signed. Nor was the baptismal font exempt from profanation. It was taken some miles from the Church and used as a vessel in which to pre- pare the excitements to ungodly mirth. This, however, was not long
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permitted, for in the absence of every member of our own communion, none being left to do it, a venerable old man, of the Presbyterian con- nexion, * mortified at the dishonor done to religion, took pains to regain it, and restore it to its former place. It is a large and beautiful marble font, and by its side I took my station while I heard the renewal of bap- tismal vows from the lips of those who were confirmed. The canvass on which the Ten Commandments, the Lord's Prayer and the Creed were impressed, were so torn by the soldiers, that they could no longer be permitted to retain their place, and are now lying in fragments in one of the distant and unoccupied pews. It deserves to be mentioned, that whatever repairs have been put upon this house, were at the ex- pense of the good old man mentioned above, and a worthy gentleman of New York, a member of our communion, and whose matrimonial connexion in the family often brought him to that part of Virginia. A large and excellent stove, which completely warms the whole Church, was a present from the latter, and in the desk and pulpit the Bible and Prayer Book bear the name of J. Rogers, of New York.
"My appointment next in order was at Farnham Church, which had recently been so much refitted, that on this account, because it is be- lieved that none of the old churches were ever consecrated, it was on Tuesday, the 20th of June, set apart to the worship of God, according to the prescribed form. A considerable congregation assembled on the occasion when I preached, the service having been read by the Rev. Francis McGuire, and the deed of consecration by Mr. Nelson, the pastor of the congregation. This Church was first built more than an ยท hundred years ago, after the form of the cross, and in the best style of ancient architecture. Its situation is pleasant and interesting, being im- mediately on the main county road leading from Richmond Court- house to Lancaster Courthouse. What causes led to its early desertion, premature spoliation and shameless profanation, I am unable to state, but it is said by the neighbors not to have been used for the last thirty or forty years. Thus deserted as an house of God, it became a prey to any and every spoiler. An extensive brick wall which surrounded the Church and guarded the graves of the dead was torn down and used for hearths, chimneys, and other purposes, all the county around. The interior of the house soon sunk into decay, and was carried piece- meal away. For many years it was the common receptacle of every beast of the field and fowl of the air. It was used as a granary, stable, a resort for hogs, and everything that chose to shelter there. Would that I could stop here, but I am too credibly informed that for years it
* The name of this worthy old man is Murphy. He has now gone to his rest.
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was also used as a distillery of poisonous liquors, and that on the very spot where now the sacred pulpit stands that vessel was placed, in which the precious fruits of heaven were concocted and evaporated into a fell poison, equally fatal to the souls and bodies of men, while the marble font was circulated from house to house on every occasion of mirth and folly, being used to prepare materials for feasting and drunkenness, until at length it was found bruised, battered, and deeply sunk in the cellar of some deserted tavern. But even that sacred ves- sel has been redeemed, and having been carefully repaired, has re- sumed its place within the sacred enclosure. Although the very doors of the house had been enlarged by tearing away the bricks to make a passage for the wagons that conveyed the fruits which were to be dis- tilled into the means of disease and death-although the windows were gone, and the roof sunk into decay, the walls only remaining, yet were they so faithfully executed by the workmen of other days, as to bid de- fiance to storms and tempests, and to stand not merely as monuments of the fidelity of ancient architecture, but as signals from Providence, held out to the pious and liberal, to come forward and repair the deso- lation. Nor have these signals been held out in vain to some fast friends of the Church of their Fathers in the parish of North Farnham. At an expense of fourteen hundred dollars they have made old Farn- ham one of the most agreeable, convenient and beautiful churches in Virginia. It should also be mentioned that the handsome desk, pulpit, and sounding board now to be seen in Farnham Church were once in Christ Church, Baltimore, when the Rev. Mr. Johns officiated in the same. They were a present from the minister and vestry of that Church, and few events could give more pleasure to the congregation at Farnham than to see them again occupied by the former tenant, and to hear from his lips, if only one or two of those impressive appeals which have so often been heard from the same.
"On Thursday, the 22d, I visited Northumberland Courthouse in company with Mr. Nelson, and preached to a respectable congregation in the Reformed Methodist Church. But few Episcopal families are now to be found in this county. There were formerly three large brick churches on it, two of which are entirely gone, and the third will soon follow their fate, unless speedy means of prevention be adopted. The one yet remaining, called Wicomico Church, was built in the year 1771, not long before the Revolution, and the walls are still firm. The other part of the workmanship was so inferior to that of former times that the vestry refused to receive it at the hands of the contractor. The roof is now falling in, and the ceiling has given way some years since.
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Each of the Bishops of Virginia have preached in this decaying house, though not without some apprehension. Its present condition is truly distressing. The doors and windows are gone. The fine bricks which case the doors are gradually disappearing. Along the deserted aisles, and in the pews of this large Church, measuring seventy-five feet in every direction, may now be seen the carriage, the wagon, the plough, the fishing seine, barrels of tar and lime, lumber, and various imple- ments of husbandry. The cattle have free admission to it, and the pavement of the aisles, and even the marble slab which covers the re- mains of one of the latest of its ministers, is covered with dirt and rubbish. The old bell which once summoned the neighbors to the house of God is lying in one of the pews near the falling pulpit. In the deserted chancel you look in vain for the communion table and the bap- tismal font, and there is too much reason to fear that these also are now used for purposes far other than those to which they were originally consecrated and long applied. Some steps have recently been taken towards the repair of this large and venerable building, but whether they will be continued and the work consummated is still doubtful.
"My next appointment was at Christ Church, Lancaster county, on the 23d of June. This was the day appointed by the Convention to be observed as a day of humiliation, fasting and prayer, on account of the languor of the Church and the sins and troubles of the nation. No. temple of religion and no spot in the Diocese could have been selected more in accordance with the solemn duty of that day than the old and venerable Church in which three of God's ministers were assembled- I preached a sermon adapted to the occasion, and then proposed that those who were minded to spend the day, as the Church recommended, should remain for some hours at that place in suitable religious exer- cises. A goodly number complied with the invitation, and after the interval of perhaps an hour, which was spent in surveying the building and the tombs around this ancient house of God another service was performed, and a second appropriate discourse was preached by the Rev. Mr. Nelson, the service having been performed by Mr. Francis Mc- Guire, the present minister of the parish. The past history and present condition of this hallowed spot and temple deserves a more particular notice. The notice is derived from the memorials furnished by the house itself, the tombstones around and within, and the Vestry Book of the parish, kept from the year 1665 to 1770, to which I had access.
"The present Church was built on the site of an older one, which was completed in the year 1670 under the direction of Mr. John Carter, the first of that name, and the great ancestor of many bearing that name in
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Virginia. By the side of the chancel is a large marble slab, on which are the names of John Carter and his three wives and several children, who all died before him, and were buried in that spot.
"This Church being too small for the increasing population, a larger one was meditated, and some change in its location talked of, when Mr. Robin Carter (since known by the name of King Carter) offered to build one at his own expense, saying that in consequence of his large possessions, increasing family, and number of tenants, he had intended for some time to build a larger one for the parish. The offer was cheer- fully accepted, and the present house was completed about the time of Mr. Carter's death-that is, about the year 1731, and exhibits to this day one of the most striking monuments of the fidelity of ancient architec- ture to be seen in our land. Very few if any repairs have ever been put upon it, the original roof and shingles now cover the house, and have preserved in a state of perfection the beautiful arched ceilings, except in two places, which have within a few years been a little discolored by the rain which found its way through the gutters where the shingles have decayed. The walls of the house are three feet thick, and perfect and sound. The windows are large and strong, having probably two- thirds of the original glass in them. The pews are of the old fashion, high-backed, and very firm. A very large one near the altar, and op- posite the pulpit, together with the whole north cross of the building, was especially reserved by Mr. Carter for the use of his family and dependents in all time to come.
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