USA > West Virginia > A history and record of the Protestant Episcopal church in the diocese of West Virginia > Part 33
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And all the blame for such a condition of things does not rest upon the people. I have heard ministers congratulate themselves that their vestries did not meet, but left them to manage everything their own way, and so, because they found it easier to do the work themselves than to lead and instruct the proper Church officers to do it; the Clergy have some- times had themselves to thank, that they have had so much serving of tables. Let there be an intelligent and persistent education of the people as to what they ought to do in re-
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lieving the Clergy of the business details and the whole work of the Church will be advanced.
Diocesan Unity.
It is not the least thing we have to be thankful for in West Virginia, that as Brethren we dwell together in unity.
We read from time to time, that in this place or that-both here and in England-there are such differences of faith and practice developed, as must disturb more or less the peace of the Church. Such a condition of things is by no means wholly bad; it is the price we pay for comprehension and for prog- ress. It is, however, my earnest desire, that we continue to maintain in this Diocese the position that it has so far been our privilege and pleasure to occupy, i. e., the position of a frank and cordial acceptance of our Book of Common Prayer, not only as a full and sufficient Directory of Worship, but as an accepted compact between minister and people.
From time to time there has appeared a spirit in the Church, which, while accepting the Prayer Book as a Direc- tory of Worship, has not been disposed to accept it as a full and sufficient Directory. I shall hope that in the future, as in the past, that we, in West Virginia, will not be reaching out for that most indefinite thing, called "Catholic Usage," and so come to have with our individual picking and choosing almost as many uses as there are Parishes, but that we will stand firmly, where we have been standing all these years, on the reasonable ground, that this Church of ours has in her standards defined and expressed the Catholic usage and teaching we ought to follow, and not left that difficult and delicate task to the comparative ignorance and indiscretion of individuals.
I find myself each year very much taken up, in these An- nual Addresses, with questions of administration, taking ad- vantage of the opportunity afforded on the Sunday evening- which, though not strictly of the Council, yet practically be- . longs to it-to speak to you along such lines as would more naturally be suggested as suitable for a charge. It seems to
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REV. JOHN AMBLER.
REV. L. W. DOGGETT.
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me that such division of topics is wise; first. in helping to keep you together over Sunday, which, on a great many ac- counts, I consider important, and also as giving occasion to emphasize those things connected with administration, which continually call for our attention.
The advancement of Christ's Kingdom ought to be the su- preme and constant purpose of our lives-I mean of the lives of all of us, Clergy and Laity, and of all we represent. But often our administration of those affairs, that have to do with the maintenance and advancement of the Kingdom is so fee- ble and lax that the supreme and constant purpose fails to be manifest.
We have all of us, Dear Friends, need of a more absolute consecration to the work which God has given us to do. To do each day fully and thoroughly what our hands find to do, and to do it with an intelligent and persistent interest. This is the service, the Church is asking for today from her sons and daughters all over this wide land. Can we propose to ourselves anything that can compare with it in dignity and in the promise of such blessed results? We meet in such Councils as this, year by year, not simply to cast up our ac- counts, although such work may be important, but to take counsel together; to instruct and encourage each other by exchanging experiences; to learn in private intercourse about ways and means and methods and results, as we cannot learn by public discourse; to devise more liberal things for the ex- tension of the Kingdom; to have our enthusiasm the more kindled for labor and for sacrifice, and, above all, to have our hearts burn within us while we hold sweet converse by the way, and worship together in the Lord's House; and find it to be to our waiting souls as the House of God and as the Gate of Heaven. Fill up the days. then, brethren, with hearty, grateful service. Be patient laborers in the Lord's vineyard. Stand steadfast in the faith; quit you like men: be strong.
Summary.
I have paid 132 visits to eighty-six places within the Dio-
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cese, and had fifty-eight services and meetings outside-in- cluding those in Porto Rico. Sermons and addresses, 255; confirmed, 101, of which nineteen were in Porto Rico.
Summary of Bishop Gravatt's Report.
Visits made, 111; confirmations, 125; baptisms, 7; mar- riages. 1; burials, 6; sermons, 125; addresses, 29; ordinations, 1; churches consecrated, 1.
Celebration of the Bishop's Twenty-Fifth Anniversary.
The Standing Committee considered the matter of appro- priately celebrating the twenty-fifth anniversary of the con- secration of the Rt. Rev. George W. Peterkin, D. D., LL. D., as Bishop of the Diocese, and the Committee passed unani- mously the following resolutions :
Resolved, That in view of the approaching twenty-fifth an- niversary of the consecration of the beloved Senior Bishop of our Diocese, the Standing Committee suggest to the Dio- cesan Council at its next meeting, a special effort to increase the Permanent Fund as a fitting celebration of the occasion, and as a thank offering to God for His mercies, vouchsafed to this Diocese, and that they recommend a collection for this object on Ascension Day, 1902 and 1903, an effort being earn- estly made to obtain a contribution from every person in the Diocese; and,
Resolved, That the President and Secretary of this Com- mittee be appointed a committee to formulate and present a plan to the Council for the above purpose.
Respectfully submitted, G. A. GIBBONS, President. J. GASSMAN, A. J. WILLIS.
The special order, Bishop Gravatt in the chair, was taken up at 9:40 as follows:
Resolutions of the Standing Committee of West Virginia.
Resolved, That in view of the approaching twenty-fifth an-
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niversary of the consecration of the beloved Senior Bishop of our Diocese, the Standing Committee suggest to the Dio- cesan Council at its next meeting a special effort to increase the Permanent Fund as a fitting celebration of the occasion, and as a thank offering to God for His mercies vouchsafed to this Diocese, and that they recommend a collection for this object on Ascension Day 1902 and 1903, an effort being earn- estly made to obtain a contribution from every person in the Diocese; and,
Resolved, That the President and Secretary of this com- mittee be appointed a committee to formulate and present a plan to the Council for the above purpose.
Mr. Joseph Trapnell offered the following resolutions:
I. Resolved, That the report of the Standing Committee of the Diocese made on the first day of the session, be accepted and that the suggestion of said committee, looking to an in- crease of the Permanent Fund as a fitting celebration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the consecration of the Senior Bishop, be adopted by the Council.
II. Resolved, That the Standing Committee be instructed to take the steps necessary and proper, to carry into effect the proposed scheme for the increase of said Permanent Fund to $50,000.
III. Resolved, further, That all monies collected under this arrangement be paid to the Treasurer of the Permanent Fund.
On motion of Bishop Penick, the resolution was voted upon seriatim.
First Resolution adopted.
Second Resolution adopted.
Third Resolution amended by Rev. Dr. Moore, adding the words, "and that the Treasurer be requested to keep all sums so paid him under a separate head. in his accounts." This was accepted by the mover of the resolution, and adopted. Then, on motion, the resolutions as a whole were adopted.
Deputies to the General Convention :- Clerical: Rev. S.
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S. Moore, D. D., Rev. J. Brittingham, Rev. J. S. Gibson, Rev. R. D. Roller, D. D. Lay :- Joseph Trapnell, W. S. Laidley, B. D. Spillman, Jos. D. DuBois.
Alternates .- Rev. G. W. Easter, Rev. B. M. Spurr, Rev. G. A. Gibbons, Rev. W. H. Burkhardt, Lay, J. T. Waters, J. D. Logan, W. G. Peterkin, J. Gassman.
The Trustees of the Permanent Fund, Mr. H. H. Moss and Mr. B. M. Ambler, made, through their Treasurer, Mr. Amos K. Gordon, a very full and satisfactory report. showing the fund to be $21,876. 38.
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CHAPTER VII.
Republication of all the Material Concerning the Churches in Western Virginia, from Bishop Meade's Book, Entitled "Old Churches, Ministers and Families of Virginia," Published in 1857-General Observations.
In the fall of 1854, Bishop Meade was solicited to furnish some personal reminiscences of the Episcopal Church in Virginia, and promised two articles to one of our quarterly Reviews, which most unexpectedly grew into two octavo vol- umes. He was led into this enlargement by the further so- licitation of friends that he would extend his inquiries into former times; and by the discovery that there were mate- rials, not yet lost to history, of which good use might be made. Besides the recovery of many old vestry-books, or fragments thereof, supposed to have been lost, he either by his own researches or those of friends, found interesting materials for his work in a number of the old records of the State, which may yet be seen, though often in a mutilated and mouldering condition, in the Clerk's Offices of various counties. Other documents of general interest to all, and of special interest to Virginians and their descendants wher- ever found, have been furnished from old family records and papers, never before used, and which must otherwise soon have perished. The Bishop also wandered, and not a little, nor in vain, amidst old churches or their ruins and the grave- vards around them, and the old family seats. The accounts of these, and the inscriptions taken from them, form an in- teresting contribution to Virginia history. For nothing. will the descendants of the old families of the State be more
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thankful, than for the lists of vestrymen, magistrates, and others, which have been gathered from the earliest records, and by means of which the very localities of their ancestors may be traced. Nor has inquiry been limited to the records of our own State and country. The archives of Parliament, and of Lambeth and Fulham Palaces, have, through the kindness and labours of others, furnished many important, deeply interesting, and hitherto unpublished documents, be- longing to the history of the State and Church of Virginia. While portions of the book may have less interest for the general reader, being occupied with things belonging es- pecially to the history of Virginia, yet it is hoped that even those may be found worthy of perusal, while far the larger part relates to what should be the subject of inquiry to all who wish to be informed on the ecclesiastical history of our country.
The following pages are from Bishop Meade's Book. enti- tled "Old Churches, Ministers and Families of Virginia:"
It is a useful employment for societies as well as individ- uals to look back through their past history and mark the dealings of a kind Providence towards them. The History of the Episcopal Church of Virginia has been, from the very beginning, a most interesting and eventful one. I would briefly refer to some of its particulars, in order to raise our hearts in gratitude to God for its wonderful preservation, and to make us more faithful and zealous in using the proper means for its proper advancement.
The Episcopal Church of Virginia commenced with the first settlement of the first Colony. The code of laws of that Col- ony was drawn up at a time when "religion was enforced, even among Protestants, by civil pains and penalties which we would fain now banish from our recollections and blot from the page of history. That there was much of sincere piety moving the hearts of those who incorporated the forms of the Episcopal Church with the Colony of Virginia. as well as of those who established other forms among the Pilgrim
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Fathers of New England, I doubt not. Nor do I question the piety and fidelity of some of the people and pastors dur- ing its whole subsequent history. But that its spiritual condition was ever, at any time, even tolerably good, bearing a comparison with that of the Mother-Church, over whose defects also there was so much cause to mourn, faithful his- tory forbids us to believe. Many were the disadvantages under which she had to labour, during nearly the whole period of her existence, in connection with the government of England, which were well calculated to sink her character beneath that of the Church of England, and of some other churches in America. Immense were the difficulties of get- ting a full supply of ministers of any character; and of those who came, how few were faithful and duly qualified for the station! One who was indeed so faithful as to be called the Apostle of Virginia at an early period of its set- tlement, lamenting over the want of ministers in the Colony, thus upbraids those who refused to come. "Do they not either wilfully hide their talents, or keep themselves at home, for fear of losing a few pleasures? Be not there any among them of Moses and his mind. and of the Apostles, who for- sook all to follow Christ? The Council of Virginia also ad- dressed the most solemn and pathetic appeals to the clergy of England, beseeching them to come over to the work of the Lord in the Colony-though, it is to be feared, with little success; for in the year 1655 it is recorded that many places were destitute of ministers, and likely still to continue so. the people not paying their "accustomed dues." There were, at this time, about fifty parishes in the Colony, most of which were destitute of clergymen, as there were only ten ministers for their supply. To remedy this evil it was proposed to es- tablish in the English Universities, Virginia fellowships, im- posing it as a condition, that the fellows spend seven years in Virginia; but we do not read of its execution. That the ministers then in the Colony were men of zeal can scarce be supposed, as a law was required enjoining it upon them
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to preach constantly every Sabbath and administer the sac- rament at least twice every year. If we proceed in the his. tory of the Colony another fifty years, which will carry us beyond the first century of its existence, we shall find only a few more parishes established, and, though glebes and parishes had been provided, not more than one-half of the congregations were supplied with ministers, the rest being served by lay-readers. In some places indeed lay-readers were preferred to settled ministers, because less expensive to the parishioners. As to the unworthy and hireling clergy of the Colony, there was no ecclesiastical discipline to cor- rect or punish their irregularities and vices. The authority of a Commissary was a very insufficient substitute for the superintendence of a faithful Bishop. The better part of the clergy and some of the laity long and earnestly petitioned for a faithful resident Bishop, as the Bishop of London was, of necessity, only the nominal Bishop. For about two hun- dred years did the Episcopal Church of Virginia try the ex- periment of a system whose constitution required such a head but was actually without it. No such officer was there to watch over the conduct and punish the vices of the clergy ; none to adminster the rite of Confirmation, and thus admit the faithful to the Supper of the Lord. It must be evident that the Episcopal Church, without such an officer, is more likely to suffer for the want of godly discipline than any other society of Christians, because all others have some sub- stitute, whereas our own Church makes this office indis- pensable to some important parts of ecclesiastical govern- ment and discipline. Such being the corrupt state of the Church in Virginia, it is not wonderful that here, as in Eng- land, disaffection should take place, and dissent begin. The preaching and zeal of Mr. Whitefield, who visited Virginia about this time, contrasted with the sermons and lives of the clergy generally, contributed no doubt to increase disaffec- tion. The pious Mr. Davies, afterwards President of Prince- ton College, made the first serious inroad upon the unity of
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the Church. His candid testimony deserves to be here in- troduced. "I have reason to hope," he says, "that there are and have been a few names in various parts of the Colony who are sincerely seeking the Lord and groping after relig- ion in the communion of the Church of England." "Had the doctrines of the Gospel been solemnly and faithfully preached in the Established Church, I am persuaded there would have been few Dissenters in these parts of Virginia, for their first objections were not against the peculiar rites and ceremonies of that Church, much less against her excel- lent Articles, but against the general strain of the doctrines delivered from the pulpit, in which these Articles were op- posed, or (which was the more common case) not mentioned at all, so that at first they were not properly dissenters from the original constitution of the Church of England, but the most strict adherents to it, and only dissented from those who had forsaken it."
That there was at this time not only defective preaching, but, as might be expected, most evil living among the clergy, is evident from a petition of the clergy themselves to the legislature asking an increase of salary, saying "that the small encouragement given to clergymen is a reason why so few come into this Colony from the Universities, and that so many who are a disgrace to the ministry find opportuni- ties to fill the parishes." It is a well-established fact that some who were discarded from the English Church vet ob- tained livings in Virginia. Such being the case, who can question for a moment the entire accuracy of the account both of the preaching and living of the clergy of his day. as given by the faithful and zealous Mr. Jarrett? and who could blame him for the encouragement afforded to the dis- ciples of Mr. Wesley, at a time when neither he nor they thought there could be a separation from the Church of Eng- land? Dissent, from various causes, was now spreading through the Commonwealth; dissatisfaction with the moth- er-country and the Mother-Church was increasing, and the Episcopal clergy losing more and more the favour of God
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and man, when this devoted minister, almost alone in preach- ing and living according to the doctrine, discipline and worship of the Protestant Episcopal Church, was glad to avail himself of any aid in the good work he was endeavoring to perform. For the time, however, his efforts were una- vailing. The war of the Revolution was approaching, and with it the downfall of the Church. Many circumstances contributed to this event. The opposition to the Dissenters in times past had embittered their minds against the declin- ing Establishment. The attachment of some few of the cler- gy to the cause of the king subjected the Church itself to suspicion, and gave further occasion to its enemies to seek its destruction. The dispute about Church property now came on, and, for twenty-seven years, was waged with bit- terness and violence. At the commencement of the War of the Revolution, Virginia had ninety-one clergymen, officiat- ing in one hundred and sixty-four churches and chapels; at its close, only twenty-eight ministers were found labouring in the less desolate parishes of the State. Whither numbers of them had fled, and to what secular pursuits some of them had betaken themselves, it is not in our power to state. Had they been faithful shepherds, they would not have thus deserted their flocks.
We come now to the efforts of the more faithful to strengthen the things that remained but were ready to die. In common with some other dioceses, the Church in Virginia resolved on an effort to obtain consecration from abroad for a Bishop who might complete her imperfect organization. A very worthy man, the Rev. Dr. Griffith, was selected for the purpose; but so depressed was her condition, so little zeal was found in her members, that, though for three suc- cessive years calls were made upon the parishes for funds to defray his expenses to England, only twenty-eight pounds were raised, a sum altogether insufficient for the purpose, so that the effort on his part was abandoned through pover- ty and domestic affiiction. Even at a subsequent period, when renewed efforts, prompted by shame at past failures
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and a sense of duty to the Church, were made to secure what was necessary for Bishop Madison's consecration, a sufficien- vy. even with some foreign aid, was not obtained to pay all the necessary expenses of the voyage. The object, however, was accomplished, and at the end of almost two hundred years from the establishment of a most imperfect Church in Virginia a Bishop was obtained. But she was too far gone, and there were too many opposing difficulties, for her re- vival at that time. From the addresses of Bishop Madison to the Episcopalians of Virginia, it will be seen that he en- tered on his duties with no little zeal and with very just views of the kind of men and measures necessary for the work of revival. He plainly admits the want of zeal and fidelity in many of the ministers as one of the causes of the low condition of the Church, and that the contrary quali- fications were indispensable to her resuscitation. He made an ineffectual effort at bringing back into the bosom of the Church the followers of Mr. Wesley, for they had now en- tirely separated from her. After a few partial visitations of the Diocese, his hopes of the revival of the Church evident- ly sunk ; and the duties of the College of William and Mary, of which he was President, requiring his attention during the greater part of the year, at the Convention of 1805 be valled for a Snffragan or Assistant Bishop. The subject was referred to the next year's Convention, but no such meeting was held, nor was there another until after his death. For seven years it seemed as if the worst hopes of her enemies and the most painful fears of her friends were about to be realized in her entire destruction. In the General Convention of the Church, held in the city of New Haven in 1811, there was no representation nor any report whatever from Vir- ginia. The following entry is found on the journal :- " They fear, indeed, that the Church in Virginia is from various vanses so depressed, that there is danger of her total ruin, unless great exertions, favored by the blessing of Providence, are employed to raise her."
My earliest recollections of the Church are derived from
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visits, while yet a child, to the Old Stone Chapel in Fred- erick county, (then the back-woods of Virginia,) either on horseback, behind my father, or with my mother and the children in my grandmother's English chariot, drawn by four work-horses in farming-gear,-richer gear having fail- ed with failing fortunes. Some of the neighbors went in open four-horse plantation-wagons, very different from the vehicles to which they had been accustomed in Lower Vir- ginia, whence they emigrated. My father took an active part in the erection of this house, which was about seven miles distant from his residence. It was here that I offi- ciated during the first twenty-five years of my ministry. The congregation, which now worships in a larger one four miles off, makes a kind of pilgrimage to it on one Sabbath each summer. It is still used for services in behalf of colored persons, and on funeral occasions. Near it lies the parish burying-ground, where many dear friends and relatives are interred, and where I hope to find a grave. The Rev. Alex- ander Balmaine, a chaplain in the United States Army dur- ing the War of the Revolution, and who was married to a relative of Mr. Madison, one of the Presidents of our coun- try, was the minister of it for more than thirty years, dur- ing the last ten or twelve of which I was associated with him. He lived in Winchester, and preached alternately there, in a stone church of about the same size, and at the chapel.
There was a small wooden church very near the chapel, which was built before the war, and in which the Rev. Mr. Thruston officiated. The Baptists were, in his day, establishing themselves in this part of the Valley of Virginia. With them, it is said, he had much and sharp controversy. On the declaration of war he laid aside the ministry and en- tered the army, attaining before the close of it to the rank of Colonel, by which title he was known to the end of his days. About twelve miles from my father's, in a direction opposite to the chapel, there was another small log church, in which the Rev. Mr. Mughlenburg, afterwards General
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