History of Saint James': Anniversary Discourse on Hamilton Parish

Originally posted 10/08/2015

ANNIVERSARY DISCOURSE on HAMILTON PARISH, 1730-1876

by THE REV. JOHN S. LINDSAY, Rector, St. James’ Church, Warrenton, Virginia, August 6, 1876

As our Bicentennial Year 2016 draws nearer, it is timely to recall the eloquent words of the Rev. John S. Lindsay, rector 1871-1879, in an address delivered on the 100th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, and the 60th year of Saint James’ Church.  Mr. Lindsay’s scholarly work, based on his research into the parish’s history up to that time, ends with a prophetic view of the future. The text is elegant and formal with Victorian sentiment; it is reverent, spiritual, highly informative – and delightful.  Its 15 pages are recommended reading as we, too, look to our past, present, and future – just as he did.  There follows a partial extract from page 8, conveying his faith and that of a parishioner in the rite of Confirmation.

“The first Episcopal visitation (by a bishop) to this parish was made by Bishop Moore in the year 1815 at Turkey Run Church (a year before St. James’ was founded).  He then confirmed fifty persons.  The melting sermon of the Bishop, the large congregation, the numerous candidates for confirmation, and all the incidents of the occasion were deeply impressive.  In the class that assembled around the chancel on that day and received the Apostolic rite of ‘the laying on of hands’ was a young girl of eighteen summers  (Catherine Horner, future mother of Captain John Quincy Marr of Confederate fame).

“Sixty one years have passed away, and with them the Bishop who administered the Holy rite, and his two successors, and perhaps every other member of that class except that young girl, who survives, an aged woman, her head whitened by nearly eighty winters, her powers failing, and memory dropping from its relaxing fingers, one by one, the objects it once firmly held, and yet  holding with a grasp that time cannot break the recollection of that day and that hour, and that rite, and in the hope then first kindled, going down calmly to the grave.  As we to-day turn our eyes to her quiet home, hard by, (the John Quincy Marr house nearby at 118 Culpeper Street), we devoutly pray that when she shall come to the end of life, as soon she must, her sun may set in a cloudless sky—sure, sweet presage of a clear, bright tomorrow. “

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Mr. Lindsay then describes the period following Bishop Moore’s 1815 visit as the Revival of the Virginia Church when “she began to lengthen her cords and strengthen her stakes….”  He recounts the beginnings of Saint James’ Church, its development over the next 60 years, and its place in Warrenton and the community.

PART II

Originally posted 10/14/2015

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In this second installment of extracts from the message delivered to the congregation in 1876, Rev. Lindsay looks ahead, viz:

“To-day, brethren, as we … look forward to the time to come, we should feel that, like St. Paul, we have had a voyage of dangers and deliverances.  The tempests of two revolutions have been encountered (the American Revolution and Civil War)   When we emerged from the first it was with the loss of almost everything….  After the second, we found our property swept away, and worst of all the bravest and best of our sons perished.  And yet we have cause to thank God —to thank Him that the church in Virginia and in this parish is not extinct.

“We face the future with courage.  Why?  Because we belong to a true branch of the church of God, to which Christ has said, ‘Go ye into all the world, preach the Gospel unto every creature.  Lo! I am with you.’  We must remember that we belong to a communion that stands midway between extremes; that we worship in a way as far removed from the dead formalism of some of the Continental communions as from the wild excesses of some of the American denominations….  In a word, that ours is a church, we believe, best calculated to glorify God, and do good to man.

“We have in this town advantages in numbers, in worldly possessions, and in social influence….  Woe be to us if possessing such a church, and in that church having such elements of power and usefulness, we permit the other communions of this town to do more than we, or fail to gather into our fold those who might be reached by our faithful efforts.  To-day let us realize our short-comings and weigh well our responsibilities. To-day let us see the work for us to do, in leading the children of our own household of faith and the orphaned people without a religious home….

“To-day, as we gather around the table of our dear Lord, let us rekindle our devotion to Him and to His church, and to him, to her, and to each other, renew our pledges of fidelity.  And as the years advance and we move on with them, may we see the prosperity of this parish ever increasing.  And when we have passed away and others fill our places, in distant generations, may the influence of the church in Hamilton Parish and in the Diocese of Virginia deepen and widen beyond all past experience, beyond all present expectation, and future pastors and people….”

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