Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the Trinity Eptscopal Church of Lawrence, Kansas, which on August 20th will celebrate its 150th year of serving Kansans attending the University of Kansas as well as residents of Lawrence.…
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the Trinity Eptscopal Church of Lawrence, Kansas, which on August 20th will celebrate its 150th year of serving Kansans attending the University of Kansas as well as residents of Lawrence.
Lawrence has a long and vibrant history of religious diversity, dating back to its founding prior to the Civil War by immigrants who sought to establish Kansas as a state where slavery was prohibited. I am pleased to have this opportunity to place into the Congressional Record an article originally published in the Lawrence Journal-World which details the history of several of Lawrence's original congregations, including Trinity Episcopal Church.
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have this opportunity to share this history with the House and I commend the members of Trinity Episcopal Church as they prepare to celebrate 150 years of service to the people of Lawrence and the University of Kansas.
[From the Lawrence Journal-World, Sept. 19, 2004]
City Churches Trace Roots to Pioneer Days
(By Jim Baker)
Lawrence was born from the reaction between pro-slavery
forces and abolitionists fighting for control over the future
of the Kansas Territory--and the city's early churches were
the catalyst.
The struggles of the abolitionists, in Lawrence's opening
decades, set the course for many congregations that went on
to flourish in the ensuing 150 years.
In 1854, the New England Emigrant Aid Company sent a hardy
band of 29 men to found a city in the Kansas Territory,
hoping to settle the land with as many abolitionists as
possible. The hope was that when the territory eventually
achieved statehood, Kansas would be a free state.
Among the men recruited by Amos Lawrence, a wealthy
merchant based in Boston, were Unitarians, Methodists and
Congregationalists. The most prominent Unitarian among them
was Charles Robinson, who would become the first governor of
Kansas.
It took the group about two weeks to reach a site here, and
then its members set up housing in order to establish a
beachhead for abolitionists.
The Unitarian Church--known as the Unitarian Society in
Lawrence--was founded in 1856, the year that a stone church
was built at what is now Ninth and Ohio streets. The church
also was used by the Congregationalists and Methodists. The
first minister was the Rev. Ephraim Nute.
``Certainly in the early years, Unitarians were
instrumental in building the schools, fostering abolitionism,
providing aid for the Underground Railroad and settlers
of the abolitionist persuasion. The Unitarian Church was
used as a hospital in the aftermath of Quantrill's Raid
(Aug. 21, 1863),'' said Carol Huettner, administrator of
the Unitarian Fellowship of Lawrence, 1263 N. 1100 Road.
``I think that the idea of tolerance, inclusion and basic
fairness is part and parcel of the mindset of Lawrence, and I
believe that comes in a straight, unbroken line from the
first Unitarian settlers here. Lawrence would not have been
founded were it not for Unitarians.''
Impressive heritage
The history of three of Lawrence's oldest churches also is
rooted in the epic clash between those who wanted Kansas to
be a slave state and those who were ``free-staters.''
The founders of Plymouth Congregational Church, 925 Vt.,
came to Kansas to swell the ranks of settlers opposed to
slavery. They
were among the group sent out by the New England Emigrant Aid
Company.
``They were abolitionists, and they came to Lawrence in
1854. Lawrence was a frontier town, and the only place where
they could meet was a building made out of hay, with a
thatched roof. That's where the church started,'' said the
Rev. Peter Luckey, Plymouth's senior pastor.
Plymouth was founded Oct. 15, 1854. The church, like the
city itself, is celebrating its sesquicentennial this year.
Plymouth's historic sanctuary, designed by noted Kansas
architect John G. Haskell, was built in 1870--only 7 years
after Quantrill's Raid on the city.
``The pastor at the time was Richard Cordley (the church's
second pastor, who came in 1857), and he was a very strong,
abolitionist preacher. It can be argued that part of what
brought William Quantrill to Lawrence is they were intent on
getting him. They actually came to his house,'' Luckey said.
Plymouth, which today has 1,200 members, has been at the
same location since 1870.
First Baptist Church, 1330 Kasold Drive, is a year younger
than Plymouth--it was founded in June 1855 and will celebrate
its 150th anniversary next year--and traces its roots back to
the conflict between pro-slavery and abolitionist forces.
``We had seven founding members in 1855. One of them was
actually murdered in Quantrill's Raid, though the (original)
church at Eighth and Kentucky wasn't harmed,'' says the Rev.
Marcus McFaul, First Baptist's senior pastor, and the 30th
full-time pastor in the church's history.
``Lawrence, Kansas, and the Christian experience in this
town in many ways does reflect what I would call classic,
liberal Christianity. Our founders really did embrace the
dignity and worth of all people. That's a pretty significant
thing in 1855 on the frontier, when everybody thought Kansas
was going to be like Missouri, a slave state.''
First Baptist's original sponsoring denominational group
came from Boston, home to many abolitionists, and this
influenced the course the congregation was to take.
McFaul said he was conscious of his church's history and
legacy.
``It's almost overwhelming, because you're made very much
aware that you stand on the shoulders of all those pastors
who went before you.''
Another Lawrence congregation that was directly affected by
the battle over slavery is Trinity Episcopal Church, 1011
Vt., founded in 1857.
``All of our parish records were burned in Quantrill's
Raid. Everything was burned. We lost all the documents,
baptism certificates, all of that was burned. They had to
start again,'' said the Rev. Jonathon Jensen, who is the 19th
rector in the church's history.
Trinity Episcopal has been in downtown Lawrence nearly as
long as the city itself has existed. The church was formed,
and the present lot of Vermont Street was purchased, in 1857.
The church's first building was consecrated and opened for
service July 29, 1859. The present building in the Gothic
Revival style was begun in 1870 and completed in 1873.
Jensen is proud of Trinity Episcopal's long history, and he
often reflects on the church's founders and past rectors.
``I feel a connection with all those who've gone before us,
and it reminds me of all of those who will come after us. It
feels much larger than myself,'' he said.
rich history
Plymouth is not the only Lawrence church celebrating a
sesquicentennial anniversary this year. So is First United
Methodist Church, 946 Vt.
``We consider our history as beginning with the arrival of
the Rev. William Goode and the Rev. James Griffing to
Lawrence on Nov. 7, 1854. They held revival services here in
November and December of 1854. The church charter was
actually in 1855, but we have always celebrated our history
as starting in 1854,'' said Jerry Niebaum, co-chairman of
First United Methodist's sesquicentennial committee.
Goode was appointed to the Kansas-Nebraska district of the
Methodist Church. Griffing was a circuit rider, traveling
between communities from Lawrence to near Junction City. He
was a preacher on horseback, who rode the countryside and
preached the Gospel throughout the territory.
``Our first framed church was built in 1858 where the
Southwestern Bell tower is downtown. If you look at the
Harper's Bazaar (magazine) drawing of Quantrill's Raid, you
see the Methodist church right in the center of the
destruction. It was not damaged at all, and it was used as a
morgue for the victims of the raid. They moved out the pews
to make room for the bodies,'' Niebaum said.
A brick church was built in 1865 where the Masonic Temple
now stands, 1001 Mass., and it was used until 1891, when the
congregation moved into its present stone structure at 946
Vt.
First United Methodist has now been in the same downtown
church for 113 years.
``History doesn't excite a lot of people, but yes, there
are many here who understand the rich history that we have,''
Niebaum said.
sense of belonging
For black settlers who migrated to Lawrence in the city's
early years, the churches they formed offered much more than
simply a place to worship.
They offered a safe haven for the expression of culture,
opportunities for leadership and education, as well as a
place for social, political and, later, civil rights
activities.
``African-American churches are important in every
community, especially if you go back in history. There was a
time when blacks didn't have much of a social role outside
the church. They needed some place of stability, some
place that they felt was their own,'' said the Rev.
William Dulin, pastor of Calvary Church of God in Christ,
646 Ala.
``If it hadn't been for the black churches that offered a
feeling that they belonged, blacks who came to this area
probably wouldn't have stayed here. Churches gave them a
sense of spiritual guidance, as well as some roots. The city
might have been different today if we hadn't had some of
those churches.''
The earliest black churches in Lawrence that have
maintained continuous congregations--despite name changes and
physical relocations--date back almost to the founding of the
city itself.
St. Luke AME Church, 900 N.Y., and Ninth Street Baptist
Church, 847 Ohio, were both founded in 1862.
Other black congregations founded in the city's early years
are: St. James AME Church, North Seventh and Maple streets,
established in 1865; First Regular Missionary Baptist Church
(originally located at 416 Lincoln), founded in 1868; and
Second Christian Church, 1245 Conn., (it has also changed
locations), organized in 1897.
The Rev. Reginald Bachus, as pastor of First Regular
Missionary Baptist Church, 1646 Vt., is the leader of a
congregation with a venerable history. The church will
celebrate its 136th anniversary in October.
He reflected on the meaning of churches to Lawrence's black
residents, particularly during a time when they were largely
shunned by the city's whites.
``In the life of the African-American community, especially
150 years ago, the church was really the only place that they
could feel comfortable, express themselves and have a sense
of belonging in society. Many times, people could exercise
their talents and leadership abilities, which they couldn't
do in a secular setting,'' Bachus said.
Alice Fowler, historian of First Regular Missionary Baptist
Church as well as a member of the congregation for the past
50 years, agreed with her pastor's assessment.
``The (black) church was the social and political outlet,
the congregating place of African-Americans. It was a church,
a school and a way to inform people of events that were going
on in the community,'' she said.
``There was very large participation in events for the
church, such as vacation Bible school and church picnics.
There weren't a lot of activities that African-Americans
could take part in (in the wider community). So churches
provided their own resources for African-Americans during the
(city's) early years.''