SR 52 — Commending Bruton Parish Episcopal Church.

SESSION INTRODUCEDENROLLED 24105668D I SENATE RESOLUTION NO.

52 OfferedE February 8, 2024 N Commending Bruton Parish Episcopal Church.

TN Patrons––DiggsR andAgreed McDougleto Rby ––––––––––the Senate, February 15, 2024 O WHEREAS, for 350 years, Bruton Parish Episcopal Church in Williamsburg has preserved the O history of the nation while providing opportunities for joyful worship and offering generous ouDreachoutreach to L the community;

and WHEREAS,L Bruton Parish Episcopal Church traces its earliest roots to 1633, when an Anglican U parish church named after the Middle Plantation was constructed somewhere in the area;

andandican CE WHEREAS, in 1658, Middle Plantation Parish merged with Harrop Parish in James City County to forWHEREAS,form BrutonMiddletown ParishParish, Episcopalwhich Churchin wasturn namedmerged forwith theMarston communityParish of Bruton in Countyrish;Eand1674 Somerset,to England,form theBruton ancestralParish; home of the colonial governor, Sir William Berkeley, and the colonial secretary, Thomas Ludwell, who was also a parish member at the time;

and D WHEREAS, Bruton Parish Episcopal Church was named for the community of Bruton in County Somerset, England, the ancestral home of the colonial governor, Sir William Berkeley, and the colonial secWHEREAS, the Reverend Roland Jones was selected as the first pastor of Bruton Parish Episcopal Church and, in 1677, the vestry agreed to build a new brick church to better serve the consolidated parish;

the Gothic-style building was situated northwest of the current location on land donated by Colonel John Page and completed in 1683;

and R relocation of the colonial capital from Jamestown to the Middle Plantation, which was renamed as 2 Williamsburg shortly thereafter, Bruton Parish Episcopal Church experienced significant growth in the R 1690s;

and WHEREAS, in the early 1700s, the Bruton Parish Episcopal Church vestry again discussed a new church building;

the cruciform-shaped church, designed by Governor Alexander Spotswood, was the first serving as both rector of the church and president of The College of William and Mary in Virginia;

and WHEREAS, over the course of the 18th century, Bruton Parish Episcopal Church flourished as a house of worship and an important meeting place for students, townspeople, and government officials;

the church received numerous additions, including a new steeple, the historic Tarpley Bell, and a prized orgWHEREAS, during this time, Bruton Parish Episcopal Church also received several important artifacts, including copies of the Book of Common Prayer and the Holy Bible, as well as three sets of silver communion services, including the Jamestown Church communion service, which is now typically on display at the Jamestown Settlement;

and WHEREAS, several founding fathers, including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Patrick and the church was the site of heated debate in the lead-up to the American Revolution;

andesses, WHEREAS, the Reverend John Bracken, who served as rector of Bruton Parish Episcopal Church from 1773 to 1818 and president of The College of William and Mary in Virginia from 1812 to 1814, guided the community through the Revolutionary War;

he is most likely responsible for crossing out the president of the United States;

and Book of Common Prayer and replacing it with a prayer for the WHEREAS, Bruton Parish Episcopal Church broke from the Church of England and joined the Episcopal Church in the United States;

in the post-war period, the church endured financial hardship and sold numerous furnishings to generate operating funds and allow for necessary remodeling;

and WHEREAS, during the American Civil War, Bruton Parish Episcopal Church served as a hospital for when the Catherine Memorial Society, a forerunner of what is now Preservation Virginia, raised funds to repair church furnishings and restore tombstones and monuments in the parish's historic cemetery;

and WHEREAS, the Reverend William T.

Roberts and the Reverend W.A.R.

Goodwin led additional restoration efforts, and by the early 1900s, Bruton Parish Episcopal Church had regained much of its Settlement in 1907;

andplayed a role in the commemoration of the 300th anniversary of the Jamestown WHEREAS, from 1926 to 1928, Reverend Goodwin was instrumental in convincing John D.

Rockefeller, Jr., to restore Williamsburg's colonial heritage, leading to a complete renovation of Bruton Parish Episcopal Church;

and WHEREAS, under the leadership of the Reverend Francis H.

Craighill, the Reverend Cotesworth Pinckney Lewis, the Reverend Richard L.

May, the Reverend Herman Hollerith IV, and the Reverend of 2 Christopher L.

Epperson, Bruton Parish Episcopal Church has thrived in the modern era;

membership has remained high, programs and services have multiplied, and the church has given back to the community in myriad ways, including religious education, community festivals, and the annual Rockefeller Concert;

and WHEREAS, in January 2024, Bruton Parish Episcopal Church kicked off the commemorative events for its milestone 350th anniversary with a presentation by Carl Lounsbury, the former senior architectural historian of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, and a special worship service celebrated with a prayer book from 1662 and the Jamestown Church communion silver;

and WHEREAS, Bruton Parish Episcopal Church's yearlong anniversary program will feature more historical presentations, along with fellowship and social events, to educate, enlighten, and engage with members of the public;

the program divides the year into four quarters, focusing on the beginning of the church from 1674 to 1789, the evolution of the church from 1789 to 1900, the modern era from 1900 to 2023, and the church's future;

now, therefore, be it RESOLVED by the Senate of Virginia, That Bruton Parish Episcopal Church hereby be commended on the occasion of its 350th anniversary;

and, be it SESSION ENROLLED SENATE RESOLUTION NO.

52 E Offered February 8, 2024 Commending Bruton Parish Episcopal Church.

N –––––––––– R Patrons––Diggs and McDougle –––––––––– O WHEREAS, for 350 years, Bruton Parish Episcopal Church in Williamsburg has preserved the L history of the nation while providing opportunities for joyful worship and offering generous outreach to the community;

and L parish church named after the Middle Plantation was constructed somewhere in the area;

andican E WHEREAS, in 1658, Middle Plantation Parish merged with Harrop Parish in James City County to form Middletown Parish, which in turn merged with Marston Parish in 1674 to form Bruton Parish;

and WHEREAS, Bruton Parish Episcopal Church was named for the community of Bruton in County Somerset, England, the ancestral home of the colonial governor, Sir William Berkeley, and the colonial secretary, Thomas Ludwell, who was also a parish member at the time;

and R WHEREAS, with the establishment of The College of William and Mary in Virginia and the 2 Williamsburg shortly thereafter, Bruton Parish Episcopal Church experienced significant growth inRn the 1690s;

and R WHEREAS, in the early 1700s, the Bruton Parish Episcopal Church vestry again discussed a new2new church building;