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Some Presbyterians who have shaped our
lives...
There are foundational
tenants shared by Presbyterian Christians. They emanate from John Calvin's
adherence to the Bible as the sole authority for divine truth.
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the Great Ends of the
Church motivated civil right's and social justice concerns.
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the rule of elders led to elders
and pastors sharing authority,
-
stewardship initiated the work ethic,
throughout history, many have been guided by these tenants.
David Hume,
Sam Walton,
Elijah Lovejoy,
Billy
Graham,
Jimmy
Stewart,
Mark Twain,
Sally
Ride, Andrew
Carnegie,
Sebastian
Spering Kresge
and many more,
(not to mention John Witherspoon,
Abraham Lincoln, Woodrow Wilson, Dwight Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan,
Condoleezza Rice, , the DuPont's, and many more.)
and you?
1532 John
Calvin publishes the Institutes of Christian Religion as a defense of
those seeking to reform the Papacy with integrity to the Gospel.
1620 William
Brewster, a ruling elder in Leyden, England, leads Calvinists
Reformers frustrated with the incomplete reformation by the Church
of England, arrives on the shoals of Cape Cod and settles Plimouth
Colony.
1742 Scots-Irish
Presbyterians arrive from Ulster County, Ireland, and settle
Presbyterian communities in Western Mass, the oldest being in
Pelham (the meetinghouse still stands and is used by the Town of
Pelham as their town hall - the oldest town hall in the
country). Disagreements over the Enlightenment movement and the
permeation of Anglican loyalties shift the church to
Congregationalism, while Presbyterians disperse until 1887.
1776 Rev.
John Witherspoon, President of Princeton College, signs the
Declaration of Independence along with eleven other Calvin
Reformers. Their understanding of a God-based, Biblically
reflective social order against tyranny catapults the young
nation forward.
1861 Abraham
Lincoln as President, worships at New York Avenue
Presbyterian Church in Washington D.C. It was Mr.
Lincoln's practice to stand when in prayer. The pew of
Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln is still in the sanctuary. The
original draft of the Emancipation Proclamation is also
kept at New York Avenue Presby. Church.
1887 Presbyterians
in Western Massachusetts,
re-emerge when a Holyoke newspaper ad invites Presbyterian
families to gather and form a new society. Many Scottish
immigrants in Holyoke respond and the First Presbyterian
Church and Society is founded.
1917
Woodrow Wilson of
Princeton University, and Presbyterian elder, leads the
country through World War I, and seeks an alternative to war
with the establishment of the League of Nations (a precursor
to the United Nations). Wilson's religious views were the
driving force in his political career, informing his quest
for world peace.
1953
Presbyterian Dwight
Eisenhower is elected President and accepts baptism at National
Capital Presbyterian Church. Under his guidance and following
the sermon by Reverend George Docherty February 7, 1954 "One
Nation Under God," Eisenhower advocated the U.S. Congress amend
the Pledge of Allegiance, inserting the phrase "under God."
1988 Beginning
in 1963 Reagan generally attended Presbyterian church services at
Bel-Air Presbyterian Church, Bel-Air, California. He became an
official member of Bel-Air Presbyterian after leaving the
Presidency.
2005 Presbyterian
Condolezza Rice is appointed Secretary of State. She continues her
worship and prayer life at National Capital Presbyterian Church.
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