Washington's 'Church of Presidents' etched in history again

From Arkansas-

The Rev. John C. Harper had been rector at the historic St. John's Episcopal Church for less than a year when the 1963 March on Washington began taking shape. A lay leader in the congregation urged him to steer clear of it -- but instead he embraced it. 

Harper held a service the morning of the march, welcoming a diverse crowd of more than 700 people at the church across from the White House. Black Episcopal choir members sang alongside the St. John's choir, and the service ended with worshippers holding hands to sing the iconic civil rights movement song "We Shall Overcome."

"The church has too long been silent on this important issue," Harper wrote to church members that month. "Now at long last Christians like ourselves are aroused by the injustice of discrimination in any form and by any kind of segregation on the basis of a man's color."

More here-

https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2020/jul/13/washingtons-church-of-presidents-etched-in/

'I was horrified': Witnesses injured by police testify about Trump's photo op at Lafayette Square

From USA Today-

Members of Congress heard from a series of witnesses, including several who were injured in the forcible clearing of protesters before President Donald Trump's controversial walk this month to St. John's Church for a photo opportunity.

The House Natural Resources Committee held its first hearing Monday on the incident June 1, in which protesters were removed from the park by authorities using chemical irritants, rubber bullets, shields and horses. Trump, who posed with a Bible in front of the historic church along with members of his administration, drew wide condemnation for the force used on demonstrators. 

House Democrats pressed the Trump administration for information on its response to the protesters, who were cleared roughly a half-hour before a 7 p.m. curfew in Washington. The Interior Department's inspector general's office opened an investigation.

More here-

https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/2020/06/29/trumps-photo-op-lafayette-square-focuses-hearing-congress/3270064001/

Here’s why a fence went up around St. John’s Church at Black Lives Matter Plaza

From D.C.-

The Metropolitan Police Department has opened the entirety of Black Lives Matter Plaza back up to protesters. However, people who visit the site may notice one big change.

A fence now surrounds St. John’s Episcopal Church at the corner of 16th and H Streets NW. The parish is also now guarded by MPD officers and concrete barriers.

Crowds have gathered around the church, next to Lafayette Square, over the course of this summer’s protests. It has been a site for vigils and rallies. On a few occasions, it has also been vandalized.

Ultimately, the new fence around the church was set up at the direction of District leaders. Kevin Donahue, Deputy Mayor for Public Safety, released the following statement.

“The District of Columbia Government coordinated the fence on the public space around St John’s Episcopal Church to protect the buildings from any further damage. We will continue to be in communication with the immediate neighbors of the site to minimize any inconvenience.”

More here-

https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/local/protests/fence-around-st-johns-church-protests/65-36d0695c-eedb-4da3-b0d8-eb400d2377a3

St. John’s Church in Washington vandalized again

From ENS-

St. John’s Episcopal Church, the “church of presidents” in Washington, D.C., that has become a major flashpoint during weeks of unrest related to systemic racism and police brutality, was vandalized again on June 22 during another night of clashes between police and protesters in front of the White House.

“BHAZ” was spray-painted on the 204-year-old church’s columns, The Washington Post reported. The acronym was also spray-painted on a piece of plywood nearby, accompanied by “Black House Autonomous Zone,” an apparent take on the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone in Seattle, Washington. That area, also called the Capitol Hill Organized Protest, is comprised of several blocks that were taken over by protesters and abandoned by police on June 8. One person was killed and two were injured in shootings there this past weekend.

More here-

https://www.episcopalnewsservice.org/2020/06/23/st-johns-church-in-washington-vandalized-again/ 

and here-

https://www.christianpost.com/news/historic-st-johns-episcopal-church-dc-vandalized-seattle-mayor-chop-shut-down-at-night.html

Fact check: Trump falsely claims 'insurance reasons' prevented him from entering St. John's Church

From CNN-

More than two weeks after his controversial photo-op outside a Washington, DC, church, President Donald Trump offered a new explanation last week for why he didn't enter St. John's Episcopal Church. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday Trump said there were "a lot of insurance reasons" for why he couldn't go in.

That isn't true.

 

Facts First: "There were no insurance reasons" why Trump could not have entered St. John's Church, Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington told CNN on Friday. She said only a small room in the basement of the church, a nursery, had been damaged in a fire the day prior, and "the main sanctuary was not harmed at all."

 

Trump has faced criticism not only because police used force to clear peaceful protesters out of the way before the photo-op but because he merely brandished the Bible without opening it, offering a prayer, or going into the building.

 

More here-

 

https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/20/politics/fact-check-trump-st-johns-church-photo-op-insurance/index.html

Secret Service admits using pepper spray to clear protesters for Trump photo op

From NY Daily News-

The Secret Service finally admitted Saturday that it used pepper spray to clear protesters from outside the White House so President Trump could hold a photo op.

After nearly two weeks of adamant denials, the federal agency conceded that it did use chemicals to move peaceful protesters.

The statement added that the pepper spray was used “in response to an assaultive (sic) individual” without offering any evidence to back up the account.

Heavily armed federal personal from federal agencies violently cleared peaceful racial justice protesters from the area around St. John’s Episcopal Church.

Live TV footage showed troops firing rubber bullets and tear gas as they charged into the crowd of several thousand demonstrators.

More here-

https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/ny-secret-service-trump-photo-op-pepper-spray-20200613-qexpqo46b5fodhbdvwtryr3hrm-story.html

Amid protests, US faith leaders engage racism and politics

From Missouri-

On Wednesday, Bishop LaTrelle Easterling, leader of the United Methodist Church’s Washington-area conference, joined Rev. Mariann Budde, the bishop of Washington’s Episcopal diocese, which includes St. Johns, and other faith leaders for a prayer vigil that aimed to orient the religious conversation around fighting racism.

“I think that all leaders that consider themselves to be religious or moral leaders have an obligation to rise and to speak to this moment, because institutional racism and supremacy cannot be dismantled by African American leaders alone,” said Easterling, who is African American. “Those who enjoy the privilege of those systems must rise.”

Many black religious leaders are welcoming the new allies, while lamenting that it took Floyd’s death to jar white congregations into paying attention.

More here-

https://www.newspressnow.com/life/amid-protests-us-faith-leaders-engage-racism-and-politics/article_3c4e1302-acd6-11ea-ab7d-436c6990e18b.html

White House Security Barred Clergy From Holding Vigil Outside Church

From Huffington-

Federal security forces blocked clergy from having a prayer vigil in front of a Washington, D.C., church on Wednesday ― the same church that President Donald Trump freely strode up to days earlier for his photo shoot with a Bible.

More than 100 interfaith clergy answered a call from the Episcopal Diocese of Washington to gather outside
St. John’s Church at Lafayette Square, directly across from the White House, for a prayer vigil on Wednesday afternoon. But an expanded security perimeter around the White House prevented the faith leaders from congregating on church property ― prompting them to scramble to find another place to meet and pray. 

The change led to a truncated vigil several hundred feet away from St. John’s Church, as well as confusion and tension between the clergy and some young protesters.

More here-

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/clergy-prayer-vigil-st-johns-church_n_5ed92b53c5b6fb6d6b3b254e?fbclid=IwAR1K6yHOQAo0fcZW0xQBOjZVcmaDJOcbcNhzUy5i1qK9t8GSQK2k_duX39g

They turned holy ground into a battleground': clergy teargassed by Washington police

From The Guardian-

Episcopal clergy linked to St John’s church in Washington DC were among the peaceful protesters violently swept out of the way by police so that Donald Trump could pose in front of the building on Monday evening, and they have condemned the US president’s behavior.

The Christian leaders were teargassed along with protesters and journalists, some of whom were also shot with rubber bullets and punched by officers as they cleared a path to the church from the nearby White House.

“They turned holy ground into a battleground,” the Rev Gini Gerbasi said.

Gerbasi is the rector of nearby Saint John’s Episcopal church in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, a sister church of St John’s Lafayette that is better known as the Church of the Presidents because every one since James Madison has attended services there.

As Trump spoke at the White House, where he threatened to unleash the US military on protesters if state governors don’t crush unrest triggered by the killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis, riot police attacked the crowd outside the church.

More here-

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jun/02/clergy-priests-attacked-police-washington-dc-st-john-church-trump-photo-op

Priests reveal they were teargassed by cops clearing a path to St. John's Church for Donald Trump to have his photo taken as cops who fired the gas are pulled out for being misused and Bishop slams the president

From The Daily Mail-

Priests have revealed they were part of a peaceful crowd teargassed by cops who were clearing a path for President Donald Trump so he could take photos in front of St. John's Church in Washington DC. 

On Monday Trump left the White House and walked across the street to the historic church, which was partially burned in protests the night prior, to pose for photos with a Bible in hand. 

Trump was allegedly angry about news coverage that he fled into a White House bunker on Friday during George Floyd protests, and told his aides he wanted to be seen outside the White House gates, prompting his walk to St. Johns, according to CNN White House Correspondent Kaitlin Collins. 

But his photo shoot triggered outrage from church leaders and rival politicians, and led Arlington County police to pull their officers out of the capital after they were used to charge at protesters. 

More here-

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8378517/President-slammed-clearing-St-Johns-Church-area-tear-gas-photo-opportunity.html?ito=facebook_share_article-home&fbclid=IwAR2rAIU6xyCYWUuRhjna07Ab3MxyIwWxGPMEtDork4DxpGPQBF7FSUUyBLk

and here-

https://www.thedailybeast.com/episcopal-bishop-outraged-trump-tear-gassed-protesters-to-use-our-church-as-a-prop

and here

https://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Episcopal-bishop-on-Trump-Everything-he-has-15309650.php

and here-

https://theweek.com/speedreads/917624/episcopal-bishop-outraged-trump-used-dioceses-church-prop

Historic St. John's Church near White House set on fire in DC riots

From Washington D.C.-

The parish office at the historic St. John's Episcopal Church in Lafayette Square near the White House in Washington, D.C., was torched as riots escalated Sunday night.

Fox News White House correspondent Kevin Corke was at the scene to report that the church had been vandalized with graffiti and set on fire.

"It does appear that St. John's Church is on fire, the parish office," Corke said. "We went downstairs, and it is on fire."

"This is awful. We saw graffiti, once the door was broken, we saw something similar happen earlier, and as you can see there's definitely a fire here," he said a half-hour before the city's 11 p.m. curfew.

More here-

https://www.christianpost.com/news/historic-st-johns-episcopal-church-set-on-fire.html

and here-

https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/ny-white-house-george-floyd-protests-trump-bunker-church-fire-20200601-p7rk4yn3prcnbgv35fyv3iwosu-story.html 

and here-

https://theweek.com/speedreads/917414/firefighters-extinguish-blaze-historic-st-johns-church-dc

Pandemic will alter Communion rituals for many US Christians

From AP-

The Episcopal bishop of Washington, D.C., Mariann Budde, said she and about 60 of her fellow bishops will meet Wednesday to discuss possible adjustments to Communion and other worship.

“I do think new practices emerge from crises like this,” she said. “They come from communities experimenting, pushing the boundaries. You don’t know how that process will turn out.”

The biggest denomination in the U.S., the Catholic church accounts for the bulk of Holy Communion services nationwide.

Under its governance system, decisions on logistical details of Communion are largely left to individual bishops.

Over the past three weeks, at least two sets of guidelines have been issued to Catholic clergy by high-level bodies. There’s one main difference: the guidelines from the Washington-based Thomistic Institute says communion wafers could continue to be placed on a parishioner’s tongue or be placed in the hand. Guidelines from the Federation of Diocesan Liturgical Commissions says there should be a temporary ban on receiving the wafer on the tongue.

More here-

https://www.actionnewsjax.com/news/health/pandemic-will-alter/5DZDU6UP2LY57Y4UEPOT7ALY4U/

DC-area episcopal bishops set plans for resuming public worship

From Washington D.C.-

Episcopal churches in the D.C. area, including the Washington National Cathedral, are making plans for an eventual return to public worship, based on guidance from civic leaders and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Episcopal bishops of Maryland, Virginia and D.C. said there will be a phased regathering, requiring 6 feet of physical distancing between congregants, and all congregants will have to wear masks.

There’ll also be restrictions surrounding the celebration of communion. And the bishops said the regathering plans could be suspended if there’s a rise in coronavirus cases.

More here-

https://wtop.com/coronavirus/2020/05/church-leaders-plan-a-phased-regathering/

Washington National Cathedral Will Light up in Blue All Week to Thank Health Care Workers Amid Pandemic

From Popculture-

It has been announced that the Washington National Cathedral will light up in blue all week. This is being done as a way to thank health care workers for all their hard work amid the coronavirus pandemic. The church announced the plan on Tuesday, taking to Twitter to share the news.

"[Washington National Cathedral] will be lit blue each night thru (sic) Saturday to honor the doctors, nurses and medical heroes on the front lines of the #coronavirus fight," read the tweet. "Special thanks to our partners at Atmosphere Lighting! The church then added a hashtag for #bluecathedral. Additionally, CBS Sunday Morning news also reported on the kind gesture. The move comes after the church issued a prayer of support for healthcare workers on March 30. "Hear our prayers for those in emergency medicine. By your healing power, grant them quick minds and skillful hands. 

Strengthen them in times of trauma. In quiet times, give them rest and assurance of the value of their work," the WNC said.

More here-

https://popculture.com/trending/2020/04/15/washington-national-cathedral-light-up-blue-all-week-thank-health-care-workers-amid-pandemic/

Coronavirus shutdowns place financial strain on churches

From D.C.-

Churches are bracing for a financial hit, as coronavirus shutdowns disrupt their operations. 

As nonprofit organizations, many churches rely on the donations of their members (often collected during services) to finance their existence. In the Catholic Church, this is generally a time of the year when dioceses ask their members to donate to annual bishops’ Lenten appeals, which fund diocesan operations. In recent years, many appeals have already seen downturns in giving because of sexual abuse scandals within the church. This year, however, for many dioceses, the onset of coronavirus-related shutdowns is upending usual giving patterns.

Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Arlington on Thursday announced that it is facing “enormous challenges as material and financial resources decline sharply while our regular donors grapple with the effects of this public health crisis” and issued an “urgent” plea for donations. A spokesperson for the diocese told the Washington Examiner that it is focusing on finding ways to provide “spiritual and pastoral support” to needy people during the crisis.

More here-

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/coronavirus-shutdowns-place-financial-strain-on-churches

DC's first confirmed coronavirus victim, an Episcopal priest, 'feeling pretty good,' says church

From Christian Post-

An Episcopal priest who was the first confirmed case of coronavirus in Washington, D.C., is doing well while recovering in the hospital, according to his church.

The Rev. Tim Cole, rector at Christ Church Georgetown, garnered headlines earlier this month by becoming the first confirmed case of coronavirus in the District of Columbia.

In a message sent out to the congregation on Sunday, the staff at Christ Church reported that Cole was still hospitalized but he said that he was “fever free and feeling pretty good.”

The church also noted that other members of their congregation “with confirmed cases of COVID-19 are resting at home and continuing to improve.”

“Continue to reach out to your neighbors, particularly those whom you might not have contacted previously. Let’s care for one another and continue to hold our community in prayer,” stated the church.

More here-

 https://www.christianpost.com/news/dcs-first-confirmed-coronavirus-victim-an-episcopal-priest-feeling-pretty-good-says-church.html

Washington, Virginia dioceses cancel worship at all churches, including National Cathedral, over outbreak

From Washington D.C.-

The dioceses of Washington and Virginia announced March 11 that they are closing or canceling services at more than 250 churches in the nation’s capital and suburban Virginia and Maryland, including Washington National Cathedral, for at least two weeks, as a sweeping precaution to help stem the spread of the coronavirus, or COVID-19, which earlier in the day was declared a global pandemic.

Washington Bishop Mariann Budde explained her decision in a letter to the diocese, first reported by The Washington Post. The “health, safety and well-being of our people” is her first concern, she said, and congregations will be encouraged to explore online worship alternatives.

“Two things are now clear: Social distance is needed to stop the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, and the populations most at risk are highly represented among our congregations and clergy,” Budde’s letter says. All 88 congregations in her diocese will close effective March 12, and she hopes they will resume worship services by March 29.

More here-

https://www.episcopalnewsservice.org/2020/03/11/washington-virginia-dioceses-to-close-all-churches-including-national-cathedral-over-coronavirus/ 

and here-

https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/national-cathedral-hundreds-of-dc-area-episcopal-churches-close-due-to-coronavirus/2237928/

Episcopal diocese suspends Communion wine, drains baptismal fonts due to coronavirus

From RNS (Washington)-

After an Episcopal rector at a Washington church tested positive for coronavirus, the Episcopal Diocese of Washington is instituting a sweeping set of policies designed to help stop the spread of the disease — including suspending the use of wine during Communion.

This week officials announced the Rev. Tim Cole, a rector at Christ Church in Washington’s Georgetown neighborhood, had tested positive for the coronavirus that causes the illness known as COVID-19. The cleric was the first confirmed case in the region, and the church’s organist, Tom Smith, has since tested positive for the virus.

The reaction was swift: Cole was quickly hospitalized, Smith is in quarantine, and health officials asked parishioners who attended services recently to self-quarantine due to their potential exposure to the virus.

But church officials expanded safety measures beyond Christ Church on Monday (March 9), when the Rev. Mariann Budde, the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, distributed a letter outlining new diocesanwide policies meant to curb the spread of the disease.

https://religionnews.com/2020/03/10/episcopal-diocese-suspends-communion-wine-drains-baptismal-fonts-due-to-coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR2quhqSFkvIiF8w-6h3yRwtR2cSR3YVTFYxbXRatr7Q5XYRfE0JbD1croc

Hundreds of DC churchgoers urged to self-quarantine after Episcopal priest who served communion tests positive for coronavirus

From Washington D.C. -

The new coronavirus — formally known as COVID-19 — officially came the nation's capital over the weekend with news that an Episcopal priest had tested positive for the disease, and now hundreds people who attended services at his church are being urged to self-quarantine.

"DC Health was notified of a confirmed case of COVID-19 at Christ Church, Georgetown Episcopal," a Monday statement from D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser's office said. "Through DC Health's investigation, in consultation with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), all visitors to Christ Church, Georgetown Episcopal on February 24th, and between February 28th and March 3rd could have been exposed to the virus that causes COVID-19, and DC Health is recommending that anyone who visited Christ Church, Georgetown Episcopal on those dates isolate themselves at home for 14 days from the last time they visited the church."

More here-

https://www.theblaze.com/news/hundreds-of-dc-churchgoers-urged-to-self-quarantine-after-episcopal-priest-who-served-communion-tests-positive-for-coronavirus 

and here-

https://www.wthr.com/article/hundreds-dc-asked-quarantine-after-exposure-church

DC Episcopal Church Reports Its Rector Rev. Timothy Cole Tests Positive For Coronavirus

From D.C.-

A prominent Episcopal church in Washington suspended all activities Sunday after announcing that one of its senior leaders was the first person in the nation’s capital to test positive for the coronavirus.

The Rev. Timothy Cole, the church rector, was in stable condition after being hospitalized Saturday night, according to a statement from the Rev. Crystal Hardin, the assistant rector.

“Out of an abundance of caution, Christ Church has canceled all activities including church services until further notice. We recommend that concerned community members contact their health care providers,” the statement said.

More here-

https://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2020/03/08/dc-episcopal-church-reports-its-rector-rev-timothy-cole-tests-positive-for-coronavirus/ 

and here-

https://www.wbtv.com/2020/03/08/rector-prominent-washington-dc-church-tests-positive-coronavirus/

and here-

https://www.fox5dc.com/news/georgetown-pastor-has-coronavirus-church-says

and here-

https://wfpl.org/d-c-pastor-attended-louisville-conference-before-testing-positive-for-coronavirus/