American Minute with Bill Federer
First Prayer in Congress, September 1774, "The Establishment Clause must be interpreted by reference to historical practices & understandings"-Supreme Court,
Galloway
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"It was enough to melt a heart of stone," remarked
John Adams
after the
First Prayer in Congress.
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The First Session of the First Continental Congress opened in September of 1774 with a prayer in
Carpenter's Hall, Philadelphia.
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America was being threatened by the most powerful monarch in the world, Britain's King George III.
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On September 7, 1774, as the Congress began, the founding fathers listened to
Rev. Jacob Duche'
read Psalm 35, which was the "Psalter" for the day according to the Anglican Book of Common Prayer:
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"Plead my cause, Oh, Lord, with them that strive with me, fight against them that fight against me. Take hold of buckler and shield, and rise up for my help.
Draw also the spear and the battle-axe to meet those who pursue me; Say to my soul, 'I am your salvation.'
Let those be ashamed and dishonored who seek my life; Let those be turned back and humiliated who devise evil against me."
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Then
Rev. Jacob Duche'
prayed:
"Be Thou present, O God of Wisdom, and direct the counsel of this Honorable Assembly; enable them to settle all things on the best and surest foundations; that the scene of blood may be speedily closed;
that Order, Harmony and Peace may be effectually restored, and that Truth and Justice, Religion and Piety, prevail and flourish among the people ...
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Preserve the health of their bodies, and the vigor of their minds, shower down on them, and the millions they here represent, such temporal Blessings as Thou seest expedient for them in this world, and crown them with everlasting Glory in the world to come.
All this we ask in the name and through the merits of
Jesus Christ, Thy Son and our Saviour,
Amen."
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That same day, September 7, 1774,
John Adams
wrote to his wife, Abigail, describing the prayer:
"When the Congress met, Mr. Cushing made a motion that it should be opened with
Prayer.
It was opposed by Mr. Jay of New York, and Mr. Rutledge of South Carolina because
we were so divided in religious sentiments,
some
Episcopalians,
some
Quakers,
some
Anabaptists,
some
Presbyterians,
and some
Congregationalists,
that we could not join in the same act of worship ..."
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John Adams
continued:
"Mr. Samuel Adams
arose and said that he was no bigot, and
could hear a Prayer from any gentleman of Piety and virtue,
who was at the same time
a friend to his Country.
He was a stranger in Philadelphia, but had heard that
Mr. Duche'
deserved that character and therefore he moved that
Mr. Duche',
an
Episcopal clergyman
might be desired to read Prayers to Congress tomorrow morning.
The motion was seconded, and passed in the affirmative. Mr. Randolph, our president, vailed on
Mr. Duche',
and received for answer, that if his health would permit, he certainly would ..."
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Adams
continued:
"Accordingly, next morning
Reverend Mr. Duche'
appeared with his clerk and in his pontificals, and
read several prayers
in the established form, and read the collect for the seventh day of September, which was the
thirty-fifth Psalm.
You must remember, this was the next morning after we heard the horrible rumor of the cannonade of Boston.
I never saw a greater effect upon an audience.
It seemed as if heaven had ordained that
Psalm
to be read on that morning ...
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After this,
Mr. Duche',
unexpectedly to every body, struck out into an
extemporary prayer,
which
filled the bosom of every man present.
I must confess,
I never heard a better prayer,
or one so well pronounced.
Episcopalian
as he is, Dr. Cooper himself never prayed with such fervor, such ardor, such earnestness and pathos, and in language so elegant and sublime, for
America,
for the
Congress,
for the
province of Massachusetts Bay,
and especially the
town of Boston.
It has had an excellent effect upon everybody here.
I must beg you to read that Psalm."
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The Library of Congress printed a historical placard of
Carpenter's Hall, Philadelphia,
which stated:
"Washington
was kneeling there with
Henry, Randolph, Rutledge, Lee,
and
Jay,
and by their side there stood, bowed in reverence the
Puritan Patriots of New England
...
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'It was enough' says Mr. Adams, 'to melt a heart of stone. I saw the tears gush into the eyes of the old, grave, pacific
Quakers
of Philadelphia.'"
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The
Journals of Congress
then recorded their appreciation to
Rev. Mr. Duche':
"Wednesday, SEPTEMBER 7, 1774, 9 o'clock a.m. Agreeable to the resolve of yesterday, the meeting was opened with
prayers
by the
Rev. Mr. Duche'.
Voted, That the thanks of Congress be given to
Mr. Duche'
... for performing
divine Service,
and for the
excellent prayer,
which he composed and delivered on the occasion."
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In the Supreme Court case of
Town of Greece, NY, v. Galloway
et al,
Justice Kennedy
wrote in the decision, May 5, 2014:
"Government may not mandate a civic religion
that stifles any but the most generic reference to the sacred any more than it may prescribe a religious orthodoxy ...
The first prayer
delivered to the Continental Congress by the
Rev. Jacob Duché
on Sept. 7, 1774, provides an example: '...All this we ask in the name and through the merits of
Jesus Christ, Thy Son and our Saviour,
Amen' ... (W. Federer,
America’s God and Country
137, 2000).
From the earliest days of the Nation,
these invocations have been addressed to assemblies ...
Our tradition assumes that adult citizens ... can tolerate and perhaps appreciate
a ceremonial prayer
delivered by a person of a different faith."
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Town of Greece v. Galloway
was cited by the
8th Circuit Court of Appeals
in upholding "In God We Trust" on national currency, August 28, 2018
:
"In
Galloway,
the Supreme Court offered an unequivocal directive: 'The
Establishment Clause must be interpreted
by reference to
historical practices
and
understandings'
...
Historical practices
often reveal what the
Establishment Clause
was
originally understood
to permit ...
Historical practices
confirm that the
Establishment Clause does not require
courts to
purge
the Government of
all religious reflection
or to 'evince a
hostility to religion
by disabling the government from in some ways
recognizing our religious heritage'
..."
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The
8th Circuit Court of Appeals
rejected the atheist plaintiffs' effort to get "In God We Trust" removed from U.S. currency:
"We recognize that convenience may lead some Plaintiffs to carry cash, but nothing compels them to assert their trust in
God
...
The core of the Plaintiffs’ argument is that they are continually confronted with 'what they
feel
is an
offensive
religious message.'
But
Galloway
makes clear that
'offense
... does not equate to
coercion.'"
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Ten months after the
First Prayer
in Congress,
Rev. Jacob Duche'
exhorted Philadelphia's soldiers, July 7, 1775:
"Considering myself under the twofold character of a
minister of Jesus Christ,
and a
fellow-citizen
... involved in the same public calamity with yourselves ...
addressing myself to you as freemen ...
'Stand fast, therefore, in the liberty, wherewith Christ hath made us free'
(Galatians, ch. 5)."
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Schedule Bill Federer for informative interviews & captivating PowerPoint presentations: 314-502-8924
wjfederer@gmail.com
American Minute is a registered trademark of William J. Federer. Permission is granted to forward, reprint, or duplicate, with acknowledgment.
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