WHEREAS, for 350 years, Bruton Parish Episcopal Church in Williamsburg has preserved the history of the nation while providing opportunities for joyful worship and offering generous outreach to the community; and

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

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

WHEREAS, 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

WHEREAS, with the establishment of The College of William & Mary in Virginia and the relocation of the colonial capital from Jamestown to the Middle Plantation, which was renamed as Williamsburg shortly after, Bruton Parish Episcopal Church experienced significant growth in the 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 of its kind in Virginia, and it was completed in 1715 under the oversight of James Blair, who was serving as both rector of the church and president of The College of William & 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 organ that was played by the professionally trained musician Peter Pelham for 46 years; and

WHEREAS, 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 Henry attended Bruton Parish Episcopal Church while serving as members of the House of Burgesses, and the church was the site of heated debate in the lead up to the American Revolution; and

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 & Mary in Virginia from 1812 to 1814, guided the community through the Revolutionary War; he is most likely responsible for crossing out the prayer for the king in the church's Book of Common Prayer and replacing it with a prayer for the president of the United States; and

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 wounded soldiers after the Battle of Williamsburg; the parish continued to struggle until the 1880s, 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 original character and played a role in the commemoration of the 300th anniversary of the Jamestown Settlement in 1907; and

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 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 House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend Bruton Parish Episcopal Church on the occasion of its 350th anniversary; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Bruton Parish Episcopal Church as an expression of the General Assembly's admiration for the church's storied history and legacy of service to the Commonwealth.