[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 102 (Friday, July 28, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1580-E1581]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   TRIBUTE TO TRINITY EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF LAWRENCE, KANSAS, UPON THE 
                  CELEBRATION OF ITS 150TH ANNIVERSARY

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. DENNIS MOORE

                               of kansas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 28, 2006

  Mr. MOORE of Kansas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the 
Trinity Eptscopal Church of Lawrence, Kansas, which on August 20th will 
celebrate its 150th year of serving Kansans attending the University of 
Kansas as well as residents of Lawrence.
  Lawrence has a long and vibrant history of religious diversity, 
dating back to its founding prior to the Civil War by immigrants who 
sought to establish Kansas as a state where slavery was prohibited. I 
am pleased to have this opportunity to place into the Congressional 
Record an article originally published in the Lawrence Journal-World 
which details the history of several of Lawrence's original 
congregations, including Trinity Episcopal Church.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have this opportunity to share this 
history with the House and I commend the members of Trinity Episcopal 
Church as they prepare to celebrate 150 years of service to the people 
of Lawrence and the University of Kansas.

           [From the Lawrence Journal-World, Sept. 19, 2004]

               City Churches Trace Roots to Pioneer Days

                             (By Jim Baker)

       Lawrence was born from the reaction between pro-slavery 
     forces and abolitionists fighting for control over the future 
     of the Kansas Territory--and the city's early churches were 
     the catalyst.
       The struggles of the abolitionists, in Lawrence's opening 
     decades, set the course for many congregations that went on 
     to flourish in the ensuing 150 years.
       In 1854, the New England Emigrant Aid Company sent a hardy 
     band of 29 men to found a city in the Kansas Territory, 
     hoping to settle the land with as many abolitionists as 
     possible. The hope was that when the territory eventually 
     achieved statehood, Kansas would be a free state.
       Among the men recruited by Amos Lawrence, a wealthy 
     merchant based in Boston, were Unitarians, Methodists and 
     Congregationalists. The most prominent Unitarian among them 
     was Charles Robinson, who would become the first governor of 
     Kansas.
       It took the group about two weeks to reach a site here, and 
     then its members set up housing in order to establish a 
     beachhead for abolitionists.
       The Unitarian Church--known as the Unitarian Society in 
     Lawrence--was founded in 1856, the year that a stone church 
     was built at what is now Ninth and Ohio streets. The church 
     also was used by the Congregationalists and Methodists. The 
     first minister was the Rev. Ephraim Nute.
       ``Certainly in the early years, Unitarians were 
     instrumental in building the schools, fostering abolitionism, 
     providing aid for the Underground Railroad and settlers 
     of the abolitionist persuasion. The Unitarian Church was 
     used as a hospital in the aftermath of Quantrill's Raid 
     (Aug. 21, 1863),'' said Carol Huettner, administrator of 
     the Unitarian Fellowship of Lawrence, 1263 N. 1100 Road.
       ``I think that the idea of tolerance, inclusion and basic 
     fairness is part and parcel of the mindset of Lawrence, and I 
     believe that comes in a straight, unbroken line from the 
     first Unitarian settlers here. Lawrence would not have been 
     founded were it not for Unitarians.''


                          Impressive heritage

       The history of three of Lawrence's oldest churches also is 
     rooted in the epic clash between those who wanted Kansas to 
     be a slave state and those who were ``free-staters.''
       The founders of Plymouth Congregational Church, 925 Vt., 
     came to Kansas to swell the ranks of settlers opposed to 
     slavery. They

[[Page E1581]]

     were among the group sent out by the New England Emigrant Aid 
     Company.
       ``They were abolitionists, and they came to Lawrence in 
     1854. Lawrence was a frontier town, and the only place where 
     they could meet was a building made out of hay, with a 
     thatched roof. That's where the church started,'' said the 
     Rev. Peter Luckey, Plymouth's senior pastor.
       Plymouth was founded Oct. 15, 1854. The church, like the 
     city itself, is celebrating its sesquicentennial this year.
       Plymouth's historic sanctuary, designed by noted Kansas 
     architect John G. Haskell, was built in 1870--only 7 years 
     after Quantrill's Raid on the city.
       ``The pastor at the time was Richard Cordley (the church's 
     second pastor, who came in 1857), and he was a very strong, 
     abolitionist preacher. It can be argued that part of what 
     brought William Quantrill to Lawrence is they were intent on 
     getting him. They actually came to his house,'' Luckey said.
       Plymouth, which today has 1,200 members, has been at the 
     same location since 1870.
       First Baptist Church, 1330 Kasold Drive, is a year younger 
     than Plymouth--it was founded in June 1855 and will celebrate 
     its 150th anniversary next year--and traces its roots back to 
     the conflict between pro-slavery and abolitionist forces.
       ``We had seven founding members in 1855. One of them was 
     actually murdered in Quantrill's Raid, though the (original) 
     church at Eighth and Kentucky wasn't harmed,'' says the Rev. 
     Marcus McFaul, First Baptist's senior pastor, and the 30th 
     full-time pastor in the church's history.
       ``Lawrence, Kansas, and the Christian experience in this 
     town in many ways does reflect what I would call classic, 
     liberal Christianity. Our founders really did embrace the 
     dignity and worth of all people. That's a pretty significant 
     thing in 1855 on the frontier, when everybody thought Kansas 
     was going to be like Missouri, a slave state.''
       First Baptist's original sponsoring denominational group 
     came from Boston, home to many abolitionists, and this 
     influenced the course the congregation was to take.
       McFaul said he was conscious of his church's history and 
     legacy.
       ``It's almost overwhelming, because you're made very much 
     aware that you stand on the shoulders of all those pastors 
     who went before you.''
       Another Lawrence congregation that was directly affected by 
     the battle over slavery is Trinity Episcopal Church, 1011 
     Vt., founded in 1857.
       ``All of our parish records were burned in Quantrill's 
     Raid. Everything was burned. We lost all the documents, 
     baptism certificates, all of that was burned. They had to 
     start again,'' said the Rev. Jonathon Jensen, who is the 19th 
     rector in the church's history.
       Trinity Episcopal has been in downtown Lawrence nearly as 
     long as the city itself has existed. The church was formed, 
     and the present lot of Vermont Street was purchased, in 1857.
       The church's first building was consecrated and opened for 
     service July 29, 1859. The present building in the Gothic 
     Revival style was begun in 1870 and completed in 1873.
       Jensen is proud of Trinity Episcopal's long history, and he 
     often reflects on the church's founders and past rectors.
       ``I feel a connection with all those who've gone before us, 
     and it reminds me of all of those who will come after us. It 
     feels much larger than myself,'' he said.


                              rich history

       Plymouth is not the only Lawrence church celebrating a 
     sesquicentennial anniversary this year. So is First United 
     Methodist Church, 946 Vt.
       ``We consider our history as beginning with the arrival of 
     the Rev. William Goode and the Rev. James Griffing to 
     Lawrence on Nov. 7, 1854. They held revival services here in 
     November and December of 1854. The church charter was 
     actually in 1855, but we have always celebrated our history 
     as starting in 1854,'' said Jerry Niebaum, co-chairman of 
     First United Methodist's sesquicentennial committee.
       Goode was appointed to the Kansas-Nebraska district of the 
     Methodist Church. Griffing was a circuit rider, traveling 
     between communities from Lawrence to near Junction City. He 
     was a preacher on horseback, who rode the countryside and 
     preached the Gospel throughout the territory.
       ``Our first framed church was built in 1858 where the 
     Southwestern Bell tower is downtown. If you look at the 
     Harper's Bazaar (magazine) drawing of Quantrill's Raid, you 
     see the Methodist church right in the center of the 
     destruction. It was not damaged at all, and it was used as a 
     morgue for the victims of the raid. They moved out the pews 
     to make room for the bodies,'' Niebaum said.
       A brick church was built in 1865 where the Masonic Temple 
     now stands, 1001 Mass., and it was used until 1891, when the 
     congregation moved into its present stone structure at 946 
     Vt.
       First United Methodist has now been in the same downtown 
     church for 113 years.
       ``History doesn't excite a lot of people, but yes, there 
     are many here who understand the rich history that we have,'' 
     Niebaum said.


                           sense of belonging

       For black settlers who migrated to Lawrence in the city's 
     early years, the churches they formed offered much more than 
     simply a place to worship.
       They offered a safe haven for the expression of culture, 
     opportunities for leadership and education, as well as a 
     place for social, political and, later, civil rights 
     activities.
       ``African-American churches are important in every 
     community, especially if you go back in history. There was a 
     time when blacks didn't have much of a social role outside 
     the church. They needed some place of stability, some 
     place that they felt was their own,'' said the Rev. 
     William Dulin, pastor of Calvary Church of God in Christ, 
     646 Ala.
       ``If it hadn't been for the black churches that offered a 
     feeling that they belonged, blacks who came to this area 
     probably wouldn't have stayed here. Churches gave them a 
     sense of spiritual guidance, as well as some roots. The city 
     might have been different today if we hadn't had some of 
     those churches.''
       The earliest black churches in Lawrence that have 
     maintained continuous congregations--despite name changes and 
     physical relocations--date back almost to the founding of the 
     city itself.
       St. Luke AME Church, 900 N.Y., and Ninth Street Baptist 
     Church, 847 Ohio, were both founded in 1862.
       Other black congregations founded in the city's early years 
     are: St. James AME Church, North Seventh and Maple streets, 
     established in 1865; First Regular Missionary Baptist Church 
     (originally located at 416 Lincoln), founded in 1868; and 
     Second Christian Church, 1245 Conn., (it has also changed 
     locations), organized in 1897.
       The Rev. Reginald Bachus, as pastor of First Regular 
     Missionary Baptist Church, 1646 Vt., is the leader of a 
     congregation with a venerable history. The church will 
     celebrate its 136th anniversary in October.
       He reflected on the meaning of churches to Lawrence's black 
     residents, particularly during a time when they were largely 
     shunned by the city's whites.
       ``In the life of the African-American community, especially 
     150 years ago, the church was really the only place that they 
     could feel comfortable, express themselves and have a sense 
     of belonging in society. Many times, people could exercise 
     their talents and leadership abilities, which they couldn't 
     do in a secular setting,'' Bachus said.
       Alice Fowler, historian of First Regular Missionary Baptist 
     Church as well as a member of the congregation for the past 
     50 years, agreed with her pastor's assessment.
       ``The (black) church was the social and political outlet, 
     the congregating place of African-Americans. It was a church, 
     a school and a way to inform people of events that were going 
     on in the community,'' she said.
       ``There was very large participation in events for the 
     church, such as vacation Bible school and church picnics. 
     There weren't a lot of activities that African-Americans 
     could take part in (in the wider community). So churches 
     provided their own resources for African-Americans during the 
     (city's) early years.''

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