[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 105 (Thursday, July 14, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1320]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


 BICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION OF ST. JAMES' EPISCOPAL CHURCH IN HYDE PARK, 
                                NEW YORK

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. CHRISTOPHER P. GIBSON

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 14, 2011

  Mr. GIBSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of the people of New 
York's 20th District to recognize the Bicentennial Celebration of the 
historic St. James' Episcopal Church in Hyde Park, NY. I would like to 
express my sincere appreciation for the community service and 
historical value that this 200 year old parish has provided our 
district, state, and nation.
  St. James' Episcopal Church was founded in 1811 with the help of 
several prominent figures and families in this historical region, 
including Dr. John Bard--President George Washington's personal 
physician during the Revolutionary War--and the Livingston family. A 
statue of Robert Livingston is one of the New York statues in the U.S. 
Capitol Building.
  While the parish continued to be home to many prominent local and 
state figures for the next 100 years, the next parishioner to become a 
national figure was President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. After his 
baptism as a child in the chapel at St. James', President Roosevelt 
began his 39 year service to the parish as a vestryman in 1906, which 
ended upon his death in 1945. In fact, his pew--the third from the 
front--continues to be honored. The funeral of his First Lady, Eleanor 
Roosevelt, was also held at the church in 1962, with King George VI, 
Queen Elizabeth, Presidents Harry S. Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, and 
John F. Kennedy all in attendance.
  Unfortunately, St. James' was devastated by a fire in June 1984 that 
enveloped most of the church buildings, with the original black walnut 
pulpit being one of the few items to not be destroyed. The 
parishioners, appreciating the historic and cultural value of the 
parish and the buildings themselves, joined together and fully funded 
its reconstruction, making it as close to the original specifications 
as possible.
  St. James' Episcopal Church continues to be a major spiritual and 
cultural bulwark to the community of Hyde Park and Dutchess County, 
contributing to the projects and groups such as the County Rural and 
Migrant Ministry, the Dutchess County Coalition for the Homeless, an 
After School Reading Program ministry, and the Boy and Girls Scouts of 
America.
  I am proud to serve such a historical and dedicated parish as that of 
St. James' Episcopal Church. Their year-long Bicentennial Celebration 
is truly an example of the American spirit and embodies the concept of 
a Shining City upon a Hill.

                          ____________________