Today the Episcopal Church
remembers William White, the first presiding bishop of the Episcopal
Church.
William White was born in
Philadelphia. He began his education at
Philadelphia College (later known as the University of Pennsylvania), taking
his B.A. in 1765 and his M.A. some 3 years later. In 1770 he sailed for England for his
ordination as a priest, which took place in the Chapel Royal at St. James’
Palace. He subsequently returned to England on two occasions: once in 1772 and
again in 1787, when he was consecrated bishop by the Archbishop of Canterbury,
the Archbishop of York, the Bishop of Bath and Wells, and the Bishop of
Peterborough.
White served as rector of St.
Peter’s and of Christ Church for 57 years.
He also served as Chaplain of the Continental Congress from 1777 to
1789, and subsequently as Chaplain of the Senate. White was the only Episcopal
cleric in Pennsylvania who sided with the American revolutionary cause, while
the other ordained priests remained loyal to the British.
Bishop White took an active
role in creating several charitable and educational institutions. In 1785 he founded The Episcopal Academy, to
educate the sons of Philadelphia’s Episcopal residents to become to leaders in
society. He also was one of a group of prominent Philadelphia philanthropists
who, in 1820, convinced the Pennsylvania legislature to fund the Pennsylvania
Institution for the Deaf and Dumb, founded by David G. Seixas, now known as the
Pennsylvania School for the Deaf. He served the school as president for the
next 16 years. He also participated in prison ministry in Philadelphia,
becoming the first president of the Philadelphia Society for the Alleviation of
Miseries of Public Prisons, which attracted the participation of numerous
Quakers. In 1795, Bishop White raised funds to create a school (built on Race
Street between 4th and 5th) for black and Native American children. He also
helped to create a Magdalene Society in Philadelphia in 1800 for “unhappy
females who have been seduced from the paths of virtue and are desirous of
returning to a life of rectitude.”
He was a member of the American
Philosophical Society, along with many other prominent Philadelphians,
including Benjamin Franklin. White was not remarked for his oratorical skills.
Instead, he gained the esteem of the Philadelphia community through his ongoing
charitable works, especially during the outbreaks of yellow fever in that city
throughout the 1790s, because he remained to tend the ill when many other
wealthy inhabitants fled to the countryside. He was a trustee of the University
of Pennsylvania from 1774 until his death. During his tenure as trustee, he
also served as Treasurer (1775–1778) and President (1790–1791) of the Board of
Trustees.
He was the author of “The Case
of The Episcopal Churches in the United States Considered”. In this pamphlet he
laid out the foundational thinking for the polity of the emerging Episcopal
Church. Among the innovations he proposed (and which came to be adopted) was
the inclusion of lay people in the decision making bodies of the church. This
has been true since the founding General Convention of the Episcopal in 1785
where the House of Deputies was composed of both lay and clergy members.
Bishop White also ordained
Absalom Jones a deacon in the Episcopal Church in 1795 and as priest in
1804. Jones became the first ordained
priest of African descent in the United States.
White was elected president of
the first General Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church which met in
Philadelphia in 1785, and there helped author the constitution of the emerging
American church. The convention of the Diocese of Pennsylvania elected White
its Bishop the following year; consecration followed at Lambeth in England in
1787. He was presiding bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church from 1795 to
1836.
Let us pray: O Lord, who in a time of turmoil and
confusion raised up your servant William White, and endowed him with wisdom,
patience, and a reconciling temper, that he might lead your Church into ways of
stability and peace: Hear our prayer, and give us wise and faithful leaders,
that through their ministry your people may be blessed and your will be done;
through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy
Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
CALENDAR REMINDERS
This Thursday at
11:00 a.m. we welcome Seniors Citizens from all around the Island to Sutton
Hall. We will be serving a picnic lunch to our monthly guests.
Saturday at
10:00a.m.: Summer Art Camp continues at St. Augustine’s.
Please remember everyone on our Prayer List,
especially Joanie, Dina, Dwayne, Wanda, and all of those who are traveling.
Your servant in Christ,
Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal
Church
Galveston, Texas 77550
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