The Rev. Robert Hunt, Chaplain at the Jamestown Colony

Today, the Church remembers Robert Hunt who was the chaplain at the colony at Jamestown.  Robert Hunt (1568 - 1608), a vicar in the Church of England, was chaplain of the expedition that founded the first successful English colony in the New World, at Jamestown, Virginia in 1607.

He served two parishes in England, and then was "recruited" by Richard Bancroft, Archbishop of Canterbury, as chaplain for the newest expedition to the New World by the London Virginia Company.

On April 26, 1607, after an unusually long voyage of 144 days, the 3 ships and 105 men and boys made landfall at the southern edge of the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. They named the location Cape Henry, in honor of the young Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales, oldest son of the king.

Within a few weeks, the settlers chose a permanent inland site for their colony on the James River, naming it Jamestown in honor of King James I. The location was selected as being a strategic defensive position against possible attacks by ships of competing European factions. However, this came at a terrible price, as Jamestown Island combined swampy and mosquito-infested land, offering poor hunting and little room for farming with brackish tidal river water and no fresh water springs. While conflicts with the other Europeans never became a problem, getting along with the Native Americans, and even more importantly, with each other almost immediately became major issues for the ill-prepared colonists. Despite the incredibly onerous circumstances of the Jamestown mission's beginnings, the Rev. Hunt often mediated disputes between the camp's various factions, smoothing "ruffled feathers" and making peace. He was described by Edward Wingfield, the first president of the Jamestown Governing Council, as “a man not in any way to be touched with the rebellious humors of a popish spirit, nor blemished with the least suspicion of a factious schismatic, whereof I had a special care”.

Today, the National Park Service has a monument at the historic site; it replicates the outdoor chapel conditions under which the Rev. Hunt spiritually led the men and boys, most of whom were to die, as did Hunt himself, during the first year.

Let us pray:  Almighty God, we bless your Name for the life and witness of Robert Hunt, first chaplain to the Jamestown colony, whose community knew him as an honest, religious and courageous divine who, in his short life, endured great hardships without complaint. Help us, like him, to work for reconciliation and healing wherever we may be placed; through Jesus Christ your Son, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Tonight at 6:30 p.m. we will have the Sharing Our Faith dinner at the Taylors.

Please remember everyone on our Prayer List, and we give thanks for Mary Pearson’s successful surgery.

Your servant in Christ,

Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550