The First Continental Congress P3

Last week I ended talking about John Jay of New York and John Rutledge of South Carolina opposing having an opening prayer at the first Continental Congress and Samuel Adams turning it completely around with the popular message by Rev. Whitefield “Father Abraham”.

After hearing John Jay and Rutledge oppose the motion to pray together, Adams “arose and said he was no bigot, and could hear a prayer from a gentleman of piety and virtue, who was at the same time a friend to his country. He then acknowledged that because he was from Boston he was a stranger in Philadelphia, but had heart that the Rev. Mr. Jacob Duché deserved that character, and therefore he moved that Mr. Duche, an Episcopalian clergyman, might be desired to read prayers in the established form to the Congress tomorrow morning.

Samuel Adams, an ardent Congregationalist, personally recommended having an Episcopalian, which at that time meant an Anglican clergyman from the Church of England (a denomination intensely disliked by Samuel Adams’ Congregationalists), deliver the first opening prayer in Congress. By this suggestion, Adams was implementing the Biblical message of Acts 10:35 preached for so long by Whitefield in his “Father Abraham” sermon.

Content Sourced From The American Story: The Beginnings by David Barton and Tim Barton.