1 of 2

Within two hours after the Jamestown settlers landed in Virginia, their Anglican minister built a makeshift church by "nailing a piece of timber between two trees," and stretching "a square of sailcloth over it." Thus, on May 13, 1607, they attended their first prayer service in the New World.

Captain John Smith, leader of this group of British entrepreneurs, described services under the "old saile" as "more like the real praising of God, than any he had ever heard in the costly buildings of the old world."

That was 400 years ago. Throughout 2007, the Virginia Commonwealth is celebrating the anniversary of this first permanent English settlement in North America with several special events including a main gala on May 11-13.

Unlike the later Puritan colony at Plymouth, the Jamestown group was driven less by faith than by gold and other material ends. Still, most (if not all) of the settlers were members of the Church of England. In the midst of hunger, conflicts with the Indians, sickness, and internal dissension, the colonists attended daily morning and evening prayer, heard two sermons on Sundays, and received Communion every three months.

Some Jamestown settlers tried to convert the Indians to Christianity. From the beginning King James I had admonished them to proclaim the "Christian religion to such people as yet live in darkness and miserable ignorance of the true knowledge and worship of God …" They were largely unsuccessful, but with a few notable exceptions—including the native princess Pocahontas.

You can visit the Jamestown Settlement, a reconstruction of the fort, ships, and an Indian village—all complete with costumed interpreters. Down the road is the original Jamestown site, where an impressive ongoing archaeological dig is open to visitors. Visit www.Americas400thAnniversary.com for more information.

California's historical treasures include its 21 missions. The state's natural wonders include its famous redwoods. Last year, the city of Monterey weighed the continued existence of the state's oldest continuously functioning church against the well being of four beautiful, but much younger, redwoods.

The Cathedral of San Carlos Borroméo sits on the site where, in 1770, Franciscan missionary Junipero Serra and Governor Gaspar de Portolá established a mission and a presidio, or fort. The next year, Fr. Serra moved the mission five miles away to Carmel. However, the Monterey structure continued to function—first as a military chapel, then as a parish church, and now as a cathedral. When the other California missions were secularized in the 1800s, the church on this site kept functioning. After fire destroyed earlier structures, the present building was completed in December 1794.

The cathedral needs renovation. Moisture has affected its stone foundations (the shade from the redwoods keeps them from drying out). And tree roots have penetrated to the opposite side of the church. Originally, the city of Monterey suggested a compromise: take out only two of the trees and find a way to cap the roots of the others.

But, according to Cathy Leiker of the Royal Presidio Chapel's conservation office, an archaeologist found additional treasures beneath the trees: the floor of the soldiers' barracks, portions of the old presidio's walls, and the floor of an early baptistery. Because there was no way to keep the trees and preserve both the church and the buried archeological treasures, the city agreed that the trees had to go.

next page... |  1 of 2

share this page

RSS Feed   RSS Help