George Washington’s Sacred Fire was a spark of an idea that first glimmered in my heart over twenty years ago. Somehow, it never was extinguished even though it flickered in the winds of pressing duties and weightier concerns. But over the last ten years, and then especially so in the last two, the spark became a flame and finally George Washington’s Sacred Fire was ablaze and ready to shed its light on the debate over Washington’s religious faith.
The fuel for a fire is the sine qua non of its existence. And so the many friends, institutions, and libraries that have assisted in this work have been the very fuel for George Washington’s Sacred Fire. Although I’m sure I cannot fully remember nor recount each one who has contributed their valued support, I wish to do the best I can to thank those who have made this book a reality.
The kindling for George Washington’s Sacred Fire is the people who have shared the vision for its creation and have invested their wisdom, skills, time, energy, and resources to make it happen. To each of the following I express my deepest and sincere gratitude:
My family—To my wife, Debbie, for her love, encouragement, and long and gracious patience throughout the almost never ending process of completing this book. To my daughters, Cara and Priscilla, for their interest, thoughtful comments, contributions, typing, and help.
My Team Mates on the Project—To Jerry Newcombe who signed on to make sure that my scholarly smoke didn’t eclipse the clarity of the flame by writing, coaching, editing, enabling, and motivating. To the Board of Trustees of The Providence Forum, whose inspiration and support have fueled the vision from its first serious start. To Jack and Pina Templeton whose generosity and encouragement are extraordinary and legendary. To my brother in ministry, the Reverend Paul Karlberg, who recruited Jerry and shouldered the extra burden of ministry created by this project during those many days when all I could do was keep on writing. To the entire Pastoral Staff at Proclamation Presbyterian Church who joined Paul in bearing the extra stresses created by the creation of this book. To all of the support staff at Proclamation Presbyterian Church who have been typing tidbits (and much more) for George Washington’s Sacred Fire for at least a decade! Especially to these gracious ladies who have helped through the years: B.J. Dunn, Genie Herrell, Felicia Horton, Lisa Moneymaker, Kathy Olson, Marian Rebuck, Bonney Scott, Marion Sacks, April McKenzie. To Jim Browne who has shared his busy office staff in keeping this project moving forward. To Liz Fabiani who has been doing long, forced marches of service to get everything typed by our deadlines. Especially to Alex Thompson who has read every word at least three times, corrected thousands of mistakes, organized everchanging and growing chapters and titles, and tracked down more stray endnotes than Washington had soldiers in his entire Army. To the support team at The Providence Forum: Carolyn Jewett, Jody Vanmeter, and Carolyn Giosa, each of whom has provided unique contributions to make this book possible, to Silvia Augstroze for final proofreading, and to Aaron Bradford and Matthew McGowen for their excellent service as interns. To Judy Mitchell for her creative energy in the lovely graphic design of the maps of Washington’s Virginia. To our publicists, Larry Ross and Steve Yount and the ALRC team, for their excellent efforts to spread the word about this project. To Peter Roark and Roark Creative for capturing the essence of this work in the cover and interior design. To our printer, Dickinson Press, for their excellent efforts in bringing this book to completion. To our extraordinary marketing and business savvy executive director of The Providence Forum, Ralf Augstroze, who made sure that every picture, every deadline, every budget, and every communication was met according to plan. To all of our friends at Coral Ridge Ministries who gave this project new life, and Nancy Britt for editing assistance. To the entire production team at Coral Ridge who has shared the news of this book with America, and to Dr. D. James Kennedy for his passionate scholarship in regard to the faith of our founding father. To every friend who has asked for updates, prayed, and shared articles and ideas to help with the effort.
My special ministry team—the elders, deacons, members, pastoral staff, and office staff, past and present, of Proclamation Presbyterian Church, to the Board and staff of The Providence Forum, to the faculty, staff, and Board of Westminster Theological Seminary, to the Board and staff of Proclaiming the Word radio broadcast.
To special scholars who have granted interviews and provided invaluable information, wisdom, and guidance on this project, including Mary Thompson, historian of Mount Vernon; Reverend Donald Binder Ph.D., rector at Pohick Church in Lorton, VA; Dr. James Hutson, Chairman of the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress; Karen Hedelt of the Visitors’ Center of Fredericksburg, VA.
The Historical Organizations—I also wish to express my sincere thanks to the many organizations that provided invaluable access and information to further my research. Without their commitment to the history of our nation, and our founding father, this project could never have been completed. Pohick Church in Lorton, VA.; Christ Church in Alexandria, VA.; Falls Church in Falls Church, VA.; St. Peters Church, Philadelphia; Christ Church, Philadelphia; Trinity Church, New York City; Visitor Center, Fredericksburg, VA; Mother Bethel AME Church, Philadelphia; George Washington Masonic Memorial, Alexandria, VA; The Presbyterian Church in Morristown, NJ; and to Swain’s of Morristown and Thomas B. Vokes Galleries for their technical support.
Along with the people and the organizations, I must remember to thank the libraries, archives, and those who have granted permission to use their photographs and images in this work. I wish to thank each of the following institutions and their libraries and staffs for their exemplary commitment to scholarship which has provided the foundational materials that have made this research possible: Westminster Theological Seminary, and each of its extraordinary library personnel, Villanova University, University of Pennsylvania, Haverford College, Bryn Mawr College, Swarthmore College, Harvard University, Eastern University, Cabrini College, the Library of Congress, Massachusetts Historical Society, The Boston Athenaeum, Library Company of Philadelphia, The Historical Society of Pennsylvania, George Washington Memorial Chapel in Valley Forge, Connecticut Historical Society, and Mount Vernon’s research library.
Finally, I wish to thank Divine Providence for the privilege and blessing of having had the inestimable honor of studying the life and faith of our founding father, George Washington. Indeed, I can do no better than to quote Washington himself, “I feel the most lively sentiments of gratitude to that divine Providence which has graciously interposed for the protection of our Civil and Religious Liberties.” (WGW, vol. 27, 11-10-1783. To the United Dutch Reformed Churches.) And a hearty thank-you to you, dear reader, for seeking to do your part, as well to protect our civil and religious liberties that were so dear to Washington.