THE FIRST CHRISTIAN MISSION TO THE INDIANS
When the first colonists arrived in 1607, Captain John Smith soon became their leader. Reverend John Hunt, the colony’s first preacher, provided its spiritual leadership. A 1631 pamphlet described their spiritual life in their rustic original church with a roof made of an old sail, and pews of “unhewed trees and a pulpit of a bar of wood nailed to two neighbouring trees.” The pamphlet adds:
. . . yet we had daily Common Prayer morning and evening, every Sunday two sermons, and every three months the holy communion, till our minister died, (the Reverend Mr. Hunt.) . . . Our order was daily to have prayer with a psalm, at which solemnity the poor savages much wondered.18
Concern for the souls of the “savages” was part of the mission into Virginia. When this courageous band had been sent off from England, the Reverend Mr. William Crashaw reminded the colonists, “that the end of this voyage is the destruction of the devil’s kingdom, and the propagation of the Gospel.”19 The King’s 1606 patent for Virginia explained that the purpose of their mission to the New World was that:
So noble a work may, by the Providence of God, hereafter tend to the glorie of his divine majestie, in propagating of Christian religion to such people as sit in darkness and miserable ignorance of the true knowledge and worship of God, and may in time bring the infidels and savages (living in those parts) to human civility and quiet government.20
The King’s instructions included that “all persons should kindly treat the savages and heathen people in these parts, and use all proper means to draw them to the true service and knowledge of God.”21 As early as 1588, Sir Walter Raleigh had given 100 pounds for the “propagation of Christianity in Virginia.”22
Two centuries later, when Washington spoke of the “earnestly desired” and “laudable undertaking” of “converting the Indians to Christianity,” he reflected the concern of Sir Walter Raleigh. This can be seen in Washington’s May 2, 1788, response to a March 28, 1788, letter and pamphlet that he received from Reverend John Ettwein, a Bishop of the Society of the United Brethren.23 Washington responded: “So far as I am capable of judging, the principles upon which the society is founded and the rules laid down for its government, appear to be well calculated to promote so laudable and arduous an undertaking, and you will permit me to add that if an event so long and so earnestly desired as that of converting the Indians to Christianity and consequently to civilization, can be effected, the Society of Bethlehem bids fair to bear a very considerable part in it. I am, Reverend Sir, with sentiments of esteem, &c.”24
The principles and rules upon which the society was founded, were deeply Christian.25 Washington approved their principles and rules, which he deemed “well calculated to promote so laudable and arduous an undertaking.”26 The text of the Brethren’s pamphlet read and approved by Washington included, in part,
Whereas we the subscribers are fully convinced of the Christian zeal and godly concern, wherewith the evangelical Church, known by the name of the Unitas Fratrum or United Brethren, has at all times endeavored to spread the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, and to carry the same even to the remotest Heathen nations; for which purpose also in this part of the world a mission among several Indian nations was begun by said Church, and with blessing and good success continued near fifty years: And as we ourselves are members of said Church, which has the salvation of men so near at heart, we cannot but most ardently wish to further this great work of God, conversion of the Heathen, by all just and possible means.
Therefore we have resolved, in the name of God, to form ourselves into a Society by the name of ‘A Society of the United Brethren for propagating the Gospel among the Heathen’ And do herewith unanimously agree upon the following articles as the stated rules of this Society….
Article XIV.
And as we have hereby no other view or aim but the furtherance and propagation of the knowledge of Jesus Christ among the poor benighted Heathen, …promise to do all that they do for the benefit of the Society, gratis.
Article XV.
…Therefore the missionaries and their assistants shall, in conformity to the rules of the Brethren, set aside all temporal views and interests, and their sole and only care and endeavours shall be, to preach the gospel to the Heathen, to instruct them faithfully in the doctrine of Jesus and his apostles, and so by their word and examples to encourage them to virtue and industry.27
George Washington clearly shared the foundational Virginian concern to “Christianize the savages” dwelling in the Virginia Colony. On July 10, 1789, in response to an address from the directors of the Society of The United Brethren for Propagating the Gospel Among the Heathen, Washington stated:
In proportion as the general Government of the United States shall acquire strength by duration, it is probable they may have it in their power to extend a salutary influence to the Aborigines in the extremities of their Territory. In the meantime, it will be a desirable thing for the protection of the Union to co-operate, as far as circumstances may conveniently admit, with the disinterested [unselfish] endeavours of your Society to civilize and Christianize the Savages of the Wilderness.28
A Deist, by definition, rejected Christianity and accepted the equivalence of all religions’ worship of God. So no Deist could see the plan for the “conversion of the heathen” outlined by Bishop Ettwein and the Brethren as both “laudable” and “earnestly desired.” Yet those are Washington’s words. Nor could a Deist say, as Washington wrote, “It will be a desirable thing …to co-operate, as far as circumstances may conveniently admit, with the disinterested endeavours of your Society to civilize and Christianize the Savages of the Wilderness.” Washington’s assessment of the Brethren’s Christian missionary work to the Indians not only reflected his historic Anglican and Virginian roots, but his own Christian faith as well.
THE STARVING TIME
The 1607 colony and its spiritual mission were nearly a total failure, almost meeting extinction as the earlier settlements had. When the next ship arrived in 1610 under the lead of Sir Thomas Gates and Sir George Summers, accompanied by the Reverend Mr. Richard Bucke, the 500 settlers had been reduced to a mere sixty emaciated survivors, who called this period “the starving time.” The staggering loss of life was due to both famine and the assaults of the Native Americans. Hunger pains brought on the most desperate inhumanity:
So great was our famine, that a savage we slew and buried, the poorer sort took him up again and eat him, and so did divers one another, boiled and stewed with roots and herbs. And one of the rest did kill his wife, powdered her, and had eaten part of her before it was known, for which he was executed, as he well deserved.29
According to Reverend William Crashaw, the early historian of this period, upon seeing the tragic state of the colony, Gates, Summers, and Bucke went immediately to the ruined and empty church and rang its bell. Crashaw writes: “Such as were able to crawl out of their miserable dwellings repaired thither that they might join in the zealous and sorrowful prayer of their faithful minister, who pleaded in that solemn hour for his afflicted brethren and himself before the Lord their God.”30 Years later, in 1774, when George Washington and his fellow Virginians participated in a colony-wide day of prayer and fasting in the face of the looming crisis with England, it continued a faith tradition of the earliest Virginians who also prayed for divine aid in severe trial.31
PROVIDENTIAL HELP
The sixty survivors entered the ship that only had a few days’ provisions left and prepared to sail to safer harbors in Newfoundland, with “none dropping a tear, because none had enjoyed one day of happiness.”32 They had suffered so much, they were beyond weeping. The last act of the rescued colonists was to bury their weapons and armor. As they began to sail from Jamestown, their farewell to the abandoned colony was given with a woeful “peal of shot,” and they began going down the river, leaving behind hundreds of graves, a failed colony, and a ghost town. But at that precise moment, a second ship unexpectedly arrived under the command of Lord De la War (whose name later designated a colony and then a state—Delaware).
Bishop Meade writes: “Behold the hand of Heaven from above, at the very instant, sent in the Right Honorable De la War to meet them at the river’s mouth, with provision and comforts of all kind. If he had stayed but two tides longer [in other words, just a day later], he would have come into Virginia and found not one Englishman.”33
They returned to Jamestown immediately, where, upon landing, Lord De la War fell to his knees and prayed a lengthy silent prayer. This was next followed by a sermon by Reverend Mr. Bucke. And only then, did Lord De la War present to the people his documents authorizing his leadership over the colony. At once he gave orders for the church to be repaired.34 With the “starving times” behind them, the colony of Virginia was securely established, and began to make the illustrious history for which it is renowned.
RENEWAL OF THE MISSION TO THE INDIANS
Lord De la War’s short stay concluded in 1611, but the settlement had been resuscitated and its Gospel mission to the Indian inhabitants of the new land was remembered. A 1612 pamphlet “The New Life of Virginia” expressed the spiritual concerns for the salvation of the Indians:
And for the poor Indians, what shall I say? But God, that hath many ways showed mercy to you, make you show mercy to them and theirs, and howsoever they may seem unto you so intolerably wicked and rooted in mischief that they cannot be moved, yet consider rightly and be not discouraged. …This is the work that we first intended, and have published to the world, to be chief in our thoughts, to bring those Infidel people from the worship of Devils to the service of God.…
Take their children and train them up with gentleness, teach them our English tongue and the principles of religion. Win the elder sort by wisdom and discretion; make them equal to you English in case of protection, wealth, and habitation, doing justice on such as shall do them wrong. Weapons of war are needful, I grant, but for defence only…. 35
This was the program that George Washington approved many years later. In a speech to the Delaware Chiefs on May 12, 1779, he encouraged “…You do well to wish to learn our arts and ways of life, and above all, the religion of Jesus Christ. These will make you a greater and happier people than you are. Congress will do every thing they can to assist you in this wise intention; and to tie the knot of friendship and union so fast, that nothing shall ever be able to loose it.”36
The most famous story of reaching a Native American for the Gospel is that of Pocahontas.37 A painting of her Christian baptism is one of the eight massive murals painted for the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol Building.38
REQUIRED DAILY PRAYERS AND PRAYERS FOR THE SALVATION OF THE HEATHEN
As was mentioned above, the colonists “had daily common prayer morning and evening.” This practice of daily prayer in the colony of Virginia is worth a further consideration. The daily religious services enjoined by this early colonial Virginia were linked directly with the work parties as they assembled. The day was infused with prayer and worship, including early morning, midday, and evening.39
The idea of morning and evening prayer led by a military officer was part of the Virginia in which Washington was raised.40 Along with the prayers of the Book of Common Prayer, a special prayer was composed, particularly for the Morning and Evening Guard. It was to be offered up by “the Captain himself, or some one of his principal men or officers.” Some nine substantive paragraphs of prayer in all, the sixth implored the Lord for the salvation of the unbelieving Gentiles that surrounded them.
And now, O Lord of mercy! O Father of the spirits of all flesh! Look in mercy upon the Gentiles who yet know thee not! And seeing thou hast honoured us to choose us out to bear they name unto the Gentiles, we therefore beseech thee to bless us, and this our plantation, which we and our nation have begun in thy fear, and for thy glory. We know, O Lord! We have the Devil and all the gates of Hell against us; but if thou, O Lord, be on our side, we care not who be against us! Oh, therefore vouchasafe to be our God, and let us be a part and portion of thy people; confirm thy covenant of grace and mercy with us, which thou hast made to thy Church in Christ Jesus. And seeing, Lord, the highest end of our plantation here is to set up the standard and display the banner of Jesus Christ even here where Satan’s throne is, Lord, let our labour be blessed in labouring for the conversion of the heathen. And because thou usest not to work such mighty works by unholy means, Lord, sanctify our spirits, and give us holy hearts, that so we may be thy instruments in this most glorious work.41
As the spiritual vitality of Jamestown began to flourish again, a Cambridge graduate, Alexander Whittaker, left his mark. The Reverend Whittaker, a son of an illustrious theologian who helped draft the Lambeth Articles in 1595,42 wrote a stirring call to England for greater support in the ministry to the colonists and the missionary outreach to the Indians, which by then he himself had pursued for three years. His message to his clerical peers in England was based on the text, “Cast thy bread upon the waters, and thou shalt find it after many days.” He called on them to join him in the evangelization of the original inhabitants of Virginia:
Wherefore, my brethren, put on the bowels of compassion, and let the lamentable estate of these miserables enter into your consideration. One God created us. They have reasonable souls and intellectual faculties as well as we. We all have Adam for our common parent; yea, by nature the condition of us both is all one, the servants of sin and slaves of the Devil. Oh, remember, I beseech you, what was the state of England before the Gospel was preached in our country.43
Although Virginia had a promising start to evangelize the Indians,44 it proved to be very slow-going.45 Few Indians accepted the Gospel, and the Native Americans and the new settlers by-and-large had many conflicts.46 Subsequently, it was not a promising mission field to would-be ministers (or missionaries).47 No Bishop would be willing to serve in the wild world of Virginia. In fact, America as a whole never had a bishop until the Revolutionary War had ended.
WASHINGTON’S “CONNEXION” WITH LADY HUNTINGDON’S MISSION
Washington’s involvement and interest in the “Christianization” of the Indians reached its climax in a connection with British royalty and the evangelist George Whitefield, strange connections, indeed, for the leader of the American Revolution and an alleged Deist! The royal figure that made this connection was a “well-connected” woman, Selina, Countess of Huntingdon (1707-91), the daughter of Earl Ferrers. In 1728, she married the Ninth Earl of Huntingdon, Theophilus Hastings. His sister, Mary Hastings, introduced Selina to the Methodist message. In 1739, she became a member of the first Methodist Society in Fetter Lane and was a supporter and friend of John and Charles Wesley, the founders of the Methodist movement in England. Eventually, she founded what became known as “Lady Huntingdon’s Connexion.”
