Greetings!
[W]hereas, to preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them; nor does it follow from this, that all promiscuously must go into actual service on every occasion. The mind that aims at a select militia, must be influenced by a truly anti-republican principle; and when we see many men disposed to practice upon it, whenever they can prevail, no wonder true republicans are for carefully guarding against it.
Federal Farmer, Antifederalist Letter, No.18, January 25, 1778 |
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Feb 28, 1784:
John Wesley charters first Methodist Church in U.S.
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On this day in 1784, John Wesley charters the first Methodist Church in the United States. Despite the fact that he was an Anglican, Wesley saw the need to provide church structure for his followers after the Anglican Church abandoned its American believers during the American Revolution.
Wesley first brought his evangelical brand of methodical Anglicanism to colonial Georgia from 1735 to 1737 in the company of his brother Charles, with whom he had founded the ascetic Holy Club at Oxford University. This first venture onto American soil was not a great success. Wesley became embittered from a failed love affair and was unable to win adherents to his studious practices. However, while in Georgia, he became acquainted with the German Moravians, who hoped to establish a settlement in the colony. The meeting proved momentous, as it was at a Moravian meeting upon his return to London that Wesley felt he had a true experience of God's grace.
While closely allied to the Moravians, Wesley began taking the advice of fellow Oxford graduate George Whitfield and preaching in the open air when banned from Anglican churches for his unorthodox evangelical methods. By 1739, Wesley had separated himself from the Moravians and attracted his own group of adherents, known as Methodists, who were held in disdain by the orthodox Anglican clerical and civic hierarchy. By 1744, the Methodists had become a large enough group to require their own conference of ministers, which expanded to create an internal hierarchy, replicating some of the Anglican Church's ecclesiastical order.
Wesley, however, remained within the Anglican fold and insisted that only ministers who had received the apostolic succession--the laying on of hands by an Anglican bishop to consecrate a new priest--could administer the sacraments. The refusal of the Anglican church to ordain Dr. Thomas Coke to preach to Americans newly independent from the British State Church, finally forced Wesley to ordain within his own Methodist conference in the absence of a proper Anglican bishop. He performed the laying on of hands and not only ordained Coke as the superintendent of the Methodist Episcopal Church in America but also commissioned him to ordain Francis Asbury as his co-superintendent.
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Article Headline
|  Attached is information on the 225th Anniversary Celebration of the signing of the U. S. Constitution. This is being hosted by Hosted by the Philadelphia Continental Chapter, PASSAR, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. The event is being held on September 14-15, 2012.
President General Larry Magerkurth delivered an important
email message to every member of our Society - "it's not too late to
claim a SAR commemorative of the Constitution 225th." Although SAR's
Annual Appeal requested a response by January 15th to qualify for the
James Madison lapel pin or James Madison 3-inch medallion, that deadline
has been extended now to February 29, 2012 to encourage the broadest
participation of our membership. Also, any SAR member is welcome to join us for this event.
J. Michael "Mike" Tomme, Sr.
National Trustee, GASSAR (2011-2012)
NSSAR National Color Guard Commander
While these coveted commemoratives of the 225th Anniversary of the
Signing of the Constitution are designed to encourage larger gifts, that
doesn't mean smaller gifts are undesired or unimportant. Every contribution
dollar gets us closer to completing the Center for Advancing America's
Heritage and every contribution - no matter how large or small - is
gratefully acknowledged.
As a leader of our National Society, you are urged to encourage every
compatriot in your Chapter, State Society, or District to join in SAR's
Annual Appeal with a tax-deductible gift - no matter how large or small.
It doesn't matter what a compatriot gives; what matters is that every
compatriot give something to join the patriotic works of our National
Society.
Please respond to President General Magerkurth's appeal to join is SAR's
commemoration of the Constitution's 225th and help SAR ensure that the
memory of our patriot forefathers and the blessings of liberty are
passed on to future generations of Americans.
In grateful appreciation for your generosity and steadfast support, I
remain
Fraternally,
Bill Allerton, President &
Chief Operating Officer
SAR Foundation
Michael T. Scroggins
Director of Operations
The National Society of the
Sons of the American Revolution
"A general dissolution of principles and manners will more surely
overthrow the liberties of America than the whole force of the
common enemy. While the people are virtuous they cannot be
subdued; but when once they lose their virtue then will be ready
to surrender their liberties to the first external or internal invader."
...Samuel Adams, 1779
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Sincerely,
Scott Larson, Publicity Chair
Kansas Society Sons of the American Revolution |
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| Drums of Freedom/Color Guard |  | |
The Kansas Sons of the American Revolution's
Drums of Freedom
How can we stir the fire of Patriotism in today's young people? That was the question three SAR members discussed three years ago. All three of them from different backgrounds and belonging to two different chapters of the SAR got together one evening and discussed this very question. They tossed around many ideas and thought how fun it would be to form a Fife and Drum Corps made up of SAR members, scouts and/or area youth dressed in Colonial clothing and playing patriotic songs. That was the seed of an idea that prompted them to buy some drums, uniforms and start giving programs to schools community organizations, church groups and others on the patriotism of our founding fathers.
Dressed in The Continental Line uniform and playing period-looking drums, the Drums of Freedom was born. They look for opportunities to tell the story of our patriotic ancestors. This may take the form of a "Yankee Doodle" program for younger school children, or "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere" for older youth; or - for the "older" groups - the story of "The Turtle and Battle of the Kegs" about America's first submarine. These programs have been given to veterans groups, at SAR meetings and other civic organizations in addition to schools. They have also been invited to join with the SAR's elite uniformed color guard on occasion to provide a drum beat for their programs or the posting of the colors at various events.
So far, they have no fife player, so if you know of someone who could help, they would love to hear from you. They are not looking for any long parades, however, as they know that would be too much for mature men of their age. Where are those kids when we need them? They are still looking for that Fife and Drum Corps to come about and hope their dream for the entity can become a reality and are asking for any help that can make this come true.
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