Editor’s Note: This piece was first published on September 22, 2024. Today seems like a good time to revisit it as a gentle nudge that patriotism can be found, not just in the fireworks, but in the quieter places too.
Silence is underrated. So is being in the presence of history. Once in a while, I’m fortunate to find myself in a place so heavy with significance that you can feel the sacredness vibrate through your body if you know how to listen for it in the silence.
I’m grateful that I appreciate these things and that I know how to wait for the vibrations.
Day two of our Philadelphia adventure was marvelously packed with all kinds of good things. Breakfast from a cute cafe around the corner, the Liberty Bell, Betsy Ross’ home, a ridiculously good lunch at an Irish Pub, shopping, and the list goes on. We really packed it in.
But at some point that day, we found ourselves having just escaped a chaotic place and standing on the sidewalk outside Christ Church.
This church was founded in 1695 and is the birthplace of the American Episcopal Church. This building was constructed in 1744 and the steeple was added ten years later thanks to a fundraiser organized by Benjamin Franklin.
Those founders of our nation who believed in the concept of separation of church and state? Many of them worshiped here.
George Washington, John Adams, Robert Morris (financier of the American Revolution, signer of the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation and the U.S. Constitution), Benjamin Rush (signer of the Declaration of Independence, members of the Continental Congress and many others prayed here, knelt here and sought spiritual guidance for the revolutionary ideas that helped to build a new nation.
It was five bucks to go in and look around. Ten for a guided tour. All the money goes back to the preservation of the property and they have done a great job at that.
Friends, I got to sit in the pew where Betsy Ross worshiped. I got to sit as the world went by around me and consider the perspective that she had on the world while she was quietly sewing her place into American history.
There were a few other visitors like us. My friend chatted with a volunteer. I sat quietly and soaked in my surroundings. I wasn’t interested in talking or learning. I didn’t want to make new friends. I wanted to just absorb the air around me, to feel the pew, to notice how the floor felt beneath my feet and to appreciate the soaring ceiling that reached toward the heavens.
It was the most peace I have felt in a long time and I was beyond grateful to have that experience.
We were preparing to leave when three women marched in the front door, past the sign with admission details and started past the young woman who was selling admission tickets. She was extremely polite as she welcomed the ladies and let them know there is a $5 admission. The women looked annoyed and one said “well, it isn’t worth that!” They turned and left without even saying thank you.
Don’t be those women. Be a nice visitor. Pay attention to your surroundings and at least be polite to the volunteers or the low paid service workers who are there to help. Honestly, the experience I had in that old church was worth more than the price of admission. Not to mention, it goes to a good cause. Imagine the weight of responsibility being caretakers for such an important piece of our nation’s history.
I walked away completely at peace, breathing better and feeling more equipped to take on the rest of the day. It was well worth the time and money to have such a close brush with our nation’s past on sacred ground. Worship in person or visit them online for information.
