Archives and History

A Christmas message from Presiding Bishop Henry Knox Sherrill appeared in the December 1956 Maryland Churchman. “Of recent years national and international crises have brought great and unaccustomed strains. . .God seems far removed from daily life and work. Then comes Christmas, …and God in Christ is in the processes of history, yes, and in all the ordinary experiences of life, reconciling the world, and therefore us, to Himself. The realization of this fact is the true joy of Christmastide.”

The Rev. Robert Powell became vicar in July of 1971, and the congregation entered a time of rapid growth. By 1976, its budget had tripled, and its membership quadrupled, including some white families. Fr. Powell, active in diocesan affairs, served as president of the Standing Committee, the first African American to hold that post in the diocese’s history.

The recognition of one-hundred-fifty years of ministry in Annapolis was celebrated by St. Philip’s Church on September 20, 2020, with a message from Michael Curry, the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church. But this was not the first time Michael Curry had spoken at an anniversary celebration for St. Philip’s. At their 120th anniversary, on May 20, 1990, he was the preacher, and the new rector of St. James’ Church, Baltimore. Thus, spanning a space of thirty years, the circle was reconnected.

The present Archives of the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland owes a deep debt of gratitude to two men who literally devoted their lives to collecting, accessioning, organizing, preserving and researching historical documents related to the diocese.

Since the beginning of the Experiment of Democracy in this country, elections and the duty to vote have been discussed, written about, disagreed about, and bandied back and forth. The church, and those within it, have not avoided opinion and have used their positions to influence others.