Attendance At Religious Services
Washington purchased a family pew at several churches. Rev. Lee Massey, his pastor wrote, "I never knew so constant an attendant in church as Washington." However, Washington's personal diaries indicate that he did not regularly attend services while home at Mount Vernon, spending most Sundays writing letters, conducting business, fox-hunting, or doing other activities. Biographer Paul Leicester Ford wrote:
- His daily "where and how my time is spent" enables us to know exactly how often he attended church, and in the year 1760 he went just sixteen times, and in 1768 he went fourteen, these years being fairly typical of the period 1760-1773.
While he was at Mount Vernon, his first parish was Pohick Church, seven miles from Mt. Vernon and a round trip of three hours; his second parish in Alexandria was nine miles away.
When Washington traveled, particularly on political business, he was more likely to attend church services. For example, in the seven Sundays during the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia, he went to places of worship on three, attending Anglican, Quaker, and Catholic services. During his tours of the nation in his two terms as President, he would attend religious services in each city, sometimes as frequently as three services in a day.
Read more about this topic: George Washington And Religion
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