Foundry United Methodist Church is a historic congregation of the

United Methodist Church The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant Christian denomination, denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was ...

, located on

16th Street NW 16th Street Northwest, briefly known as the Avenue of the Presidents, is a prominent north-south boulevard in Washington, D.C., located in Northwest (Washington, D.C.), Northwest D.C. The street was laid out as part of the 1791 L'Enfant Plan, whi ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, and founded in 1814.

History

Henry Foxall, the prominent owner of the Columbia Foundry (besides the church, also namesake of the

Foundry Branch Foundry Branch is a tributary stream of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. The historic headwaters of the stream were in the Tenleytown area in Northwest Washington. Today, the section of the stream north of Massachusetts Avenue is hydrolo ...

), contributed the land and funds for the construction of the first

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

in 1814. By tradition, he made the contribution in gratitude for divine intervention after a thunderstorm prevented British soldiers from destroying the foundry during the

Burning of Washington The Burning of Washington, also known as the Capture of Washington, was a successful United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, British Amphibious warfare, amphibious attack conducted by Rear Admiral Sir George Cockburn, 10th Baronet, Georg ...

. Foxall, who later served as mayor of Georgetown, was an associate of

Francis Asbury Francis Asbury (August 20 or 21, 1745 – March 31, 1816) was a British-American Methodist minister who became one of the first two bishop (Methodist), bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States. During his 45 years in the col ...

, the founder of American Methodism, and became a lay preacher himself. A simple brick church was constructed at 14th and G Streets, Northwest, and Stephen G. Roszel became its first preacher, in 1815. The name "Foundry Chapel" was first used in 1816, and the community became an independent charge in 1817. President

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

attended a January 18, 1863 service at Foundry, where visiting Bishop Matthew Simpson, raising funds for missionary work, proposed that Lincoln be made a life director of the Methodist Missionary Society. His successor

Andrew Johnson Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808July 31, 1875) was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. The 16th vice president, he assumed the presidency following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a South ...

is also known to have attended. In 1877, President

Rutherford B. Hayes Rutherford Birchard Hayes (; October 4, 1822 – January 17, 1893) was the 19th president of the United States, serving from 1877 to 1881. Hayes served as Cincinnati's city solicitor from 1858 to 1861. He was a staunch Abolitionism in the Un ...

became a member of the congregation, and he and his wife Lucy attended services regularly for the next four years.

Lucy Webb Hayes Lucy Ware Hayes (née Webb; August 28, 1831 – June 25, 1889) was the wife of President Rutherford B. Hayes and served as first lady of the United States from 1877 to 1881. Hayes was the first First Lady to have a college degree. She was als ...

was a devout Methodist and known for her support of the

temperance movement The temperance movement is a social movement promoting Temperance (virtue), temperance or total abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and ...

, and later nicknamed "Lemonade Lucy" as she did not serve alcohol at White House events. In June 1872, the church purchased land at 15th and R Streets NW, which was developed into the Fifteenth Street Methodist Church. Foundry and the Fifteenth Street church merged in 1903. Around this time, the church leaders sought to build a bigger church, and acquired the current parcel on 16th Street NW. The new church opened for worship on February 28, 1904, and was dedicated on April 10 of that year. In 1924,

Frederick Brown Harris Frederick Brown Harris (April 10, 1883 – August 18, 1970), a Methodist clergyman has the distinction of the longest service record as Chaplain of the Senate (24 years), in a term of service interrupted by the chaplaincy of Peter Marshall. ...

was appointed pastor, a position he would have for more than 30 years, during which time he also served as the

Chaplain of the Senate The chaplain of the United States Senate opens each session of the United States Senate with a prayer, and provides and coordinates religious programs and pastoral care support for senators, their staffs, and their families. The chaplain is appoi ...

, and became the longest-serving holder of that title. Foundry United Methodist Church - interior 01

Attendance reached an all-time high during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Early in the American involvement in the war, President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

and U.K. Prime Minister

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

attended a special interfaith service at Foundry on December 25, 1941. J. Philip Wogaman, previously of

Wesley Theological Seminary Wesley Theological Seminary is a United Methodist Church seminary in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1882. History Wesley Theological Seminary can trace its roots back to the 1881 meeting of the Methodist Protestant Church's Maryland Ann ...

, became senior minister in 1992. In 1993, Foundry welcomed President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

and

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

as members; the Clintons would attend services there about half the weekends they were in Washington. On June 7, 1995, the church voted to become a " Reconciling Ministry" for

LGBTQIA+ LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The group is ...

members, an effort which continued under Wogaman's successor, Dean Snyder. The church voted overwhelmingly in 2010 to allow same-sex marriages, placing it in conflict with the larger United Methodist Church. In 2014, Ginger E. Gaines-Cirelli became the first woman to serve as senior pastor.

Music

Foundry United Methodist Church - interior 03

Foundry is known for its strong music program, which includes a children's choir, contemporary choir, and the 55-voice Foundry Choir. The Foundry Choir was selected to lead the opening communion service of the 1984 UMC General Conference, marking the bicentennial of

Methodism Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

in America. The

church organ Carol Williams performing at the West_Point_Cadet_Chapel.html" ;"title="United States Military Academy West Point Cadet Chapel">United States Military Academy West Point Cadet Chapel. In music, the organ is a keyboard instrument of one or mo ...

is a Casavant of 3,364 pipes and 60 ranks installed as part of the church's 1984 renovation. A committee led by organist Eileen Guenther supervised its design and installation, choosing spots and voicing to reflect a focus on Classical and Romantic French literature. Guenther gave its first performance in February 1985.

References

External links

* {{official website, https://www.foundryumc.com/ 1814 establishments in the United States Churches completed in 1904 Buildings and structures in Dupont Circle Presidential churches in the United States Religious organizations established in 1814 United Methodist churches in Washington, D.C.

History

Music

See also

References

External links