PREV ARTICLE
NEXT ARTICLE
FULL ISSUE
PREV FULL ISSUE
IN GOD WE TRUST PASTOR BACK IN THE PULPITOn Monday, August 19, 2002, Staff Writer Tom Gibb of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette published an interview with the 91-year-old minister whose sermon inspired the legislation which put the motto "In God We Trust" on U.S. paper money and in the Pledge of Allegiance.. "Huntingdon, Pa. -- Nobody would have faulted the Rev. George Docherty had he begged out of donning his black cassock and delivering a 25-minute sermon yesterday in a sweltering, packed sanctuary. His best excuse: He's 91. But he was born and raised a Scotsman. That's probably what helped make him a stubborn 91-year-old. "George is the proverbial race horse," friend Robert Stewart said. "He always has a race left in him." So, yesterday morning, before the 400-some people who filled Huntingdon Presbyterian Church -- a multitude the church doesn't see but for Easter and Christmas Eve -- this regal, broad-shouldered Scotsman reprised his 1954 sermon that helped to plug the phrase "under God" into the Pledge of Allegiance. Back then, it was a sermon he delivered as pastor of the landmark New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C. -- the powerful in attendance, President Dwight Eisenhower in a front pew. "To omit the words 'under God' is to omit the definitive character of the American way of life," Docherty, a hale voice with a hearty brogue, read. "What the Declaration [of Independence] says, in effect, is that no state church shall exist in this land. This is separation of church and state. It is not and never was meant to be a separation of religion and life." Wire services carried accounts of what Eisenhower heard in church that day, the sermon was copied into the Congressional Record, and portions of the service turned up on movie theater newsreels. Sometimes, an intent congregation had to fish out words hidden in Docherty's brogue or caught under the whoosh of fans running at full bore just to keep room temperature near 80. "But it was a wonderful sermon," said retired physician John Hewlett, who drove from Hershey to hear friend Docherty. In the aftermath, Docherty pronounced himself "a little tired," said he expects "under God" to remain in the pledge, but allowed that, either way, he's probably made his last stand in the pulpit. For the full text of the article, see: http://www.post-gazette.com/nation/20020819pledge0819p1.aspWayne Homren, Editor The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org. To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor at this address: whomren@gmail.com To subscribe go to: https://my.binhost.com/lists/listinfo/esylum All Rights Reserved. NBS Home Page Contact the NBS webmaster 
|