You all know by now that I'm kind of old-fashioned in my regard for my country. It may have something to do with my corn-fed Midwestern upbringing, or the fact that I was a Boy Scout, or the son and nephew of real veterans, or my Scottish grandparents' oft-stated delight in finding a home in the United States, or any number of reasons, I guess, as I've never really analyzed it with much interest.
I've noticed it also makes me rather out-of-fashion with some of my ordained colleagues. Quel dommage!
So, you can imagine that today I spent more hours than normal watching television. While I really wish that the media would find religion reporters who knew what they were talking about, I am delighted that St. John's Episcopal Church in Washington D.C. still plays the initiatory role in the events of the inauguration.
While more may be read here, let me help those "religion reporters" from the Washington Post, CNN, CBS, and other outlets understand why FDR chose that particular church. Yes, it is the closest to the White House, but FDR was also an Episcopalian; a devout one who served for many years as the senior warden of St. James, Hyde Park. He just wanted his inaugurations to begin appropriately with prayer from the Book of Common Prayer [Where else?]
In fact, the following presidents have been Episcopalians, most of them life-long:
George Washington
James Madison
James Monroe
William Henry Harrison
John Tyler
Zachary Taylor
Franklin Pierce
Chester Arthur
Franklin Roosevelt
Gerald Ford
George H.W. Bush
George W. Bush [baptized, Confirmed, and a common worshipper at St. John's over the last eight years]
[By the way, the following presidents are Ohio-born:
Ulysses Grant
Rutherford Hayes
James Garfield
Benjamin Harrison
William McKinley
William Taft
Warren Harding
I just thought you'd want to know.]