St. George’s History comprises individual articles, documents and collections around the 300 year history of St. George’s Episcopal Church, located in Fredericksburg Virginia. This site is unrelated to St. George's main website.
Supplementing them are a category-based search, a content index and a timeline. We have two tour documents - a building summary and a 15 minute walking tour you can take in the church.
If this is your first visit, check out the 2 tours - building summary and a 15 minute walking tour.
Recent articles
St. George’s Christmas, 1883 – A Different Celebration
Most of the church bulletins in our archives are post 1970’s. One exception is the one below from 1883 which is wonderfully preserved. Christmas from at least the 1880’s through the 1920’s featured only one Christmas Eve service which was a Sunday School celebration around 7pm with a single service at 11am on Christmas day. … Read more
An 1840’s Christmas
by Moncure Daniel Conway From his Autobiography “I remember vividly my first Christmas in St. George’s (perhaps my eleventh year). How beautiful it all was. I sat in the cushioned pew with beloved relatives, near the rector’s wife (granddaughter of Betty Lewis, Washington’s sister), and surrounded by elegant people. The church was festooned with evergreen, … Read more
Christmas Pageant Revived in 1982
Free Lance-Star article about Marcia Brooks Upshaw reviving the Christmas Play in 1982
Christmases Past at St. George’s
This was a Sunday Adult Education lecture on December 23, 2007 from . John Pearce. As the self described grinch of Christmas, John led this sharing of remembrances of how the Christmas season has been celebrated in our parish over the years.
A Charles Sydnor sermon
This is a Charles Sydnor sermon. Unfortunately it is not from his years’ here (1976-2003) but from 2016. It is still a wonderful example of what was one of his strong qualities – preaching.
Charles Sydnor, St. George’s at the end of 1995
Editor’s note – This was the first report in the 1995 Congregational Reports. At that time each commission produced a separate report and the bound reports were presented at the Congregational meeting. It shows the church in transition in mission, personnel, and facility planning
AIM 2000 Sydnor, McGuire and the exterior before painting
Sydnor Hall, McGuire Hall during the AIM 2000 renovation plus the exterior before painting.
AIM 2000 Faulkner Renovation
A few pictures from the Baughmans on the reconstruction of Faulkner Hall
AIM 2000 – The Cast!
Wendy Cannon in 1998 presented a fund raising idea for AIM 2000 calleed CAST. Christ Church in Alexandria had raised $500,000, St Martin’s in Williamsburg raised $200,000. It was approved by the Vestry. CAST is an acronym for “Come and Share Talents”. Each member of the congregation is asked to try to raise $1,000 using … Read more
AIM 2000 – 1998-2000, Completion
By the end of 1997, Chip Willis, the Vestry Liaison to Aim 2000, updated the Vestry on the status of Aim 2000 and estimated the cost of the next phase at $550K. He said they had $350K in pledges and could borrow up to $450K. (The Diocesan limit was $488K without their permission and would … Read more
1. Carrol Quenzel's History of St. George's
Quenzel's 1951 history is still the standard for the church. He was a librarian for Mary Washington College as well as being active at St. George's, helping to create the St. Georgian newsletter as well as a part of the Vestry. We have the entire book online which was published by St. George's
2. The Three Churches of St. George's - Barbara Willis
Barbara Willis was a local historian and writer and long time St. Georgian with her husband Mac. This paper is a detailed summary of the evolution of St. George's church from its wooden colonial church to the impressive 1849 brick building we have today.
The Civil War may be the most popular historic topic in all of our history. The church served in 3 capacities - as a fortress, center of revival and as a hospital. We have a 9 part series on our role and relationship to Fredericksburg.
McGuire served all 3 churches over the course of 45 years. He is probably the most influential of all our rectors in all phases of ministry from preaching, teaching, and outreach. Trip Wiggins, our archivist, wrote this for a Sunday school class and has been teaching classes for years
5. Charles Syndor on Social Policy
Charles Sydnor served St. George's from 1972-2003 and was responsible for furthering Thomas Faulkner's outreach ministries and creating new ones. This paper he wrote in 2009 was for an adult forum in that year.
6. Tom Faulkner confronts the Vestry on race
Faulkner served St. George's for 30 years from 1946-1976. During these years racial policies were paramount, especially 1954, in the year of Brown vs. Board of Education, Faulkner was challenged by the Vestry on the role of Blacks in our service. He was able to move St. George's toward racial justice that other rectors would further
