The Rt. Rev. John Watrous Beckwith
Milledgeville, Georgia
May 8, 1890

Brethren of the Clergy and Laity:

June 22, 1889—I confirmed 2 persons and made an address in St. Luke’s Cathedral, Atlanta.

June 23—Held morning service, assisted by Rev. W. H. Hunt, and made an address in the same Church.

June 30—Held morning service, assisted by Rev. Messrs. Winchester and Powers; confirmed 14, and ordained Mr. Owen T. Fitzsimmons to the Deaconate in Christ Church, Macon. I confirmed in private 2, presented by Rev. Mr. Winchester.

July 1—I received the letter dismissory of Rev. Jno. W. Motte from the Diocese of Florida.

July 15—I gave a letter dismissory to Rev. Augustine Prentiss to the Diocese of North Carolina. On the 14th I performed the funeral service in Cartersville.

July 28—I delivered an address in St. Augustine’s Chapel at the University of the South. I accepted the letter dismissory of Rev. C. A Apple from the Diocese of Florida.

August 25—I preached in All Saints Chapel, Newport, R. I.

August 27—Delivered an address in Thompson, Conn.

September 22—I preached in Trinity Church, Chicago.

October 13—1 preached in Christ Church Riverdale, New York City.

October 20—I preached in St. George’s Church, New York City.

October 27—I preached in All Hallows Chapel, Anne Arundel County, Md.

October 31—I received the letter dismissory of Rev. Robb. White, from the Diocese of Virginia.

November 3—Held morning service, assisted by Rev. H. R. Rees; preached, confirmed 1, made an address and administered the Holy Communion in St. Mark’s Church, Dalton.

November 4—Gave letter dismissory to Rev. G. P. Hebbard to Diocese of Newark.

November 5—Received the letter dismissory of Rev. J. T. Hargrave from the jurisdiction of Western Texas.

November 10—Held morning service, preached and administered the Holy Communion in Ascension Church, Cartersville.

November 13—Held morning service, preached, confirmed 1, made an address and administered the Holy Communion in Calvary Church, Americus.

November 22—Held evening service, assisted by Rev. Mr. Turner; preached, confirmed 4, and made an address in the Church of the Redeemer, Greensboro.

November 24—Held morning service, assisted by Rev. Mr. Turner, and preached in the Church of the Mediator, Washington.

December 1—Held morning service, assisted by Rev. Mr. Hudgins; preached, confirmed 14, delivered an address and administered the Holy Communion in St. Peter’s, Rome. In the evening in the same Church, I delivered an address to St. Andrew’s Guild.

December 8—Held morning service, preached, made an address and administered the Holy Communion in St. Stephen’s Church, Milledgeville.

December 15—Held morning service, preached and administered the Holy Communion in St. Luke’s, Hawkinsville. In the afternoon I delivered an address in the Baptist Church in the same city.

December 22—Held morning service, assisted by Rev. Mr. Eppes; preached, confirmed 10, and made an address in St. Paul’s, Albany.

December 29—Held morning service, assisted by Rev Mr. Walton; preached, confirmed 12, and made an address in the Church of the Good Shepherd, Summerville. In the afternoon I held service, assisted by Rev. Mr. Walton; confirmed 8, and made an address in Christ Church Mission Chapel, Augusta.

January 5, 1890—Held morning service, assisted by Rev. Mr. Motte; preached, confirmed 1, and made an address in St. Andrew’s, Darien. In the afternoon I held service, assisted by Rev. Mr. McConnell; confirmed 1 colored person, and made an address in St. Cyprian’s Church, Darien.

January 11—Confirmed in private 1 person, presented by Rev. Mr. Lucas, and 1 person, presented by Rev. Mr. Winn, in Brunswick.

January 12—Held morning service, assisted by Rev. Messrs. Lucas and Winn; preached, confirmed 27, and made an address and administered the Holy Communion in St. Mark’s, Brunswick. In the afternoon I consecrated the Church of St. Jude, assisted by Rev. Messrs. Lucas and Winn, and preached in Brunswick.

January 13—I consecrated the Chapel of the Transfiguration, assisted by Rev. Messrs. Dodge, Stuart-Martin and Winn, and preached on St. Simons’ Island. In the afternoon I confirmed in private 2, presented by Mr. Dodge, and afterwards held service, assisted by Rev. Messrs. Dodge and Stuart-Martin; confirmed 1, and made an address in the Union Church, on St. Simon’s Island.

January 15—Held morning service, assisted by Rev. Messrs. Dodge and Stuart-Martin; confirmed 3 white persons and 1 colored, and administered the Holy Communion in Christ Church, Frederica, St. Simon’s Island. The same evening I confirmed in private 1 person in Brunswick.

January 16—Held morning service, assisted by Rev. Mr. Winn; confirmed 1, and made an address in Grace Church, Waycross.

January 17—Held evening service, assisted by Rev. Mr. LaRoche; confirmed 1, and made an address in St. John’s, Bainbridge.

January 19—Held morning service, assisted by Rev. Mr. LaRoche; preached, confirmed 10, made an address, and administered the Holy Communion in St. Thomas Church, Thomasville.

January 23—Gave letter dismissory to Rev. J. R. Winchester to the Diocese of Tennessee.

January 25—Gave letter dismissory to Rev. J. J. Andrew to Diocese of Florida.

January 26—Held morning service, assisted by Rev. Mr. Hunter; preached, confirmed 13, and afterwards confirmed in private 2, and made an address in Trinity Church, Columbus. In the afternoon I addressed the children of the Mission Sunday school in the same city.

February 2—Held morning service, preached, confirmed 4, made an address and administered the Holy Communion, assisted by Rev. Mr. Davis, in Emmanuel, Church Athens. In the afternoon I held service, assisted by Mr. Davis, and made an address in St. Mary’s, Athens.

February 5—I performed the marriage service in the Methodist Church in Rome.

February 9—Held morning service, assisted by Rev. Mr. Pond; preached, and confirmed 1, in Grace Church, Clarksville. In the evening I held service and preached in Calvary Church, Mt. Airy.

February 16—Held service, assisted by Rev. Mr. Hargrave; preached, confirmed 6, and made an address in St. George’s, Griffin.

February 19 (Ash Wednesday)—Held service, assisted by Rev. Mr. Funsten, and made an address in St. Philip’s, Atlanta.

February 23—Held morning service, assisted by Rev. Mr. Barnwell; preached, made an address, and administered the Holy Communion in Christ Church, Macon. In the afternoon I held service, assisted by Mr. Barnwell; baptised 1 infant and preached in St. Barnabas Church, Macon.

February 26—I lectured in St. Luke’s , Atlanta.

March 2—Held morning service, assisted by Rev. Mr. Powers; preached, confirmed 3, and made an address in St. Paul’s, Macon. In the afternoon I made an address in Christ Church, Macon.

March 5—Held evening session, assisted by Rev. Mr. Barrett, and made an address in St. Luke’s, Atlanta.

March 6—Gave letter dismissory to Rev. Arthur Forbes to Diocese of New York.

March 9—I ordained to the Deaconate Mr. J. J. P. Perry in St. Luke’s, Atlanta.

March 12—Made an address in St. Luke’s, Atlanta.

March 16—I ordained Rev. O. T. Fitzsimmons to the Priesthood in St. John’s, Savannah. The candidate was presented by Rev. Mr. Strong. Rev. Messrs Strong and White assisted in the laying on of hands; I preached the sermon. In the afternoon I held service, assisted by Rev. Mr. Fitzsimmons, and preached in St. Stephen’s Church, Savannah.

March 18—I consecrated St. James Chapel, assisted by Rev. Messrs. McConnell and Strong; preached and confirmed 5 in Pooler.

March 23—Confirmed 20 and made an address in St. John’s, Savannah. On the same day I held morning service, assisted by Rev. Robb. White; preached, confirmed 26, and made an address in Christ Church, Savannah. In the afternoon I held service, assisted by Rev. Messrs. Fitzsimmons, Strong and White; preached, confirmed 14, and made an address in St. Mathew’s Church, Savannah.

March 29—Held morning service, assisted by Rev. Mr. Gass; confirmed 3, and made an address in the new chapel in Grovetown.

March 30—Held morning service, assisted by Rev. Mr. Gass: preached, confirmed 9, and made an address in the Church of the Atonement, Augusta. In the afternoon I held service, assisted by Rev. Mr. Williams; preached and confirmed 12 in St. Paul’s, Augusta.

April 1, 2, 3 and 4—I held services, assisted by Rev. Mr. Barrett, and made each day an address in St. Luke’s, Atlanta.

April 6 (Easter Day)—Held morning service, assisted by Rev. Mr. Funsten; preached, confirmed 37, and made an address in St. Philip’s, Atlanta. In the evening I held service, assisted by Rev. Mr. Barrett; preached and confirmed 34 in St. Luke’s, Atlanta.

April 11—Held evening service, assisted by Rev. Wm. Chauncy Langdon, D. D., of Bedford, Pa.; preached and confirmed 3 in Calvary Church, Americus.

April 13—Held morning service, assisted by Rev. Mr. LaRoche; consecrated St. Thomas Church, preached, confirmed 3, and administered the Holy Communion in St. Thomas Church, Thomasville,

April 15—I gave the Holy Communion to Sister Margaret in the Appleton Church Home, in Macon.

April 18—I received the letter dismissory of Rev. Frederick F. Reese from the Diocese of Virginia. On this day I received the sad news of the death of Sister Margaret.

April 19—We committed her body to the ground. I was assisted in this sad service by Rev. Messrs. Powers, F. F. Reese, R. H. Barret, H. K. Rees and A. Barnwell, in St. Paul’s, Macon. I made a brief address.

April 20—Held morning service, assisted by Rev. James Hulme, of Northern California; preached, confirmed C, made an address, and administered Holy Communion in St. James, Marietta. In the afternoon I confirmed 1 person in the same Church.

April 22—Held morning service, assisted by Rev. H. K. Rees; preached and confirmed 3 in the Chapel in Kingston. I also confirmed 2 persons in private in the same town.

April 23—I said the marriage service, assisted by Rev. Mr. Funston, in St. Philip’s Church, Atlanta.

April 27—Held morning service, assisted by Rev. H. K. Rees, and preached in the Methodist Church in Cave Spring. In the afternoon I held service, assisted by Rev. Mr. Burry, of the Diocese of Alabama, and preached in St. James, Cedartown.

April 30—Performed the marriage service, assisted by Rev. R. S. Barrett, in St. Luke’s Cathedral, Atlanta.

May 1—Held evening service, assisted by Rev. Messrs. Hunt and Funsten; confirmed 7 colored persons and made an address in St. Philip’s Chapel, Atlanta.

During the past year the Appleton Church Home has received from the Parishes $142.11 There are in the home at this time 26 children. You are aware of the terrible calamity which has befallen the Home in the death of Sister Margaret. Soon after I became Bishop of Georgia my friend, Mr. Wm. H. Appleton, of New York City, the head of the great publishing house of D. Appleton & Co., told me of his desire to build a Church in Georgia, as an evidence of his affection for me. In consultation with him, I suggested that a Home for Orphan Girls, children of deceased Confederate soldiers, would be quite as acceptable to me, and I thought equally beneficial to the Diocese. Mr. Appleton was greatly pleased by the suggestion, and gave me warmest encouragement in the undertaking. I begged the money and bought the land, and Mr. Appleton gave me $12,500 for the building and $10,000 towards an endowment. I determined to place the Home in the care of a body of Deaconesses. While Rector of Trinity Church, New Orleans, I had baptized and presented for confirmation Mrs. Margaret Jennings, who from that time became my constant companion and co-worker in that city. When the Appleton Church Home was in condition to be occupied, I wrote to Mrs. Jennings and asked her to come and give her life to the work. This, as you well know, she has done without money and without price. Twenty years ago she came. Soon after we established an Order of Deaconesses known as the Order of St. Katharine. This name was chosen to commemorate the life and character of the sainted daughter of Mr. Appleton, who during her brief sojourn in this world had devoted herself to works of charity, especially among children. When this work was begun it may truly be said it had few friends. The Diocese was poor, and gave but little help; the undertaking was new and excited but little interest. To the ability and devotion of Sister Margaret is due, under God, the exalted position and influence of the Appleton Church Home today. This institution is now firmly established in the respect and affection of the Diocese. Long after Mr. Appleton and myself shall have passed away it will be here doing its work of caring for and training destitute girls—a home for the homeless, a training school in Christian principles and churchly ways of the friendless; a refuge from sin and ruin of many a poor girl for whose soul the busy world cares nothing. Sister Margaret was a woman of rarest gifts. Full of wisdom and courage, full of patience and love, of kindness and gentleness, She neglected no duty, she avoided no responsibility. Forgetful of self, thoughtful of others for her Blessed Saviour’s sake, she deserved, and doubtless has won, that highest of all praise which the Master bestows upon those who love and serve Him best: “She hath done what she could!” There are two names which, as the years roll on, will become more and more precious to the hearts of Georgia churchmen—Wm. H. Appleton, the founder of the Home, and Sister Margaret, its first Matron, who, as head of the Order of St. Katharine, took the institution in its infancy, established it, and left it a priceless gift to the future, consecrated by her prayers and her life’s intense devotion. When the Master came and called for her, He found her at her post; sickness was in the Home, and night and day—a ministering angel—she watched and worked. Three score and nine years had passed over her, and the weary heart heard the summons with peaceful joy. A sacred silence fell upon those who wept beside the dying, and the still small voice whispered to her: “Friend, come up higher,” and the sweet spirit of Sister Margaret passed away from earth and entered the Paradise of God.

Since our last Convention I have received notice of the death of Rev. Thomas C. Stanley. For several years past Mr. Stanley, though a clergyman of this Diocese, had lived in San Angelo, in the jurisdiction of Western Texas; consequently I have known but little of him during this time. I do remember, however, and am glad to place upon record the fact, that the late Bishop of Western Texas, our deeply loved Bishop Robert Elliott, spoke to me of Mr. Stanley in high terms as an earnest and successful Parish Priest. He had charge of the Mission of St. Mathew in Savannah for some time, and then of the missionary work in Gainesville, in both which places he will be remembered as a warm-hearted, kindly, Christian clergyman, who won the affection and confidence of those among whom he ministered.

It is also my sad duty to announce to you the death of Rev. Chas. M. Thomas, M. D., of Griffin. Dr. Thomas fell asleep.

When I came to Georgia, in 1868, he was Rector of St. Philip’s Church, Atlanta. His life had been an eventful one. For years he had been a Methodist minister, during which time he was a chaplain in the Navy, and did notable service on the coast of Africa. He came into the Church with a growing reputation for ability, especially in the pulpit. This reputation he maintained until his health failed; then he resigned his Parish and lived upon his plantation near Griffin. He was constantly asking for work, and yet it was evident that his health would not permit it. During this period he studied and won his degree as a Doctor of Medicine, hoping thus to increase his usefulness among the poor and destitute. During the past two years he became convinced that his work was ended, and he had only to wait the Master’s time when he should be at rest. So, one by one the companions of our youth fall away from us and an ever-increasing loneliness warns us that the day is not far distant when the summons will come to us, and the places which know us now will know us no more forever.

It was hoped by many that the work of prayer-book enrichment, as it is called, would have exhausted itself during the last General Convention, and that by this time the Church would be quietly learning the additions and alterations which the wisdom of her legislators has thought fit to impose upon her, in the happy belief that for at least a generation or two she would in this respect have peace. In this we were disappointed. The end is not yet, though it is understood that the General Convention of 1892 will close our efforts in that, as many think, unnecessary direction. It may be truly said, I think, that the changes have not been very important, while the improvements have been less important.

The last General Convention distinguished itself rather by what it refused to do than by what it did! It refused to change the name of the Church. This negative legislation was most important. That word “Protestant,” which the church has chosn as one of the notes of her catholicity, is both “a stumbling stone and rock of offense” to many who would gladly quote the Church’s action in changing her name as an official withdrawal of her protest against Rome. The Church is beginning to understand the motive of this movement, and as this understanding increases all hope of change in her name diminishes.

It refused to act favorably upon the proposed amendment of the Constitution authorizing the appointment by the General Convention of an Appellate Court. When the Convention met in Chicago in 1886 the readers of certain Church papers must have thought that the Church had reached a turning point in her history. The clergy, who had the misfortune to be brought before an Ecclesiastical Court, were supposed to be simply the victims of a code of laws which gave power to prejudice and made justice ridiculous. There was no safety except in an Appellate Court, independent of the Diocese and the creature of the General Convention. Providentially, as I think, the movement to create such a court was rejected. At the last General Convention an effort to establish it again failed. Time has thus been gained, and thoughtful minds are examining the matter in all its bearings. It is my hope and belief that before the next General Convention meets the Church will understand that while it is extremely doubtful that such a court will benefit the clergy, it is positively certain that its establishment will destroy the independence of the Dioceses, reduce them to mere districts, called Dioceses, overthrow the authority of the Bishops, and complete the work of centralization. The court of final decision is the court that governs. We have only to imagine the Supreme Courts of the States wiped out of existence, and the Constitution so changed as to require all appeals from the Superior Courts to be made to the Supreme Court of the United States in Washington City, to understand how thoroughly the independence of the Dioceses would be destroyed. Absolute freedom in the management of its domestic affairs by the State is the safeguard of the Republic. As that freedom diminishes centralization increases, and when that freedom is destroyed all power will be centered in a paternal government, which—call it by what name you will—will be a simple despotism. Such, I believe, whether consciously or not, whether intentionally or not, is the real meaning of this movement to establish an Appellate Court. It is the assertion of absolute and irresponsible power over the Dioceses by the General Convention, by which a Diocesan Court becomes practically no more than a grand jury, and a Bishop becomes no more than an ecclesiastical notary public. If my life be spared, I hope before the next meeting of the General Convention to give you more fully my views upon this all-important subject. Now I have only to say that I rejoice that the conservative spirit of the Church checked the rashness of a radicalism which surpasses the recklessness of modern politics.

The General Convention finally refused to take action upon the “Race question,” as it is called—declaring that ” questions of jurisdiction and representation in the several Dioceses have, under our Constitution, been committed to them, and they are questions over which the General Convention, as such, has no control.” Thus the Church in her wisdom has avoided the mistake which in our national government has caused and is causing so much trouble and distress.

As to the general condition of our Diocese I can say but little. The new missionary plan has been on trial for one year. When a summary of the work is laid before you, you will have before you the entire field, and can form a wise judgment. There have been quite a number of vacancies during the past year, some of which have been filled. At one time I thought that when this Convention met I would be able to report no vacancies, but at the last moment we were disappointed. Still, I hope and believe that the summer will not pass before this will practically be the case. I have not for years looked forward to the future with as much hope as now. We have had some losses which grieved me sorely, but my grief finds increasing solace in the earnest energy and ability of those who have come to fill the vacant places. All over the Diocese, among clergy and laity, there seems to be an increase in aggressive work on churchly lines. If now, by God’s grace, we succeed in filling the few remaining vacant places with men like unto you, my brethren of the clergy, I believe the autumn will find us a united diocese—busy, active, aggressive; building up the waste places and encouraged in the work by the hearty sympathy, the energetic co-operation and generous financial support of our brethren of the laity. Such is my hope, and to such an end may the good God direct and support our energies. Your friend and Bishop,

JOHN W. BECKWTTH.