Celebrate Heritage Sunday on May 24
Presbyterian Historical Society offers downloadable bulletin inserts to help congregations take a peek at the past
Mark your calendars and download your bulletin inserts — May 24 is Heritage Sunday.
Every year, Presbyterians come together to celebrate Heritage Sunday, a day to reflect upon and learn more about the long and rich history of the Presbyterian Church. Falling on the Sunday closest to the 21st of May — the opening date of the inaugural General Assembly in the United States in 1789— Heritage Sunday provides us with the opportunity to peek into the past and learn about a figure, event, group or moment in time that impacted the denomination’s history.
The Presbyterian Historical Society offers church bulletin inserts to commemorate Heritage Sunday, with a new topic chosen each year. These files are made available to the public for free — simply download and print them at home or print and prep them to slide into your church bulletin!
This year, we are remembering John Witherspoon, the leading Presbyterian of the Revolutionary Era. The only active clergyman to sign the Declaration of Independence, Witherspoon had arrived in the colonies in 1768 after being persuaded by Benjamin Rush and Richard Stockton to head the College of New Jersey, now Princeton University.
A dynamic preacher, an engaging teacher and an influential colonial leader, Witherspoon continued to lead as a Presbyterian and American patriot in the years following the outbreak of the War for Independence.
And, like many other Founders, he was also an enslaver.
Thus, we remember his many accomplishments but also recognize and reflect on how his leadership limited opportunities for enslaved people in America and others who had little access to church structures, educational institutions or the politics of the new nation.
Back in March, PHS Executive Director Nancy J. Taylor flew to Provo, Utah, to attend and speak at The Religion and the American Founding Conference. The conference was organized by the National Museum of American Religion in partnership with Brigham Young University’s history and political science departments, the Wheatley Institute, and America250 Utah.
American religious historians and religious archivists gathered for two days to discuss the religious landscape on the eve of the American Revolution, and much more. Taylor brought with her an artifact from the PHS archives: a wooden block that was once a part of John Witherspoon's farm at Tusculum. Watch a clip of the recording of Taylor's presentation to hear who Witherspoon was, learn of his role in the revolution, and take a trip down memory lane to his country estate in New Jersey — and visit pcusa.org/phs/hs to download your bulletin inserts ahead of Heritage Sunday.
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