1774: Anglican clergyman and hymn writer John Newton wrote in a
letter: "What a mercy it is to be separated in spirit, conversation, and interest
from the world that knows not God."
1818:
American statesman Henry Clay wrote: "All religions united with government are more
or less inimical to liberty. All separated from government are compatible with
liberty."
1940:
Dr. Samuel Cavert of the Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in America officiated
at a Protestant Easter service in New York City. It was the first religious program to be
broadcast over television, and was carried by local NBC affiliate TV station W2XBS, in
NYC.
1980: El
Salvador's leading human rights activist, Archbishop Oscar Romero, 62, was assassinated by
a sniper while saying mass in a hospital chapel.
1982:
Five congregations in the eastern San Francisco Bay area became the first to declare
themselves publicly as sanctuary churches, in an effort to help refugees from Central
America establish themselves in the U.S. during political and military unrest in their
native countries.
Source: William D. Blake. Almanac
of the Christian Church, Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1987. Additional
information supplied by the author. Contact via E-mail: William D. Blake. (pilgrimwb@aol.com)
