Today in Christian History

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Sept. 13, 1845   

William Walford's hymn, "Sweet Hour of Prayer," first appeared in print in the "New York Observer." Walford (1772-1850), a blind lay preacher, had written the poem three years earlier in the village of Coleshill, England.

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Sept. 14, 1741   

German composer George Frederick Handel, 56, finished composing his oratorio, "The Messiah." He wrote the score, start-to-finish, in only 24 days, subsisting primarily on coffee.   

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Sept. 15, 1853   

In her home state of New York, Antoinette L. Brown, 28, became pastor of the Congregational church in South Butler -- making her the first woman to be formally ordained to the pastorate in the United States.

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Sept. 16, 1224   

During an extended period of prayer and fasting, St. Francis of Assisi, 42, received the stigmata (crucifixion scars of Christ) on Mount Alvernia, in Italy. Francis, the founder of the Franciscans in 1209, has been called by some the greatest of all the Christian saints.

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Sept. 17, 1787   

The U.S. Constitution -- ratified on this date -- contained the following code under Article 6, Section 3: 'No religious tests shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.'

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Sept. 18, 1765   

Birth of Oliver Holden, early Puritan pastor and statesman. His love for music is demonstrated in the hymn tune CORONATION ("All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name"), which he composed in 1792 at the age of 27.

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Sept. 19, 1971   

Death of William F. Albright, 80, American Methodist archaeologist. Professor of Semitic languages at Johns Hopkins for nearly 30 years, he penned over 1,000 articles and books, and led several Near Eastern expeditions which excavated the biblical sites of Gibeah, Bethel and Petra.

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Sept. 20, 1932   

Four branches of Methodism in England united to form the Methodist Church of Great Britain and Ireland. These were the Wesleyan Methodists (founded 1784), the Primitive Methodists (1811), the United Methodist Free Churches (1857) and the United Methodists (1907).

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Sept. 21, 1933   

In Germany during Hitler's rise to power, Martin Niemoeller began organizing the Pastors' Emergency League. Over 7,000 churches joined, although some 2,500 later withdrew under Nazi pressure. (The League itself gave birth to the more famous Barmen Synod, formed in May 1934.)

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Sept. 22, 1871   

Death of Charlotte Elliott, 82, English devotional writer and author of the enduring hymn, "Just As I Am." (A serious illness at 33 had left her an invalid her remaining 50 years.)

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Sept. 23, 1667   

In Williamsburg, Virginia, a law was passed, barring slaves from obtaining their freedom by converting to Christianity.

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Sept. 24, 1977   

Rev. John T. Walker was installed as the sixth -- and first African American -- bishop of the Episcopal diocese in Washington, D.C.

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Sept. 25, 1789   

The establishment of religion on a national level was expressly prohibited in the U.S. with the adoption of the First Amendment, the opening words of which read: 'Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.' Final ratification of the First Amendment came in 1791.

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Sept. 26, 1990   

In Russia, the Supreme Soviet ended decades of religious repression with a new declaration, forbidding government interference in religious activities and giving citizens the right to study religion in homes and private schools.

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Sept. 27, 1785   

The Protestant Episcopal Church in the U.S. was founded on this date, following the American Revolutionary War, when U.S. Anglicans met in Philadelphia to create a denomination independent from and autonomous of the Church of England.