Valley Forge Commemoration – 1997

The 109^th Annual Church Service of the Society to commemorate the 220^th anniversary of the Encampment of the Continental Army at Valley Forge in 1777 and in memory of the members of the Society who have died during the past year was conducted on Sunday, 4 May 1997, at 5:00 p.m., at Christ Church, Ithan on Conestoga Road in Villanova, Pennsylvania. The Reverend Ronald W. Parker, Rector of Christ Church, officiated, with Mary Prince, Organist, performing the sacred music. Walter Jeffrey Maiden, President Emeritus of the Society, read the First Lesson. Mark Frazier Lloyd, President of the Society, read the Second Lesson. Jonathan Henry FitzGerald, Registrar of the Society, read the Necrology. The Reverend Gregory Forrest Dimick, Chaplain of the Society preached the Sermon and gave the Memorial Prayer.

The Church Service at Christ Church, Ithan was the 17th and final service at which Reverend Gregory Forrest Dimick officiated as Chaplain of the Pennsylvania Society of Sons of the Revolution. The sermon he preached on that occasion, which is reprinted in full here, was the last of an extraordinary series of intellectually engaging and spiritually uplifting interpretations of Scripture. A few words of recognition and tribute are therefore in order for this faithful Officer of the Pennsylvania Society of Sons of the Revolution.

Reverend Gregory Forrest Dimick is a native of New Hampshire who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1970 at the age of 22. He had plans for a career in the ministry and his collegiate and theological studies had instilled in him an abiding interest in American history, genealogy and public service.

In May 1971 Reverend Dimick was assigned to the Emmanuel Evangelical Congregational Church in Hatfield and he has served as Minister of that Church ever since. Despite the word "Congregational" in its name, Reverend Dimick points out that Emmanuel Church is not Calvinist in its theology, but Wesleyan and consciously 'old fashioned' Methodist in doctrine and practice. His Church has recently honored Reverend Dimick on reaching the thirtieth year of his ministry.

In 1975 Albert Sidney Williams, Jr. was the Chairman of the Society's Membership Committee. It was he who took Reverend Dimick to lunch at the Merion Cricket Club and subsequently introduced him to the Sons of the Revolution. Reverend Dimick is descended from Isaac Perkins, who twice served as a private in the Massachusetts militia during the Revolution, the first time in 1775 and again in 1777. The Board of Managers admitted Reverend Dimick to membership in 1975.

Six years later the Nominations Committee called and asked Reverend Dimick to be Chaplain of the Society. It presented an opportunity to wed his professional calling with his personal interests and he accepted the offer with enthusiasm. In the years which followed he thoroughly enjoyed working with the Officers and Managers of the Society in planning the Annual Church Service. He was very pleased to be a participant in worship services held in many of the finest old churches in the Philadelphia area. He has great respect for each of the seven Presidents under whom he served, from Theodore Clattenburg to Mark Frazier Lloyd.

When recently asked, Reverend Dimick said that the single most memorable occasion of his long tenure was the Society's Centennial Celebration Banquet, held at the Union League of Philadelphia on Saturday evening, 19 March 1988. He was seated at the head table and was called upon to bless the meal with an Invocation. He found himself enormously impressed with Dick Thornburgh, former Pennsylvania Governor, future U.S. Attorney General, and the evening's keynote speaker. Even as he delivered the Benediction at the close of the program, Reverend Dimick knew that he had taken part in one of the greatest events in the Society's history. What a blessing from God, he thought, that he should be called upon to be the Society's Chaplain and that he should have the privilege to serve at this moment in the life of such a fine organization.

 

A reception followed at The Radnor Hotel, Lancaster Avenue and Radnor-Chester Road, Radnor, Pennsylvania.

138 members and guests were in attendance. Mark Crosby Ward was Chairman of the Valley Forge Commemoration Committee.

 

 

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"Spirited Continuance"

Joshua 1: 9

"Have I not commanded thee?

Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed,

for the Lord thy God is with thee, whithersoever thou goest!"

 

by

Reverend Gregory Forrest Dimick

Chaplain of the Society

 

"One morning last Autumn I was seated in one of the court rooms at the Montgomery county Courthouse in Norristown. Now, lest you jump to incorrect conclusions, I was there as a WITNESS … only as a witness! Any way, on the front wall, behind the bench in that room, there is a mural of what appeared to me at least to be a depiction of a scene at Valley Forge, and these words which I hastily copied into my date book to save for just such an occasion as this, forgetting altogether to note whose words they were, if in fact it was known. By the way, if you gather from this that your Chaplain is growing increasingly inept with age, you are quite correct! The inscription, however, struck me as being exceedingly significant:

By spirited continuance we shall obtain the end of our warfare: independence, liberty, (and) peace …

"‘Spirited Continuance’ … I like that, for it reminds me of what we always heard about years ago in my native region about so-called ‘Yankee Determination,’ although as I have lived in eastern Pennsylvania for the past twenty-seven years, many people, including some within my own household, have reminded me of my English/Welsh stubborn streak, or even my ‘New England contrariness!’ Whatever … the phrase ‘spirited continuance’ does something positively for me as I read it, hear it, and think about it.

"As a great historical and hereditary organization, we meet today to commemorate that extremely significant period of time that the Continental Army of George Washington spent at Valley Forge and also to honor the memory of those of our number who now rest from their labors. We almost naturally, therefore, think about ‘continuance,’ for we represent those who are in an unbroken succession from them; we are those who, in these days of unconcern for the things of the past, days wherein true patriotism is the exception rather than the rule, have taken it upon ourselves willingly and honorably to continue the spirit of Valley Forge, because more is the pity, the ‘warfare’ has not ended. The maintenance of independence, liberty, and peace is a continuing struggle, and we ought to be at the forefront … with THEM in Spirit!

Not alone for battleship and fortress,

Not alone for conquests of the sword

But for conquests of the spirit,

We give thanks to Thee, O Lord,

For the Heritage of freedom,

For the home, the Church, the school,

For the open door to manhood,

In a land the people rule.

W.P. Merrill

"The text takes us back to that very important time in the history of God’s dealing with people. The Children of Israel, after years of wandering about in the desert, stand at last on the banks of Jordan, poised to enter the Promised Land. They had come a very long way, out of bondage in Egypt having been marvelously delivered from the Oppressor’s hand by the director power of God Himself. They had encountered many a trial along the way, and they had endured the consequences of their own faithlessness and disobedience to God’s will and way. And it falls to General Joshua Ben-Nun to motivate them, to stir and to inspire them now to cross over Jordan, conquer the pagan peoples already there, and to settle the land according to Divine plan. His words echo powerfully down through the ages:

Be strong and of a good courage… Be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed, for the Lord thy God is with Thee…

"He was encouraging them to CONTINUE what they had begun, and to see it through unto the end. Victory, prosperity, and security lay before them across the river; the ‘end of their warfare’ was in sight. The independence, liberty, and peace with GOD had promised them, and to their descendants, was within their reach, and although there was much to be done, there was more hardship to come, there were more battles to be fought, yet GOD was on their side, HE had chosen their commanding officer, and he was an able man. ‘Be strong, and be courageous, and God will keep His promises!’

"It is an outstanding example for us, and for what we celebrate today. We have the leader’s promise, and that special power that comes from God to those whom we call heroes. Joshua received from God Himself the quickening influence of a sacred charge. As God spoke to him, so he would speak to all who are constrained by a sense of duty to God and man to undertake some task that seems beyond their power. The Children of Israel were not an easy lot to deal with. They were easily discouraged, and prone to complain when things did not go well. Courage was not something which they generally exhibited. Joshua had his work cut out for him, but the power that made him a hero was also available to him in order to carry out the duties required of him: ‘As I was with Moses, so I will be with thee I will NEVER fail thee nor forsake thee!’ Make no mistake about it, COURAGE has always been the supreme requirement of God’s saints, and strength goes with it: ‘Be strong, AND of a good courage!’

"The Word of God contains many exhortations to courage; the ‘Fear Not’ passages, if you will, are not easily counted. St. Peter says, ‘Add to your faith, COURAGE … ‘ These words, and all the other passages regarding courage to be found in Holy Writ are not merely soothing words, calming solicitude, but quickening words, calling to challenge, to conflict, AND to VICTORY. The Second Lesson pointed us today to the great catalogue of the faithful, and we find that in nearly every instance wherein the writer attributes people’s greatness to their faith, he might have done so with equal truth to their courage.

"Fear is the parent of every kind of vice: fear of conflict, fear of shame, fear of failure, fear that God will leave fidelity unrewarded and prayer unanswered. It is summed up in the words of one of the servants in the Parable of the Talents, ‘I went and HID my talent, BECAUSE I WAS AFRAID!’ Fear makes things worse, shirks one’s duty, then postpones duty, and then neglects duty altogether, and ultimately the fearful one may turn from God entirely in the bitterness of his or her own despair. No wonder, then, that Joshua exhorted the people: DO NOT BE AFRAID; be of a good courage! The principle is ageless and timeless. For those who are afflicted, bereaved, and broken … be brave and of good courage, for the hardiness of spirit that comes from GOD is sufficient for what must be done. Strength goes with courage! Joshua obeyed the principle and precept because he believed and trusted in God, and he CONTINUED in that spirit, and ultimately he, and the Children of Israel received the end of their warfare, independence as they settled the Promised Land according to God’s plan; liberty, as they left their captivity way behind them in Egypt; and peace, as they were led to victory over their enemies.

"Well, we know that it was a discouraged, bedraggled, worn out group of men that came to Valley Forge that Winter. I am always struck by the description has been left to us that one could have traced the steps of that army by the blood which their wounded feet left in the snow! There wasn’t much spirit left, and I wonder if they felt that their was really anything remaining with which to continue to the warfare. We recall with humble thanksgiving today that there was much FOR which to continue, and that the Providence of God brought forth, as it did to the Children of Israel long ago, the greatest of leaders, so that SPIRIT was restored, energies were renewed, strength regained, and courage reinstated. The result was VICTORY … victory at great cost, as it always is, but a glorious victory all the same, and those who survived continued don’t you see, in the spirit of their fallen comrades, and set the seal of that spirit on their graves.

For the armies of the faithful,

Souls that passed and left no name

For the glory that illumines patriot lives

of deathless fame;

For the prophets and apostles,

Loyal to the living Word

For all heroes of the Spirit

Give we thanks to Thee, O Lord!

"Beloved … the challenge is ever before us. As people of God, we are challenged to continue in the spirit for Him in the midst of an increasingly Godless, Christ-denying generation; the Scripture calls it ‘perverse and untoward.’ As descendants of those gallant heroes, we are challenged to continue in the spirit OF them, and FOR them, for there is much for us to continue to FOR in a society that uses the flag of its country for a carpet in a museum! ‘By SPIRITED CONTINUANCE we shall obtain the end of our warfare … ‘ The writer of Hebrew says, ‘Let us run the race that is set before us, looking unto JESUS, the Author and Finisher of our faith … ‘ The end of our warfare: independence, liberty, and peace … they were won at great cost … we know how valuable they are, and how worth preserving they are. Let us preserve them, then; let us continue them then, let us continue them with great SPIRIT, and may God defend the right! AMEN"

 

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