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St. Thomas' Parish is an Episcopal church in Washington, D.C.. It is part of the Diocese of Washington. == History == Calvary Parish was formed in 1891 to serve the Dupont Circle area of Washington with the Rev. John Abel Aspinwall as its first rector.〔(St. Thomas' Parish History )〕 The Rev. Aspinswall was the son of William H. Aspinwall, who built the Panama Railroad across Panama. In 1894, the cornerstone of the new St. Thomas’ Parish church building was laid. The first service took place on June 25, 1899.〔 Over the years, numerous well-known social and political figures worshiped at St. Thomas' Parish, including Franklin D. Roosevelt,〔(FDR Photos )〕 Harry Truman, and Mrs. Woodrow Wilson. On the first Sunday in Lent, 1933, parishioners welcomed the return of Roosevelt who the day before had been inaugurated as President of the United States.〔 Over the next few decades, many of the city’s white residents left the city for the surrounding suburbs, and as a result St. Thomas' Parish, like many urban churches in the District of Columbia, lost quite a few members.〔(NPS History of Dupont Circle )〕 The social upheaval of the 1960s left its imprint on Dupont Circle,〔(Washington Post; The Wreckage of a Dream )〕 as the neighborhood attracted more artists, hippies and others who were less in the mainstream of Washington society than had been the case in generations past.〔 In 1970, the original Gothic church structure was destroyed by fire as a result of arson.〔 The Vestry voted to remain in the same location and carry on an active ministry within the community. The Parish Hall, which was left standing behind the footprint of the old church, was also transformed into the simple, nontraditional worship space parishioners use today. The rest of the building became a center for community meetings and various recovery groups. St. Thomas’ leaders later decided to convert the area where the old church building stood into a park that could be enjoyed by the whole neighborhood. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「St. Thomas' Parish (Washington, D.C.)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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