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dare to hope

THOMAS BRAY, CHAMPION OF LITERACY, LIBRARIES

2/15/2021

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Rev. Mary McCue
Thomas Bray, an English clergyman and missionary, was a champion of literacy for priests and instrumental in founding the Church of England in Maryland.

Born in 1656 or 1658 in Shropshire, he attended Owesty School and Oxford. In his first clerical posting he penned one book of a four-volume series called Catechetical Lectures. The book sold well, and caught the attention of the Bishop of London, Henry Compton. Bishop Compton appointed him to organize the Church of England (CofE) In the colony of Maryland after Protestants had ousted the Catholic Lord Baltimore, and the British Crown had taken title to the colony. Though there were several CofE parishes already in the colony, there was no organization and not enough priests.

Bray set out for America in 1699, with two other priests. By the next year, he’d divided the county into 30 parishes and founded 17 parish libraries.
Libraries were a passion with Bray. He bemoaned the lack of books available to clergy, fearing the effect on their ministries. Bray founded two Societies devoted to clergy education, the "Society for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge" and the "Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts". Both were quite successful.

Back in England, he was assigned as rector to the Church of St. Botolph’s, Aldgate, London. There he expanded his Catechetical Lectures and continued to found libraries, more than 80 in England and Wales. Eventually, there were more than 200 libraries in England and 100 in America because of his efforts. He is recognized for the first coordinated effort to establish libraries in the New World. 

Thomas Bray died in 1730. He is buried at St. Botolph’s.
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    authors

    The Rev. Charles Hoffacker is a retired priest of the Diocese of Washington
    who lives in Greenbelt, Maryland. He and his wife Helena Mirtova are members of Ascension and St. Agnes.

    The Rev. Mary McCue, is a vocational deacon and currently ministers at Church of the Ascension and St. Agnes.
    ​
    The Rev. Dominique Peridans is the Rector of Church of the Ascension and St. Agnes. 

    Molly Jane Layton is a seminarian intern at Ascension and St. Agnes. 

    Zach Baker Rodes is a seminarian intern at Ascension and St. Agnes.

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  • Welcome
    • Newcomers >
      • Letter to Inquirers
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • How to Find Us
    • Childcare
  • Who We Are
    • Our Beliefs >
      • Statements of Mission, Vision, Beliefs & Value
      • What is an Anglo-Catholic?
      • Apolitical or Supra Political?
    • Our History
    • Our Leadership >
      • Parish Staff
      • Vestry
  • Worship
    • About our Worship >
      • Attending Mass
      • Music
  • Formation
    • About Formation
    • Adult Formation >
      • Adult Theology Upcoming
      • Adult Theology Archive >
        • Knowing Christ
    • Sermons
  • Connect
    • Contact us
    • Rector's Weekly Letter
    • Pastoral Care >
      • Pastoral Offices >
        • Reconciliation (Confession)
      • Prayer Requests
    • Stewardship >
      • Stewardship Letter
      • Givelify Instructions
      • Planned Giving
      • Endowment Fund
  • Calendar
  • Baptism
  • Outreach
  • Feasibility Study