The Context for Relocating the Commemorative Plaques 

During the year 2020 Second Presbyterian celebrated its 175th anniversary.  The planning committee chose to make the events of our anniversary year not only celebratory but reflective. “Remembrance, Reconciliation and Rededication” was coined as our Anniversary theme. We embarked on a journey to take an honest look at our history, viewing it from a more inclusive and contextual lens. Little did we know that the year of events we planned would be upended by the onset of a pandemic in early March and the murder of George Floyd in late May.  

Struggling with how to respond to the national crisis around racial injustice, our congregation embarked on a 21-day racial justice challenge during the summer of 2020. More than 200 people in our congregation, sheltering in their homes from the pandemic, committed to each day, read, listen or view something that would challenge their thinking around race. A number of zoom conversations were held to talk about what we’d learned and how we wanted to witness in the face of our nation’s racial history. In true Presbyterian fashion, a task force was formed called Moving Forward Together to help us further refine our learning and understanding of our history and formulate and discuss ways to move forward as a congregation. 

One significant, emerging issue was how to deal with the very visible plaques in our sanctuary dedicated to previous pastors, some of whom had racial views which were now not in line with the values that our church strives to embody. The largest and most significant plaque was the one now on this wall with the image of our founder and pastor of 54 years, Moses Drury Hoge. The other three plaques honored the ministries of our 3rd pastor Russell Cecil (1853–1925), our 4th pastor William Edwin Hill (1880–1940), and our 8th pastor James Whyte Clarke (1891–1976).

We wrestled with key questions: What did these plaques and their location communicate about our identity as a congregation? How did we justify, within the reformed tradition, the presence of images and memorial plaques in the front of our sanctuary? Did they suggest loyalties other than to God alone?

Moses Hoge’s life story and ministry are complicated. His thinking reflected the prevailing culture and attitudes of most whites in Richmond during the Civil War era. Despite being raised by a father who did not believe in the institution of slavery and spoke against it, Moses Hoge was a staunch supporter of slavery, a chaplain of the confederacy, and regarded in his day as “a great moral leader and champion of southern civilization.” He traveled to Europe to raise money for the confederate cause and spoke extensively about the value of and Christian mandate for slavery. At the same time, he was an inspiring and beloved pastor who founded our Church, and who twice served as the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States (PCUS). He was a strong advocate for Presbyterian Reunion in the 1880s. When he died in 1899, Richmonders lined the streets to Hollywood Cemetery to pay their respects. More than 5,000 attended his funeral.

Rev. Hoge’s complicated story and ministry call us to examine our own story as a congregation and as followers of Jesus Christ. In what ways are we complicit in the present-day story of systemic racism that threatens our society and mars our witness to the gospel?

From its dedication in 1901 the Moses Hoge plaque, and later the three others, hung in the sanctuary on either side of the pulpit facing the congregation. Even when not consciously noticed, they formed a heavy presence. For some members they evoked pain. Throughout our 175th Anniversary year, our Church engaged in honest conversations about our history, our founder, and issues of race and reconciliation. After a year of conversation, debate, reflection, and extensive communication, our church decided, by vote of the session, to remove the plaques from the sanctuary and relocate them to this wall on the second floor of the church.  

Our decision to relocate and not simply remove the plaques from the sanctuary wall serves as an outward symbol of our commitment to tell our whole story while continuing to honor the service of these four pastors. Our desire is to let our past inform our present and future Christian witness and to seek to serve God alone as we untangle ourselves from the legacy of systemic racism. Through this action we confess our complicity, as a congregation, in our current situation and commit to work to be reconciled with the communities we’ve harmed. We also celebrate the work we’ve done to heal and make whole the brokenness in our community. We know there is still much to do. We know this work must be grounded in understanding our past so we can make a better future. We pray for God’s forgiveness, grace, and guidance as we move forward together.