Credibility of Confederates

Written By Jonathan Krogh

Dear Credibility Borrowers:

Many years ago, I was given a tour of Richmond, VA, curated by my friend The Reverend R. Milton Winter, PhD, an avid historian of the American south. Among the many landmarks and historic sites he shared was a brief visit to St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. During the Civil War (or locally known as the War between the States), St. Paul’s had become known as the Cathedral of the Confederacy. This was nearly forty years ago, so the sanctuary still contained a commemoration of Jefferson Davis’ family pew draped with the 1865 flag of the Confederacy. This particular flag was the last of the Confederate flags, white with a wide red vertical stripe on the right end and, in the upper lefthand corner, thirteen white stars inside the blue diagonal cross contained in a red square. (This corner portion of the flag is now associated with Confederate sympathizers, but by itself it was never the Confederate flag; it was originally the battle flag of Northern Virginia.) On the wall nearest the pew was a large plaque commemorating the life and presidency of Jefferson Davis.

“Imagine having to preach every Sunday looking at that!” my friend Milton whispered to me in the empty sanctuary. We both recalled the line from the abolitionist hymn, Once to Every Man and Nation, “time makes ancient good uncouth.”

For some strange reason, I mused again over this experience as I read an article about an artist who was duped into believing Lady Gaga had purchased one of her paintings. She had received an email inquiring about her work, and to her excitement she sold a single landscape for $50,000 believing that Stefani Germanotta (Lady Gaga’s real name) added one of her paintings to her collection. The artist low-balled the price, believing her cred as an artist significantly increased. A few years later, when the painting turned up at auction from a seller in Hong Kong, she knew she had been played. The auction house is currently in custody of the painting, pending litigation regarding its provenance.

I connect these two accounts because I have many clergy acquaintances who extend their professional credentials based on the status of their congregation’s members. They seem to believe that hosting weekly worship for the mayor, local industrialist, celebrity or other notable citizen somehow increases their credibility as public theologians. No doubt the Reverend Charles Frederick Ernest Minnigerode (rector of St. Paul’s 1856-1889) occasionally introduced himself as pastor to both Jefferson Davis and Robert E. Lee, even having baptized Davis in 1861. In hindsight, however, we may wonder regarding the impact of his preaching and the nature of his pastoral care from 1865 until his retirement.

Since my visit many years ago, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church has removed all commemoration of the Confederacy’s president, as has the artist scrubbed any reference to Lady Gaga’s art collection on her website. Still, it’s tempting to believe that credibility and quality are established not by the skill of the creator, but by the reputation of the consumer.

While visiting a friend in New York one summer, we stopped in a coffee shop and spied Dustin Hoffman off in one corner reading the paper and sipping coffee. Given his presence there, I was surprised to find the coffee to be quite mediocre.

Hoping only to brag that I’m YOUR pastor, I remain,

With Love,
Jonathan Krogh
Your Pastor

Jonathan Krogh
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