Hello friends,
A Newman Church minister who was also a spy for George Washington?
This week I was adding information to the Newman Church Wikipedia page so that we can share the spirit-filled life of our congregation with the world! While adding new content to the page, I also did a little background research.
Rev. John Carnes was the sixth pastor of Newman Church. The historical record shows that Carnes’s tenure at the church was full of conflict. In 1763, a committee summarized the conflict, saying, “there appeared an unhappy alienation of affection in his people to him, and incurable.” The committee recommended that Rev. Carnes leave the church, and he did.
Rev. John Carnes left his career in ministry to become a successful grocer in South Boston in the decade leading up to the American Revolution. In the summer of 1775, Carnes was secretly sending letters to American generals about the anticipated movements of British soldiers in Boston—an espionage service for which he was paid by George Washington. During the war, Carnes was hired as a chaplain to a regiment in the Continental Army, a role to which he was well suited.
Rev. Carnes is an inspiration for us as we approach Newman Church Scholarship Sunday, when we award our students financial support to pursue their education goals. Sometimes our lives end up being very different from what we expected them to be: we train for one career, only to find our calling somewhere else; we stay engaged during difficult times and do the best we can; we don’t give up after our first, second, or third disappointment!
Sunday is also Ascension Sunday, marking the forty days since Easter that Jesus spent with his disciples before leaving them and ascending to heaven. The week between Ascension Sunday and Pentecost Sunday is a symbolic time of separation when God may feel more distant from us.
Let’s look for ways to show a little extra love and care for others during this in-between week ahead. “The measure you give will be the measure you get back” (Luke 6:38).
Traveling together,
Sam
Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/newmanucc/seventh-sunday-of-easter-2025