A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

To which he added, “Now, sadly, this is a time for war.”2

In case anyone in attendance may have missed the message, the service concluded with another of Charles Wesley’s hymns, “Soldiers of Christ Arise”:

Soldiers of Christ arise, and put your armour on, strong in the strength which God supplies through His eternal Son;

strong in the Lord of hosts, and in His mighty power: who in the strength of Jesus trusts is more than conqueror.

Stand then in His great might, with all His strength endued, and take, to arm you for the fight, the panoply of God.

From strength to strength go on, wrestle, and fight, and pray: tread all the powers of darkness down, and win the well-fought day. . . .

. . . That having all things done, and all your conflicts past, ye may o’er come, through Christ alone, and stand complete at last.

Father and I stayed behind as the others departed the chapel. His eyes were dried of tears by the time Rev. Thruston, now unadorned by vestments, came from the vestry, sat down beside my father, and said, “James, how may I be of service to you?”

My father asked him to meet me in the morning and accompany me in meeting with “the Captain.” The pastor agreed and said, “I know you are heading to Williamsburg, but can you stay for a few minutes? As we do when the weather permits, the ladies of the parish have spread blankets on the lawn and set out a delicious repast. You should eat some of what they have prepared before you start your journey.”

Ever the gentleman he raised his sons to be, Father agreed. We accompanied Rev. Thruston outside and were immediately surrounded by ladies and plied with food and cups of cider. I must confess, I looked in vain for the girl who played the flute for the hymns during the service.

Father stayed for little more than an hour. Then, he quietly thanked everyone for their kindness and excused himself explaining, “I must hasten to Williamsburg to inform my son Paul what has happened to his brother.”