Flag Raising - Call to Worship

Flag Raised Beyond Jail Wall Made Unusual "Call to Worship" - No congregation ever had a more unusual "call to worship than that used by a group of Virginia Baptists in 1773.

The preacher, John Weatherford, was in Chesterfield County jail. He had been placed there, as many Baptist preachers of that day were jailed, for preaching without a license from the state church of Virginia.

Despite prison bars, Weatherford continued to preach to large crowds that gathered outside his cell window. Weatherford preached so effectively that authorities erected a crude stone wall some ten or twelve feet high - not to keep prisoners inside the jail but to keep free men away from Weatherford's window. Jagged bits of glass were stuck on top of the wall to prevent Weatherford's hearers from climbing over. The "call to worship" was a piece of cloth tied to a stick. When the Baptist preacher in his cell saw that flag raised above the wall, he knew that a crowd had gathered on the outside. It was his signal to begin preaching.

Nine converts of Weatherford's prison cell preaching were baptized at one time under cover of darkness, for fear the state-supported church might attempt to disrupt the service. Of course, the imprisoned Weatherford was unable to perform the baptism himself. For this service he called on another Baptist who had also braved persecution by the state church. Weatherford was freed at last when Patrick Henry, that invaluable friend of oppressed Baptists, came to his defense. Weatherford attempted to pay Henry for his services by sending him five pounds in gold, carefully wrapped in a kerchief. But Henry returned the gold, still wrapped in the kerchief.