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Our first pastor
He was born in Ireland, educated in Scotland, and began his escape to America dressed in women's clothes. He arrived in this country with practically nothing having crossed the Atlantic on a ship that nearly sank. His first sermon on American soil was delivered in a Virginia courthouse to fellow survivors of a hard journey. Six years later, he was preaching to the United States House of Representatives, appointed Chaplain to the House by President Thomas Jefferson.
Who was this fascinating man? Dr. John Glendy - the first pastor of Second Presbyterian Church.
Born in Londonberry, county Derry, Ireland, on June 24, 1755, Dr. Glendy attended the University of Glasgow. Following his education and ordination, he helped build and then served in a Presbyterian church in Maghera, Ireland for twenty years. There he might have happily stayed, but during the 1798 Uprising, Dr. Glendy, suspected of duplicity, watched helplessly as his home, church and property were destroyed. He spent two weeks hiding in the harsh Irish marshlands until eventually making his escape to Londonberry dressed in female attire. He and his wife, Elizabeth, then sailed to America in a ship barely seaworthy.
Upon reaching Norfolk, Virginia, the Captain requested Dr. Glendy to preach to those who had survived the hallowing journey. The sermon attracted attention and soon two churches in Staunton and Bethel, Virginia were enjoying Dr. Glendy's "perfect torrent of Irish eloquence." It was in this area that the Irishman first met President Jefferson who invited him to preach in Washington. In 1805, that acquaintance led to Dr. Glendy's appointment as Chaplain of the House of Representatives and in 1815, Chaplain of the Senate. Dr. Glendy's acquaintance with the President also led to his call to Second Presbyterian Church in 1803 following an unsatisfactory election at the First Presbyterian Church.
Popular, his hair artificially curled and powdered white, a pale complexion with intense blue eyes, animated, graceful of gesture, so short of stature he would preach standing on a pulpit Bible, Dr. Glendy filled the pews. While at Second, he oversaw the construction of the original church building, the acquisition of a burial ground, organized male and female Sabbath schools, and served as Chaplain of the Maryland State Penitentiary. Failing health forced him to step down in 1829 after 26 years of service. He moved to Philadelphia where he died in 1832. His body was brought by ship to the docks of Baltimore where a grieving community buried their beloved Dr. Glendy by moonlight beside his wife.