A New Look for a New Era

Historic St. John's Episcopal Church Gets a Facelift Before Obama's Visit

When Barack Obama arrives at St. John's Episcopal Church on the morning of his inauguration, he will find a historic church that has recently undergone an extensive renovation to honor its past -- and bring it into the 21st century.

From gleaming plank floors and shimmering stained-glass windows to repositioned pews that better accommodate longer-limbed modern Americans, the 193-year-old church is set to continue along its path through the religious lives of American presidents.

Since James Madison, every American president has worshiped at the church, located across Lafayette Square from the White House, at some point in their administrations. Some made it over only once, while others became regulars.

For a weary President Abraham Lincoln, the church was a refuge during the Civil War, church leaders said. The president frequently slipped into the rear pew for Sunday night Evensong services after they began, then left before the service was over, so as not to disturb worshipers.

More recently, President Bush attended the 7:45 a.m. service as often as twice a month, say church members, where he participated actively in the service. In the Exchange of Peace, where church members greet each other before Communion, Bush would emerge from his pew to shake the hands of those around him, church senior warden Elizabeth Danello said. He stood in line with everyone else (albeit with a contingent of Secret Service agents) for Communion.

Bush and his father attended worship services at St. John's on the morning of their inaugurations, as did Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman and Ronald Reagan.

Roosevelt started the tradition of attending a worship service before taking the oath of office when he attended St. John's on a dreary March Sunday.

"I think a thought to God is the right way to start off my administration," he told an interviewer later. "A proper attitude toward religion, and belief in God, will in the end be the salvation of all peoples. For ourselves, it will be the means of bringing us out of the depths into which so many have apparently fallen."

Obama's worship service will be private, but church members have no doubt that he will be seated in pew 54, the "president's pew," in the middle of the congregation. That was Madison's seat and has been the seat of every president since then. Madison "wanted to feel part of the congregation," Danello said.

Last Wednesday, workers were putting the finishing touches on the sanctuary, which will be the scene for what could be the president-elect's last quiet moments before he plunges into a history-making day. The acrid smell of wood-stripping solution wafted through, while electric saws and vacuum cleaners roared.

For seven months during the height of the renovation, church members worshiped in the nearby U.S. Chamber of Commerce building, but they moved back into the church in December. The final step in the renovation, the $1.2 million organ, will be installed in the next six weeks, they said.

Church leaders say the $6.5 million renovation was meant to be subtle.

"The goal was to make it look like a 200-year-old church that had been well cared for," said Paul Barkett Jr., junior warden at the church.

They are happy to be able to show it off to a high-profile new neighbor on his big day. "We're thrilled to host it," Danello said. "To be part of this historic inauguration -- it's a real honor."