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18-605: Henry Foxall , the prominent owner of the Columbia Foundry (besides the church, also namesake of the Foundry Branch ), contributed the land and funds for the construction of the first church in 1814. By tradition, he made the contribution in gratitude for divine intervention after a thunderstorm prevented British soldiers from destroying the foundry during the Burning of Washington . Foxall, who later served as mayor of Georgetown ,

36-659: A country house on Spring Hill in Georgetown. He also built a house for his daughter, Mary McKenney, at 3123 Dumbarton Avenue, later called the Foxall-McKenney House. After retiring in 1815, he returned to England on two occasions, once in 1815 and another time in 1823. On December 11, 1823, he died while visiting England. The Foxhall Village neighborhood in Washington, D.C. is named after Foxall. Defense contractors Too Many Requests If you report this error to

54-543: A life director of the Methodist Missionary Society. His successor Andrew Johnson is also known to have attended. In 1877, President Rutherford B. Hayes became a member of the congregation, and he and his wife Lucy attended services regularly for the next four years. Lucy Webb Hayes was a devout Methodist and known for her support of the temperance movement , and later nicknamed "Lemonade Lucy" as she did not serve alcohol at White House events. In June 1872,

72-461: A time. Foxall learned the iron foundry trade in England and Ireland . He apprenticed at Funtley Forge, near HMNB Portsmouth . He was employed by Henry Cort for seven years and learned proficiency in the use of coke to fire the iron furnace and the puddling and rolling techniques pioneered by Cort. He then went to Ireland, having been recruited by Thomas O'Reilly, in the late 1780s and worked at

90-478: A young age, John (1786–1809) and Mary Ann (1791–1856). His wife died in the 1798 Philadelphia yellow fever epidemic . He married Margaret English Smith, and she died in 1816. He later married his third wife, Catherine Holland, in November 1816. Foxall became a naturalized citizen after moving to Georgetown in 1803. Foxall owned a house on 34th Street, the previous residence of General James Lingan . He also owned

108-656: Is considered one of the first United States defense contractors because he supplied the U.S. Navy during the Quasi War , First Barbary War and the War of 1812 with cannons and cannonballs from his iron foundries in Philadelphia , Georgetown (then part of Maryland) and Richmond, Virginia . He also served as Mayor of Georgetown and helped found the Foundry United Methodist Church in Washington, D.C. Henry Foxall

126-535: The U.S. Capitol building . He retired in 1815 and sold his foundries. Foxall served as Mayor of Georgetown . He also was the director of a bank in Georgetown, trustee of the Georgetown Importing and Exporting Company and the owner of a bakery. Foxall was actively involved in the Methodist church . He worked as a lay preacher, but was ordained officially as an elder in 1814. Foxall donated in 1814 to have

144-769: The Arigna Iron Works in Arigna . By November 1791, Foxall converted to Methodism . Around June 1795, after the Catholic Defenders attacked Arigna, Foxall and his family fled to Annandale and later took the ship Joseph to New York City . By October 1795, they had settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania . While in Philadelphia, he set up and purchased the Eagle Iron Works in partnership with Robert Morris . Their partnership dissolved in 1800. While in Philadelphia, he

162-477: The Clintons would attend services there about half the weekends they were in Washington. On June 7, 1995, the church voted to become a " Reconciling Ministry " for LGBTQIA+ members, an effort which continued under Wogaman's successor, Dean Snyder. The church voted overwhelmingly in 2010 to allow same-sex marriages, placing it in conflict with the larger United Methodist Church. In 2014, Ginger E. Gaines-Cirelli became

180-670: The Foundry Chapel (later the Foundry United Methodist Church ) built. It was the first Methodist congregation organized in the city of Washington west of the Capitol. The church was dedicated on September 10, 1815, and named in commemoration of John Wesley 's Foundry Chapel in London . Foxall married three times. Foxall married Ann Harward of Stourport, Worcestershire in 1780 while in Ireland, and together they had five children, three that died at

198-562: The church purchased land at 15th and R Streets NW, which was developed into the Fifteenth Street Methodist Church. Foundry and the Fifteenth Street church merged in 1903. Around this time, the church leaders sought to build a bigger church, and acquired the current parcel on 16th Street NW. The new church opened for worship on February 28, 1904, and was dedicated on April 10 of that year. In 1924, Frederick Brown Harris

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216-471: The church's 1984 renovation. A committee led by organist Eileen Guenther supervised its design and installation, choosing spots and voicing to reflect a focus on Classical and Romantic French literature. Guenther gave its first performance in February 1985. Henry Foxall Henry Foxall (May 24, 1758 – December 11, 1823) was an English-born American politician, industrialist and Methodist preacher. He

234-473: The first woman to serve as senior pastor. Foundry is known for its strong music program, which includes a children's choir, contemporary choir, and the 55-voice Foundry Choir. The Foundry Choir was selected to lead the opening communion service of the 1984 UMC General Conference , marking the bicentennial of Methodism in America. The church organ is a Casavant of 3,364 pipes and 60 ranks installed as part of

252-574: Was able to supply the U.S. Navy with cannons and cannonballs during the First Barbary War and the Quasi War . This act makes him considered one of the first United States defense contractor . In 1800, Foxall moved to Georgetown and built the Columbia Foundry in 1801. He also set up a foundry in Richmond, Virginia in 1809. Both foundries produced cannons for the federal government. It

270-527: Was an associate of Francis Asbury , the founder of American Methodism, and became a lay preacher himself. A simple brick church was constructed at 14th and G Streets, Northwest, and Stephen G. Roszel became its first preacher, in 1815. The name "Foundry Chapel" was first used in 1816, and the community became an independent charge in 1817. President Abraham Lincoln attended a January 18, 1863 service at Foundry, where visiting Bishop Matthew Simpson, raising funds for missionary work, proposed that Lincoln be made

288-780: Was appointed pastor, a position he would have for more than 30 years, during which time he also served as the Chaplain of the Senate , and became the longest-serving holder of that title. Attendance reached an all-time high during World War II . Early in the American involvement in the war, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and U.K. Prime Minister Winston Churchill attended a special interfaith service at Foundry on December 25, 1941. J. Philip Wogaman , previously of Wesley Theological Seminary , became senior minister in 1992. In 1993, Foundry welcomed President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton as members;

306-747: Was born on May 24, 1758, in Monmouth Forge in South Wales to Mary (née Hays) and Thomas Foxall. After his birth, the family returned to the British West Midlands. The family became Methodist through their friendship with the Asbury family. Foxall would remain friends with Francis Asbury for the rest of his life. His father was an ironworker who served as foreman at the Old Forge in West Bromwich for

324-399: Was estimated that during his time leading the Columbia Foundry, approximately 300 heavy guns and 30,000 shots were produced in a year. He supplied armaments during the War of 1812 and his foundry was targeted by British forces, but the attack never happened due to weather and rumors of additional American forces. Foxall's business was also a supplier of cast iron to Thomas Jefferson and

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