The Rev. Henry Hurd Breul was born in 1926. A native of Bridgeport, CT, he was the great-grandson of P.T. Barnum, a fact which explains (in part) his abundant zest for life and rich humor. (He did, after all, commission the Marimekko flowered chasuble from his friend, the Rev. Vienna Anderson, a maker of liturgical vestments and former rector of our sister parish, St. Margaret's.)

A graduate of the Loomis School Henry attended Harvard College, graduating cum laude in 1946. He served for a year with the American Field Service, driving an ambulance in the Middle East before entering General Theological Seminary. He was ordained to the priesthood in the early 1950's, and General awarded him an honorary doctorate in 1991.

Prior to being called to St. Thomas' in 1965, Henry had served as rector of churches in Devon, Connecticut, and Topeka, Kansas. In the latter city he was known as the "unofficial" chaplain to the Kansas State Senate and a leader among the clergy of Kansas in pushing fair housing legislation and working to relieve the racial tensions simmering in that city.

In Washington he faced similar issues, both within St. Thomas' where he ordered the ushers to admit people of color and the city, where he served 19 years on the DC Advisory Committee on Civil Rights. During his time at St. Thomas' the parish housed a Vista program volunteer, sponsored programs for refugees from the Viet Nam War, and became the meeting place for the Advisory Neighborhood Commission. Active in Diocesan affairs, Henry was a member of Diocesan Council and twice a deputy to General Convention. From 1970-1982 he was associate editor of the General Convention publication, "Issues."

His most lasting contribution to the church at large, however, came from his involvement with the Council of Associated Parishes. Active in the group from 1962 on, he was its president from 1970-1971 and edited OPEN, its quarterly journal, for 15 years. Associated Parishes was the driving force behind the liturgical and ecumenical reform movement that led to the revised Book of Common Prayer and new hymnal. During the trial period for the new liturgies, St. Thomas' had a knowledgeable and persuasive teacher in Henry, who helped the congregation adapt easily to the changes being made.

Convinced that the rector needed to live in the neighborhood of the church, Henry had the parish sell the rectory in Spring Valley and buy the house on 19th Street. He was a familiar figure in the neighborhood, watching the passers-by from his window seat in the rectory or lunching at the Fox and Hounds.

Grace Dickson, Henry's first wife, died in 1972, and Henry was left with their two children, Lil and Nick. The parish rejoiced when Henry found a new love in Sally McConnell, whom he married in 1974. Upon his retirement in 1991 Eleanor Holmes Norton, DC's delegate to the House of Representatives, recognized his "more than a quarter of a century of distinguished and dedicated service to the residents of the District of Columbia . . . and . . . his extraordinary contribution to the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States." Even in retirement, however, Henry continued an active life serving as a deacon at Emmanuel Church in Chestertown, Maryland, where he and Sally had gone to live. He died in 1996.

Henry's strong sense of social justice showed in his support of the ordination of women and of gays and lesbians, as well as his active involvement in civil rights. He was a gifted preacher, a teacher of formidable intellect, and an innovative liturgist. Former parishioner David Spencer, recently wrote: "Henry had a tremendous impact on my life and faith. . . and his sermons remain memorable."

At Henry's funeral a responsive prayer of thanksgiving was said. One of the thanksgivings read:

"For his promotion of justice between races and classes, sexes and sexual orientations; for his commitment to the improvement of our commonweal; for his willingness to express unpopular views; for Henry the prophet: we thank you, Lord."

But in case you are wondering whether Henry could do no wrong, the following thanksgiving added:

"For his lack of tact; for his inability to suffer those less intelligent than himself; for his impatience with the pace of change; for Henry the human being: we thank you, Lord."

And that was Henry - warm, loving, irascible, determined, intellectual, deeply committed to social justice, faithful - and very, very human.