On the western coast of Africa, situated on 100 acres of land in Monrovia, Liberia, sits a turn-of-the-century schoolhouse called Bromley. After sitting dormant for 14 years during the Liberian Civil War, the school reopened its doors in 2003 to the orphans of that war. At the same time, the school opened its doors to the legacy of a Virginia woman, an Episcopalian, who fought for equality and valued education at a time when such a fight was not popular. These same principles are at work in Liberia today, and are being fostered anew by St. David’s, Ashburn, an Episcopal congregation in the suburbs of Washington, D.C.

Margaret Mercer and Liberia

In pre-Civil War Virginia, Margaret Mercer was a bit of a revolutionary. The daughter of an affluent governor of Maryland, Miss Mercer used her inheritance money to purchase the Belmont Plantation in present day Ashburn, Va. in 1840. She then used the Plantation to board and educate girls from Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania, teaching everything from foreign languages (she was fluent in five) to botany and mathematics. For Miss Mercer, education was more than the memorization of facts and figures. In the preface to her 1841 book, Popular Lectures on Ethics or Moral Obligation, she made clear her definition of a good teacher: “The first duty of teachers is to imbue the young mind with sound moral principles; to impart to it distinct notions of the meaning of the words truth, justice, charity, honor, and to make it both feel and understand the nature of duty.”

Miss Mercer extended this policy to the slaves and African Americans in the area. She worked to bring the same “truth, justice, charity, [and] honor” to them, and even helped fund one former slave’s medical school education. Eventually, she used some of her inheritance money to purchase the slaves’ emancipation and help fund their trips to Liberia.

Liberia was established in the 1820s as a colony for free African Americans. The American Colonization society joined together with numerous political and religious groups—including the Diocese of Virginia—to give African Americans their own, Christian society. In 1836, the Episcopal Diocese of Liberia was established, and in 1847 the area was declared the Republic of Liberia. Miss Mercer, an Episcopalian, viewed slavery as “a direct violation of Christianity,” and looked at Liberia as a positive and hopeful opportunity for former slaves. As author Caspar Harris wrote in Memoir of Miss Margaret Mercer, “Miss Mercer’s determination to transport to Liberia all her slaves . . . originated in an honest, deeply-rooted opinion that their happiness would be promoted by the change.”

In coming to Liberia, the former slaves brought with them the desire for a society that included all the aspects of life they lacked as black people in America. Education, therefore, quickly became a crucial priority in Liberia. Cuttington Collegiate and Divinity School was founded in the 1890s as a higher education institute with the help of the Episcopal Church. Bromley Mission was constructed several years later in 1905 by Bishop Samuel David Ferguson, the first black bishop in the Episcopal Church in the United States and the first Liberian bishop. A secondary school, Bromley grew and thrived with the resources they had and the oversight of the Episcopal Diocese of Liberia. The school provided young girls with an education in literary and industrial arts, including needlework, dressmaking, reading, writing, mathematics and religious study.

In 1989, after some years of strife among different factions and political groups in the country, political upheaval resulted in a series of civil wars that ravaged the country until 2003. The wars left a large population of children without a childhood and without education. During the 14 years of civil strife, over 15,000 children were forced to take up arms and fight as soldiers alongside adults. In the aftermath of these atrocities, educating and caring for the youngest victims of war arose as a prime priority, both for the government and for the Diocese of Liberia.

Bromley Mission reopened in 2003 with a new dedication to make up for lost time, and give a childhood and an education back to the children who had lost theirs to the war. Today, Bromley educates and boards anywhere from 60-80 students at a time—most of them orphans of the war.

St. David’s Role

St. David’s, Ashburn, Virginia, is located at the original site of Mrs. Mercer’s Belmont. The ruins of the Belmont Chapel still remain and are marked off on the property. Founded in 1987 as a mission, today St. David’s is an active parish with a congregation dedicated to mission work. One of their most visible efforts is a series of mission trips to Liberia to help rebuild the Bromley Mission.

Parishioner and businessman Kingsley Obaji jumpstarted the relationship between Bromley and St. David’s when, about two and a half years ago, he visited Liberia on a business trip. While there, he went to church on Sunday, and spoke with the rector there about the need for outreach at Bromley Mission. The school needed renovations, supplies, electricity and a clinic. Mr. Obaji brought the idea back to St. David’s, and a plan was hatched.

St. David’s first mission trip to Liberia took place a year later. Five parishioners spent their time at Bromley exploring, discovering, and gauging the needs of the students. A second trip is planned for late October through early November of this year, and will be used to help improve the living conditions for the students at Bromley. Project goals for 2006-2008 include roof replacement, the construction of a learning center and library, improvement of the dormitories, construction and furnishing of an infirmary, and renovations to the kitchen.

In addition to these goals, one of the biggest needs at Bromley is electricity. For this, they are turning to the sun and to a unique ministry based in Virginia. St. David’s has partnered with Solar Light for Africa, a non-profit organization founded in Leesburg, Va. in 1997 by the Rt. Rev. Alden Hathaway, retired Bishop of Pittsburgh. Since the cost and maintenance of providing electricity or a generator to the schools is prohibitive, Solar Light for Africa means a clean solution for providing solar light in remote places. Plus, added Greg Troxell, director of New Ministry Development for St. David’s, “The products that they put together are light enough to be able to transport . . . and yet flexible, scalable in their size.”

The intention of the Bromley Mission team is to work towards self-sufficiency. “It’s not just the doing and the dollars to get things done,” said Mr. Troxell. But with a yearly budget of $20,000 in a diocese with a yearly budget of $300,000, funds to maintain a level of self-sufficiency are scarce.

St. David’s drew more attention to its mission work at Bromley with a Liberia Day service on July 26 of this year. Held at St. David’s and attended by the Rt. Rev. Edward W. Neufville, D.D., Bishop of Liberia, 150 people gathered to celebrate Liberia and garner support for the work of the mission team. In a letter to his congregation at the service, St. David’s Rector the Rev. Kevin Phillips addressed the urgency of his message and the mission: “Recovery from the economic devastation of recent wars requires the vigorous work of the Liberian people in every social sphere. Education must not be neglected. Industry must not be neglected. Commerce must not be neglected. Most certainly, the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and discipleship must not be neglected if Liberia is to rise as a vital witness to the fruit of faithfulness.”

Miss Mercer would likely be proud that her legacy of education and charity is carrying on, remaining strong over 160 years later, honoring that same connection between Virginia and Liberia that she helped create. “She was really dedicated towards equality, recognizing the value of humanity and education,” said Mr. Troxell. “For a lady of her time, it was amazing philanthropy.”

That philanthropy continues and St. David’s hopes it will expand through an open invitation to other parishes who would like to become involved in their Bromley mission work. St. David’s has a 2006-2007 fundraising goal of $50,000. Donations can be made payable to St. David’s Episcopal Church and should be marked “Bromley Mission” in the memo line. Please send checks to St. David’s, 43600 Russell Branch Pkwy., Ashburn, Va. 20147.

Sources

Address of the American Colonization Society, to the People of the United States. Georgetown, D.C.: James C. Dunn, 1832.
Mercer, Margaret. Popular Lectures on Ethics or Moral Obligation. Petersburg: Edmund and Julian C. Ruffin, 1841.
Morris, Caspar. Memoir of Miss Margaret Mercer. Philadelphia: Lindsay and Blakistan, 1848.
The Southern Publication Society. The South in the Building of a Nation, Vol. XII. Richmond: The Southern Publication Society, 1909.

SIDEBAR
More Info on Solar Light for Africa
Solar Light for Africa, the nonprofit organization that is helping bring light to Bromley Mission, was recently chosen for the 2006 Catalogue for Philanthropy: Greater Washington. For more information on the mission and the work of this organization, please visit their website at http://www.solarlightforafrica.org/.