Alexandria, Virginia August 1, 2008.  Historic Christ Episcopal Church today announced that they will host Pulitzer Prize-winning author Debby Applegate on Saturday afternoon, September 13, 2008.  The event, scheduled to begin at 5:30 PM in the church’s main sanctuary, is the inaugural event in the church’s new speaker series exploring faith and public life.

Dr. Applegate was awarded the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Biography for her work, The Most Famous Man in America, a biography of the 19th century minister, abolitionist and political activist Henry Ward Beecher. A summa cum laude graduate of Amherst College and the holder of a  Ph.D. in American Studies from Yale University, she will speak about Beecher’s life and career and show how the intersection of faith and public life was an important topic of debate long before the intense discussions on this topic that have arisen during the past several years.

“It is indeed a tremendous honor for our congregation to host Debby Applegate for this event,” according to the Reverend Pierce Klemmt, rector of Christ Church.  “I can think of no better way to inaugurate this new series on faith and public life than by exploring the career of one of the towering American religious figures of the 19th century, and we are looking forward to what we know will be an informative and entertaining event.”

The parish home of George Washington and Robert E. Lee, Christ Church has long been at the center of the religious and public life of the metropolitan Washington, D.C. area. Visitors have included Presidents Calvin Coolidge, Franklin Roosevelt, Lyndon Johnson, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and George H. W. Bush, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, Senator Elizabeth Dole, and former Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey.  Speakers have included Rosa Parks, Nobel Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu, former Secretary of Veterans Affairs Togo West, former Chief of Staff of the Army Gordon Sullivan, former White House Press Secretary Ron Nessen, and former Assistant Secretary of State Hodding Carter.

Tickets for the event, which will be followed by a reception and book signing in the church’s parish hall, will be available at the door for $20. Copies of the book, The Most Famous Man in America, will be available for sale that evening.

Christ Church is a historic church with a living congregation. Located at 118 North Washington Street in Old Town Alexandria, Christ Church is home to 2,400 parishioners and provides ministry to communities local and global.

CONTACT:
Linda L. Dienno, Director of Stewardship and Development
Christ Church; Alexandria, VA
  703-778-4928  
  703-549-5883   (fax)
ldienno@ccalex.org
www.ccalex.org