When I was a student at the Virginia Governor's School for the Arts, years ago, the churchyard at St. Paul's was one of my favorite places to go after rehearsal, to sit and read and go over lines and discuss all the gossip of the day with a classmate or two. Yesterday, Anouk and I took some friends -- and a picnic lunch -- to visit the mossy churchyard. A lot about the surrounding downtown Norfolk area has changed since I graduated in 1999, but St. Paul's itself is just the same as I remember it, comfortingly so.An 18th-century church might not seem like the most exciting place for playgroup, but A. and her friends had a blast exploring. They ran up and down the brick pathways and even peeked inside the church, exclaiming over the massive pipe organ and the intricate stained-glass windows. Of course we visited the cannonball lodged in the church's south wall, a souvenir of the Battle of Great Bridge during the first days of the Revoluntionary War. (Little Zeke thought it had been fired by pirates, and was very interested to see it.) There was even a tiny playground, and the shady magnolia trees adjacent were the perfect spot to spread our picnic blankets and sit awhile.
St. Paul's is the only surviving colonial-era building in Norfolk, and unlike many of the other historical sites around the city, is still being put to its original use today. The parish at St. Paul's is vibrant and active, and as a result, the church is a bustle of activity throughout the day, people going in and out, tending the graves, and setting up for morning services. I like that -- it makes the church feel like a representation of the city itself, which has been through so much and is still standing. St. Paul's reminds me every time I visit of Norfolk's long and colorful history. The things the church has seen -- the Revolution, the Burning of Norfolk, the War of 1812, the Civil War and the Civil Rights Era! As we walked through the courtyard yesterday, I found myself wishing that those old stones could talk. Just think of all the things they'd have to say -- and I would sit right down and hang on every word.
