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Don Heinz, a professor of religious studies from California and an ordained Lutheran minister, was the lay preacher and also Assistant Governor of the Colony. As lay preacher he was responsible for the Colony's spiritual journey, marked by a mandatory, weekly Sabbath service. As the Assistant Governor and an elder within the community, his position of authority was further solidified.
"Above all, I miss two things about Colonial House. In no 21st-century community that I know of do neighbors live at such an intense level of intimacy and mutual support. And every Sunday, as the lay preacher, I set before this community the wager that the underlying meaning of our life together was religious. The early colonists would have understood both the experience and the assertion."
The Company has recruited Don to be the religious leader of the Colony.
This position is seen as crucial to the success of the venture. Don will oversee the spiritual and moral life of the Colony in this early stage of its existence. As an older member within the community, he is viewed as a Wise Elder. Therefore, the Company has also appointed him to the office of Assistant, offering advice to the Governor in matters of importance.
Don and Carolyn are lesser members of the gentry who have inherited few financial resources. Don, a graduate of Oxford University, was for many years an ordained Church of England minister. He has served in several different communities, but seems to have run out of challenges in their current parish in Gloucestershire, just outside Bristol. Several friends and parishioners are merchants who are substantial investors in the Colonial House Company. As an incentive, the Company has given him four additional shares of stock, a tidy investment that could help the family improve their status. This, the challenge, and the sense of adventure, has lured Don from his current modest post.
It is likely that once a church is organized Don will be the pastor, though this will not happen for some time. In the meantime, the Company and Governor have given Don the authority to organize religious exercises.
As a good wife, Carolyn has dutifully followed Don throughout his career. Women of the day did not attend university, however Carolyn's gentry family valued education so she was privately tutored. Carolyn in particular regrets leaving their grown children behind, but she takes solace in knowing that their investment in the Company may improve their children's lot in life. Some of the children may join them in a year or two. Indeed, this could prove to be a wonderful opportunity for the entire family.
Since their children are grown, Don and Carolyn are bringing with them an indentured servant, Jonathon Allen, to share their home and their workload.
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| In no 21st-century community that I know of do neighbors live at such an intense level of intimacy and mutual support. |
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