In 1989, former President George H. W. Bush was entering St. John's Episcopal Church to attend a worship service. A homeless man, William Wallace Brown Jr., stopped him and asked for prayer. The President's answer must have shocked onlookers. He replied, "No. Come inside with us and pray for yourself."

From that day forward, William Wallace Brown Jr. regularly attended St. John's Episcopal Church. This man in ragged, smelly clothes sat in the pews alongside the rich and the powerful. At offering time, he put a dollar in the collection plate. One usher reports that many of the rich members also gave only a dollar to the offering. These people were humbled by Mr. Brown's example of generosity.