June 21, 1579 - Sir Francis Drake Lands in Modern-Day California

One of the earliest recorded Protestant worship services on what would become U.S. soil occurred on June 21, 1579. Sir Francis Drake was circumnavigating the globe when he landed on the coast of modern-day California. He claimed the land for England and stumbled upon a group of Native Americans. There, he read to them from the Book of Common Prayer. Though the service was undoubtedly a Christian expression of worship, the Natives likely interpreted it internally as worship toward their own deities.