Tonight, my soul, be still and sleep,

Above:  James A. Blaisdell Park, Claremont, California

Image Source = Google Earth

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JAMES ARNOLD BLAISDELL (DECEMBER 15, 1867-JANUARY 29, 1957)

U.S. Congregationalist Minister, Scholar, and Hymn Writer

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The storms are raging on God’s deep,–

God’s deep, not thine,

Be still and sleep.

–James Arnold Blaisdell

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The Reverend James Arnold Blaisdell comes to this, A Great Cloud of Witnesses:  An Ecumenical Calendar of Saints’ Days and Holy Days, via The Methodist Hymnal (1966).

Above:  First Congregational Church, Waukesha, Wisconsin

Image Source = Google Earth

Blaisdell was a minister and a scholar.  He, born in Beloit, Wisconsin, on December 15, 1867, studied at Beloit College (B.A., 1889) and Hartford Theological Seminary (B.D., 1892).  Our saint, ordained a Congregationalist minister in 1892, served as pastor of First Congregational Church, Waukesha, Wisconsin, from 1892 to 1896.  He married his first wife, Florence Lena Carrier (1867-1940) in December 1892.  The couple had two children, James Brooks (1893-1953) and Florence “Barbara” (1904-1990).

Above:  Olivet Congregational Church, Olivet, Michigan

Image Source = Google Earth

Blaisdell was pastor of Olivet Congregational Church (now part of the United Church of Christ), Olivet, Michigan, from 1896 to 1903.

Above:  United Church of Beloit, Beloit, Wisconsin

Image Source = Google Earth

Then, from 1903 to 1910, our saint served as Professor of Biblical Literature and as Librarian at Beloit College.  He was also the pastor of Second Congregational Church during those years.  (As of 2020, First Presbyterian Church has merged with Second Congregational Church to form the United Church of Beloit and moved into the edifice of the former Second Congregational Church.)

Blaisdell spent 1910-1957 in California.  He was the President of Pomona College, Claremont, until 1927.  Afterward, our saint led the Clarement Colleges consortium until 1935.  He and Florence retired to La Jolla that year.  She died in 1940, and Blaisdell moved back to Claremont.  He eventually remarried; wife number two was Anne Grassie (1866-1957).  Our saint, aged 89 years, died in Claremont on January 29, 1957.

Blaisdell wrote at least three hymns:

1. “Tonight, My Soul, Be Still and Sleep” (by 1897),
2. “Christians, Lo, the Star Appeareth” (1900), and
3. “Beneath the Forms of Outward Rite” (published in 1928).

May the Church never be bereft of people with the pastoral, academic, and literary talents that James Arnold Blaisdell possessed.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MAY 28, 2020 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF JOHN H. W. STUCKENBERG, GERMAN-AMERICAN LUTHERAN MINISTER AND ACADEMIC

THE FEAST OF SAINT BERNARD OF MENTHON, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND ARCHDEACON OF AOSTA

THE FEAST OF EDWIN POND PARKER, U.S. CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF JEREMIAS DENCKE, SILESIAN-AMERICAN MORAVIAN COMPOSER AND ORGANIST; AND SIMON PETER AND JOHANN FRIEDRICH PETER, GERMAN-AMERICAN COMPOSERS, EDUCATORS, MUSICIANS, AND MINISTERS

THE FEAST OF ROBERT MCAFEE BROWN, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN ACTIVIST, AND ECUMENIST

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Dear God of beauty,

you have granted literary ability and spiritual sensitivity to

James Arnold Blaisdell and others, who have composed hymn texts.

May we, as you guide us,

find worthy hymn texts to be icons,

through which we see you.

In the Name of God:  Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Sirach/Ecclesiasticus 44:1-3a, 5-15

Psalm 147

Revelation 5:11-14

Luke 2:8-20

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

APRIL 20, 2013 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINTS AMATOR OF AUXERRE AND GERMANUS OF AUXERRE, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS; SAINT MAMERTINUS OF AUXERRE, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT; AND SAINT MARCIAN OF AUXERRE, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK

THE FEAST OF JOHANNES BUGENHAGEN, GERMAN LUTHERAN PASTOR

THE FEAST OF SAINT MARCELLINUS OF EMBRUN, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP

THE FEAST OF OLAVUS AND LAURENTIUS PETRI, RENEWERS OF THE CHURCH

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Above:  Henry Aldrich

Image in the Public Domain

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HENRY ALDRICH (JANUARY 15, 1648-DECEMBER 14, 1710)

Anglican Priest, Composer, Theologian, Mathematician, and Architect

Henry Aldrich comes to this, A Great Cloud of Witnesses:  An Ecumenical Calendar of Saints’ Days and Holy Days, via The Methodist Hymnal (1966).

Aldrich was a polymath.  He, born in Westminster, England, on January 15, 1648, was a son of navy captain Henry Aldrich (d. 1683) and Judith Francis Aldrich.  Our saint studied at Westminster then at Christ Church, Oxford (B.A., 1668; M.A., 1669).  He, a fine mathematician, published works in logic and mathematics.  Aldrich was also an architect, as in the case of All Saints’ Church, Oxford.  Our saint was also a composer of chants, including “O Be Joyful in the Lord,” a setting of Psalm 100.  He was, without doubt, an expert in punning.  (I have found a soulmate on this, my Ecumenical Calendar!)

Aldrich, a tutor at Christ Church, Oxford, sang in the cathedral choir.  He became the Dean of Christ Church, Oxford, in 1689, after the Glorious Revolution.  Aldrich would have become the Dean a few years prior, but King James II/VII (reigned 1685-1688) appointed John Massey, a Roman Catholic.  Massey fled to the continent after James II/VII did.  Our saint, the Vice-Chancellor of Oxford (1692-1695), served as the Rector of Wem, near Shropshire, starting in 1702.

Aldrich, his health failing, was in London when he died on December 14, 1710.  He was 62 years old.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MAY 27, 2020 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF PAUL GERHARDT, GERMAN LUTHERAN MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF ALFRED ROOKER, ENGLISH CONGREGATIONALIST PHILANTHROPIST AND HYMN WRITER; AND HIS SISTER, ELIZABETH ROOKER PARSON, ENGLISH CONGREGATIONALIST HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF AMELIA BLOOMER, U.S. SUFFRAGETTE

THE FEAST OF JOHN CHARLES ROPER, ANGLICAN ARCHBISHOP OF OTTAWA

THE FEAST OF SAINT LOJZE GROZDE, SLOVENIAN ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYR, 1943

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O God, you have endowed us with memory, reason, and skill.

We thank you for the faithful legacy of [Henry Aldrich and all others]

who have dedicated their lives to you and to the intellectual pursuits.

May we, like them, respect your gift of intelligence fully and to your glory.

In the Name of God:  Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Deuteronomy 6:4-9

Psalm 103

Philippians 4:8-9

Mark 12:28-34

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MARCH 6, 2013 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT CHRODEGANG OF METZ, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP

THE FEAST OF EDMUND KING, ANGLICAN BISHOP OF LINCOLN

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Above:  Union Theological Seminary, New York, New York, 1910

Image Source = Library of Congress

Image Copyrighted by Irving Underhill

Reproduction Number = LC-USZ62-74646

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WILLIAM ADAMS BROWN, SR. (DECEMBER 29, 1865-DECEMBER 15, 1943)

U.S. Presbyterian Minister, Theologian, and Social Reformer

William Adams Brown, Sr., comes to this, my Ecumenical Calendar of Saints’ Days and Holy Days, via G. Scott Cady and Christopher L. Webber, A Year with American Saints (2006).

William Adams Brown, Sr., born in New York, New York, on December 29, 1865, grew up in a devout family with multi-generational ties to Union Theological Seminary.  He spent much of his life working at that institution.

Our saint, a son of Mary Elizabeth Adams and John Crosby Brown, a merchant banker, was well-educated.  After private education, he attended St. Paul’s Preparatory School in Concord, New Hampshire, followed by five years (four years as an undergraduate and one year as a graduate student) at Yale University.  Then Brown matriculated at Union Theological Seminary.  He graduated in 1890 then studied in Germany for two years.  Adolf von Harnack was one of his professors.

Brown taught at Union Theological Seminary from 1892 to 1936, when he retired.  He was an Instructor of Church History (1892-1893), an Instructor of Systematic Theology (1893-1898), the Roosevelt Chair of Systematic Theology (1898-1930), and a Research Professor in Applied Christianity (1930-1936).  Faith was active for Brown.  It led him to oppose corruption (Tammany Hall) in municipal politics and government and fight against prostitution and liquor.  Active faith also led Brown to lead the Missions Committee of the New York Presbytery of New York (Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A.), the Board of Missions of the PCUSA, the Department of Research and Education (Federal Council of Churches), the Religious Education Association, and the American Theological Association.

That active faith also made Brown a target for many conservative Presbyterians.  He was on the side of Modernism in the Modernist-Fundamentalist controversy in the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A.  Community outreach to poor immigrants via the American Parish on the Upper East Side and the Labor Temple in the East Village placed our saint in the midst of alleged hot beds of socialism.  In 1895, he helped to form the Union Settlement in East Harlem.  Students from Union Theological Seminary volunteered to provide community services.  Brown, speaking at Harvard in 1910, allegedly committed heresy in “The Old Theology and the New.”  The General Assembly of 1914 acquitted him.

Brown was also an active wartime ecumenist.  In 1917 and 1918, he served as the Secretary General of the Wartime Commission of the Churches.  He helped to arrange for Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Jewish military chaplains, and to advise regarding religious issues.

Brown married Helen Gilman Noyes in 1892.  The couple had four children:  John Crosby (b. 1892), William Adams Jr., (b. 1894), Winthrop Gilman “Bob” (b. 190?), and Helen (1910-1928; died of polio before she would have matriculated at Vassar College).

Brown, aged 77 years, died in New York, New York, on December 15, 1943.  He left a fine legacy.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JULY 5, 2019 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT ANTONIO MARY ZACCARIA, FOUNDER OF THE BARNABITES AND THE ANGELIC SISTERS OF SAINT PAUL

THE FEAST OF GEORGES BERNANOS, FRENCH ROMAN CATHOLIC NOVELIST

THE FEAST OF HULDA NIEBUHR, CHRISTIAN EDUCATOR; HER BROTHERS, H. RICHARD NIEBUHR AND REINHOLD NIEBUHR, UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST THEOLOGIANS; AND URSULA NIEBUHR, EPISCOPAL THEOLOGIAN

THE FEAST OF SAINT JOSEPH BOISSEL, FRENCH ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSIONARY PRIEST AND MARTYR IN LAOS, 1969

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O God, your Son came among us to serve and not to be served,

and to give his life for the life of the world.

Lead us by his love to serve all those to whom the world offers no comfort and little help.

Through us give hope to the hopeless,

love to the unloved,

peace to the troubled,

and rest to the weary,

through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and forever.  Amen.

Hosea 2:18-23

Psalm 94:1-15

Romans 12:9-21

Luke 6:20-36

—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), 60

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Above:  St. John of the Cross

Image in the Public Domain

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SAINT JOHN OF THE CROSS (JUNE 24, 1542-DECEMBER 14, 1591)

Spanish Roman Catholic Mystic and Carmelite Friar

Born Juan de Yepes y Álvarez

Also known as John of Saint Matthias

St. John of the Cross was a mystic, a Carmelite friar, a controversial reformer. and, for eight months, a prisoner of some of his fellow friars.

Juan de Yepes y Álvarez, born in Fontineros, Spain, on June 24, 1542, grew up in a poor family.  His father, Gonzago (d. 1545), was an accountant for wealthy relatives.  Our saint’s mother, Catalina, came from an impoverished family.  One of our saint’s brothers, Luis, died of malnutrition related to poverty.  Another brother, Francisco, survived, though.  Our saint attended a school for poor children in Medina (now Medina-Sidonia) then studied at a Jesuit school (1559-1563).

St. John was a friar for most of his life.  He became a Carmelite friar, John of Saint Matthias, in 1563.  The following year, he made his first profession and began theological studies at the University of Salamanca.  Our saint joined the ranks of priests in 1567.

Monastic rigor appealed to St. John.  He pondered joining the Carthusians, a strict order.  St. Teresa of Avila (1515-1582) dissuaded him, though.  He became enamored of her reforms among Carmelite nuns.  With her support he introduced similar reforms into the lives of Carmelite friars.  St. John founded his first monastery in 1568, at Duruelo, and became St. John of the Cross.  These strict reforms caused controversy within the Carmelite friar order in 1575-1578.  Ecclesiastical and imperial protection of St. John expired in 1577, so our saint spent December 2, 1577-August 15, 1578 as a prisoner at the Carmelite monastery in Toledo.  After St. John escaped, he spent months recovering from the negative health effects of the poor conditions.  While in captivity, he wrote The Spiritual Canticle.

The Church recognized a new Carmelite order–a discaled one–in 1580.  St. John spent the rest of this life founding monasteries and building up the order.  Nevertheless, controversy followed him into the Discaled Carmelite order of friars.  He died in 1591, after losing his job as prior at Segovia.

St. John was a mystical poet.  His works included the Dark Night of the Soul, The Ascent of Mount Carmel, and Living Flame of Love.

The Church recognized St. John.  Pope Clement X beatified him in 1675.  Pope Benedict XIII canonized our saint in 1726.  Pope Pius XI declared St. John a Doctor of the Church in 1926.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JULY 4, 2019 COMMON ERA

INDEPENDENCE DAY (U.S.A.)

THE FEAST OF SAINTS ADALBERO AND ULRIC OF AUGSBURG, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS

THE FEAST OF SAINT ELIZABETH OF PORTUGAL, QUEEN AND PEACEMAKER

THE FEAST OF SAINT PIER GIORGIO FRASSATI, ITALIAN ROMAN CATHOLIC SERVANT OF THE POOR AND OPPONENT OF FASCISM

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Judge eternal, throned in splendor, you gave Juan de la Cruz

strength of purpose and mystical faith that sustained him even through the dark night of the soul:

Shed your light on all who love you, in unity with Jesus our Savior;

who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

Song of Solomon 3:1-4

Psalm 121

Colossians 4:2-6

John 16:12-15, 25-28

—Holy Women, Holy Men:  Celebrating the Saints (2010), 117

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Above:  Venantius Fortunatus Reading His Poems to Radegonda, by Lawrence Alma-Tameda

Image in the Public Domain

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SAINT RADEGUNDA (518/520-AUUST 13, 587)

Thuringian Roman Catholic Princess, Deaconess, and Nun

Her feast transferred from August 13

mentor and patron of

SAINT VENANTIUS HONORIUS CLEMENTI(AN)US FORTUNATUS (CIRCA 530-CIRCA 610)

Roman Catholic Poet, Hymn Writer, and Bishop of Poiters

His feast = December 14

Different spellings of the names of Saints Radegunda and Venantius, who have different feast days on the Roman Catholic calendar, exist.  Despite the separate feast days, one cannot properly tell the story of one saint without recounting the story of the other.   I merge the feasts here, on my Ecumenical Calendar of Saints’ Days and Holy Days, for that reason.

On a light note, perhaps you, O reader, will agree that, regardless of whether one prefers Venantius Honorius Clementius Fortunatus or Venantius Honorius Clementianus Fortunatus, he had the best name of any saint, canonized or otherwise.  The name rolls off one’s tongue nicely.

St. Radegunda, born in 518/520, was a princess of Thuringia, in modern-day Germany.  In 531 the Franking king Clothar/Clotaire/Lothair I (reigned 511-561) conquered Thuringia and killed most of the royal family.  He forced Radegunda to marry him the following year.  This was a political move, far from a love match.  St. Radegunda led a pious and simple life; she avoided extravagance and performed many good works while she endured her marriage.  She fled from that childless union in 550, after her husband had ordered the murder of her brother, thereby ending the male line in the Thuringian royal family.  The Church protected St. Radegunda, and Médard, the Bishop of Noyon, ordained her a deaconess.

St. Venantius Honorius Clement(ian)us Fortunatus, born in Treviso, Italy, circa 530, became a great Latin poet.  He, educated in Ravenna and Milan, traveled in Gaul and southern Germany.  (Contradictory stores provided various reasons for the road trip.)  He settled in Poitiers, at the Frankish royal court, and befriended Queen Radegunda.

In 560 St. Radegunda, deaconess and a former queen, founded the Convent of the Holy Cross, the first convent in Europe, at Poitiers.  The name of the first abbess was Agnes.  St. Radegunda lived there as a nun and devoted herself to good works.  St. Venantius became a priest and served as the chaplain of the convent.  He also composed Latin hymns about topics ranging from the cross of Christ to St. Mary of Nazareth, the Mother of God.  He also wrote poetic praise of wine.  In 569 the Roman Emperor Justin II (reigned 565-574) gave the convent a piece of the alleged True Cross.  St. Venantius composed Vexilla Regis (still part of the Roman Catholic rites for Holy Week) for the occasion.

St. Radegunda died at the convent on August 13, 587.

St. Venantius became the Bishop of Poitiers in 599.  He served in that position for the rest of us life, until circa 610.

St. Venantius left behind a fine literary legacy.  He composed biographies of St. Martin of Tours, St. Hilary of Poitiers, St. Germanus of Paris, St. Radegunda, and other figures.  Friend St. Gregory of Tours encouraged our saint to publish his poetry.  St. Venantius did, and blessed generations of Christians.  English translations of some of those texts have included the following:

1. “Welcome, Happy Morning;”
2. “The Royal Banners Forward Go;”
3. “Sing, My Tongue, the Glorious Battle;”
4. “See the Destined Day Arise;” and
5. the Easter, Ascension, and Pentecost versions of “Hail Thee, Festival Day.”

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Loving God, who teaches us that we depend on you and each other,

we thank you for Sts. Radegunda and Venantius Honorius Clementi(an)us Fortunatus,

who helped each other and many others, and whose intertwined legacies have endured.

May their examples inspire us to support each other in holy living, for your glory and the common good.

In the Name of God:  Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Wisdom of Solomon 1:1-11

Psalm 64

1 Corinthians 1:17-25

Luke 1:26-38

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JULY 3, 2019 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINTS FLAVIAN AND ANATOLIUS OF CONSTANTINOPLE, PATRIARCHS; AND SAINTS AGATHO, LEO II, AND BENEDICT II, BISHOPS OF ROME; DEFENDERS OF CHRISTOLOGICAL ORTHODOXY

THE FEAST OF CHARLES ALBERT DICKINSON, U.S. CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF IMMANUEL NITSCHMANN, GERMAN-AMERICAN MORAVIAN MINISTER AND MUSICIAN; HIS BROTHER-IN-LAW, JACOB VAN VLECK, U.S. MORAVIAN BISHOP, MUSICIAN, COMPOSER, AND EDUCATOR; HIS SON, WILLIAM HENRY VAN VLECK, U.S. MORAVIAN BISHOP; HIS BROTHER, CARL ANTON VAN VLECK, U.S. MORAVIAN MINISTER, MUSICIAN, COMPOSER, AND EDUCATOR; HIS DAUGHTER, LISETTE (LIZETTE) MARIA VAN VLECK MEINUNG; AND HER SISTER, AMELIA ADELAIDE VAN VLECK, U.S. MORAVIAN COMPOSER AND EDUCATOR

THE FEAST OF JOHN CENNICK, BRITISH MORAVIAN EVANGELIST AND HYMN WRITER

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On my bed when I think of you,

Above:  A Domestic Scene, December 8, 2018

Photographer = Kenneth Randolph Taylor

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I muse on you in the watches of the night,

for you have always been my help;

in the shadow of your wings I rejoice;

my heart clings to you,

your right hand supports me.

–Psalm 63:6-8, The New Jerusalem Bible (1985)

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In my U.S. culture, the time from Thanksgiving (late November) to New Year’s Day is quite busy.  Holidays populate the calendar.  Some of these holidays are, for lack of a better word, ecumenical.  Others are religiously and/or culturally specific, though.  Christmas, originally the Christ Mass, has become an occasion, for many, to worship the Almighty Dollar at the high altar of commercialism.  This is how many Evangelicals of the Victorian Era wanted matters to be.

On the relatively innocuous side, this is the time of the year to populate one’s calendar with holiday social events, such as parties, school plays, and seasonal concerts.  Parents often like to attend their children’s events, appropriately.  Holiday concerts by choral and/or instrumental ensembles can also be quite pleasant.

Yet, amid all this busyness (sometimes distinct from business), are we neglecting the innate human need for peace and quiet?  I like classical Advent and Christmas music, especially at this time of the year (all the way through January 5, the twelfth day of Christmas), but I have to turn it off eventually.  Silence also appeals to me.  Furthermore, being busy accomplishing a worthy goal is rewarding, but so is simply being.

The real question is one of balance.  Given the absence of an actual distinction between the spiritual and the physical, everything is spiritual.  If we are too busy for God, silence, and proper inactivity, we are too busy.  If we are too busy to listen to God, we are too busy.  If we are too busy or too idle, we are not our best selves.

May we, by grace, strike and maintain the proper balance.  May we, especially at peak periods of activity, such as the end of the year, not overextend ourselves, especially in time commitments.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

DECEMBER 14, 2018 COMMON ERA

THE THIRTEENTH DAY OF ADVENT, YEAR C

THE FEAST OF SAINT VENANTIUS HONORIUS CLEMENTIUS FORTUNATUS, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF POITIERS

THE FEAST OF DOROTHY ANN THRUPP, ENGLISH HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN OF THE CROSS, ROMAN CATHOLIC MYSTIC

THE FEAST OF ROBERT MCDONALD, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND MISSIONARY

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Published originally at BLOGA THEOLOGICA

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Above:  The Union Jack

Image in the Public Domain

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DOROTHY ANN THRUPP (JUNE 20, 1779-DECEMBER 14, 1847)

English Hymn Writer

We know little about the life of Dorothy Ann Thrupp, a hymn writer and a member of The Church of England, for she not only chose not to attract attention to herself, but she worked to deflect attention.  Historical records tell us that her birthplace was London (on June 20, 1779), that her parents were Joseph Thrupp (1747-1821) and Mary Burgan Thrupp (1757-1795), and that she died in London on December 14, 1847.  Documents also tell us that Thrupp wrote under the pseudonym “Iota” and that she published hymns in several publications and books:

1. the Friendly Visitor and the Children’s Friend, by W. Carus Wilson;
2. A Selection of Hymns and Poetry, for the Use of Infant Schools and Nurseries (1838), by Mrs. Herbert Mayo (I wonder what her first name was);
3. Hymns for the Young (1836), by our saint; and
4. Thoughts for the Day (1836 and 1837), a daily devotional guide.

Thrupp’s most famous hymn was “Saviour, Like a Shepherd Lead Us” (1838).

One can document with relative ease the life of one who seeks to glorify himself or herself.  Often many of the details prove to be less than flattering, as in the case of Czarina Elizabeth of Russia.  Dorothy Ann Thrupp, however, presents us with a different reality.  She kept her private life private and sought to glorify God.  Her writings have remained as testimonies to her character.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JULY 30, 2015 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF WILLIAM PINCHON, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP

THE FEAST OF HORATIUS BONAR, SCOTTISH PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF WILLIAM WILBERFORCE, ABOLITIONIST

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Dear God of beauty,

you have granted literary ability and spiritual sensitivity to

Dorothy Ann Thrupp and others, who have composed hymn texts.

May we, as you guide us,

find worthy hymn texts to be icons,

through which we see you.

In the Name of God:  Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Sirach/Ecclesiasticus 44:1-3a, 5-15

Psalm 147

Revelation 5:11-14

Luke 2:8-20

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

APRIL 20, 2013 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINTS AMATOR OF AUXERRE AND GERMANUS OF AUXERRE, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS; SAINT MAMERTINUS OF AUXERRE, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT; AND SAINT MARCIAN OF AUXERRE, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK

THE FEAST OF JOHANNES BUGENHAGEN, GERMAN LUTHERAN PASTOR

THE FEAST OF SAINT MARCELLINUS OF EMBRUN, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP

THE FEAST OF OLAVUS AND LAURENTIUS PETRI, RENEWERS OF THE CHURCH

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Poinsettia

Image Source = Andre Karwath

1 (Charles de Foucauld, Roman Catholic Hermit and Martyr, 1916)

• Albert Barnes, U.S. Presbyterian Minister, Abolitionist, and Alleged Heretic
• Brioc, Roman Catholic Abbot; and Tudwal, Roman Catholic Abbot, and Bishop of Treguier
• Douglas LeTell Rights, U.S. Moravian Minister, Scholar, and Hymn Writer
• Edward Timothy Mickey, Jr., U.S. Moravian Bishop and Liturgist
• George Hugh Bourne, Anglican Priest, Hymn Writer, and Hymn Translator

2 (Hormisdas, Bishop of Rome; and his son, Silverius, Bishop of Rome, and Martyr, 537)

• Channing Moore Williams, Episcopal Missionary Bishop in China and Japan
• Gerald Thomas Noel, Anglican Priest and Hymn Writer; his brother, Baptist Wriothesley Noel, Anglican Priest, English Baptist Evangelist, and Hymn Writer; and his niece, Caroline Maria Noel, Anglican Hymn Writer
• Justin Heinrich Knecht, German Lutheran Organist, Music Teacher, and Composer
• Maura Clarke and Her Companions, U.S. Roman Catholic Martyrs in El Salvador, December 2, 1980
• Rafal Chylinski, Polish Franciscan Roman Catholic Priest

3 (Francis Xavier, Roman Catholic Missionary to the Far East)

• Amilie Juliane, Countess of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, German Lutheran Hymn Writer
• Archibald Campbell Tait, Archbishop of Canterbury
• Jan Franciszek Macha, Polish Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1942
• M. Woolsey Stryker, U.S. Presbyterian Minister, Educator, Author, Hymnal Editor, Hymn Writer, and Hymn Translator
• Sophie Koulomzin, Russian-American Christian Educator

4 (John of Damascus and Cosmas of Maiuma, Theologians and Hymnodists)

• Alexander Hotovitzky, Russian Orthodox Priest and Martyr, 1937
• Bernard of Parma, Roman Catholic Bishop of Parma
• Joseph Mohr, Austrian Roman Catholic Priest; and Franz Gruber, Austrian Roman Catholic Teacher, Musician, and Composer
• Maruthas, Roman Catholic Bishop of Maypherkat, and Missionary to Persia
• Osmund of Salisbury, Roman Catholic Bishop of Salisbury

5 (Clement of Alexandria, Father of Christian Scholarship)

• Cyran, Roman Catholic Abbot
• Narcyz Putz, Polish Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1942
• Nelson Mandela, President of South Africa, and Renewer of Society
• Nicetius of Trier, Roman Catholic Monk, Abbot, and Bishop of Trier; and Aredius of Limoges, Roman Catholic Monk
• Peter Mortimer, Anglo-German Moravian Educator, Musician, and Scholar; and Gottfried Theodor Erxleben, German Moravian Minister and Musicologist

6 (Nicholas of Myra, Bishop of Myra)

• Abraham of Kratia, Roman Catholic Monk, Abbot, Bishop of Kratia, and Hermit
• Alice Freeman Palmer, U.S. Educator and Hymn Writer
• Anne Ross Cousin, Scottish Presbyterian Hymn Writer
• Henry Ustick Onderdonk, Episcopal Bishop of New York, Liturgist, and Hymn Writer
• Philip Berrigan and his brother, Daniel Berrigan, Roman Catholic Priests and Social Activists

7 (John Greenleaf Whittier, U.S. Quaker Abolitionist, Poet, and Hymn Writer)

• Emma Francis, Lutheran Deaconess in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Harlem
• Georg Friedrich Hellstrom, Dutch-German Moravian Musician, Composer, and Educator
• John Howard Bertram Masterman, Anglican Scholar, Hymn Writer, Priest, and Bishop of Plymouth
• Maria Josepha Rossello, Co-Founder of the Daughters of Our Lady of Pity
• William Gustave Polack, U.S. Lutheran Minister, Liturgist, and Hymn Writer and Translator

8 (Walter Ciszek, Roman Catholic Missionary Priest and Political Prisoner)

• Amatus of Luxeuil and Romaric of Luxeuil, Roman Catholic Monks and Abbots
• Ambrose Reeves, Anglican Bishop of Johannesburg, and Opponent of Apartheid
• Erik Christian Hoff, Norwegian Lutheran Composer and Organist
• Marin Shkurti, Albanian Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1969
• Narcisa de Jesús Martillo-Morán, Ecuadorian Roman Catholic Mystic and Ascetic

9 (Liborius Wagner, German Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1631)

• David Brüning, S. German Evangelical Minister, Hymnal Editor, and Hymn Tune Composer
• George Job Elvey, Anglican Composer and Organist
• John Zundel, German-American Organist, Hymnal Editor, Hymn Tune Composer, and Music Editor
• Peter Fourier, “The Good Priest of Mattaincourt;” and Alix Le Clerc, Founder of the Congregation of Notre Dame of Canonesses Regular of Saint Augustine
• Thomas Merton, S. Roman Catholic Priest, Monk, and Spiritual Writer

10 (Karl Barth, Swiss Reformed Minister, Theologian, and Biblical Scholar; and his son, Markus Barth, Swiss Lutheran Minister and Biblical Scholar)

• Howell Elvet Lewis, Welsh Congregationalist Clergyman and Poet
• John Roberts, Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1610
• Olivier Messiaen, Claire Delbos, and Yvonne Loriod, French Roman Catholic Musicians and Composers
• Paul Eber, German Lutheran Theologian and Hymn Writer
• Robert Murray, Canadian Presbyterian Minister and Hymn Writer

11 (Martyrs of El Mozote, El Salvador, December 11-12, 1981)

• Howard Chandler Robbins, Episcopal Priest, Hymn Writer, Hymn Translator, and Hymn Tune Composer
• Kazimierz Tomas Sykulski, Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1942
• Lars Olsen Skrefsrud, Hans Peter Boerresen, and Paul Olaf Bodding, Lutheran Missionaries in India
• Luke of Prague and John Augusta, Moravian Bishops and Hymn Writers
• Severin Ott, Roman Catholic Monk

12 (William Lloyd Garrison, Abolitionist and Feminist; and Maria Stewart, Abolitionist, Feminist, and Educator)

• Bartholomew Buonpedoni and Vivaldus, Ministers among Lepers
• Jonathan Krause, Silesian Lutheran Minister, Hymn Writer, and Hymnal Editor
• Ludwik Bartosik, Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1941
• Thomas Canning, U.S. Composer and Music Educator
• William Louis Poteat, President of Wake Forest College, and Biologist; his brother, Edwin McNeill Poteat, Sr., Southern and Northern Baptist Minister, Scholar, and President of Furman University; his son, Edwin McNeill Poteat, Jr., Southern Baptist Minister, Missionary, Musician, Hymn Writer, and Social Reformer;  his brother, Gordon McNeill Poteat, Southern and Northern Baptist and Congregationalist Minister and Missionary; and his cousin, Hubert McNeill Poteat, Southern Baptist Academic and Musician

13 (Samuel Johnson, “The Great Moralist”)

• Christian Furchtegott Gellert, German Lutheran Minister, Educator, and Hymn Writer
• Ella J. Baker, Witness for Civil Rights
• Paul Speratus, German Lutheran Bishop, Liturgist, and Hymn Writer
• Pierson Parker, U.S. Congregationalist Minister, Episcopal Priest, and Biblical Scholar
• R. Birch Hoyle, English Baptist Minister and Hymn Translator

14 (Radegunda, Thuringian Roman Catholic Princess, Deaconess, and Nun; and Venantius Honorius Clementius Fortunatus, Roman Catholic Bishop of Poitiers)

• Dorothy Ann Thrupp, English Hymn Writer
• Henry Aldrich, Anglican Priest, Composer, Theologian, Mathematician, and Architect
• James Arnold Blaisdell, U.S. Congregationalist Minister, Scholar, and Hymn Writer
• John of the Cross, Roman Catholic Mystic and Carmelite Friar
• William Adams Brown, U.S. Presbyterian Minister, Theologian, and Social Reformer

15 (Thomas Benson Pollock, Anglican Priest and Hymn Writer)

• Fred D. Gealy, U.S. Methodist Minister, Missionary, Musician, and Biblical Scholar
• Henry Fothergill Chorley, English Novelist, Playwright, and Literary and Music Critic
• John Horden, Anglican Bishop of Moosenee
• Ralph Wardlaw, Scottish Congregationalist Minister, Hymn Writer, and Liturgist
• Robert McDonald, Anglican Priest and Missionary

16 (Ralph Adams Cram and Richard Upjohn, Architects; and John LaFarge, Sr., Painter and Stained-Glass Window Maker)

• Alexis Feodorovich Lvov, Russian Orthodox Musician and Composer
• Conrad Kocher, German Composer and Music Educator; Reformer of Church Music in Germany
• Filip Siphong Onphithakt, Roman Catholic Catechist and Martyr in Thailand, 1940
• Lewis Henry Redner, Episcopal Organist and Hymn Tune Composer
• Maude Dominica Petre, Roman Catholic Modernist Theologian

17 (Eglantyne Jebb and Dorothy Buxton, Founders of Save the Children)

• Althea Brown Edmiston, African-American Southern Presbyterian Missionary in the Congo Free State then Belgian Congo
• Dorothy Sayers, Anglican Poet, Novelist, Playwright, Translator, Apologist, and Theologian
• Frank Mason North, U.S. Methodist Minister, Social Reformer, and Hymn Writer
• Mary Cornelia Bishop Gates, U.S. Dutch Reformed Hymn Writer
• Olympias of Constantinople, Widow and Deaconess

18 (Marc Boegner, French Reformed Minister and Ecumenist)

• Alicia Domon and Her Companions, Martyrs in Argentina, 1977
• Giulia Valle, Roman Catholic Nun
• Horatio William Parker, Episcopal Composer, Organist, and Music Educator
• John Darwall, Anglican Priest and Composer
• John MacLeod Campbell Crum, Anglican Priest and Hymn Writer

19 (Raoul Wallenberg, Righteous Gentile)

• Francesco Antonio Bonporti, Italian Roman Catholic Priest and Composer
• Kazimiera Wolowska, Polish Roman Catholic Nun and Martyr, 1942
• Robert Campbell, Scottish Episcopalian then Roman Catholic Social Advocate and Hymn Writer
• William Henry Draper, Anglican Priest, Hymn Writer, and Hymn Translator
• William Howard Bishop, Founder of the Glenmary Home Missioners

20 (Dominic of Silos, Roman Catholic Abbot)

• Bates Gilbert Burt, Episcopal Priest, Hymn Writer, and Composer
• Benjamin Tucker Tanner, African Methodist Episcopal Bishop and Renewer of Society
• D. Elton Trueblood, U.S. Quaker Theologian
• Johann Christoph Schwedler, German Lutheran Minister and Hymn Writer
• Michal Piasczynski, Polish Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1940

21 (THOMAS THE APOSTLE, MARTYR)

22 (Frederick Temple and William Temple, Archbishops of Canterbury)

• Chaeremon and Ischyrion, Roman Catholic Martyrs, Circa 250
• Chico Mendes, “Gandhi of the Amazon”
• Demetrius A. Gallitzin, Russian-American Roman Catholic Missionary Priest; “The Apostle of the Alleghenies”
• Henry Budd, First Anglican Native Priest in North America; Missionary to the Cree Nation
• Isaac Hecker, Founder of the Missionary Society of Saint Paul the Apostle

23 (John of Kanty, Roman Catholic Theologian)

• Charbel, Roman Catholic Priest and Monk
• Henry Schwing, U.S. Organist and Music Educator; “The Grand Old Man of Maryland Music”
• James Prince Lee, Anglican Bishop of Manchester
• Thomas Baldwin, U.S. Baptist Minister and Hymn Writer
• William John Blew, English Priest and Hymn Writer

24 (CHRISTMAS EVE)

25 (CHRISTMAS DAY)

26 (SECOND DAY OF CHRISTMAS)

• STEPHEN, DEACON AND MARTYR

27 (THIRD DAY OF CHRISTMAS)

• JOHN THE EVANGELIST, APOSTLE

28 (FOURTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS)

• HOLY INNOCENTS, MARTYRS, 4 B.C.E

29 (FIFTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS)

• Antonio Caldara, Roman Catholic Composer and Musician
• John Burnett Morris, Sr., Episcopal Priest and Witness for Civil Rights
• Philipp Heinrich Molther, German Moravian Minister, Bishop, Composer, and Hymn Translator
• Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, and Martyr, 1170
• Thomas Cotterill, English Priest, Hymn Writer, and Liturgist

30 (SIXTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS)

• Allen Eastman Cross, U.S. Congregationalist Minister and Hymn Writer
• George Wallace Briggs, Anglican Priest and Hymn Writer
• John Main, Anglo-Canadian Roman Catholic Priest and Monk
• Josiah Booth, English Organist, Hymn Writer, and Hymn Tune Composer

• Frances Joseph-Gaudet, African-American Educator, Prison Reformer, and Social Worker

31 (SEVENTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS)

• Giuseppina Nicoli, Italian Roman Catholic Nun and Minister to the Poor
• Henry Irving Louttit, Jr., Episcopal Bishop of Georgia
• New Year’s Eve
• Rossiter Worthington Raymond, U.S. Novelist, Poet, Hymn Writer, and Mining Engineer
• Zoticus of Constantinople, Priest and Martyr, Circa 351

 

Lowercase boldface on a date with two or more commemorations indicates a primary feast.