Music is an art which comes nearest to the people, and the one to which they can get nearest themselves. This art has been the faithful handmaid of Church from the beginning of the Church’s history and has shown itself worthy of care and respect at the hands of the Church authorities; but the Church has recently treated the art something like a stepchild, or, perhaps, like a pretty stranger–nice to have in the house, but to be sternly suppressed at the first sign of independence.

Above:  Horatio William Parker

Image in the Public Domain

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HORATIO WILLIAM PARKER (SEPTEMBER 15, 1863-DECEMBER 18, 1919)

Episcopal Composer, Organist, and Music Educator

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–Horatio William Parker, Before the Episcopal Club of Massachusetts, 1899; quoted in Armin Haeussler, The Story of Our Hymns:  The Handbook of the Hymnal of the Evangelical and Reformed Church (1952), 842

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Parker’s example should be an inspiration to us.  He verily sang the organ’s songs with his whole heart, sparing himself not at all that God’s temple might sound with fitting praise.  Nor must we forget that the very considerable body of organ music well suited to church taste with which he has enriched the repertory of the parish organist.  In his numerous anthems and choral settings of the service Parker speaks, and will long speak, to a larger public.  The worthiness of God’s praise could be more needed by the young church composer of our time.

–Canon Charles Winfred Douglas, 1919; quoted in Haeussler, The Story of Our Hymns (1952), 842-843

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Horatio William Parker, who maintained high standards of church music, comes to this, A Great Cloud of Witnesses:  An Ecumenical Calendar of Saints’ Days and Holy Days, via The Hymnal (1941), of the old Evangelical and Reformed Church.

Parker, born in Auburndale, Massachusetts, on September 15, 1863, came from a devout and artistic family.  Our saint’s mother, Isabella Graham Jennings Parker (1836-1904), was a translator of texts and a daughter of a Baptist minister.  Horatio’s father was Charles Edward Parker (1826-1890), an architect.  Our saint, who studied music from an early age, attended a private school in Newton, Massachusetts.

Parker made his career in music.  He became the organist at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Dedham, Massachusetts, when he was 16 years old.  Later, our saint served as the organist at St. John’s Episcopal Church, Roxbury, Massachusetts.  Parker studied under Josef Rheinberger (1839-1901) at the Hochschule für Musik, Munich, from 1882 to 1885.  Our saint, upon returning to the United States of America, joined the faculty of the Cathedral Schools of St. Mary’s and St. Paul’s, Garden City, Long Island, New York.

Parker returned to Germany long enough to reunite with his love, Anna Poessl (1866-1950), in 1886.  The couple married.  They had five children:

1. Charlotte Frances Parker Matthai (1887-1957);
2. William Parker (1891), who died after one day;
3. Charles Edward Parker (1891), who died after thirty-three weeks;
4. Isabel Parker Semler (1894-1967); and
5. Grace Parker Semler (1895-1972).

Parker remained active in music for the rest of his life.  He served as the organist of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Brooklyn; St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Harlem; and Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, New York City; through 1893.  In 1892, Antonín Dvorák (1841-1904) became the Director of the National Conservatory of Music of America, New York City.  Parker served on the faculty.  Our saint served as the organist of Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, Boston, Massachusetts, from 1893 to 1901.  He maintained this appointment for years after becoming a professor at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut (1894).  In 1901, Parker went to work as the organist at the Collegiate Church of St. Nicholas, New York City, while remaining at Yale.  Our saint, Dean of the School of Music at Yale University (1904-1919), received honorary doctorates from various institutions, in addition to the M.A. he had earned from Yale in 1894.  He also conducted choral groups in Philadelphia and New York City, and organized the New Haven Symphony Orchestra.

One of Parker’s students at Yale was Charles Ives (1874-1954).

Parker was a prolific composer.  His compositions included cantatas, oratorios, operas, orchestral works, orchestral songs, works for the organ, works for the piano, chamber music, and hymn tunes.

A partial list of Parker’s compositions follows:

1. King Trojan (1886);
2. A Northern Ballad (1889);
3. Four Compositions for the Organ (1890);
4. Hora Novissima:  The Rhythm of Bernard de Morlaix on the Celestial Country (1893), sheet music, recording;
5. The Holy Child:  A Cantata for Christmastide (1893), with a text by his mother;
6. The Legend of St. Christopher (1898), with a text by his mother;
7. Adstant Angelorum Chori (1899);
8. A Wanderer’s Psalm (Cantus Peregrinus) (1900);
9. Greek Festival Hymn (1901), with a text by his mother;
10. Love in May (1901), sheet music, recording;
11. A Star Song (1902);
12. Organ Concerto in E Flat Major (1902);
13. Vathek (1903);
14. Suite for Piano Trio in A (1904);
15. The Shepherd’s Vision (1906), with a translation by Alice C. Jennings, perhaps a relative on his mother’s side;
16. Mona (1911), Prelude, Interlude;
17. Fairyland (1915);
18. Fairyland Suite (1915); and
19. A.D. 1919 (1919).

Parker also edited an edition (with a translation by Alice C. Jennings) of Rheinberger’s (Das Tal des Espingo, 1869 (as The Valley of the Espingo) in 1908.

Our saint wrote The Progressive Music Series for Basal Use in Primary, Intermediate, and Grammar Grades, with the accompanying Teacher’s Manuals:

1. Book One (1914);
2. Book Two (1914);
3. Book Three (1915);
4. Teacher’s Manual, Volume One (1915);
5. Teacher’s Manual, Volume Two (1916); and
6. Teacher’s Manual, Volume Three (1916).

Parker edited hymnals, too.  He edited one of the five musical editions of The Hymnal:  Revised and Enlarged (1892), of The Episcopal Church.  He also edited University Hymns:  With Tunes Arranged for Men’s Voices (1907).

Some written sources criticize Parker for his musical elitism.  These authors cite our saint’s low opinion of congregational hymn singing.  Historical context is crucial in this matter, as it is in all matters.  Consider the following facts, O reader:

1. Within Anglicanism, the traditional repertoire was metered Psalmody.
2. Bishop William White (1747-1836) spoke for himself and many others when he dismissed the singing of hymns as too Evangelical, prone to enthusiasm, and indicative of “animal sensibility.”
3. The earliest Episcopal Prayer Books contained some hymns, despite White’s opinion.
4. The Hymnal (1826), also known as the Prayer Book Collection because it came bound with The Book of Common Prayer (1789), contained 212 texts.
5. Unofficial Expansions of the Prayer Book Collection debuted in 1858 and 1860.
6. The first official Episcopal hymnal not bound with the Prayer Book was The Hymnal (1874).  It contained 532 hymns, plus liturgical texts.
7. This volume’s two immediate successors were The Hymnal:  Revised and Enlarged (1892) and The Hymnal 1916 (1919).

Louis FitzGerald Benson (1855-1930), the great U.S. Presbyterian hymnodist and hymnal editor, spoke with Parker.  Benson recalled:

He had no instinctive sympathy for congregational singing, which he found inartistic; and he had an idealist’s contempt for the common level and for popularity.  One of his earliest tunes, GARDEN CITY, that attained wide vogue, became an offense to him.  He told me he would recall this tune if he could.

–Quoted in Haeussler, The Story of Our Hymns (1952), 842

Parker, still on the faculty of Yale University, died in Cedarhurst, New York, on December 18, 1919.  He was 61 years old.

Archive.org offers three books about our saint:

1. Horatio Parker (1921), by George W. Chadwick;
2. Horatio Parker:  A Memoir for His Grandchildren (1942), by Isabel Parker Semler; and
3. Horatio Parker, 1863-1919:  His Life, Music, and Ideas (1990), by William K. Kearns.

Parker understood the importance of reverence in church music.  He, enamored of the English cathedral musical tradition, grasped the beauty therein.

As in Parker’s time, much of church music today appeals to the lowest common denominator and indicates little or no artistry.  Bishop White’s comment about “animal sensibility” still applies to much content.  One may derive spiritual benefit from the good singing of quality hymns and still acknowledge that Parker and Bishop White made valid points.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

AUGUST 18, 2021 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF ARTEMISIA BOWDEN, AFRICAN-AMERICAN EDUCATOR AND CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST

THE FEAST OF ERDMANN NEUMEISTER, GERMAN LUTHERAN MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF FRANCIS JOHN MCCONNELL, U.S. METHODIST BISHOP AND SOCIAL REFORMER

THE FEAST OF JONATHAN FRIEDRICH BAHNMAIER, GERMAN LUTHERAN MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF PETTER DASS, NORWEGIAN LUTHERAN MINISTER, POET, AND HYMN WRITER

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Holy God, whose majesty surpasses all human definitions and capacity to grasp,

thank you for those (especially Horatio William Parker)

who have nurtured and encouraged the reverent worship of you.

May their work inspire us to worship you in knowledge, truth, and beauty.

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

1 Chronicles 25:1-8

Psalm 145

Revelation 15:1-4

John 4:19-26

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

NOVEMBER 27, 2012 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT JAMES INTERCISUS, ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYR

THE FEAST OF HENRY SLOANE COFFIN, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN THEOLOGIAN

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Above:  The Flag of England

Image in the Public Domain

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JOHN MACLEOD CAMPBELL CRUM (OCTOBER 12, 1872-DECEMBER 19, 1958)

Anglican Priest and Hymn Writer

Also known as John M. C. Crum

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

Above:  St. Andrew’s Church, Farnham, England, UK

Image Source = Google Earth

Crum was a priest in The Church of England.  He, born in Mere Old Hall, Cheshire, on October 12, 1872, attended Eton then New College, Oxford (B.A., 1895; M.A., 1901).  Our saint, ordained deacon (1897) then priest (1900), was the Curate of St. John the Evangelist, Darlington (1897-1901), then the Domestic Chaplain (1901-1907) to Francis Paget, the Bishop of Oxford (1901-1911).  Our saint was subsequently the Curate of Windsor (1907-1910), the Vicar of Mentmore with Ledburn (1910-1912), the Rector of Farnham (1913-1928), and the Canon of Canterbury (1928-1943).

Crum’s published works included hymns, a book about the Gospel of Mark, and a biography of Francis Paget.  Our saint’s most enduring hymn has been “Now the Green Blade Riseth,” an Easter text.

Crum, aged 86 years, died in Farnham, Surrey, on December 19, 1958.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JUNE 2, 2020 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT BLANDINA AND HER COMPANIONS, THE MARTYRS OF LYONS, 177

THE FEAST OF ANDERS CHRISTENSEN ARREBO, “THE FATHER OF DANISH POETRY”

THE FEAST OF CHRISTOPH HOMBURG, GERMAN LUTHERAN HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF MARGARET ELIZABETH SANGSTER, HYMN WRITER, NOVELIST, AND DEVOTIONAL WRITER

THE FEAST OF SAINT STEPHEN OF SWEDEN, ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSIONARY, BISHOP, AND MARTYR, CIRCA 1075

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Dear God of beauty,

you have granted literary ability and spiritual sensitivity to

John MacLeod Campbell Crum 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:  St. Matthew’s Church, Walsall, England

Image in the Public Domain

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JOHN DARWALL (BAPTIZED JANUARY 13, 1731-DECEMBER 18, 1789)

Anglican Priest and Composer

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

Darwall was a priest, a composer, and an amateur musician.  He, baptized at Houghton, Staffordshire, England, on January 13, 1731, studied at Manchester Grammar School then at Brasenose College, Oxford (B.A., 1756).  Our saint, ordained in The Church of England, served as the Curate (1761-1769) then the Vicar (1769-1789) of St. Matthew’s Church, Walsall.  Darwall wrote a pamphlet, Political Lamentations Written in the Years 1775-1776, which he dedicated to Frederick North (1732-1792), the Prime Minister (1770-1782).  Our saint also wrote The New Universal Psalmodist (Fifth Edition, 1770), in three volumes.  In that set, he published original tunes for the Psalms.  One of those tunes, listed as both DARWALL and DARWALL’S 148TH, has remained popular with editors of hymnals.  (You, O reader, may know it as a tune for “Rejoice, the Lord is King” and/or “Ye Holy Angels Bright.”)  Furthermore, Darwall published two volumes of piano sonatas.

Darwall, aged 58 years, died in Walsall on December 18, 1789.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MAY 30, 2020 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT JOAN OF ARC, ROMAN CATHOLIC VISIONARY AND MARTYR, 1430

THE FEAST OF APOLO KIVEBULAYA, APOSTLE TO THE PYGMIES

THE FEAST OF JOACHIM NEANDER, GERMAN REFORMED MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF JOSEPHINE BUTLER, ENGLISH FEMINIST AND SOCIAL REFORMER

THE FEAST OF SAINTS LUKE KIRBY, THOMAS COTTAM, WILLIAM FILBY, AND LAURENCE RICHARDSON, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIESTS AND MARTYRS, 1582

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Eternal God, light of the world and Creator of all that is good and lovely:

we bless your name for inspiring [John Darwall]

and all those who with music have filled us with desire and love for you;

through Jesus Christ our Savior, who with you and the Holy Spirit

lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

1 Chronicles 29:14b-19

Psalm 90:14-17

2 Corinthians 3:1-3

John 21:15-17, 24-25

–Adapted from Holy Women, Holy Men:  Celebrating the Saints (2010), 728

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Above:  Marc Boegner

Image in the Public Domain

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MARC BOEGNER (FEBRUARY 21, 1881-DECEMBER 18, 1970)

French Reformed Minister and Ecumenist

Marc Boegner had to make a difficult decision in the early 1940s.  He had to decide how best to save Jewish lives and resist Nazism.  His method led to his inclusion in the Yad Vasham, the Righteous Among the Nations, on November 26, 1987.

Boegner, born in Épinal, France, on February 21, 1881, came from a minority population–French Protestants.  He studied in Orléans and Paris, focusing on law before making the turn toward theology.  Our saint, ordained in 1905, became a minister in the Reformed Church of France.  He served in rural Aouste-sur-Sye, Drôme, until 1911.  Then he taught theology at the denominational House of Missions for seven years.  In 1918 he returned to parish ministry, at Poissy-Annonciation.  He remained in that post until 1952.  Boegner, the President of the Protestant Federation of France (1929-1961), doubled as the President of the Reformed Church of France (1938-1950).

The Nazi occupation of France created a quandary for many French men and women.  What was the best way to resist?  Many joined the Maquis and used violence.  Many French Christians–Protestant, Orthodox, and Roman Catholic–sheltered Jews; some of these Christians died for doing so.  Boegner, outwardly (to an extent) a collaborator, helped Jews and spoke out on their behalf.  He, a member of the National Council of the French State (Vichy State) and a recipient of the Order of the Francisque, sheltered Jews.  He also encouraged other Protestants to do the same.  Boegner also interceded in vain with “Black Peter” Pierre Laval (1883-1945) to spare the lives of young Jews.  Our saint’s outspoken opposition to anti-Semitic policies and to forced French labor in Germany placed his life and liberty at great risk.  In 1945, when Marshal Philippe Pétain went on trial for treason, Boegner defended him.

Boegner, a conciliator, was active in international ecumenism, starting in the 1930s.  He helped to create the World Council of Churches (1948) and served as its Co-President (1948-1954).  Our saint also served as an observer to the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965).

Boegner died on December 18, 1970.  He was 89 years old.

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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Almighty God, we praise you for your servant Marc Boegner,

through whom you have called the church to its tasks and renewed its life.

Raise up in our own day teachers and prophets inspired by your Spirit,

whose voices will give strength to your church and proclaim the reality of your reign,

through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns

with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.

Jeremiah 1:4-10

Psalm 46

1 Corinthians 3:11-23

Mark 10:35-45

–Adapted from Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), 60

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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:  Blessed Giulia Valle

Image from the Public Domain

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BLESSED GIULIA VALLE (JUNE 26, 1847-DECEMBER 18, 1916)

Roman Catholic Nun

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Keep a quick pace, without looking behind, and concentrate on the one goal:  God alone!  To Him, the glory; to the others, joy; for me, to pay the price; never make others suffer.  I shall be very strict with myself and full of charity towards the others:  love gratuitously offered is the only thing that remains.

–Blessed Giulia Valle

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Blessed Giulia Valle offered love gratuitously during her adult life.  She, born at Aosta, Sardinia, on June 26, 1847, was the daughter of Anselmo Valle and Cristina Dalbar, who worked in the family business, a millner’s shop.  Cristina died when our saint was four years old.  Young Giulia spent the next few years living with relatives in Aosta and Donnas.  Her education was in the capable hands of the Sisters of Charity at Besancon, France, after that.  Eventually Anselmo remarried and Giulia returned to the household.  Relations between our saint and her full brother, Vincent, were difficult, however.  Our saint, already contemplating becoming a nun, made her decision when her father arranged a marriage for her.  On September 8, 1866, she became a novice.

The newly minted Sister Nemesia found her niche.  She, based at the Sisters of Charity house at Tortona she taught general education to elementary students, taught French to high school students, worked at the orphanage, and counseled soldiers.  At the age of 40 years she became the superior of her house.  Then, in 1903, our saint served as the novice mistress at Borgaro.  There she guided 500 women through their inductions into the order.

Blessed Giulia Valle died of pneumonia at Turin, Italy, on December 18, 1916.  She was 69 years old.

Jesus, strip me of myself; let me be wrapped in you.  Jesus, I live for you, I die for you.

–Blessed Giulia Valle

Pope John Paul II declared our saint venerated on July 5, 2002, and beatified on April 25, 2004.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

NOVEMBER 5, 2016 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF JOHN CAWOOD, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER

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O God, whose blessed Son became poor that we through his poverty might be rich:

Deliver us from an inordinate love of this world, that we,

inspired by the devotion of your servant Blessed Giulia Valle,

may serve you with singleness of heart, and attain to the riches of the age to come;

through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you,

in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen.

Song of Songs 8:6-7

Psalm 34

Philippians 3:7-15

Luke 12:33-37 or Luke 9:57-62

–Adapted from Holy Women, Holy Men:  Celebrating the Saints (2010), page 722

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Above:  Sisters Leonie Duquet and Alice Domon

Image in the Public Domain

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ALICIA DOMON (SEPTEMBER 23, 1937-DECEMBER 18/19, 1977)

Roman Catholic Nun and Martyr in Argentina

Sister Alicia Domon opposed the brutal military dictatorship of Argentina and supported human rights, much to her peril.

Domon, born at Charquemont, France, on September 23, 1937, joined the Paris Foreign Missions Society.  The Society sent her to Argentina in 1967.  She and her sister nuns lived and worked among the poor of Buenos Aires.  She, in particular, taught the catechism to mentally retarded children.

The military coup of 1976 brought to power a government that targeted its own citizenry and caused many civilians to disappear.  Domon became involved with the Mothers of the Disappeared, much to the chagrin of the conservative Roman Catholic hierarchy, which remained silent.  On December 8, 1977, plain clothes agents of the government arrested Domon and twelve other women.  On the following day authorities apprehended Sister Leonie Duquet, who shared an address with Domon.  For a week and a half military personnel incarcerated, tortured, humiliated, and interrogated the women.  They they threw them out of airplanes over the Atlantic Ocean.  Certain officers made jokes about “flying nuns.”

To care about human rights is not an option; it is a divine commandment.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

OCTOBER 25, 2016 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF HERBERT STANLEY OAKELEY, COMPOSER

THE FEAST OF SAINT PROCLUS, ARCHBISHOP OF CONSTANTINOPLE; AND SAINT RUSTICUS, BISHOP OF NARBONNE

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Almighty God, by whose grace and power your holy martyrs

Sister Alicia Domon and her companions

triumphed over suffering and was faithful even to death:

Grant us, who now remember them in thanksgiving,

to be so faithful in our witness to you in this world,

that we may receive with them the crown of life;

through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns

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

Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) 51:1-12

Psalm 116 or 116:1-8

Revelation 7:13-17

Luke 12:2-12

–Adapted from Holy Women, Holy Men:  Celebrating the Saints (2010), page 714

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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.

Above:  King Ahaz

Emmanuel:  God is With Us, and We Need to Be With God

DECEMBER 18, 2022

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Isaiah 7:10-16 (New Revised Standard Version):

The LORD spoke to Ahaz, saying,

Ask a sign of the LORD your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.

But Ahaz said,

I will not ask, and I will not put the LORD to the test.

Then Isaiah said:

Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary mortals, that you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel. He shall eat curds and honey by the time he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. For before the child knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land before whose two kings you are in dread will be deserted.

Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19 (New Revised Standard Version):

Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,

you who lead Joseph like a flock!

You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth

before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh.

Stir up your might,

and come to save us!

Restore us, O God;

let your face shine, that we may be saved.

O LORD God of hosts,

how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers?

You have fed them with the bread of tears,

and given them tears to drink in full measure.

You make us the scorn of our neighbors;

our enemies laugh among themselves.

Restore us, O God of hosts;

let your face sine, that we may be saved.

But let your hand be upon the one at your right hand,

the one whom you made strong for yourself.

Then we will never turn back from you;

give us life, and we will call on your name.

Restore us, O LORD God of hosts;

let your face shine, that we may be saved.

Romans 1:1-7 (New Revised Standard Version):

Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures, the gospel concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for the sake of his name, including yourselves who are called to belong to Jesus Christ,

To all God’s beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Matthew 1:18-25 (New Revised Standard Version):

Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,

Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:

“Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,

and they shall name him Emmanuel,”

which means,

“God is with us.”

When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.

The Collect:

Purify our conscience, Almighty God, by your daily visitation, that your Son Jesus Christ, at his coming, may find in us a mansion prepared for himself; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

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Here is the historical background of the reading from Isaiah:

The Kings of Aram (or Syria) and Israel (the northern Hebrew kingdom) planned to create an alliance of states to oppose the Assyrian Empire, a major power in 735 B.C.E.  When King Ahaz of Judah did not join this effort the forces of Aram and Israel attempted to overthrow him and to place a more compliant monarch on the throne.  This situation concerned Ahaz (understandably so), and he turned to Assyria, not God, for protection.  Ahaz put on airs of righteousness, making a show of not asking God for a sign.  Yet, as Isaiah stated, God would send a sign anyway.  An almah, or young woman of marriageable age (married or not, virgin or not left undefined) would give birth to a healthy baby boy, and the kingdom would be out of immediate danger by the time the child could able to “reject the bad and choose the good.”

Thus the birth of a child became a sign of deliverance from certain death.

Confronting and dealing with Assyria was foolish.  The Assyrian Empire conquered Aram, deprived Israel of much territory, and made Judah a dependency.  Trusting in God would have been a better choice.

That is a timeless lesson.

KRT