Above:  Michel-Richard Delalande

Image in the Public Domain

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MICHEL-RICHARD DELALANDE (DECEMBER 15, 1657-JUNE 18, 1726)

French Roman Catholic Composer

Also known as Michel-Richard de Lalande

Michel-Richard Delalande comes to this, A Great Cloud of Witnesses:  An Ecumenical Calendar of Saints’ Days and Holy Days, via my Western classicism and his sacred music.

Our saint, born on December 15, 1657, was a native of Paris.  He, the fifteenth child in his family, was a son of Michel, a master tailor.  The young man sang in the choir of the Church of St. Germain l’Auxerrois, Paris.  Our saint also studied the organ and the harpsichord.  He, organist at the Church of St. Jean-en-Grève, the Church of St. Germain l’Auxerrois, the Church of St. Louis, and Petit St. Antoine, Paris, went on to work in the court of Kings Louis XIV (reigned 1643-1715) and Louis XV (reigned 1715-1774) at the Palace of Versailles.  Delalande taught music to two princesses.  He also served as the director of the royal chapel from 1714 to 1726.

Delalande, of the Baroque school, composed both sacred and secular music.  His secular music included:

1. Symphonies pour les Soupers du Roy, and
2. Les Fontaines de Versailles; and
3. Concert de Trompettes.

Our saint’s sacred music included:

1. Miserere Mei, Deus;
2. Dies Irae;
3. Venite, Exultemus Domino;
4. De Profundis;
5. Te Deum;
6. Confitebor tibi Domine;
7. Exaltabo te Domine;
8. Super Flumina Babylonis.

Delalande, aged 68 years, died in Versailles, France, on June 18, 1726.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MAY 11, 2020 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF HENRY KNOX SHERRILL, PRESIDING BISHOP OF THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH

THE FEAST OF BARBARA ANDREWS, FIRST FEMALE MINISTER IN THE AMERICAN LUTHERAN CHURCH, 1970

THE FEAST OF JOHN JAMES MOMENT, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF MATTEO RICCI, ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSIONARY

THE FEAST OF MATTHÊÔ LÊ VAN GAM, VIETNAMESE ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYR, 1847

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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 Michel-Richard Delalande

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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Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Above:  John Dalberg Acton

Image in the Public Domain

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JOHN EMERICH EDWARD DALBERG ACTON, FIRST BARON ACTON AND THIRTEENTH MARQUESS OF GROPPOLI

(JANUARY 10, 1834-JUNE 19, 1902)

English Roman Catholic Historian, Philosopher, and Social Critic

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–Lord Acton

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John Dalberg Acton comes to this, A Great Cloud of Witnesses:  An Ecumenical Calendar of Saints’ Days and Holy Days, via Robert Ellsberg, All Saints:  Daily Reflections on Saints, Prophets, and Witnesses for Our Time (1997).

The first issue I choose to address is the question of the hyphen.  Depending on the source one consults, one may read our saint’s name as John Dalberg Acton or as John Dalberg-Acton.  If one consults editions of our saint’s writings published during his lifetime, as one can easily do at archive.org, one sees his name listed both ways.  I choose to forgo the hyphen.

Lord Acton was a child of expatriates.  His grandfather had been Sir John Francis Edward Acton, Sixth Baronet Acton (1736-1811), a Neopolitan admiral and prime minister.  Our saint’s mother was German, hence “Dalberg” in his name.  Lord Acton’s father was Sir Richard Acton, who died before 1840.  Our saint, born in Naples, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, on January 10, 1834, grew up with his stepfather, Granville George Leveson-Gower, Second Earl Granville (1815-1891).  The stepfather, prominent in the Liberal Party, brought Lord Acton into the orbit of William Ewart Gladstone (1809-1898), Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1868-1874, 1880-1885, 1886, and 1892-1894).  Lord Acton became one of Gladstone’s chief advisors.

First, however, Lord Acton had to study and travel.  He studied at Oscott College, Warwickshire, then continued his studies in Munich.  Our saint’s teacher and mentor in Munich was Father Johann Josef Ignaz von Döllinger (1799-1890), a Roman Catholic priest, historian, and theologian.  Döllinger taught Lord Acton proper historical methodology.  The two men remained friends and allies for the rest of Döllinger’s life.  Our saint also traveled in Europe and the United States before returning to England in 1858.

[Aside:  I have made a note to myself to add Father Döllinger to this Ecumenical Calendar eventually, on schedule.]

Lord Acton blended public service and private-sector religious activity for a while.  From 1859 to 1864, he edited The Rambler, renamed Home and Foreign Review in 1862.  (He succeeded John Henry Newman in that role.)  Our saint could not imagine not being a Roman Catholic, even when maintaining that identity became difficult for him.  Pope Pius IX (reigned 1846-1878) was, for most of his papacy, a reactionary; he disapproved of modernism, science, constitutional government, the loss of the Papal States to the new Kingdom of Italy, et cetera.  Lord Acton, however, approved of all of the above.  According to our saint, there was no discrepancy between correct Christian doctrine and the properly rigorous, scientific study of the past, and, for that matter, science.

Lord Acton retired for public life circa 1870.  He, the First Baron Acton from 1869, openly disagreed with Pio Nono and papal allies in person at the First Vatican Council (Vatican I) in 1870.  Our saint never supported papal infallibility.  Father Döllinger also argued against papal infallibility and kept doing so after Vatican I.  He, excommunicated in 1871, joined the Old Catholic Church and continued as a priest.  Lord Acton somehow talked his way out of an excommunication.  That conversation with Henry Edward Manning (1808-1892), the Archbishop of Westminster from 1865 to 1892, must have been exceptional.  Lord Acton was not renowned for personal diplomacy.  In fact, he did not suffer fools easily.  His customary bluntness made him many enemies.

Lord Acton married Bavarian Countess Marie von Arco-Vallery in 1865.  The couple raised three daughters and one son.

Lord Acton offered a distinct political philosophy.  He would have argued with Samuel and Henrietta Barnett regarding Christian Socialism.  (I support disagreement among saints on my Ecumenical Calendar.)  Lord Acton drew influences from Edmund Burke (1729-1797) and Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1859).  Our saint, an opponent of nationalism, had an internationalist approach.  His background informed that opinion.  Our saint argued that the union of sacred and temporal power was dangerous.  He also distrusted any state with what he considered excessive power.  Such a state posed a threat to liberty, he insisted.  And, when one’s conscience conflicted with the state, our saint favored acting on conscience.  Lord Acton was neither an anarchist nor a libertarian.  The state was necessary and could be a force for he good, he understood.  Our saint also made a distinction between the nation and the state, and understood the Biblical concept of collective responsibility.  He cautioned

The nation is responsible to heaven for the acts of the state.

Lord Acton was primarily a historian after Vatican I.  He wrote and lectured on an elite academic level.  Our saint, the Regius Professor of Modern History at Cambridge (1895-1902), died in Tegernsee, Bavaria, German Empire, on June 19, 1902.

Lord Acton was a man of his time.  He pondered principles quoted in his faith, in real time.  He also changed his mind over time, as well-adjusted people have done since time immemorial.

His example challenges us to do the same in our contexts.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MAY 10, 2020 COMMON ERA

THE FIFTH SUNDAY OF EASTER, YEAR A

THE FEAST OF SAINT ENRICO REBUSCHINI, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND SERVANT OF THE SICK; AND HIS MENTOR, SAINT LUIGI GUANELLA, FOUNDER OF THE DAUGHTERS OF SAINT MARY OF PROVIDENCE, THE SERVANTS OF CHARITY, AND THE CONFRATERNITY OF SAINT JOSEPH

THE FEAST OF ANNA LAETITIA WARING, HUMANITARIAN AND HYMN WRITER; AND HER UNCLE, SAMUEL MILLER WARING, HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF SAINT IVAN MERZ, CROATIAN ROMAN CATHOLIC INTELLECTUAL

THE FEAST OF JOHN GOSS, ANGLICAN CHURCH COMPOSER AND ORGANIST; AND WILLIAM MERCER, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND HYMN TRANSLATOR

THE FEAST OF SAINT VASILE AFTENIE, ROMANIAN ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP AND MARTYR, 1950

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

We thank you for the faithful legacy of [John Dalberg Acton 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:  A Globe

Image Source = Christian Fischer

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WILLIAM PIERSON MERRILL (JANUARY 10, 1867-JUNE 19, 1954)

U.S. Presbyterian Minister, Social Reformer, and Hymn Writer

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Doctor Merrill, an author of repute, an outstanding preacher, an authority on hymns and tunes, has for nearly a half century battled for righteous causes in America’s three largest cities.

—Robert Guy McCutchan, Our Hymnody:  A Manual of The Methodist Hymnal, 2d. ed. (Nashville, TN:  Abingdon Press, 1937, pages 304-305)

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Many readers of this post might not know the name “William Pierson Merrill” yet might be quite familiar with his great hymn, “Rise Up, O Men of God.”

Rise up, O men of God!

Have done with lesser things;

Give heart and soul and mind and strength

To serve the King of kings.

—–

Rise up, O men of God!

His Kingdom tarries long;

Bring in the day of brotherhood,

And end the night of wrong.

—–

Rise up, O men of God!

The Church for you doth wait,

Her strength unequal to her task;

Rise up and make her great.

—–

Lift high the Cross of Christ!

Tread where His feet have trod;

As brothers of the Son of Man

Rise up, O men of God!

I wonder how many people who have sung that hymn would find Merrill’s theology horrifying or at least objectionable.  I, of course, consider it to be neither.

William Pierson Merrill (1867-1954) graduated from Rutgers College, New Brunswick, New Jersey, then from Union Theological Seminary, New York, New York.  The Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. ordained him in 1890.  He served at the following churches:

1. Trinity Presbyterian Church, Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1890-1895);
2. Sixth Presbyterian Church, Chicago, Illinois (1895-1911); and
3. Brick Presbyterian Church, New York, New York (1911-1938).  From there he retired.

Update on the churches:

1. Trinity Presbyterian Church has become The Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill by means of a reunion of Trinity with its parent congregation, First Presbyterian Church.
2. Sixth Presbyterian Church (not to be confused with the former Sixth United Presbyterian Church) has ceased to exist, as has its building.
3. Brick Presbyterian Church has moved from the location it occupied when Merrill was pastor.

Merrill was a peace activist and a biblical scholar.  He published a commentary on Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, and Micah in 1927.  And, in 1914, he became the first President of the Church Peace Union, now the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs.   Merrill’s liberalism and internationalism were evident in Christian Internationalism (1918) and Liberal Christianity (1925).

Merrill declined the opportunity to become the President of Union Theological Seminary in 1917 yet accepted the position of Moderator of the Presbytery of New York from 1940 to 1942.

William Pierson Merrill spoke out for ethics in public life on the global scale.  Indeed, he chose not to focus on “lesser things,” but to work on bringing in “the day of brotherhood.”  That was a worthy cause, one which continues to be crucial.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

APRIL 26, 2013 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINTS REMACLUS OF MAASTRICHT, THEODORE OF MAASTRICHT, LAMBERT OF MAASTRICHT, HUBERT OF MAASTRICHT AND LIEGE, AND FLORIBERT OF LIEGE, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS; SAINT LANDRADA OF MUNSTERBILSEN, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBESS; AND SAINTS OTGER OF UTRECHT, PLECHELM OF GUELDERLAND, AND WIRO, ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSIONARIES

THE FEAST OF CHRISTINA ROSSETTI, POET

THE FEAST OF SAINT PASCHASIUS RADBERTUS, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT

THE FEAST OF ROBERT HUNT, FIRST ANGLICAN CHAPLAIN AT JAMESTOWN, VIRGINIA

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For Further Reading:

http://www.cyberhymnal.org/bio/m/e/merrill_wp.htm

http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/book/lookupname?key=Merrill%2c%20William%20Pierson%2c%201867-1954

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Holy and righteous God, you created us in your image.

Grant us grace to contend fearlessly against evil and to make no peace with oppression.

Help us, like your servant William Pierson Merrill,

to work for justice among people and nations, to the glory of your name,

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), page 60

Honeysuckles

Image in the Public Domain

1 (Justin Martyr, Christian Apologist and Martyr, 166/167)

• David Abeel, U.S. Dutch Reformed Minister and Missionary to Asia
• Pamphilus of Caesarea, Bible Scholar and Translator; and His Companions, Martyrs, 309
• Samuel Stennett, English Seventh-Day Baptist Minister and Hymn Writer; and John Howard, English Humanitarian
• Simeon of Syracuse, Roman Catholic Monk
• William Robinson, Marmaduke Stephenson, and Mary Dyer, British Quaker Martyrs in Boston, Massachusetts, 1659 and 1660

2 (Blandina and Her Companions, the Martyrs of Lyons, 177)

• Anders Christensen Arrebo, “The Father of Danish Poetry”
• Christoph Homburg, German Lutheran Hymn Writer
• John Lancaster Spalding, Roman Catholic Bishop of Peoria then Titular Bishop of Seythopolis
• Margaret Elizabeth Sangster, Hymn Writer, Novelist, and Devotional Writer
• Stephen of Sweden, Roman Catholic Missionary, Bishop, and Martyr, Circa 1075

3 (John XXIII, Bishop of Rome)

• Christian Gottfried Geisler and Johann Christian Geisler, Silesian Moravian Organists and Composers; and Johannes Herbst, German-American Organist, Composer, and Bishop
• Frances Ridley Havergal, English Hymn Writer and Composer
• Ole T. (Sanden) Arneson, U.S. Norwegian Lutheran Hymn Translator
• Will Campbell, Agent of Reconciliation

4 (Stanislaw Kostka Starowieyski, Roman Catholic Martyr, 1941)

• Francis Caracciolo, Co-Founder of the Minor Clerks Regular
• Maurice Blondel, French Roman Catholic Philosopher and Forerunner of the Second Vatican Council
• Petroc, Welsh Prince, Abbot, and Missionary
• Thomas Raymond Kelly, U.S. Quaker Mystic and Professor of Philosophy

5 (Dorotheus of Tyre, Bishop of Tyre, and Martyr, Circa 362)

• Elias Benjamin Sanford, U.S. Methodist then Congregationalist Minister and Ecumenist
• Orlando Gibbons, Anglican Organist and Composer; the “English Palestrina”

6 (Franklin Clark Fry, President of The United Lutheran Church in America and the Lutheran Church in America)

• Claude of Besançon, Roman Catholic Priest, Monk, Abbot, and Bishop

• Henry James Buckoll, Author and Translator of Hymns
• Ini Kopuria, Founder of the Melanesian Brotherhood
• Johann Friedrich Hertzog, German Lutheran Hymn Writer
• William Kethe, Presbyterian Hymn Writer

7 (Matthew Talbot, Recovering Alcoholic in Dublin, Ireland)

• Anthony Mary Gianelli, Founder of the Missionaries of Saint Alphonsus Liguori and the Sisters of Mary dell’Orto
• Frederick Lucian Hosmer, U.S. Unitarian Hymn Writer
• Hubert Lafayette Sone and his wife, Katie Helen Jackson Sone, U.S. Methodist Missionaries and Humanitarians in China, Singapore, and Malaysia
• Seattle, First Nations Chief, War Leader, and Diplomat

8 (Clara Luper, Witness for Civil Rights)

• Bliss Wiant, U.S. Methodist Minister, Missionary, Musician, Music Educator, and Hymn Translator, Arranger, and Harmonizer; and his wife, Mildred Artz Wiant, U.S. Methodist Missionary, Musician, Music Educator, and Hymn Translator
• Charles Augustus Briggs, U.S. Presbyterian Minister, Episcopal Priest, Biblical Scholar, and Alleged Heretic; and his daughter, Emilie Grace Briggs, Biblical Scholar and “Heretic’s Daughter”
• Gerard Manley Hopkins, English Roman Catholic Poet and Jesuit Priest
• Henry Downton, Anglican Priest, Hymn Writer, and Hymn Translator
• Roland Allen, Anglican Priest, Missionary, and Mission Strategist

9 (Columba of Iona, Celtic Missionary and Abbot)

• Giovanni Maria Boccardo, Founder of the Poor Sisters of Saint Cajetan/Gaetano; and his brother, Luigi Boccardo, Apostle of Merciful Love
• José de Anchieta, Apostle of Brazil and Father of Brazilian National Literature
• Thomas Joseph Potter, Roman Catholic Priest, Poet, and Hymn Writer
• Will Herzfeld, U.S. Lutheran Ecumenist, Presiding Bishop of the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches, and Civil Rights Activist

10 (James of Nisibis, Bishop; and Ephrem of Edessa, “The Harp of the Holy Spirit”)

• Frank Laubach, U.S. Congregationalist Minister and Missionary
• Frederick C. Grant, Episcopal Priest and New Testament Scholar; and his son, Robert M. Grant, Episcopal Priest and Patristics Scholar
• Getulius, Amantius, Caeraelis, and Primitivus, Martyrs at Tivoli, 120; and Symphorosa of Tivoli, Martyr, 120
• Landericus of Paris, Roman Catholic Bishop
• Thor Martin Johnson, U.S. Moravian Conductor and Music Director

11 (BARNABAS THE APOSTLE, CO-WORKER OF SAINT PAUL THE APOSTLE)

12 (Edwin Paxton Hood, English Congregationalist Minister, Philanthropist, and Hymn Writer)

• Christian David Jaeschke, German Moravian Organist and Composer; and his grandson, Henri Marc Hermann Voldemar Voullaire, Moravian Composer and Minister
• Enmegahbowh, Episcopal Priest and Missionary to the Ojibwa Nation
• Joseph Dacre Carlyle, Anglican Priest and Hymn Writer
• Milton Smith Littlefield, Jr., U.S. Presbyterian and Congregationalist Minister, Hymn Writer, and Hymnal Editor
• William Cullen Bryant, U.S. Poet, Journalist, and Hymn Writer

13 (Spyridon of Cyprus, Bishop of Tremithus, Cyprus; and his convert, Tryphillius of Leucosia, Bishop of Leucosia, Cyprus; Opponents of Arianism)

• Brevard S. Childs, U.S. Presbyterian Biblical Scholar
• Sigismund von Birken, German Lutheran Hymn Writer

14 (Methodius I of Constantinople, Defender of Icons and Ecumenical Patriarch of Constaninople; and Joseph the Hymnographer, Defender of Icons and the “Sweet-Voiced Nightingale of the Church”)

• David Low Dodge, U.S. Presbyterian Businessman and Pacifist

15 (John Ellerton, Anglican Priest and Hymn Writer and Translator)

• Carl Heinrich von Bogatsky, Hungarian-German Lutheran Hymn Writer
• Dorothy Frances Blomfield Gurney, English Poet and Hymn Writer
• Evelyn Underhill, Anglican Mystic and Theologian
• Landelinus of Vaux, Roman Catholic Abbot; Aubert of Cambrai, Roman Catholic Bishop; Ursmar of Lobbes, Roman Catholic Abbot and Missionary Bishop; and Domitian, Hadelin, and Dodo of Lobbes, Roman Catholic Monks

16 (George Berkeley, Irish Anglican Bishop and Philosopher; and Joseph Butler, Anglican Bishop and Theologian)

• Francis J. Uplegger, German-American Lutheran Minister and Missionary; “Old Man Missionary”
• John Francis Regis, Roman Catholic Priest
• Norman Macleod, Scottish Presbyterian Minister and Hymn Writer; and his cousin, John Macleod, Scottish Presbyterian Minister, Liturgist, and Hymn Writer
• Rufus Jones, U.S. Quaker Theologian and Co-Founder of the American Friends Service Committee
• William Hiram Foulkes, U.S. Presbyterian Minister and Hymn Writer

17 (Samuel Barnett, Anglican Canon of Westminster, and Social Reformer; and his wife, Henrietta Barnett, Social Reformer)

• Edith Boyle MacAlister, English Novelist and Hymn Writer
• Emily de Vialar, Founder of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Apparition
• Jane Cross Bell Simpson, Scottish Presbyterian Poet and Hymn Writer
• Mark Hopkins, U.S. Congregationalist Minister, Theologian, Educator, and Physician
• Teresa and Mafalda of Portugal, Princesses, Queens, and Nuns; and Sanchia of Portugal, Princess and Nun

18 (William Bingham Tappan, U.S. Congregationalist Minister, Poet, and Hymn Writer)

• Adolphus Nelson, Swedish-American Lutheran Minister and Hymn Writer
• Bernard Mizeki, Anglican Catechist and Convert in Southern Rhodesia, 1896
• Johann Franck, Heinrich Held, and Simon Dach, German Lutheran Hymn Writers
• Richard Massie, Hymn Translator
• Vernard Eller, U.S. Church of the Brethren Minister and Theologian

19 (John Dalberg Acton, English Roman Catholic Historian, Philosopher, and Social Critic)

• Adelaide Teague Case, Episcopal Professor of Christian Education, and Advocate for Peace
• Michel-Richard Delalande, French Roman Catholic Composer
• William Pierson Merrill, U.S. Presbyterian Minister, Social Reformer, and Hymn Writer

20 (Joseph Augustus Seiss, U.S. Lutheran Minister, Liturgist, Hymn Writer, and Hymn Translator)

• Alfred Ramsey, U.S. Lutheran Minister and Hymn Translator
• Bernard Adam Grube, German-American Minister, Missionary, Composer, and Musician
• Charles Coffin, Roman Catholic Priest and Hymn Writer
• Hans Adolf Brorson, Danish Lutheran Bishop, Hymn Writer, and Hymn Translator
• William John Sparrow-Simpson, Anglican Priest, Hymn Writer, and Patristics Scholar

21 (Aloysius Gonzaga, Jesuit)

• Carl Bernhard Garve, German Moravian Minister, Liturgist, and Hymn Writer
• Charitie Lees Smith Bancroft de Chenez, Hymn Writer
• John Jones and John Rigby, Roman Catholic Martyrs, 1598 and 1600

22 (Alban, First British Martyr, Circa 209 or 305)

• Desiderius Erasmus, Dutch Roman Catholic Priest, Biblical and Classical Scholar, and Controversialist; John Fisher, English Roman Catholic Classical Scholar, Bishop of Rochester, Cardinal, and Martyr, 1535; and Thomas More, English Roman Catholic Classical Scholar, Jurist, Theologian, Controversialist, and Martyr, 1535
• Gerhard Gieschen, U.S. Lutheran Minister and Hymn Translator
• James Arthur MacKinnon, Canadian Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr in the Dominican Republic, 1965
• Nicetas of Remesiana, Roman Catholic Bishop
• Paulinus of Nola, Roman Catholic Bishop of Nola

23 (John Gerard, English Jesuit Priest; and Mary Ward, Founder of the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary)

• Heinrich Gottlob Gutter, German-American Instrument Maker, Repairman, and Merchant
• John Johns, English Presbyterian Minister and Hymn Writer
• Vincent Lebbe, Belgian-Chinese Roman Catholic Priest and Missionary; Founder of the Little Brothers of Saint John the Baptist
• Wilhelm Heinrich Wauer, German Moravian Composer and Musician

24 (NATIVITY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST)

25 (William Henry Heard, African Methodist Episcopal Missionary and Bishop)

• Domingo Henares de Zafira Cubero, Roman Catholic Bishop of Phunhay, Vietnam, and Martyr, 1838; Phanxicô Đo Van Chieu, Vietnamese Roman Catholic Catechist and Martyr, 1838; and Clemente Ignacio Delgado Cebrián, Roman Catholic Bishop and Martyr in Vietnam, 1838
• William of Vercelli, Roman Catholic Hermit; and John of Matera, Roman Catholic Abbot

26 (Isabel Florence Hapgood, U.S. Journalist, Translator, and Ecumenist)

• Andrea Giacinto Longhin, Roman Catholic Bishop of Treviso
• Pearl S. Buck, U.S. Presbyterian Missionary, Novelist, and Social Activist
• Philip Doddridge, English Congregationalist Minister and Hymn Writer
• Theodore H. Robinson, British Baptist Orientalist and Biblical Scholar
• Virgil Michel, U.S. Roman Catholic Monk, Academic, and Pioneer of Liturgical Renewal

27 (Cornelius Hill, Oneida Chief and Episcopal Priest)

• Arialdus of Milan, Italian Roman Catholic Deacon and Martyr, 1066
• Hugh Thomson Kerr, Sr., U.S. Presbyterian Minister and Liturgist; and his son, Hugh Thomson Kerr, Jr., U.S. Presbyterian Minister, Scholar, and Theologian
• James Moffatt, Scottish Presbyterian Minister, Scholar, and Bible Translator
• John the Georgian, Abbot; and Euthymius of Athos and George of the Black Mountain, Abbots and Translators

28 (Teresa Maria Mastena, Founder of the Institute of the Sisters of the Holy Face)

• Clara Louise Maass, U.S. Lutheran Nurse and Martyr, 1901
• Plutarch, Marcella, Potanominaena, and Basilides of Alexandria, Martyrs, 202
• William Mundy and John Mundy, English Composers and Musicians

29 (PETER AND PAUL, APOSTLES AND MARTYRS)

30 (Johann Olaf Wallin, Archbishop of Uppsala, and Hymn Writer)

• Gennaro Maria Sarnelli, Italian Roman Catholic Priest and Missionary to the Vulnerable and Exploited People of Naples
• Heinrich Lonas, German Moravian Organist, Composer, and Liturgist
• Paul Hanly Furfey, U.S. Roman Catholic Priest, Sociologist, and Social Radical
• Philip Powel, English Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1646

Floating

• First Book of Common Prayer, 1549

 

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

Above:  The Episcopal Flag

Photograph by Kenneth Randolph Taylor

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DR. ADELAIDE TEAGUE CASE (JANUARY 10, 1887-JUNE 19, 1948)

Professor, Columbia University, New York, New York

Professor, Episcopal Theological School, Cambridge, Massachusetts

Advocate for Peace

Religious Educator

Adelaide Teague Case, born in St. Louis, Missouri, on January 10, 1887, nevertheless, considered herself a native New Yorker because her family moved to the City of New York during her infancy.  Educated at Bryn Mawr College and Columbia University, she taught religious education at Columbia, where she served as head of that department from 1935 to 1941.  She had earned her doctorate there in 1924.  Her dissertation, Liberal Christianity and Religious Education, remains in print.

As an educator, Case advocated a child-centered pedagogy, not a teacher-centered one.  This might seem like old news today, but it was revolutionary then.  Religious education, she insisted, must relate to the social environment of the pupils and both nurture faith and further the cause of social justice.

Case’s faith was evident in her life’s work.  An Episcopalian of Anglo-Catholic leanings, she placed a high premium on frequent sacraments.  Beginning in 1915, she belonged to the Companions of the Holy Cross, a group of Episcopal women who live simply, gather to pray, and advocate for ecumenism and social justice.  Close to Case’s heart was the cause of human reconciliation, and therefore peacemaking–in the context of common prayer and eucharistic practice.  This peacemaking also had an international aspect for Dr. Case, especially during the 1930s and 1940s.  A pacifist, she pursued peace via Episcopalian and ecumenical organizations.

In 1941, Case, the foremost religious educator in The Episcopal Church, joined the faculty of Episcopal Theological School, Cambridge, Massachusetts.  She became the first female faculty member at an Episcopalian or Anglican seminary.  Case’s acceptance in the community at ETS was slow, and she left behind tenure and a good salary at Columbia University to make the academic move, but she found acceptance in time.  She shared her home with homeless families from varied religious, racial, and ethnic backgrounds.

Case died on tuberculosis on June 19, 1948.  Her last words were,

What can I do for you?

Perhaps the words of one student at Columbia University function as the ideal epitaph:

She was a true believer in Christ and you saw him living in and through her.

May people have cause to say that of you and me.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

NOVEMBER 16, 2010 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF ST. MARGARET OF SCOTLAND, QUEEN

THE FEAST OF GIUSEPPE MOSCATI, PHYSICIAN

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Everliving God, in whose light we see light:

We thank you for your teacher and peacemaker Adelaide Case,

who inspired generations of students with a love of learning that built up the Church and their communities.

Grant that we, following her example, may serve you tirelessly as learners and teachers,

laboring for the transformation of the world toward your reign of peace,

through the companionship of Jesus your Saving Word;

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

Proverbs 4:1-9

Psalm 119:33-40

Hebrews 5:11-6:1

Mark 4:21-25

—Holy Women, Holy Men:  Celebrating the Saints (2010), 473

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Post Revised on April 4, 2020

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NOTE:

Holy Women, Holy Men:  Celebrating the Saints (2010) lists Dr. Case’s feast day as July 19.  However, its successor, A Great Cloud of Witnesses:  A Calendar of Commemorations (2016) lists her feast day as June 19.  So does Lesser Feasts and Fasts 2018.

KRT

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