In loving memory of the missionary martyrs of Lien-chou, China, Eleanor Chestnut, M.D.; Mrs. Ella Wood Machle; and her little daughter, Amy; Rev John Rogers Peale and Mrs. Rebecca Gillespie Peale; who for Christ’s sake suffered cruel death at Lien-chou, China, October 28, 1905. “They loved not their lives unto the death.” (Rev. xii 11)

Above:  The Late Imperial Flag of China

Image in the Public Domain

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ELEANOR CHESTNUT, M.D. (JANUARY 8, 1868-OCTOBER 28, 1905)

U.S. Presbyterian Medical Missionary and Martyr, 1905

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JOHN ROGERS PEALE (SEPTEMBER 17, 1879-OCTOBER 28, 1905)

U.S. Presbyterian Minister, Missionary, and Martyr, 1905

husband of

REBECCA GILLESPIE PEALE (AUGUST 16, 1878-OCTOBER 28, 1905)

U.S. Presbyterian Missionary and Martyr, 1905

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ELLA MAY WOOD MACHLE (DIED OCTOBER 28, 1905)

U.S. Presbyterian Missionary and Martyr, 1905

mother of

AMY MACHLE (1894-OCTOBER 28, 1905)

U.S. Presbyterian Martyr

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–A plaque at the Presbyterian Foreign Mission Board, New York, New York; quoted in G. Scott Cady and Christopher L. Webber, A Year with American Saints (2006), 34

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INTRODUCTION

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Dr. Eleanor Chestnut comes to this, A Great Cloud of Witnesses:  An Ecumenical Calendar of Saints’ Days and Holy Days, via Cady and Webber, A Year with American Saints (2006).  The other four saints martyred with her come her via my desire to include all five martyrs in this post.

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DOCTOR CHESTNUT

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Above:  Dr. Eleanor Chestnut

Image in the Public Domain

Chestnut grew up without her parents.  She, born in Waterloo, Iowa, on January 8, 1868, was essentially an orphan.  Our saint’s father deserted the family.  Chestnut’s mother died shortly after our saint’s birth.  The Merwins, childless neighbors, raised Chestnut a few years.  Then our saint grew up with relatives on a struggling farm at Hatton, Missouri.  Chestnut sought a way out of her precarious existence and into a better future.

Education was that route.  Chestnut graduated from Park College (now University), a Presbyterian school in Parksville, Missouri, in 1888.  Next, she studied at the Chicago Women’s Medical College, the Illinois Training School for Nurses, and the Moody Bible Institute.  Our saint prepared to become a medical doctor and missionary.  She, who preferred to treat the most vulnerable and most impoverished patients, applied to the Presbyterian Foreign Missions Board in 1893.  Chestnut sailed for China in August 1894.  She had worked in a women’s reformatory in Framingham, Massachusetts.  Our saint had experience as a physician, but none as a missionary (yet).

The missionary compound at Lien-chou dated to 1891.  Chestnut worked there, starting in 1894.  She operated a women’s hospital in Lien-chou.  She also rode to local villages and provided medical care.  Our saint also trained local women as nurses, advocated for public health measures and the construction of schools.   Furthermore, she translated a nursing textbook and the Gospel of Matthew into the local dialect.

Chestnut was a dedicated and compassionate medical missionary.  Yet, while on furlough in the United States of America in 1902-1903, our saint confided to a friend:

I do not feel that I am spiritual enough to be a missionary.

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THE MACHLES

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Other Presbyterian missionaries labored for God and Lien-chou.  For example, the Machles were there.  Dr. Edward Machle operated another hospital.  His wife, Ella (May) Wood Machle, and children (some of them, depending on the year), were present, too.

Edward Machle and Ella May Wood had met at Wharton Street Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the 1880s.  He had been a student at the Medical College of Philadelphia, and she a teacher.  After the couple married, they applied to the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions.  They arrived in China in 1889.

The Machles had four children:

1. Elsie (born May 3, 1890),
2. Victor (born in 1892), and
3. Amy and Howard (born in 1894).

The Machles, in the United States of America on furlough in 1897, left Elsie and Victor at the Presbyterian Homes for Children of Foreign Missionaries, Wooster, Ohio,  That decision saved the children’s lives.  The parents and their children corresponded with each other frequently and on a regular basis.

Amy and Howard were fraternal twins.  Howard died of diptheria in 1904.

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THE PEALES

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John Rogers Peale and Rebecca Gillespie Peale hoped to serve as missionaries in China for forty years.  They did not get to serve even forty hours before they received the crown of martyrdom.

John Rogers Peale grew up a Presbyterian.  He, a son of Samuel Alexander Peale and Elizabeth (McIntire) Peale, debuted in New Bloomfield, Pennsylvania, on September 17, 1879.  John joined the New Bloomfield Presbyterian when he was 12 years old.  After graduating from Lafayette College, Easton, Pennsylvania, in 1902.  John matriculated at Princeton Theological Seminary.  His interest in foreign missions was obvious at seminary.  He graduated from Princeton University (M.A., 1904) and Theological Seminary (1905).  John, licensed to preach in the old Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. on April 11, 1905, and ordained on May 15, married Rebecca Gillespie on June 29.

Rebecca Gillespie, born on August 16, 1878, was a native of Colora, Maryland.  She joined the West Nottingham Presbyterian Church at the age of 14 years, and attended and graduated from West Nottingham Academy.

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OCTOBER 28, 1905

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The Rogerses, who had sailed from San Francisco, California, on August 16, 1905, arrived in Hong Kong around September 28.  The long, arduous journey to the missionary station awaited the couple.  Dr. Edward Machle picked them up and delivered them to Lien-chou.  On October 26 or 27, the young couple, in the twenties, arrived at their new home, the site of hospitals, a boys’ school, a girls’ school, a church building, that sat 700 people, and residences for missionaries.

Dr. Machle came home to a Chinese festival celebration, underway near one of the hospitals.  The noise was disturbing patients.  The pagan nature of the festival upset Dr. Machle.  He spoke to local elders and, in accordance with local custom, removed a ceremonial object (a miniature cannon).  Many local people took great offense and committed violence.  A mob attacked the compound.  Only two missionaries, including Dr. Machle, survived; they got so deep inside a cave that nobody pulled them out.  However, those who did not get sufficiently deep into that cave died.  The mob damaged some buildings and burned others.  They also beat and stabbed five missionaries (including young Amy Machle) and threw the bodies into the river.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

APRIL 15, 2021 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT OLGA OF KIEV, REGENT OF KIEVAN RUSSIA; SAINT ADALBERT OF MAGDEBURG, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP; SAINT ADALBERT OF PRAGUE, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP AND MARTYR, 997; AND SAINTS BENEDICT AND GAUDENTIUS OF POMERANIA, ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYRS, 997

THE FEAST OF SAINTS DAMIEN AND MARIANNE OF MOLOKAI, WORKERS AMONG LEPERS

THE FEAST OF SAINT FLAVIA DOMITILLA, ROMAN CHRISTIAN NOBLEWOMAN; AND SAINTS MARO, EUTYCHES, AND VICTORINUS OF ROME, PRIESTS AND MARTYRS, CIRCA 99

THE FEAST OF SAINT HUNNA OF ALSACE, THE “HOLY WASHERWOMAN”

THE FEAST OF LUCY CRAFT LANEY, AFRICAN-AMERICAN PRESBYTERIAN EDUCATOR AND CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST

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Almighty and everlasting God,

who kindled the flame of your love in the heart of your holy martyrs

Eleanor Chestnut,

John Rogers Peale,

Rebecca Gillespie Peale,

Ella May Wood Machle,

and Amy Machle:

Grant to us, your humble servants, a like faith and power of love,

that we who rejoice in their triumph may profit by their example;

through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with

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

Jeremiah 15:15-21

Psalm 124 or 31:1-5

1 Peter 4:12-19

Mark 8:34-38

–Adapted from Holy Women, Holy Men:  Celebrating the Saints (2010), 715

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Above:  James Hannington

Image in the Public Domain

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JAMES HANNINGTON (SEPTEMBER 3, 1847-OCTOBER 29, 1885)

Anglican Bishop of Eastern Equatorial Guinea, 1884-1885, and Martyr

The purpose of this post is to provide a brief summary of the life of Bishop James Hannington.  For longer and more detailed accounts of his life and parts thereof I refer you, O reader, to the following sources:

1. James Hannington, First Bishop of Eastern Equatorial Africa:  A History of His Life and Work (1885), by Edwin Collas Dawson;
2. Peril and Adventure in Central Africa; Being Illustrated Letters to the Youngsters at Home, by the Late Bishop Hannington (1886);
3. The Last Journals of Bishop Hannington; Being Narratives of a Journey Through Palestine in 1884 and a Journey Through Masai-Land and U-Soga in 1885 (1888), edited by Edwin Collas Dawson;
4. Bishop Hannington and the Story of the Uganda Mission (1908), by William Grinton Berry;
5. Bishop Hannington:  The Life and Adventures of a Missionary Hero (1910), by William Grinton Berry;
6. James Hannington, Bishop and Martyr:  The Story of a Noble Life (1910), by Charles D. Michael; and
7. James Hannington, the Merchant’s Son Who Was Martyred for Africa (1920), by Charles D. Michael.

James Hannington seemed at first unlikely to become an Anglican missionary bishop.  He grew up an Independent, not a member of The Church of England.  Our saint, born in Hurstpierpoint, Sussex, on September 3, 1847, was a son of Charles Smith Harrington, who operated a warehouse.  The young saint, who attended the Temple School at Brighton, was a bad student.  He dropped out of school at age 15 to help his father at the warehouse.

Hannington’s life turned toward his destiny in 1867, when the family joined The Church of England.  He decided to pursue Holy Orders and studied at St. Mary Hall, Oxford (B.A., 1874, then M.A.)  At first our saint continued to be a bad student, but the death of his mother changed him and altered his academic habits.  Hannington, ordained to the diaconate in 1874, served as the Curate of St. Peter’s, Treentishoe, Devon, in 1874 and 1875.  Then he, as a priest, was the Curate of St. George’s, Hurstpierpoint, from 1875 to 1882.

Hannington’s life turned toward his destiny again in 1882, when he learned of the murders of missionaries in the vicinity of Lake Victoria.  He volunteered to join the Church Missionary Society’s mission to the area.  Our saint went to Africa, but bad health forced his return to England in 1883.  Upon recovering he became the first Bishop of Eastern Equatorial Africa in June 1884.  By the end of the year he left for Africa again.  Hannington reached Lake Victoria in 1885.

Our saint did have a family.  On February 10, 1877, at St. George’s Church, he had married Blanche Hankin-Turvin.  The couple had three children.  Hannington was a loving husband and father, but his call from God took into the path of danger.

Hannington had a brief episcopate.  Shortly after he and his party of about 50 people arrived in the vicinity of Lake Victoria King Mwanga II of Buganda (reigned 1884-1888 and 1890-1897) had them arrested and incarcerated.  During the course of about a week most of them suffered violence, humiliation, and martyrdom.  Mwanga feared not only the increasing rate of conversions to Christianity among this subjects but foreign encroachments upon his realm.  He also linked those two issues.  The monarch failed in his attempts to stop both, despite the executions he ordered.  Our saint died on October 29, 1885.  He was 38 years old.  Hannington’s last words were:

Go, tell Mwanga I have purchased the road to Uganda with my blood.

Four members of Hannington’s party escaped to safety.

When tyrants tremble, sick with fear,

And hear their death-knell ringing;

When friends rejoice both far and near,

How can I keep from singing?

In prison cell and dungeon vile,

Our thoughts to them are winging;

When friends by shame are undefiled,

How can I keep from singing?

–Doris Plemm, circa 1950, in reference to victims of McCarthyism

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JULY 29, 2016 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINTS MARY AND MARTHA OF BETHANY, FRIENDS OF JESUS

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Precious in your sight, O Lord, is the death of your saints,

whose faithful witness, by your providence, has its great reward:

We give you thanks for your martyrs James Hannington and his companions,

who purchased with their blood a road into Uganda for the proclamation of the Gospel;

and we pray that with them we may obtain the crown of righteousness

which is laid up for all who love the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ;

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

Job 23:10-17

Psalm 124

1 Peter 3:14-18, 22

Matthew 10:16-22

—Holy Women, Holy Men:  Celebrating the Saints (2010), page 657

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Above:  The Flag of the Holy Roman Empire

Image in the Public Domain

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BARTHOLOMAUS HELDER (CIRCA 1585-OCTOBER 28, 1635)

German Lutheran Minister, Composer, and Hymn Writer

The series of short posts about German Lutheran hymn writers continues with this entry about Bartholomaus Helder.

Helder was a distinguished composer and hymn writer.  The native of Gotha, in Thuringia, was a son of Johann Helder, the Lutheran superintendent there circa 1585.  By 1607 our saint had completed his formal education.  That year he became a schoolmaster at Friemar, near Gotha.  Nine years later, in 1616, he became pastor at Remstadt, also near Gotha.  There he remained for the rest of his life, dying of the plague, on October 28, 1635.  He left behind hymns and hymn tunes.  Helder had published two collections of hymns, Cymbalum Genethliacum (1615) and Cymbalum Davidicum (1620).  Cantionale Sacrum (1646) included fifty of his texts, a hymn for the Feast of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist (June 24).  Helder also composed at least three hymn tunes.  Sources I consulted indicate that little of his work has entered English-language hymnals.  That is unfortunate, based on the quality of Helder’s work that I have encountered.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MAY 15, 2015 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF THE FIRST U.S. PRESBYTERIAN BOOK OF COMMON WORSHIP, 1906

THE FEAST OF JOHN ARMSTRONG, ANGLICAN BISHOP OF GRAHAMSTOWN, SOUTH AFRICA

THE FEAST OF JOSEPH ARMITAGE ROBINSON, ANGLICAN DEAN, SCHOLAR, AND HYMN WRITER

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Dear God of beauty,

you have granted literary ability and spiritual sensitivity to

Bartholomaus Helder 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:  The Burning Bush Logo

Image in the Public Domain

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JOSEPH GRIGG (CIRCA 1720-OCTOBER 29, 1768)

English Presbyterian Minister and Hymn Writer

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Joseph Grigg, born into an impoverished English family circa 1720, quit work as a mechanic in his twenties to become the full-time Assistant Minister of Silver Street Presbyterian Church, London.  In 1747 the Senior Minister, Thomas Bures died.  Shortly thereafter Grigg, recently married to a wealthy widow, resigned his position of about four years and retired to St. Albans, where he devoted his time to literary pursuits.  These included The Voice of Danger, the Voice of God (1756), Miscellanies on Moral and Religious Subjects (1756), and Four Hymns on Divine Subjects Wherein the Patience and Love of Our Divine Saviour is Displayed (1765).

Our saint wrote more than forty hymns, starting at his tenth year of life.  At that tender age Grigg wrote “Jesus, and Shall It Ever Be,” which he published in Four Hymns (1765).  Multiple versions of this hymn exist.  There is, of course, the original text, but perhaps the most often sung version is the Benjamin Francis (1734-1799) reworking from 1787.  Another hymn our saint wrote was “Behold, a Stranger at the Door,” originally twelve stanzas long.  The Lutheran Hymnal (1941) version has just five stanzas, however.

One stanza Grigg wrote remains in my mind as a succinct summary of the reality of the lives of many people:

Behold a Stranger at the door!

He gently knocks, has knocked before,

Has waited long, is waiting still;

You treat no other friend so ill.

Our saint died at Walthamstow, Essex, England, on October 29, 1768.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JULY 25, 2014 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF JAMES BAR-ZEBEDEE, APOSTLE AND MARTYR

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Dear God of beauty,

you have granted literary ability and spiritual sensitivity to

Joseph Grigg 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:  Luther Rose

Image Source = Jed

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PAUL MANZ (MAY 10, 1919-OCTOBER 28, 2009)

Dean of Lutheran Church Music

Among Lutherans, he was the dean of church music.

–David Cherwin, Organist, Mount Olive Lutheran Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 2009

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He re-stimulated creative hymn playing.  He was playing around, but these [delightful and well-crafted] pieces [into which he introduced improvisations at Mount Olive Church and introduced at hymn festivals nationwide] affirmed the extraordinary musical sophistication he had.  He left a legacy in the pieces that are being used regularly.

— John Ferguson, Professor of Organ and Church Music, St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota, 2009

Relying on ecclesiastical authorities to name saints is, in itself, insufficient.  If I were to follow that strategy alone, I would not recognize Paul Manz as a saint.

Paul Manz (1919-2009) died at the age of 90 years.  Ruth, his wife of 65 years, predeceased him by a year.  They had four children:  John, a Lutheran minister; Peter; Michael (died in 2006); and David, who died at birth.  The couple also raised the orphaned children of Ruth’s brother and sister-in-law.  Thus Mary, Anne, Sarah, and John Mueller joined the household.

Paul Manz, born in Cleveland, Ohio, began his life as a musician with piano lessons at age five.  While attending Concordia High School in River Forest, Illinois, he took private lessons with premier organists.  The saint earned his master’s degree in organ performance at Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois.  Then he taught at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, and at Macalester College, St. Paul.  He also served as chair of the Department of Music at Concordia University, St. Paul, for nineteen years.  For 37 years (until his retirement in 1983) Manz served as organist and Director of Christian Education at Mount Olive Lutheran Church, Minneapolis.  In 1956 Manz left for Europe for a year on a Fulbright Scholarship.  The church gave him the year off with pay.

Manz became one of the leading organists in the United States.  In fact, he was officially among the 101 Most Notable Organists of the Twentieth Century, according to the American Guild of Organists in 2000.  Other honors included the Alumni Merit Award from Northwestern University, the Confessor of Christ Award from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, the Gutenberg Award from the Chicago Bible Society, the Wittenberg Arts Award from the Luther Institute, and honorary doctorates from St. Olaf College and Valparaiso University.  Manz was also on an official list of the ten Most Influential Lutherans.

Manz was part of the liberal wing of The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS).  From 1969 to 1976 a civil war raged in that denomination.  Manz and Mount Olive Church were among those who formed the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches (AELC) in 1976.  The AELC participated in the 1987 merger which formed the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).  This background explains the 1983-2009 part of Manz’s life.  In 1983 Manz relocated to Chicago, where he taught at the Lutheran School of Theology, which had ties to Seminex, founded as Concordia Seminary in Exile.  He retired from the Lutheran School of Theology in 1992.  And Manz made quite an impression.

The church and the world were blessed beyond measure by the talents and gifts Paul Manz shared with our seminary community.  His legacy of teaching and his music will continue through our graduates to touch the lives of future generations.   His tireless effort, generating support for our institution through hymn festivals, was a mark of his remarkable ministry.  We give thanks to God for the good fortune of having known Paul and his beloved Ruth as members of the Seminex and LSTC communities.

–James Kenneth Echols, President, Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, 2009

Manz, while in Chicago, attended the Evangelical Lutheran Church of St. Luke, where he served as cantor.  That parish has established the Paul Manz Institute of Church Music.  Manz retired from his role in that congregation in 1999.

I learned of Paul Manz a few years ago, when Dallas Bono, choir director at St. Gregory the Great Episcopal Church, Athens, Georgia, selected the saint’s most famous motet for the choir to sing.  “E’en So, Lord Jesus, Quickly Come,” published in 1954, has a powerful backstory.  John, son of Paul and Ruth, was three years old and in the hospital with double pneumonia and a high fever.  His survival was uncertain.  Ruth paraphrased verses from Revelation 22 and Paul composed the music.  John survived.  As I write these words he is on staff at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, St. Paul, Paul Manz’s last parish and the site of his funeral.  And it was appropriate that, as the elder Manz, unable to speak, lay dying, his family members sang the motet as they surrounded him.

The words of the motet follow:

Peace be to you and grace from him

Who freed us from our sins,

Who loved us all and shed his blood

That we might saved be.

Sing holy, holy to our Lord,

The Lord Almighty God,

Who was and is and is to come;

Sing holy, holy, Lord!

Rejoice in heaven, all ye that dwell therein,

Rejoice on earth, ye saints below,

For Christ is coming, is coming soon,

For Christ is coming soon!

E’en so, Lord Jesus, quickly come,

And night shall be no more;

They need no light nor lamp nor sun,

For Christ will be their All!

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

OCTOBER 12, 2012 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF EDITH CAVELL, NURSE AND MARTYR

THE FEAST OF ELIZABETH FRY, PRISON REFORMER

THE FEAST OF SAINT WILFRID OF RIPON, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP

THE FEAST OF WILLIAM MUNDY, COMPOSER

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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 Paul Manz

and all those who with music have filled us 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 the Proper for Artists and Writers, Holy Women, Holy Men:  Celebrating the Saints (2010), page 728

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For Further Reading:

http://www.elca.org/Who-We-Are/Our-Three-Expressions/Churchwide-Organization/Communication-Services/News/Releases.aspx?a=4334

http://www.morningstarmusic.com/composers-manz.cfm

http://pipedreams.publicradio.org/listings/2001/0114/

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/twincities/obituary.aspx?n=paul-manz&pid=135264217&fhid=3436

http://www.startribune.com/obituaries/67394222.html?refer=y

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/10/29/paul-manz-obit/

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Calendula

Image Source = Alvesgaspar

1 (Anthony Ashley Cooper, Lord Shaftesbury, British Humanitarian and Social Reformer)

• Chuck Matthei, Founder and Director of the Equity Trust, Inc.
• Marie-Joseph Aubert, Founder of the Daughters of Our Lady of Compassion
• Ralph W. Sockman, United Methodist Minister and Spiritual Writer
• Romanus the Melodist, Deacon and Hymnodist
• Thérèse of Lisieux, Roman Catholic Nun and Mystic

2 (Petrus Herbert, German Moravian Bishop and Hymnodist)

• Carl Doving, Norwegian-American Lutheran Minister and Hymn Translator
• James Allen, English Inghamite then Glasite/Sandemanian Hymn Writer; and his great-nephew, Oswald Allen, English Glasite/Sandemanian Hymn Writer
• Maria Anna Kratochwil, Polish Roman Catholic Nun and Martyr, 1942

3 (George Kennedy Allen Bell, Anglican Bishop of Chichester)

• Alberto Ramento, Prime Bishop of the Philippine Independent Church
• Gerard of Brogne, Roman Catholic Abbot
• John Raleigh Mott, U.S. Methodist Lay Evangelist, and Ecumenical Pioneer
• William Scarlett, Episcopal Bishop of Missouri, and Advocate for Social Justice

4 (Francis of Assisi, Founder of the Order of Friars Minor)

• Agneta Chang, Maryknoll Sister and Martyr in Korea, 1950
• H. H. Rowley, English Baptist Minister and Biblical Scholar

5 (David Nitschmann, Sr., “Father Nitschmann,” Moravian Missionary; Melchior Nitschmann, Moravian Missionary and Martyr, 1729; Johann Nitschmann, Jr., Moravian Missionary and Bishop; Anna Nitschman, Moravian Eldress; and David Nitschmann, Missionary and First Bishop of the Renewed Moravian Church)

• Cyriacus Schneegass, German Lutheran Minister, Musician, and Hymn Writer
• Francis Xavier Seelos, German-American Roman Catholic Priest
• Harry Emerson Fosdick, U.S. Northern Baptist Minister and Opponent of Fundamentalism

6 (George Edward Lynch Cotton, Anglican Bishop of Calcutta)

• Ernest William Olson, Swedish-American Lutheran Poet, Editor, Hymn Translator, and Hymn Writer
• Heinrich Albert, German Lutheran Composer and Poet
• John Ernest Bode, Anglican Priest, Poet, and Hymn Writer
• Joseph Lowery, African-American United Methodist Minister and Civil Rights Leader; “The Dean of the Civil Rights Movement”
• William Tyndale, English Reformer, Bible Translator, and Martyr, 1536; and Miles Coverdale, English Reformer, Bible Translator, and Bishop of Exeter

7 (Wilhelm Wexels, Norwegian Lutheran Minister, Hymn Writer, and Hymn Translator; his niece, Marie Wexelsen, Norwegian Lutheran Novelist and Hymn Writer; Ludwig Lindeman, Norwegian Lutheran Organist and Musicologist; and Magnus Landstad, Norwegian Lutheran Minister, Folklorist, Hymn Writer, and Hymnal Editor)

• Bradford Torrey, U.S. Ornithologist and Hymn Writer
• Claus Westermann, German Lutheran Minister and Biblical Translator
• Herbert G. May, U.S. Biblical Scholar and Translator
• Johann Gottfried Weber, German Moravian Musician, Composer, and Minister
• John Woolman, Quaker Abolitionist

8 (Erik Routley, English Congregationalist Hymnodist)

• Abraham Ritter, U.S. Moravian Merchant, Historian, Musician, and Composer
• Alexander Penrose Forbes, Scottish Episcopal Bishop of Brechin; Church Historian; and Renewer of the Scottish Episcopal Church
• John Clarke, English Baptist Minister and Champion of Religious Liberty in New England
• Richard Whately, Anglican Archbishop of Dublin, Ireland
• William Dwight Porter Bliss, Episcopal Priest; and Richard Theodore Ely; Economists

9 (Denis, Bishop of Paris, and His Companions, Roman Catholic Martyrs)

• John Leonardi, Founder of the Clerks Regular of the Mother of God of Lucca; and Joseph Calasanctius, Founder of the Clerks Regular of Religious Schools
• Penny Lernoux, U.S. Roman Catholic Journalist and Moral Critic
• Robert Grosseteste, English Roman Catholic Scholar, Philosopher, and Bishop of Lincoln
• Wilfred Thomason Grenfell, Medical Missionary to Newfoundland and Labrador

10 (Johann Nitschmann, Sr., Moravian Missionary and Bishop; David Nitschmann, Jr., the Syndic, Moravian Missionary and Bishop; and David Nitschmann, the Martyr, Moravian Missionary and Martyr, 1729)

• Christian Ludwig Brau, Norwegian Moravian Teacher and Poet
• Edward White Benson, Archbishop of Canterbury
• Jean-Baptiste Lamy, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Santa Fe, New Mexico
• Louis FitzGerald Benson, U.S. Presbyterian Minister and Hymnodist
• Vida Dutton Scudder, Episcopal Professor, Author, Christian Socialist, and Social Reformer

11 (PHILIP THE EVANGELIST, DEACON)

12 (Martin Dober, Moravian Bishop and Hymn Writer; Johann Leonhard Dober, Moravian Missionary and Bishop; and Anna Schindler Dober, Moravian Missionary and Hymn Writer)

• Cecil Frances Alexander, Irish Anglican Hymn Writer
• Edith Cavell, English Nurse and Martyr, 1915
• Elizabeth Fry, English Quaker Social Reformer and “Angel of the Prisons”
• João Bosco Burnier, Brazilian Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1976
• Nectarius of Constantinople, Archbishop

13 (Christian David, Moravian Missionary)

• Alban Butler, English Roman Catholic Priest and Hagiographer
• Henry Stephen Cutler, Episcopal Organist, Choirmaster, and Composer
• Vincent Taylor, British Methodist Minister and Biblical Scholar

14 (Callixtus I, Anterus, and Pontian, Bishops of Rome; and Hippolytus, Antipope)

• Roman Lysko, Ukrainian Greek Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1949
• Samuel Isaac Joseph Schereschewsky, Episcopal Bishop of Shanghai, and Biblical Translator
• Thomas Hansen Kingo, Danish Lutheran Bishop, Hymn Writer, and “Poet of Eastertide”

15 (Teresa of Avila, Spanish Roman Catholic Nun, Mystic, and Reformer)

• Gabriel Richard, French-American Roman Catholic Missionary Priest in Detroit, Michigan
• Obadiah Holmes, English Baptist Minister and Champion of Religious Liberty in New England

16 (Albert E. R. Brauer, Australian Lutheran Minister and Hymn Translator)

• Augustine Thevarparampil, Indian Roman Catholic Priest and “Good Shepherd of the Dalits”
• Gaspar Contarini, Italian Roman Catholic Cardinal and Agent of Reconciliation
• Hedwig of Andechs, Roman Catholic Princess and Nun; and her daughter, Gertrude of Trzebnica, Roman Catholic Abbess
• Józef Jankowski, Polish Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1941

17 (Charles Gounod, French Roman Catholic Composer)

• Birgitte Katerine Boye, Danish Lutheran Poet, Playwright, Hymn Translator, and Hymn Writer
• John Bowring, English Unitarian Hymn Writer, Social Reformer, and Philanthropist
• Richard McSorley, U.S. Roman Catholic Priest, Professor, and Peace Activist

18 (LUKE THE EVANGELIST, PHYSICIAN)

19 (Martyrs of North America, 1642-1649)

• Claudia Frances Ibotson Hernaman, Anglican Hymn Writer and Translator
• Jerzy Popieluszko, Polish Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1984
• Paul of the Cross, Founder of the Congregation of Discaled Clerks of the Most Holy Cross and Passion

20 (Philip Schaff and John Williamson Nevin, U.S. German Reformed Historians, Theologians, and Liturgists)

• Friedrich Funcke, German Lutheran Minister, Composer, and Hymn Writer
• James W. C. Pennington, African-American Congregationalist and Presbyterian Minister, Educator, and Abolitionist
• John Harris Burt, Episcopal Bishop of Ohio, and Civil Rights Activist
• Mary A. Lathbury, U.S. Methodist Hymn Writer

21 (George McGovern, U.S. Senator and Stateman; and his wife, Eleanor McGovern, Humanitarian)

• David Moritz Michael, German-American Moravian Musician and Composer
• Laura of Saint Catherine of Siena, Founder of the Works of the Indians and the Congregation of Missionary Sisters of Immaculate Mary and of Saint Catherine of Siena
• Walter Sisulu and Albertina Sisulu, Anti-Apartheid Activists and Political Prisoners in South Africa

22 (Paul Tillich, German-American Lutheran Theologian)

• Emily Gardiner Neal, Episcopal Deacon, Religious Writer, and Leader of the Healing Movement in The Episcopal Church
• Emily Huntington Miller, U.S. Methodist Author and Hymn Writer
• Frederick Pratt Green, British Methodist Minister, Poet, and Hymn Writer
• Katharina von Schlegal, German Lutheran Hymn Writer
• Martyrs of Heraclea, 304

23 (JAMES OF JERUSALEM, BROTHER OF JESUS)

24 (Rosa Parks, African-American Civil Rights Activist)

• Fritz Eichenberg, German-American Quaker Wood Engraver
• Henry Clay Shuttleworth, Anglican Priest and Hymn Writer
• Pavel Chesnokov, Russian Orthodox Composer
• Proclus, Archbishop of Constantinople; and Rusticus, Bishop of Narbonne

25 (Johann Daniel Grimm, German Moravian Musician)

26 (Alfred the Great, King of the West Saxons)

• Arthur Campbell Ainger, English Educator, Scholar, and Hymn Writer
• Eric Norelius, Swedish-American Lutheran Minister
• Francis Pott, Anglican Priest and Hymn Writer and Translator
• Henry Stanley Oakeley, Composer
• Philip Nicolai, German Lutheran Minister and Hymn Writer

27 (James A. Walsh and Thomas Price, Co-Founders of the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers; and Mary Josephine Rogers, Founder of the Maryknoll Sisters of Saint Dominic)

• Aedesius, Priest and Missionary; and Frumentius, First Bishop of Axum and Abuna of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church
• Dmitry Bortniansky, Russian Orthodox Composer
• Harry Webb Farrington, U.S. Methodist Minister and Hymn Writer
• Levi Coffin and Catherine Coffin, U.S. Quaker Abolitionists and Conductors of the Underground Railroad

28 (SIMON AND JUDE, APOSTLES AND MARTYRS)

29 (Martyrs of Lien-Chou, China, October 28, 1905)

• Bartholomaus Helder, German Lutheran Minister, Composer, and Hymn Writer
• James Hannington, Anglican Bishop of Eastern Equatorial Guinea; and His Companions, Martyrs
• Joseph Grigg, English Presbyterian Minister and Hymn Writer
• Paul Manz, Dean of Lutheran Church Music

30 (Hugh O’Flaherty, “Scarlet Pimperel of the Vatican”)

• Elizabeth Comstock, Anglo-American Quaker Educator, Abolitionist, and Social Reformer
• Marcellus the Centurion and Cassian of Tangiers, Roman Catholic Martyrs, 298
• Oleksa Zarytsky, Ukrainian Greek Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1963
• Walter John Mathams, British Baptist then Presbyterian Minister, Author, and Hymn Writer

31 (Reformation Day)

• Daniel C. Roberts, Episcopal Priest and Hymn Writer
• Gerhard Von Rad and Martin Noth, German Lutheran Biblical Scholars
• Ivan Kochurov, Russian Orthodox Priest and Martyr, 1917
• Paul Shinji Sasaki, Anglican Bishop of Mid-Japan, Bishop of Tokyo, and Primate of Nippon Sei Ko Kei; and Philip Lendel Tsen, Anglican Bishop of Honan and Presiding Bishop of Chung Hua Sheng Kung Hui

 

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

Above:  The Logo of Lehman Brothers, Now Defunct

Loving Our Neighbors As We Love Ourselves

The Sunday Closest to October 26

The Twenty-Second Sunday After Pentecost

OCTOBER 29, 2023

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FIRST READING AND PSALM:  OPTION #1

Deuteronomy 34:1-12 (New Revised Standard Version):

Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho, and the LORD showed him the whole land: Gilead as far as Dan, all Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Western Sea, the Negeb, and the Plain– that is, the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees– as far as Zoar. The LORD said to him,

This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, `I will give it to your descendants’; I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not cross over there.

Then Moses, the servant of the LORD, died there in the land of Moab, at the LORD’s command. He was buried in a valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth-peor, but no one knows his burial place to this day. Moses was one hundred twenty years old when he died; his sight was unimpaired and his vigor had not abated. The Israelites wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days; then the period of mourning for Moses was ended.

Joshua son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, because Moses had laid his hands on him; and the Israelites obeyed him, doing as the LORD had commanded Moses.

Never since has there arisen a prophet in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face. He was unequaled for all the signs and wonders that the LORD sent him to perform in the land of Egypt, against Pharaoh and all his servants and his entire land, and for all the mighty deeds and all the terrifying displays of power that Moses performed in the sight of all Israel.

Psalm 90:1-6, 13-17 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):

1  Lord, you have been our refuge

from one generation to another.

2  Before the mountains were brought forth,

or the land and the earth were born,

from age to age you are God.

You turn us back to the dust and say,

“Go back, O child of earth.”

4  For a thousand years in your sight are like yesterday when it is past

and like a watch in the night.

5  You sweep us away like a dream;

we fade away suddenly like the grass.

6  In the morning it is green and flourishes;

in the evening it is dried up and withered.

13  Return, O LORD; how long will you tarry?

be gracious to your servants.

14  Satisfy us with your loving-kindness in the morning;

so shall we rejoice and be glad all the days of our life.

15  Make us glad with the measure of the days that you afflicted us

and the years in which we suffered adversity.

16  Show your servants your works

and your splendor to their children.

17  May the graciousness of the LORD our God be upon us;

prosper the work of our hands;

prosper our handiwork.

FIRST READING AND PSALM:  OPTION #2

Leviticus 19:1-2, 15-18 (New Revised Standard Version):

The LORD spoke to Moses, saying:

Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them: You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.

You shall not render an unjust judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great: with justice you shall judge your neighbor. You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not profit by the blood of your neighbor: I am the LORD.

You shall not hate in your heart anyone of your kin; you shall reprove your neighbor, or you will incur guilt yourself. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.

Psalm 1 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):

1 Happy are they who have not walked in the counsel of the wicked,

nor lingered in the way of sinners,

nor sat in the seats of the scornful!

2 Their delight is in the law of the LORD,

and the meditate on his law day and night.

3 They are like trees planted by streams of water,

bearing fruit in due season, with leaves that do not wither,

everything they do shall prosper.

4 It is not so with the wicked;

they are like the chaff which the wind blows away.

5 Therefore the wicked shall not stand upright when judgment comes,

nor the sinner in the council of the righteous.

6 For the LORD knows the ways of the righteous,

but the way of the wicked is doomed.

SECOND READING

1 Thessalonians 2:1-8 (New Revised Standard Version):

You yourselves know, brothers and sisters, that our coming to you was not in vain, but though we had already suffered and been shamefully mistreated at Philippi, as you know, we had courage in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in spite of great opposition. For our appeal does not spring from deceit or impure motives or trickery, but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the message of the gospel, even so we speak, not to please mortals, but to please God who tests our hearts. As you know and as God is our witness, we never came with words of flattery or with a pretext for greed; nor did we seek praise from mortals, whether from you or from others, though we might have made demands as apostles of Christ. But we were gentle among you, like a nurse tenderly caring for her own children. So deeply do we care for you that we are determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you have become very dear to us.

GOSPEL READING

Matthew 22:34-46 (New Revised Standard Version):

When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” He said to him, “`You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: `You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”

Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them this question: “What do you think of the Messiah? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “The son of David.” He said to them, “How is it then that David by the Spirit calls him Lord, saying,

The Lord said to my Lord,

Sit at my right hand,

until I put your enemies under your feet”?

If David thus calls him Lord, how can he be his son?” No one was able to give him an answer, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.

The Collect:

Almighty and everlasting God, increase in us the gifts of faith, hope, and charity; and, that we may obtain what you promise, make us love what you command; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

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There was a notoriously violent slave master in the Antebellum U.S. South.  This man also claimed to be a good Christian.  Indeed, he attended church frequently and bore the nickname “Deacon.”  One of Deacon’s slaves left a written testament in which he claimed not to want to go to Heaven if Deacon was going to be there.

Many of us are aware of the Golden Rule and the Shema.  We quote them and make warm and positive statements about the Good Samaritan.  Yet how often do we act to the contrary and/or justify those who do?  Do we really believe our excuses or are we trying to convince ourselves of that which we know to be immoral?

And how much better off would the rest of us be if certain people in some corporations valued the common good more than short-term profits?

This is a very basic topic–one I have covered elsewhere, as the links testify.  So, in the name of not repeating myself too many times, I conclude with these words:  Whatever the cost(s) to ourselves, may we love our neighbors as ourselves.

KRT

Published originally at ORDINARY TIME DEVOTIONS BY KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR on May 11, 2011