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About this commemoration
Friends of Jesus: Martha, Mary and Lazarus Icon, oil on wood, 198?, Sao Paulo, Brazil Claudio Pastro, Brazil Benedictine Priory of Bethany, Loppem, Belgium
Mary, Martha, and Lazarus of Bethany are described in the Gospels
according to Luke and John as close and much-loved friends of Jesus.
Luke records the well-known story of their hospitality, which made
Martha a symbol of the active life and Mary of the contemplative,
though some commentators would take the words of Jesus to be a
defense of that which Mary does best, and a commendation of Martha
for what she does best—neither vocation giving grounds for despising
the other.
Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead which, in John’s Gospel, is a
powerful anticipation of resurrection and sign of eternal life for those
who claim by faith the resurrection of Jesus. The story of the raising
of Lazarus also sheds additional light on Martha. Jesus delays his visit
to their home and arrives only after Lazarus is dead. Martha comes
out to meet Jesus on the road, and while somewhat terse at first, she is
still confident of his power to heal and restore. The exchange between
them evokes Martha’s deep faith and acknowledgment of Jesus as the
Messiah.
John also records the supper at Bethany at which Mary anointed Jesus’
feet with fragrant ointment and wiped them with her hair. This tender
gesture of love evoked criticism from the disciples. Jesus interpreted
the gift as a preparation for his death and burial.
The devotion and friendship of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus have been
an example of fidelity and service to the Lord. Their hospitality and
kindness, and Jesus’ enjoyment of their company, show us the beauty
of human friendship and love at its best. And the raising of Lazarus by
Jesus is a sign of hope and promise for all who are in Christ.
Collects
I Generous God, whose Son Jesus Christ enjoyed the
friendship and hospitality of Mary, Martha and Lazarus
of Bethany: Open our hearts to love thee, our ears to hear
thee, and our hands to welcome and serve thee in others,
through Jesus Christ our risen Lord; who with thee and
the Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth, one God, for ever and
ever. Amen.
II Generous God, whose Son Jesus Christ enjoyed the
friendship and hospitality of Mary, Martha and Lazarus
of Bethany: Open our hearts to love you, our ears to hear
you, and our hands to welcome and serve you in others,
through Jesus Christ our risen Lord; who with you and the
Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Lessons
Ruth 2:5–12
Romans 12:9–13
John 11:1–7, 17–44
We invite your reflections about this commemoration and its suitability for the official calendar and worship of The Episcopal Church. How did this person’s life witness to the Gospel? How does this person inspire us in Christian life today?
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Welcome to the Holy Women, Holy Menblog! We invite you to read about this commemoration, use the collect and lessons in prayer, whether individually or in corporate worship, then tell us what you think. For more information about this project, click here.
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About this commemoration
J.S. Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was born in Eisenach, Germany, in 1685 into
a family of musicians. As a youngster he studied violin and organ
and served as a choirboy at the parish church. By early adulthood,
Bach had already achieved an enviable reputation as a composer and
performer.
His assignments as a church musician began in 1707 and a year
later he became the organist and chamber musician for the court of
the Duke of Weimar. In 1723, Bach was appointed cantor of the St.
Thomas School in Leipzig and parish musician at both St. Thomas
and St. Nicholas churches, where he remained until his death in 1750.
A man of deep Lutheran faith, Bach’s music was an expression of his
religious convictions.
G.F. Handel
George Frederick Handel was also born in 1685, in Halle, Germany.
After studying law, he became organist at the Reformed Cathedral
in Halle in 1702, and in 1703 he went to Hamburg to study and
compose opera. His interest in opera led him to Italy and then on to
England where he became a citizen in 1726.
Once in England, Handel supported himself with court appointments
and private patronage. His energies were devoted to producing Italian
operas and English oratorios, large choral works based upon religious
themes. Handel’s most popular work, Messiah, was first performed in
Dublin in 1741, and is notable for its powerful musical interpretation
of texts from the Holy Scriptures.
A man of great charity and generosity, Handel died in London in 1759
and was buried in the Poets’ Corner of Westminster Abbey.
Henry Purcell
Henry Purcell was born in London in 1659 and became one of the
greatest English composers, flourishing in the period that followed the
Restoration of the monarchy after the Puritan Commonwealth period.
Purcell spent much of his short life in the service of the Chapels
Royal as a singer, composer and organist. With considerable gifts as
a composer, he wrote extensively in a variety of genres for the church
and for popular entertainment. He died in 1695 and is buried adjacent
to the organ near the north aisle of Westminster Abbey.
Collects
I Almighty God, beautiful in majesty and majestic in
holiness, who dost teach us in Holy Scripture to sing thy
praises and who gavest thy musicians Johann Sebastian
Bach, George Frederick Handel and Henry Purcell grace to
show forth thy glory in their music: Be with all those who
write or make music for thy people, that we on earth may
glimpse thy beauty and know the inexhaustible riches of
thy new creation in Jesus Christ our Savior; who liveth and
reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever
and ever. Amen.
II Almighty God, beautiful in majesty and majestic in
holiness, who teaches us in Holy Scripture to sing your
praises and who gave your musicians Johann Sebastian
Bach, George Frederick Handel and Henry Purcell grace
to show forth your glory in their music: Be with all
those who write or make music for your people, that
we on earth may glimpse your beauty and know the
inexhaustible riches of your new creation in Jesus Christ
our Savior; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy
Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
We invite your reflections about this commemoration and its suitability for the official calendar and worship of The Episcopal Church. How did this person’s life witness to the Gospel? How does this person inspire us in Christian life today?
If you’d like to participate in the official online trial use survey, click here. For more information about the survey, click here.
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Welcome to the Holy Women, Holy Menblog! We invite you to read about this commemoration, use the collect and lessons in prayer, whether individually or in corporate worship, then tell us what you think. For more information about this project, click here.
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About this commemoration
Wiliam Reed Huntington
“First presbyter of the Church,” was the well-deserved, if unofficial,
title of the sixth rector of Grace Church, New York City. Huntington
provided a leadership characterized by breadth, generosity,
scholarship, and boldness. He was the acknowledged leader in the
House of Deputies of the Episcopal Church’s General Convention
during a period of intense stress and conflict within the Church. His
reconciling spirit helped preserve the unity of the Episcopal Church in
the painful days after the beginning of the schism, led by the Assistant
Bishop of Kentucky, which resulted in the formation of the Reformed
Episcopal Church.
In the House of Deputies, of which he was a member from 1871 until
1907, Huntington showed active and pioneering vision in making
daring proposals. As early as 1871, his motion to revive the primitive
order of “deaconesses” began a long struggle which culminated in
1889 in canonical authorization for that order. Huntington’s parish
immediately provided facilities for this new ministry, and Huntington
House became a training center for deaconesses and other women
workers in the Church.
Christian unity was Huntington’s great passion throughout his
ministry. In his book, The Church Idea (1870), he attempted to
articulate the essentials of Christian unity. The grounds he proposed
as a basis for unity were presented to, and accepted by, the House of
Bishops in Chicago in 1886, and, with some slight modification, were
adopted by the Lambeth Conference in 1888. The “Chicago-Lambeth
Quadrilateral” has become a historic landmark for the Anglican
Communion. It is included on pages 876–878 of the Book of Common
Prayer, among the Historical Documents of the Church.
In addition to his roles as ecumenist and statesman, Huntington is
significant as a liturgical scholar. It was his bold proposal to revise
the Prayer Book that led to the revision of 1892, providing a hitherto
unknown flexibility and significant enrichment. His Collect for
Monday in Holy Week, now used also for Fridays at Morning Prayer,
is itself an example of skillful revision. In it he takes two striking
clauses from the exhortation to the sick in the 1662 Prayer Book,
and uses them as part of a prayer for grace to follow the Lord in his
sufferings.
Collects
I O Lord our God, we thank thee for instilling in the heart
of thy servant William Reed Huntington a fervent love
for thy Church and its mission in the world; and we pray
that, with unflagging faith in thy promises, we may make
known to all people thy blessed gift of eternal life; through
Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee
and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
II O Lord our God, we thank you for instilling in the heart
of your servant William Reed Huntington a fervent love
for your Church and its mission in the world; and we
pray that, with unflagging faith in your promises, we may
make known to all people your blessed gift of eternal life;
through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with
the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
We invite your reflections about this commemoration and its suitability for the official calendar and worship of The Episcopal Church. How did this person’s life witness to the Gospel? How does this person inspire us in Christian life today?
If you’d like to participate in the official online trial use survey, click here. For more information about the survey, click here.
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Welcome to the Holy Women, Holy Menblog! We invite you to read about this commemoration, use the collect and lessons in prayer, whether individually or in corporate worship, then tell us what you think. For more information about this project, click here.
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About this commemoration
Joachim and Anne
The Gospels tell us little about the home of our Lord’s mother. She
is thought to have been of Davidic descent and to have been brought
up in a devout Jewish family that cherished the hope of Israel for the
coming kingdom of God, in remembrance of the promise to Abraham
and the forefathers.
In the second century, a devout Christian sought to supply a fuller
account of Mary’s birth and family, to satisfy the interest and curiosity
of believers. An apocryphal gospel, known as the Protevangelium of
James or The Nativity of Mary, appeared. It included legendary stories
of Mary’s parents Joachim and Anne. These stories were built out of
Old Testament narratives of the births of Isaac and of Samuel (whose
mother’s name, Hannah, is the original form of Anne), and from
traditions of the birth of John the Baptist. In these stories, Joachim
and Anne—the childless, elderly couple who grieved that they would
have no posterity—were rewarded with the birth of a girl whom they
dedicated in infancy to the service of God under the tutelage of the
temple priests.
In 550 the Emperor Justinian I erected in Constantinople the first
church to Saint Anne. The Eastern Churches observe her festival on
July 25. Not until the twelfth century did her feast become known in
the West. Pope Urban VI fixed her day, in 1378, to follow the feast of
Saint James. Joachim has had several dates assigned to his memory;
but the new Roman Calendar of 1969 joins his festival to that of Anne
on this day.
Collects
I Almighty God, heavenly Father, we remember in
thanksgiving this day the parents of the Blessed Virgin
Mary; and we pray that we all may be made one in the
heavenly family of thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord; who
with thee and the Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth, one God,
for ever and ever. Amen.
II Almighty God, heavenly Father, we remember in
thanksgiving this day the parents of the Blessed Virgin
Mary; and we pray that we all may be made one in the
heavenly family of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord; who
with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for
ever and ever. Amen.
We invite your reflections about this commemoration and its suitability for the official calendar and worship of The Episcopal Church. How did this person’s life witness to the Gospel? How does this person inspire us in Christian life today?
If you’d like to participate in the official online trial use survey, click here. For more information about the survey, click here.
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About this commemoration:
Thomas à Kempis
The name of Thomas à Kempis is perhaps more widely known than
that of any other medieval Christian writer. The Imitation of Christ,
which he composed or compiled, has been translated into more
languages than any other book except the Holy Scriptures. Millions of
Christians have found in this manual a treasured and constant source
of edification.
His name was Thomas Hammerken, and he was born at Kempen in
the Duchy of Cleves about 1380. He was educated at Deventer by the
Brethren of the Common Life, and joined their order in 1399 at their
house of Mount St. Agnes in Zwolle (in the Low Countries). He took
his vows (those of the Augustinian Canons Regular) there in 1407,
was ordained a priest in 1415, and was made sub-prior in 1425. He
died on July 25, 1471.
The Order of the Brethren of the Common Life was founded by
Gerard Groote (1340–1384) at Deventer. It included both clergy and
lay members who cultivated a biblical piety of a practical rather than
speculative nature, with stress upon the inner life and the practice
of virtues. They supported themselves by copying manuscripts and
teaching. One of their most famous pupils was the humanist Erasmus.
Many have seen in them harbingers of the Reformation; but the
Brethren had little interest in the problems of the institutional Church.
Their spirituality, known as the “New Devotion” (Devotio moderna),
has influenced both Catholic and Protestant traditions of prayer and
meditation.
Collects
I Holy Father, who hast nourished and strengthened thy
Church by the inspired writings of thy servant Thomas à
Kempis: Grant that we may learn from him to know what
is necessary to be known, to love what is to be loved, to
praise what highly pleaseth thee, and always to seek to
know and follow thy will; through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one
God, for ever and ever. Amen.
II Holy Father, you have nourished and strengthened your
Church by the inspired writings of your servant Thomas
à Kempis: Grant that we may learn from him to know
what is necessary to be known, to love what is to be loved,
to praise what highly pleases you, and always to seek to
know and follow your will; through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one
God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Lessons
Ecclesiastes 9:11–18
Ephesians 4:32–5:2
Luke 6:17–23
We invite your reflections about this commemoration and its suitability for the official calendar and worship of The Episcopal Church. How did this person’s life witness to the Gospel? How does this person inspire us in Christian life today?
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The 2009 General Convention of the Episcopal Church directed the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music to collect and develop theological and liturgical resources for blessing same-sex relationships (Resolution C056). The Commission is eager to engage the wider church in theological conversation as one among many sources that will inform our work.
In the first blog entry here last month, I reflected on some of the challenges and opportunities I have encountered during pre-marital counseling sessions when the couples I work with have not paused to reflect on the spiritual significance of the commitment they were making to each other. At least one of the comments posted here in response to my observations made a connection between the covenant of marriage and the baptismal covenant. I find that very helpful as a way to consider the covenantal aspects of committed relationships.
Even though it’s still common today to talk about “falling in love” with someone, a commitment is not something one “falls into.” Committing one’s self to a covenantal relationship is a deliberate decision involving significant promises. In fact, it might be helpful to think of that kind of commitment as something one is called into, as a vocation. Much like the vocational call to ordained ministry, not everyone is called into a covenantal relationship with another person. Those who are called into covenants certainly need the blessing of divine grace to keep their promises, to live out their commitment “with God’s help.”
So I’m wondering if those who are in long-term committed relationships have a sense of being called into that commitment. Would you describe your relationship as a divine vocation? Do you see similarities here to the baptismal covenant? How might the vocational aspect of covenantal relationships encourage deeper theological reflection in our congregations?
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We invite your participation in this dialogue about blessing same-sex relationships. Your responses and observations here will help inform the work of the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music in our work of developing theological and liturgical resources for such blessings. We hope that this conversation will also be a way to renew and enliven a shared vision of the church’s mission in the world.
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Our rules for posting are fairly simple. Express yourself with courtesy, civility, and respect for others, whether or not you agree with them.
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About this commemoration
Albert John Luthuli
Mvumbi Luthuli was the first African to receive the Nobel Peace Prize
in recognition of his leadership in South Africa’s non-violent struggle
against apartheid. A man of noble bearing, charitable, intolerant of
hatred, and adamant in his demands for equality and peace among
all men, Luthuli forged a philosophical compatibility between two
cultures—the Zulu culture of his native Africa and the Christian
democratic culture of Europe.
Born into a Christian family around the turn of the twentieth century,
Luthuli was educated in mission schools, took a college degree in
Durban, and spent the first fifteen years of his working life as a school
teacher before taking on the responsibilities of political activism. In
1936, he was elected a Zulu chief and was made responsible for a
five thousand person community in the sugar lands of Natal. This led
to a number of other elected and appointed positions related to the
struggle for civil rights in South Africa, culminating in his election
as President of the Natal region of the African National Congress in
1945, becoming National President in 1952.
Luthuli’s increasing prominence as a leader of the anti-apartheid
movement was met with significant resistance by the white South
African government. His movements were restricted, his publications
banned, and he was imprisoned on several occasions.
Luthuli believed the struggle for civil rights was a Christian struggle
and his participation and leadership grew out of his understanding
of Christian discipleship. “My own urge because I am a Christian, is
to get into the thick of the struggle with other Christians, taking my
Christianity with me and praying that it may be used to influence for
good the character of the resistance.” When confronted by the South
African government with an appeal to suspend his activism, Luthuli is
reported to have said, “The road to freedom is via the cross.”
Although Luthuli’s death in 1967 was nearly a quarter century before
the end of apartheid in South Africa, he is remembered as a Christian
statesman in the fight against political, racial, and religious oppression.
Collects
I Eternal God, we offer thanks for the witness of Chief
Luthuli, Nobel Laureate for Peace, who was sustained by
his Christian faith as he led the struggle against apartheid
in South Africa. Strengthen us, after his example, to make
no peace with oppression and to witness boldly for our
Deliverer, Jesus Christ; who with thee and the Holy Spirit
liveth and reigneth, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
II Eternal God, we thank you for the witness of Chief
Luthuli, Nobel Laureate for Peace, who was sustained by
his Christian faith as he led the struggle against apartheid
in South Africa. Strengthen us, after his example, to make
no peace with oppression and to witness boldly for our
Deliverer, Jesus Christ; who with you and the Holy Spirit
lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Lessons
Numbers 20:9–11
Ephesians 2:12–17
John 16:25–33
We invite your reflections about this commemoration and its suitability for the official calendar and worship of The Episcopal Church. How did this person’s life witness to the Gospel? How does this person inspire us in Christian life today?
If you’d like to participate in the official online trial use survey, click here. For more information about the survey, click here.
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Welcome to the Holy Women, Holy Menblog! We invite you to read about this commemoration, use the collect and lessons in prayer, whether individually or in corporate worship, then tell us what you think. For more information about this project, click here.
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About these commemorations
Elizabeth Cady Stanton 1815–1902
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Born into an affluent, strict Calvinist family in upstate New York, Elizabeth, as a young woman, took seriously the Presbyterian doctrines of predestination and human depravity. She became very depressed, but resolved her mental crises through action. She dedicated her life to righting the wrongs perpetrated upon women by the Church and society.
She and four other women organized the first Women’s Rights Convention at Seneca Falls, New York, July 19–20, 1848. The event set her political and religious agenda for the next 50 years. She held the Church accountable for oppressing women by using Scripture to enforce subordination of women in marriage and to prohibit them from ordained ministry. She held society
accountable for denying women equal access to professional jobs, property ownership, the vote, and for granting less pay for the same work.
In 1881, the Revised Version of the Bible was published by a committee which included no women scholars. Elizabeth founded her own committee of women to write a commentary on Scripture, and applying the Greek she learned as a child from her minister, focused on passages used to oppress and discriminate against women.
Although Elizabeth blamed male clergy for women’s oppression, she attended Trinity Episcopal Church in Seneca Falls, with her friend Amelia Bloomer. As a dissenting prophet, Elizabeth preached hundreds of homilies and political speeches in pulpits throughout the nation. Wherever she visited, she was experienced as a holy presence and a liberator. She never lost her sense of humor despite years of contending with opposition, even from friends. In a note to Susan B. Anthony, she said: “Do not feel depressed, my dear friend, what is good in us is immortal, and if the sore trials we have endured are sifting out pride and selfishness, we shall not have suffered in vain.” Shortly before she died, she said: “My only regret is that I have not been braver and bolder and truer in the honest conviction of my soul.”
Amelia Jenks Bloomer 1818–1894
Amelia Jenks Bloomer
Amelia Jenks, the youngest of six children, born in New York to a pious Presbyterian family, early on demonstrated a kindness of heart and strict regard for truth and right. As a young woman, she joined in the temperance, anti-slavery and women’s rights movements.
Amelia Jenks Bloomer never intended to make dress reform a major platform in women’s struggle for justice. But, women’s fashion of the day prescribed waist-cinching corsets, even for pregnant women, resulting in severe health problems. Faith and fashion collided explosively when she published in her newspaper, The Lily, a picture of herself in loose-fitting Turkish trousers, and began wearing them publicly. Clergy, from their pulpits, attacked women who wore them, citing Moses: “Women should not dress like men.” Amelia fired back: “It matters not what Moses had to say to the men and women of his time about what they should wear. If clergy really cared about what Moses said about clothes, they would all put fringes and blue ribbons on their garments.” Her popularity soared as she engaged clergy in public debate.
She insisted that “certain passages in the Scriptures relating to women had been given a strained and unnatural meaning.” And, of St. Paul she said: “Could he have looked into the future and foreseen all the sorrow and strife, the cruel exactions and oppression on the one hand and the blind submission and cringing fear on the other, that his words have sanctioned and caused, he would never have uttered them.” And of women’s right to freedom, “The same Power that brought the slave out of bondage will, in His own good time and way, bring about the emancipation of woman, and make her the equal in power and dominion that she was in the beginning.”
Later in life, in Council Bluffs, Iowa, a frontier town, she worked to establish churches, libraries, and school houses. She provided hospitality for traveling clergy of all denominations, and for temperance lecturers and reformers. Trinity Episcopal Church, Seneca Falls, New York, where she was baptized, records her as a “faithful Christian missionary all her life.”
Sojourner Truth, “Miriam of the Later Exodus” 1797–8 to 1883
Sojourner Truth
Isabella (Sojourner Truth) was the next-to-youngest child of several born to James and Elizabeth, slaves owned by a wealthy Dutchman in New York. For the first 28 years of her life she was a slave, sold from household to household. She fled slavery with the help of Quaker friends, first living in Philadelphia, then New York, where she joined the Mother Zion African Methodist Episcopal Church when African-Americans were being denied the right to worship with white members of St. George’s Church in Philadelphia. Belle (as Isabella was called) became a street-corner evangelist in poverty-stricken areas of New York City, but quickly realized people needed food, housing and warm clothing. She focused her work on a homeless shelter for women.
When she was about 46, Belle believed she heard God say to her, “Go east.” So, she set out east for Long Island and Connecticut. Stopping at a Quaker farm for a drink of water, she was asked her name. “My name is Sojourner,” Belle said. “What is your last name?” the woman asked. Belle thought of all her masters’ names she had carried through life. Then the thought came: “The only master I have now is God, and His name is Truth.”
Sojourner became a traveling preacher, approaching white religious meetings and campgrounds and asking to speak. Fascinated by her charismatic presence, her wit, wisdom, and imposing six-foot height, they found her hard to refuse. She never learned to read or write, but quoted extensive Bible passages from memory in her sermons. She ended by singing a “home-made” hymn and addressing the crowd on the evils of slavery. Her reputation grew and she became part of the abolitionist and women’s rights speakers’ network.
During a women’s rights convention in Ohio, Sojourner gave the speech for which she is best remembered: “Ain’t I a Woman.” She had listened for hours to clergy attack women’s rights and abolition, using the Bible to support their oppressive logic: God had created women to be weak and blacks to be a subservient race.
Harriet Ross Tubman, “Moses of her People” 1820–1913
Harriet Ross Tubman
Slave births were recorded under property, not as persons with names; but we know that Harriet Ross, sometime during 1820 on a Maryland Chesapeake Bay plantation, was the sixth of eleven children born to Ben Ross and Harriet Green. Although her parents were loving and they enjoyed a cheerful family life inside their cabin, they lived in fear of the children being sold off at any time.
Harriet suffered beatings and a severe injury, but grew up strong and defiant, refusing to appear happy and smiling to her owners. To cope with brutality and oppression, she turned to religion. Her favorite Bible story was about Moses who led the Israelites out of slavery. The slaves prayed for a Moses of their own.
When she was about 24, Harriet escaped to Canada, but could not forget her parents and other slaves she left behind. Working with the Quakers, she made at least 19 trips back to Maryland between 1851 and 1861, freeing over 300 people by leading them into Canada. She was so successful, $40,000 was offered for her capture.
Guided by God through omens, dreams, warnings, she claimed her struggle against slavery had been commanded by God. She foresaw the Civil War in a vision. When it began, she quickly joined the Union Army, serving as cook and nurse, caring for both Confederate and Union soldiers. She served as a spy and scout. She led 300 black troops on a raid which freed over 750 slaves, making her the first American woman to lead troops into military action.
In 1858–9, she moved to upstate New York where she opened her home to African-American orphans and to helpless old people. Although she was illiterate, she founded schools for African-American children. She joined the fight for women’s rights, working with Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, but supported African-American women in their efforts to found their own organizations to address equality, work and education.
Collects
I O God, whose Spirit guideth us into all truth and maketh
us free: Strengthen and sustain us as thou didst thy
servants Elizabeth, Amelia, Sojourner, and Harriet. Give
us vision and courage to stand against oppression and
injustice and all that worketh against the glorious liberty
to which thou callest all thy children; through Jesus Christ
our Savior, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy
Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
II O God, whose Spirit guides us into all truth and makes us
free: Strengthen and sustain us as you did your servants
Elizabeth, Amelia, Sojourner, and Harriet. Give us vision
and courage to stand against oppression and injustice and
all that works against the glorious liberty to which you
call all your children; through Jesus Christ our Savior, who
lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for
ever and ever. Amen.
Lessons
Wisdom 7:24–28
1 Peter 4:10–11
Luke 11:5–10
We invite your reflections about this commemoration and its suitability for the official calendar and worship of The Episcopal Church. How did this person’s life witness to the Gospel? How does this person inspire us in Christian life today?
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Welcome to the Holy Women, Holy Men blog! We invite you to read about this commemoration, use the collect and lessons in prayer, whether individually or in corporate worship, then tell us what you think. For more information about this project, click here.
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About this commemoration
Adelaide Case was born in Missouri in 1887, but her family soon
moved to New York. She received her undergraduate education at
Bryn Mawr and her graduate degrees from Columbia University. By
the time she completed her doctorate a position had been created
for her on the faculty of the Teachers’ College at Columbia and she
quickly rose to the status of full professor and head of the department
of religious education. She is remembered for advocating a child-centered
rather than teacher-centered approach to education.
In 1941, while her professional accomplishments were at their height,
the Episcopal Theoogical School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, was
able to convince her to leave her distinguished and comfortable
position at Columbia and join the faculty as Professor of Christian
Education. Although other women had taught occasional courses in
the seminaries of the church, Adelaide Case was the first to take her
place as a full-time faculty member at the rank of Professor. Although
Case spoke well of her time in Cambridge, her early years there were
difficult. She continued to teach at ETS until her death in 1948.
Students and faculty colleagues remember her contagious faith in
Christ, her deep sense of humanity, and her seemingly boundless
compassion. Although she carried herself with style and grace, Case
had struggled with health issues her entire life, but those who knew
her testify to the fact that in spite of those challenges she was spirited,
energetic, and fully devoted to her work. “She was a true believer in
Christ and you saw him living in and through her,” is an oft-repeated
accolade.
Case believed that the point of practicing the Christian faith was
to make a difference in the world. As an advocate for peace, she
believed that Christianity had a special vocation to call people into
transformed, reconciled relationships for the sake of the wholeness of
the human family. She is said to have discovered these things not in
theology or educational theory, but in a life of common prayer and
faithful eucharistic practice.
Collects
I Everliving God, in whose light we see light: We offer
thanks for thy 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 thee
tirelessly as learners and teachers, laboring for the
transformation of the world toward thy reign of peace,
through the companionship of Jesus thy Saving Word; who
with thee and the Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth, one God,
now and for ever. Amen.
II 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.
We invite your reflections about this commemoration and its suitability for the official calendar and worship of The Episcopal Church. How did this person’s life witness to the Gospel? How does this person inspire us in Christian life today?
If you’d like to participate in the official online trial use survey, click here. For more information about the survey, click here.
To post a comment, your first and last name and email address are required. Your name will be published; your email address will not. The first time you post, a moderator will need to approve your submission; after that, your comments will appear instantly.
Welcome to the Holy Women, Holy Men blog! We invite you to read about this commemoration, use the collect and lessons in prayer, whether individually or in corporate worship, then tell us what you think. For more information about this project, click here.
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About this commemoration
Macrina
Macrina (340–379) was a monastic, theologian and teacher. She
founded one of the earliest Christian communities in the Cappadocian
city of Pontus. Macrina left no writings; we know of her through the
works of her brother St. Gregory of Nyssa (page 266). In his Life of
St. Macrina, Gregory describes her as both beautiful and brilliant, an
authoritative spiritual teacher.
Macrina persuaded her mother Emmelia to renounce their wealthy
lifestyle and to help her establish a monastery on the family’s estate.
Macrina’s ideal of community emphasized caring for the poor and
ministering to the wider community. She literally picked up young
women who lay in the road starving. Many joined her order.
Gregory credits Macrina as the spiritual and theological intelligence
behind her siblings’ notable careers in the Church. Gregory, and their
brothers St. Basil (page 426), St. Peter of Sebaste, and Naucratios went
to her often for theological counsel. Macrina frequently challenged
her celebrated brothers. She told Gregory his fame was not due to his
own merit, but to the prayers of his parents. She took Basil in hand
when he returned from Athens “monstrously conceited about his skill
in rhetoric.” Under her influence, Basil and Peter renounced material
possessions and turned away from secular academia to become monks
and theologians. Basil and Peter wrote a Rule for community life,
ensuring that Macrina’s ideas for Christian community would have
lasting authority. Basil, Gregory and Peter all became bishops, in no
small measure because of Macrina’s influence, and became leading
defenders of the Nicene faith.
Gregory visited Macrina as she lay dying on two planks on the floor.
He relates Macrina’s last words as a classical Greek farewell oration
imbued with Holy Scripture. In both his Life of St. Macrina and in his
later treatise of The Soul and Resurrection, Gregory presents Macrina
admiringly as a Christian Socrates, delivering beautiful deathbed
prayers and teachings about the resurrection.
Collects
I Merciful God, thou didst call thy servant Macrina to
reveal in her life and her teaching the riches of thy grace
and truth: May we, following her example, seek after
thy wisdom and live according to her way; through Jesus
Christ our Savior, who liveth and reigneth with thee and
the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
II Merciful God, you called your servant Macrina to reveal
in her life and her teaching the riches of your grace and
truth: May we, following her example, seek after your
wisdom and live according to her way; through Jesus
Christ our Savior, who lives and reigns with you and the
Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Lessons
Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) 51:13–22
Philippians 3:7–11
Matthew 11:27–30
We invite your reflections about this commemoration and its suitability for the official calendar and worship of The Episcopal Church. How did this person’s life witness to the Gospel? How does this person inspire us in Christian life today?
If you’d like to participate in the official online trial use survey, click here. For more information about the survey, click here.
To post a comment, your first and last name and email address are required. Your name will be published; your email address will not. The first time you post, a moderator will need to approve your submission; after that, your comments will appear instantly.
