Almighty and everlasting God, whose precepts are the wisdom of a loving Father: Give us grace, following the teaching and example of thy servant Benedict, to walk with loving and willing hearts in the school of the Lord’s service; let thine ears be open unto our prayers; and prosper with thy blessing the work of our hands; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Today's the feast of St Benedict, 6th Century founder of the Benedictine Order and one of the patron saints of Europe. He holds his Rule in glass by Moira Forsyth, 1964 in Norwich Cathedral. pic.twitter.com/SXxyMV48iY

— Simon Knott (@SimoninSuffolk) July 11, 2026

The church has been an indispensable part of these United States, not least by advocating for abolition, civil rights, and the sanctity of life. The American literary canon is full of biblical allusions, and our legal system’s conception of rights rests on the reality that they are an inalienable gift from God.

For those searching for meaning in America today, however, I want to offer a framework from a congressional address by the African Methodist Episcopal reverend and US congressman Richard H. Cain from January 24, 1874. Cain artfully detailed the role of a free and diverse citizenry in the American experiment:

I believe Almighty God has placed both [Black and white] races on this broad theater of activity, where thoughts and opinions are freely expressed, where we may grasp every idea of manhood, where we may take hold of every truth and develop every art and science that can advance the prosperity of the nation. I believe God designed us to live here together on this continent, and in no other place, to develop this great idea that all men are the children of one Father. We are here to work out the grand experiment…by the development in us of the rights that belong to us, and the performance of the duties that we owe each other. Our interests are bound up in this country. Here we intend to stay and work out the problem of progress and education and civilization.

Cain understood that none of us were placed here by chance. God has filled our every step on this land with purpose (Acts 17:26). In Christ, he has removed “the dividing wall of hostility” (Eph. 2:14), and as Christians, we should work tirelessly to ensure, in Cain’s words, that there’s “no antagonism between the races, no friction that should destroy their peace and prosperity.” That kingdom unity is an imperative for us, and the sins of other Christians don’t relieve us from this duty.

But as we celebrate the 250th anniversary of the United States, the American church is in grave danger of negligently missing the moment. Christians should be leading in social innovation to address the opportunities and dangers of artificial intelligence, to remedy the devastating childhood literacy crisis, and to make peace in a war of the sexes that’s exacerbating our loneliness epidemic. Instead, the church is stuck relitigating questions settled long ago. We’re still debating whether social justice can be biblically sound, long after the abolition and Civil Rights movements unequivocally answered in the affirmative. We’re still imagining that a political party or the right president can save us, pretending government can fix communities full of broken families. 

Read it all.

At our country’s 250th anniversary, Christians can—and must—model charitable unity amid diversity, @JustinEGiboney writes.https://t.co/ocE9pvUofw

— Christianity Today (@CTmagazine) July 4, 2026

July 9: Feast of Everild (†c.700). Wessex noblewoman who went north to become a nun with her companions Bega and Wulfreda. They settled on land owned by St Wilfrid called Bishop’s Farm, which he gave them. There they founded a convent. St Everilda's Church 📸Frederick Weeks pic.twitter.com/t00fnYh9Xy

— North Ages (@NorthAges) July 9, 2026

Gracious who called your servant Hedda to lead the diocese of Winchester in ages past, grant that we, like him, may through your Holy Spirit seek to lead a faithful life of love, wisdom and concern for the church’s unity and witness, through Jesus Christ our Lord who with you an the Holy Spirit lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen (moved from yesterday).

July 7: Feast of Hædde (†705), bishop of Wintancæstir (Winchester). He was educated at Streanæshalch (Whitby) and consecrated by Theodore, archbishop of Canterbury, in 676. Bede remarks on his prudence and innate wisdom. pic.twitter.com/sbvpDDP75k

— North Ages (@NorthAges) July 7, 2026

He protested against the ecclesiastical system, he preached in favour of reform in the Church and advocated a return to the poverty recommended by the Scriptures. Indeed, the Scriptures were the only rule and every man had the right to study them. In Questio de indulgentis (1412) he denounced the indulgences.

He admired Wyclif’s writings and defended him when he was condemned as a heretic. He was excommunicated. An interdict was pronounced over Prague and he had to leave it and go to southern Bohemia, where he preached and wrote theological treatises, notably the Tractatus de ecclesia (1413), known as «The Church».

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Jan Hus, Czech priest and reformer, was condemned as a heretic and burned at the stake on July 6 1415 at the Council of Constance, where he had been promised safe conduct to defend his theology. My reflection in @GiveUsThisDayLP pic.twitter.com/nTsjiy4Cqu

— @RobertEllsberg (@RobertEllsberg) July 5, 2024

Faithful God, who didst give Jan Hus the courage to confess thy truth and recall thy Church to the image of Christ: Enable us, inspired by his example, to bear witness against corruption and never cease to pray for our enemies, that we may prove faithful followers of our Savior Jesus Christ; who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

#OTD July 6, 1415:
Jan Hus, Czech reformer and preacher, was burned at the stake in Constance, Germany, condemned for heresy. He had boldly called for church reform, the authority of Scripture over tradition, and greater rights for the common people. His death inspired the… pic.twitter.com/M417IQ1YEZ

— ☧ Today in Christian History (@HistoricalRook) July 6, 2026

Gracious God we give you thanks for the life and ministry of your servant Cilléne Droichtech, abbot of Iona, and pray that by your Spirit you will enable us to follow his example of seeking to protect the innocent, especially in times of war, through Jesus Christ our Lord who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen.

July 3: Feast of Cilléne Droichtech (†752), abbot of Iona. He renewed Adomnán’s Lex Innocentium, 'Law of the Innocents', which protected women, children and clergy, especially during warfare. Sléibíne mac Congaile succeeded him. pic.twitter.com/EEU98iRbRy

— North Ages (@NorthAges) July 3, 2026

Moses the brigand spent several years leading a sinful life, but through the great mercy of God he repented, left his band of robbers and went to one of the desert monasteries. Here he wept for a long time, begging to be admitted as one of the brethren. The monks were not convinced of the sincerity of his repentance, but the former robber would neither be driven away nor silenced. He continued to implore that they accept him.

Saint Moses was completely obedient to the hegoumen and the brethren, and he poured forth many tears of sorrow for his sinful life. After a certain while Saint Moses withdrew to a solitary cell, where he spent his time in prayer and the strictest fasting.

Once, four of the robbers of his former band descended upon the cell of Saint Moses. He had lost none of his great physical strength, so he tied them all up. Throwing them over his shoulder, he brought them to the monastery, where he asked the Elders what to do with them. The Elders ordered that they be set free. The robbers, learning that they had chanced upon their former ringleader, and that he had dealt kindly with them, followed his example: they repented and became monks. Later, when the rest of the band of robbers heard about Saint Moses’ repentance, then they also gave up their thievery and became fervent monks.

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Today, the Church remembers the witness of St. Moses the Black. pic.twitter.com/gGQdap2e5u

— G. C. Garlinghouse 🦬 (@Acolyte_1) July 2, 2026

Almighty God, whose blessed Son dost guide our footsteps into the way of peace: Deliver us from paths of hatred and violence, that we, following the example of thy servant Moses, may serve thee with singleness of heart and attain to the tranquility of the world to come; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

We give God thanks for the life and witness of Saint Moses the Black on 2nd July.https://t.co/tY4ss1M3Tb pic.twitter.com/nGdHjeiAaJ

— Sister Anna- Francis Askew (@CeciliaTAskew) July 1, 2026

Gracious God, we offer thanks for the witness of Harriett Beecher Stowe, whose fiction inspired thousands with compassion for the shame and sufferings of enslaved peoples, and who enriched her writings with the cadences of The Book of Common Prayer. Help us, like her, to strive for thy justice, that our eyes may see the glory of thy Son, Jesus Christ, when he comes to reign with thee and the Holy Spirit in reconciliation and peace, one God, now and always. Amen.

Remembering Harriet Beecher Stowe who died on this date July 1 in 1896. Photo 1852, source: Schlesinger Library, RIAS, Harvard University. #OTD pic.twitter.com/JfqOYD8UtW

— Jeffrey Guterman (@JeffreyGuterman) July 1, 2026

Everliving Lord of the universe, our loving God, who raised up thy priest Cornelius Hill, last hereditary chief of the Oneida nation, to shepherd and defend his people against attempts to scatter them in the wilderness: Help us, like him, to be dedicated to truth and honor, that we may come to that blessed state thou hast prepared for us; through Jesus Christ, who with thee and the Holy Spirit livest and reignest, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

#OnThisDay Jan 25,
1907
Death in Wisconsin of Onangwatgo [Cornelius Hill], an Oneida chief and Episcopal priest. pic.twitter.com/Bn7ZUKeo6w

— ☧ Today in Christian History (@HistoricalRook) January 25, 2021

Loving God, we offer thanks for the work and witness of Isabel Florence Hapgood, who introduced the Divine Liturgy of the Russian Orthodox Church to English-speaking Christians, and encouraged dialogue between Anglicans and Orthodox. Guide us as we build on the foundation that she gave us, that all may be one in Christ; who with thee and the Holy Spirit livest and reignest, one God, unto ages of ages. Amen.

Died #OTD in 1928 – Isabel Hapgood, also commemorated by the Episcopal Church as an Ecumenist, Translator & Journalist https://t.co/WD7Q6qDOPv

Born 1850 in Boston, she had a talent for languages, mastering most of the Romance & Germanic languages plus Russian & Church Slavonic pic.twitter.com/3aygpslmn1

— The Anglican Church in St Petersburg (@anglicanspb) June 26, 2022

Eternal God, we give thanks for the gifts that thou didst bestow upon thy servant James Weldon Johnson: a heart and voice to praise thy Name in verse. As he gave us powerful words to glorify you, may we also speak with joy and boldness to banish hatred from thy creation, in the Name of Jesus Christ; who with thee and the Holy Spirit livest and reignest, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Born today in 1871: James Weldon Johnson, author of "Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing." This portrait is by the Scurlock Studio of D.C. pic.twitter.com/8SLoPCj81Q

— National Museum of American History (@amhistorymuseum) June 17, 2017

The holy church celebrates the birth-tide of three people: of the Saviour, who is God and man, and of John his herald, and of the blessed Mary his mother. Of other chosen people, who have gone to God’s kingdom through martyrdom or other holy merits, we celebrate as their birth-tide their last day, which, after the fulfilment of all their labours, bore them victorious to eternal life; and the day on which they were born to this present life we let pass unheeded, because they came here to hardships and temptations and various dangers. The day is worthy of memory for God’s servants which sends his saints, after victory won, from all afflictions to eternal joy, and that is their true birth – not tearful, as the first, but rejoicing in eternal life.

But the birth-tide of Christ is to be celebrated with great care, through which came our redemption. John is the ending of the old law and the beginning of the new; as the Saviour said of him, “The old law and the prophets were till the coming of John.” Afterwards began the preaching of the gospel. Now, because of his great holiness, his birth is honoured, as the archangel promised his father with these words, “Many shall rejoice in his birth-tide.” Mary, parent of God, is like to none other, for she is maiden and mother, and bore him who created her and all creation: therefore she is most worthy that her birth should be honourably celebrated…

He was sent before the Lord, as the day-star goes before the sun, as the beadle goes before the judge, as the Old Testament before the New; because the old law was like a shadow, and the New Testament is the truth itself, through the grace of the Saviour.

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24 June is the feast of the Birth of John the Baptist. It's Midsummer Day, the old date of the solstice: as medieval writers explain it, Christ's birth is celebrated at midwinter, when light begins to grow, and John's at midsummer, when it begins to wane. https://t.co/mAkGOhSnFd pic.twitter.com/HNAfVlBFX8

— Eleanor Parker (@ClerkofOxford) June 24, 2026

Heavenly Father, who bestowed such grace upon your servant Æthelthryth that she gave herself fully to a life of prayer and devoted service: grant that we, like her, may so live our lives on earth seeking your kingdom, that by your guiding we may be joined to the glorious fellowship of your saints in light; through Jesus Christ our Lord who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen.

June 23: Feast of Æthelthryth (†679), virgin. Queen of the Northumbrians, then nun at Coludaesburg (Coldingham) and finally founder-abbess of the double monastery at Ely, where her shrine became a place of pilgrimage. She died of a neck tumour. Her sister Sexburg succeeded her. pic.twitter.com/S73LcaHQrm

— North Ages (@NorthAges) June 23, 2026

Bishop FitzSimons Allison is now in his 99th year. His mind, though not as quick as when I interviewed him in 2022, – “The Lion in Winter” (Allison was 95) – remains profoundly alert to the times in which we live. He is a living witness to nearly the entire arc of the modern Anglican crisis — from the pre-revisionist Episcopal Church through the Singapore consecrations to the founding of the ACNA. Very few people alive can speak to that history from personal experience.

Christopher FitzSimons Allison was born on March 5, 1927, in Columbia, South Carolina, the son of James Richard Allison and Susan Milliken FitzSimons. He attended the University of the South at Sewanee, though his studies were interrupted by service in the United States Army during World War II. He was discharged and returned to complete his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1949. He then earned a B.Div. from Virginia Theological Seminary in 1952 and a D.Phil. from Christ Church, Oxford, in 1956. He married Martha Allston Parker on June 10, 1950.

Early Life and Formation

Academic Career

Ordained deacon in June 1952 and priested in May 1953, Allison went on to become one of the Episcopal Church’s most respected patristic scholars and Anglican historians. Following his Oxford doctorate, he served as associate professor of church history at the University of the South, Sewanee, from 1956 to 1967, and then as professor of church history at Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria from 1967 to 1975.

Parish Ministry and the Diocese of South Carolina

He then served for five years as rector of Grace Episcopal Church in New York City — one of the most prominent evangelical Anglican parishes in the country — before being called to lead the Diocese of South Carolina. He was elected at a special meeting of the Diocesan Convention on May 17, 1980, and consecrated Bishop Coadjutor of the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina in a service attended by approximately 2,500 people at the Gaillard Auditorium in Charleston. The Rt. Rev. John M. Allin, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, served as chief consecrator. He became diocesan bishop in 1982 and served until his retirement in 1990.

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Giving thanks for the life and ministry of retired bishop of #southcarolina C. FitzSimons Allison who is (I can’t fully believe it) 99 years old pic.twitter.com/A6CYBFIEV3

— Kendall Harmon (@KendallHarmon6) June 22, 2026

Almighty God, by whose grace and power thy holy martyr Alban triumphed over suffering and was faithful even unto death: Grant to us, who now remember him with thanksgiving, to be so faithful in our witness to thee in this world, that we may receive with him the crown of life; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

22 June, @churchofengland remembers #Alban, first Christian known to have been martyred in British Isles. A pagan, he had been led to Christian faith by a fleeing priest & gave himself up in the man’s place. @StAlbansCath is on the site of his burial place. #StAlbans #martyralban pic.twitter.com/zOTAssItCR

— Revd Nicholas Pye (@RevdPye) June 22, 2026

Almighty Father who guided Saint Fáelán from Ireland to Scotland to live a life of prayer, hospitality, and quiet devotion: by your Spirit teach us to walk in his footsteps by embracing simplicity, serving others with love and grace, and trusting steadfastly in Your divine plan, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, ever one God. Amen.

June 20: Feast of Fáelán (Fillan) (6thC). Holy man whose cult was centred on Glen Dochart, Perthshire, the upper part of which was known as Strath Fillan by the early 14thC. King Robert I invoked him at Bannockburn. Crosier and coigreach of St Fillan 📸National Museums Scotland pic.twitter.com/gkEtY7iifR

— North Ages (@NorthAges) June 20, 2026

Two centuries ago, most American magazine and newspaper editors professed Christian faith and wanted their publications to show it—but many lost their audiences when new publications offered street-level reporting that won more readers than literary essays.

That’s important history to understand, but you won’t read about it in Alex Wright’s new book Empire of Ink, a supposed history of American journalism through 1900. Wright amusingly describes antics of The Printers, Rogues, and Radicals Who Invented the American Newspaper, as the subtitle states, but he skips the Christians and in doing so misses the forest for trees, billions of which fell in the centuries when words on paper ruled. 

But just as Wright overlooks something important, so did I—until my research for a history of abortion led me to what Wright rightly calls “racy papers … bearing names like The Flash, The Whip, The Rake, and The Libertine,” bearing “headings like Lives of the Nymphs.” They published detailed and prurient profiles of prostitutes, listing their addresses as a service to readers eager (as one critic wrote) to “fill the paths to perdition.” 

Wright also describes how newspapers first celebrated Charles Dickens when the author came to the US in 1842, then called him “a literary bagman.” Dickens reciprocated, attacking “moral poison” and arguing that “the influence of the good, is powerless to counteract the moral poison of the bad.” My sense is that Wright overemphasizes the bad in early American journalism, but I may have underestimated it. 

Read it all.

(CT) Marvin Olasky–'[Alex] Wright amusingly describes antics of The Printers, Rogues, and Radicals Who Invented the American Newspaper, as the subtitle states, but he skips the Christians and in doing so misses the forest for trees, billions of which fell in the centuries when…

— Kendall Harmon (@KendallHarmon6) June 19, 2026

Almighty and everlasting God, who didst enkindle the flame of thy love in the heart of thy holy martyr Bernard Mizeki: Grant to us, thy humble servants, a like faith and power of love, that we who rejoice in his triumph may profit by his example; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

pic.twitter.com/Y3WZPLP6lD

— Sister Anna- Francis Askew (@CeciliaTAskew) June 18, 2026

O God, by thy Holy Spirit thou givest to some the word of wisdom, to others the word of knowledge, and to others the word of faith: We praise thy Name for the gifts of grace manifested in thy servants George Berkeley and Joseph Butler, and we pray that thy Church may never be destitute of such gifts; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with thee and the Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

"Every man is to be considered in two capacities, the private and public; as designed to pursue his own interest, and likewise to contribute to the good of others."

✒️ #JosephButler, English Anglican Bishop, theologian, and philosopher, #DOTD 16 June 1752. #Philosophy pic.twitter.com/DGCfH7UrQZ

— Nathan Francis (@NathanFrancis__) June 15, 2026

Almighty and everliving God, whose servant Thomas Cranmer, with others, did restore the language of the people in the prayers of thy Church: Make us always thankful for this heritage; and help us so to pray in the Spirit and with the understanding, that we may worthily magnify thy holy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

The Episcopal Church today commemorates The First Book of Common Prayer, which was used for the first time on Pentecost Sunday in 1549

Image: Title page from the BCP, 1549 (Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons) pic.twitter.com/5oErBmWc4i

— The Anglican Church in St Petersburg (@anglicanspb) May 23, 2024

Almighty God, who didst lead thy pilgrim people of old by fire and cloud: Grant that the ministers of thy Church, following the example of thy servant Enmegahbowh, may lead thy people with fiery zeal and gentle humility. This we ask through Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Today the Episcopal Church commemorates Enmegahbowh, Priest & Missionary, 1902

An Odawa Indian from Canada who came to the US as Methodist missionary in 1832, he is the 1st recognised Native American priest in the Episcopal Church, having been ordained deacon 1859 & priest 1867 pic.twitter.com/xZMWe8mIQc

— The Anglican Church in St Petersburg (@anglicanspb) June 12, 2024

Bountiful God, giver of all gifts,
who poured your Spirit upon your servant Barnabas
and gave him grace to encourage others:
help us, by his example,
to be generous in our judgements
and unselfish in our service;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.

Today's the feast of St Barnabas, a 1st Century apostle who in Acts accompanies Paul on several of his journeys. Here he is in glass by Herbert Bryans, 1908 at Mattishall, Norfolk. pic.twitter.com/wpCfEfYQAY

— Simon Knott (@SimoninSuffolk) June 11, 2026

To prevent his disciples from asking the time of his coming, Christ said: “About that hour no one knows, neither the angels nor the Son. It is not for you to know times or moments.” He has kept those things hidden so that we may keep watch, each of us thinking that he will come in our own day. If he had revealed the time of his coming, his coming would have lost its savour: it would no longer be an object of yearning for the nations and the age in which it will be revealed. He promised that he would come but did not say when he would come, and so all generations and ages await him eagerly.

Though the Lord has established the signs of his coming, the time of their fulfilment has not been plainly revealed. These signs have come and gone with a multiplicity of change; more than that, they are still present. His final coming is like his first. As holy men and prophets waited for him, thinking that he would reveal himself in their own day, so today each of the faithful longs to welcome him in his own day, because Christ has not made plain the day of his coming.

He has not made it plain for this reason especially, that no one may think that he whose power and dominion rule all numbers and times is ruled by fate and time. He described the signs of his coming; how could what he has himself decided be hidden from him? Therefore, he used these words to increase respect for the signs of his coming, so that from that day forward all generations and ages might think that he would come again in their own day.

Keep watch; when the body is asleep nature takes control of us, and what is done is not done by our will but by force, by the impulse of nature. When deep listlessness takes possession of the soul, for example, faint-heartedness or melancholy, the enemy overpowers it and makes it do what it does not will. The force of nature, the enemy of the soul, is in control.

When the Lord commanded us to be vigilant, he meant vigilance in both parts of man: in the body, against the tendency to sleep; in the soul, against lethargy and timidity. As Scripture says: “Wake up, you just,” and “I have risen, and am still with you;” and again, “Do not lose heart. Therefore, having this ministry, we do not lose heart.”

–From a commentary on the Diatessaron (the single gospel harmony of the early Syriac church), by St Ephrem (ca. 306 – 373)

Saint Aprem of Edessa, more commonly known as Saint Ephrem the Syrian or Ephrem of Edessa, was a fourth-century Christian deacon, theologian, poet, and hymnographer whose life and works left a profound mark on Eastern Christianity. Born around 306 in Nisibis, a city then under… pic.twitter.com/8bTwhs7KEo

— Father V (@father_rmv) June 9, 2026

Pour out upon us, O Lord, that same Spirit by which thy deacon Ephrem rejoiced to proclaim in sacred song the mysteries of faith; and so gladden our hearts that we, like him, may be devoted to thee alone; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

On June 9, the Roman Catholic Church honors Saint Ephrem of Syria, a deacon, hermit, and Doctor of the Church who made important contributions to the spirituality and theology of the Christian East during the fourth century.

Eastern Catholics and Eastern Orthodox Christian… pic.twitter.com/nCeMLtHqgM

— ACI Africa (@aciafricanews) June 9, 2026

O God, who by the preaching of thy blessed servant Columba didst cause the light of the Gospel to shine in Scotland: Grant, we beseech thee, that, having his life and labors in remembrance, we may show forth our thankfulness to thee by following the example of his zeal and patience; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Today's the feast of St Columba, a 6th Century Irish abbot and missionary to what would become Scotland, who founded Iona Abbey and is the patron saint of the fair city of Derry. Glass by Karl Parsons, made in 1913 for Sulhamstead, Berkshire, now in the Stained Glass Museum, Ely. pic.twitter.com/Pi8UXS9iz4

— Simon Knott (@SimoninSuffolk) June 9, 2026

In little more than ten years St. Paul established the Church in four provinces of the Empire, Galatia, Macedonia, Achaia and Asia. Before AD 47 there were no churches in these provinces; in AD 57 St. Paul could speak as if his work there was done, and could plan extensive tours into the far west without anxiety lest the churches which he had founded might perish in his absence for want of his guidance and support.

The work of the Apostle during these ten years can therefore be treated as a unity. Whatever assistance he may have received from the preaching of others, it is unquestioned that the establishment of the churches in these provinces was really his work. In the pages of the New Testament he, and he alone, stands forth as their founder. And the work which he did was really a completed work. So far as the foundation of the churches is concerned, it is perfectly clear that the writer of the Acts intends to represent St. Paul’s work as complete. The churches were really established. Whatever disasters fell upon them in later years, whatever failure there was, whatever ruin, that failure was not due to any insufficiency or lack of care and completeness in the Apostle’s teaching or organization. When he left them he left them because his work was fully accomplished.

This is truly an astonishing fact. That churches should be founded so rapidly, so securely, seems to us today, accustomed to the difficulties, the uncertainties, the failures, the disastrous relapses of our own missionary work, almost incredible. Many missionaries in later days have received a larger number of converts than St. Paul; many have preached over a wider area than he; but none have so established churches. We have long forgotten that such things could be. We have long accustomed ourselves to accept it as an axiom of missionary work that converts in a new country must be submitted to a very long probation and training, extending over generations before they can be expected to be able to stand alone. Today if a man ventures to suggest that there may be something in the methods by which St. Paul attained such wonderful results worthy of our careful attention, and perhaps of our imitation, he is in danger of being accused of revolutionary tendencies.

–Roland Allen, Missionary Methods: St. Paul’s or Ours; A Study of The Church In The Four Provinces, Chapter One

Want to come prepared to the 2019 Intersection Conference? @BpToddHunter suggests "The Church and Its Vocation: Newbigin’s Missionary Ecclesiology" by Michael Goheen and "Roland Allen: A Theology of Mission" by Steven Rutt #intersection19 https://t.co/sTGpAN9eCS pic.twitter.com/OY83a8mlMf

— The Telos Collective (@TelosCollective) February 23, 2019

Almighty God, by whose Spirit the Scriptures were opened to thy servant Roland Allen, so that he might lead many to know, live and proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ: Give us grace to follow his example, that the variety of those to whom we reach out in love may receive thy saving Word and witness in their own languages and cultures to thy glorious Name; through Jesus Christ, thy Word made flesh, who livest and reignest with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

April 25th 2018 at 6.30pm – The book launch of two new titles by Steven Richard Rutt, Roland Allen: A Missionary Life and Roland Allen: A Theology of Mission.
Further information 👉🏻https://t.co/5k3RTZUvvW
Available Soon 📚https://t.co/eybANEzBDu#LutterworthPress #RolandAllen pic.twitter.com/dpWc2QdXEH

— Lutterworth Press (@LuttPress) April 23, 2018

Loving God, may thy Name be blest for the witness of Ini Kopuria, police officer and founder of the Melanesian Brotherhood, whose members saved many American pilots in a time of war, and who continue to minister courageously to the islanders of Melanesia. Open our eyes that we, with these Anglican brothers, may establish peace and hope in service to others, for the sake of Jesus Christ; who with thee and the Holy Spirit livest and reignest, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.