Viewing all items in Resource Category: Holy Days
Featuring the Saints whose feast-day is this month
- 27th July The Seven Sleepers of Ephesus – proving a nap is good for you! Do you tend to avoid conflict? When you feel stressed, do you crave sleep? Then the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus would be good patron saints for you. But – you may find it hard to copy their successful method of...27th July The Seven Sleepers of Ephesus – proving a nap is good for you!
- 30th July William Wilberforce, Olaudah Equiano & Thomas Clarkson During the 18th century many people in England were involved in the campaign to abolish the slave trade. The CofE remembers especially William Wilberforce, Olaudah Equiano and Thomas Clarkson – three very different but all tireless campaigners against the evil practice. Thomas Clarkson (1760-1846) was...30th July William Wilberforce, Olaudah Equiano & Thomas Clarkson
- 31st July St Joseph of Arimathea – the man who buried Jesus Have you ever suffered from gossip? Ever discovered that people are saying some really wild things about you? If so, Joseph of Arimathea would understand – and sympathise with you. This decent, godly man of the gospels seems to have fired the...31st July St Joseph of Arimathea – the man who buried Jesus
- High Days & Holy Days for June 1 Justin Martyr – first ever Christian philosopher 2 Erasmus – a good saint for when you’re all at sea 3 The Martyrs of Uganda 4 Petroc – the abbot of Padstow 6 Gudwal – the first Christian in Brittany? 8 William of York – victim of...June 2018 Holy Days (all articles)
- Are you going to Cyprus on holiday this year? If so, spare a thought for the Cypriot who played such a key role in the New Testament. He was Joseph, a Jewish Cypriot and a Levite, who is first mentioned in Acts 4:36, when the early church was sharing a communal lifestyle. Joseph sold a...11 Barnabas – Paul’s first missionary companion
- Antony of Padua knew St Francis of Assisi. Both men were true followers of Christ in a time of great religious confusion and social turmoil. Like Francis, Antony was born into a wealthy family. Antony’s father was a nobleman of Lisbon, Portugal, who sent his son at 16 to study the Bible at Coimbra. It...13 Antony of Padua 1193 – 1231 – friend of St Francis of Assisi
- If Richard Baxter were alive today, he would probably be contributing to the Thought for the Day on Radio 4, because he had a gift for the sound-bite. Try these memorable quotes: Preaching a man a sermon with a broken head, and telling him to be right with God is equal to telling a man...*14 Richard Baxter – English Puritan church leader
- For anyone interested in Christian mysticism, Evelyn Underhill may be a good place to begin. She died on 10th June 1941 after a life full of remarkable achievements: author of more than 30 books that explored the intersection between the spiritual and the physical, the first woman ever to lecture to the CofE clergy, the...15 Evelyn Underhill – mystical writer of the 20th century
- Ever wonder where the prayer … ‘May I know thee more clearly, love thee more dearly, and follow thee more nearly, day by day’ comes from? Richard of Chichester, a bishop in the 13th century, wrote it. He began life as Richard de Wych of Droitwich, the son of a yeoman farmer. But Richard was...16 Richard of Chichester – wanting God more clearly, dearly and nearly
- In the UK, USA and Canada, the third Sunday in June is Father’s Day. It’s a good time for sons and daughters to take their father to his favourite restaurant, or to watch a favoured sport, or whatever else he enjoys doing. How will you celebrate it this year? If your own father cannot be...17 Fathers Day – time to celebrate male role models
- June, of course is the month of the summer solstice, the month of the Sun. Sol + stice come from two Latin words meaning ‘sun’ and ‘to stand still’. As the days lengthen, the sun rises higher and higher until it seems to stand still in the sky. The Summer Solstice results in the longest...21 Summer Solstice – longest day of the year
- Alban should be the patron saint of anyone who impulsively offers to help a stranger in need… and finds their own life turned upside down as a result. The story goes that Alban was a Roman citizen quietly living in England in the third century. Then, miles away in Rome, the emperor, Diocletian ordered a...22 Alban – helping a stranger in need