Saints in the window at christ church rb

Saint Cecilia - A rather fanciful tale of Cecilia, her husband and brother in law tells that she was betrothed to an angel and remained a virgin. She was martyred after the men had died for their faith. Failing to suffocate her, three attempts were made to decapitate her. This also failed; she lingered for several days while making arrangements for her house to become a meeting place for Christians and providing for the poor. It was said that at her marriage she heard only heavenly music. For this reason she is often depicted holding an organetto. She has become the patroness of church music in general. Today many church music organizations are known as Cecilian societies.

From Gwen Fleischer, one of our presenters of ACE on May 28, 2006.

ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI
The window of St. Francis of Assisi is the large window in the music area to the left of the altar area. He is probably the best known of the saints. Every time we go to a nursery to buy plants, there are statues of him. Many people have him in their garden. He is the one with birds on this shoulder and animals at his feet.St. Francis is known as the patron saint of animals, merchants, Italy and the environoment and is the founder of the Franciscans. The term is related to the Latin word for "brothers".. He was born either in 1181 or 1182 with the name of Giovanni, but he was called Francesco, which means "French man" - possibly he was born there. Hewas born into a very wealthy family and so got a very good education. In his younger days he really was in the party scene. One day he came across a beggar and gave him money. After a pilgrimage to Rome, he heard a voice saying he was to rebuild the little church in which he was praying. He sold some of his father's things to get the money. His father was not pleased and he was disinherited..
He was known for going barefoot and tooks vows of chastity and poverty. He and his followers were known for being cheerful and always full of songs. There are several legends that sprang up after his death in 1226, that illustrate his love for nature and animals.. In one, he and his companions were walking down a road and he heard the birds in the trees. He stopped and preached to them. The birds surrounded him and not one flew away. Another time, a ferocious wolf was terrifying a town by eating people as well as animals. Francis went searching in the hills for the wolf. When he found him, he made the sign of the cross and comanded the wolf to come to him and told him to make peace with the town. .He wrote several well known poems - The Canticle of the Sun and also the Prayer of St. Francis which we sing quite often from our songbook.
My favorite story about St. Francis has to do with Christmas and the Nativity scene or creche. During the Christmas season of 1223, Francis wanted to make a memorial to "that Child born in Bethlehem". He set up a rude stable with a live ox and ass and a child lying on the straw. People crowded to Midnight Mass and heard him read the Gospel story and preach. This setting helped give the creches we set up their popularity.

ST. CECILIA
St. Cecilia is the large window in the side area to the right of the altar. She is the patron saint of music. Logically, the window would be on the music side. It was. The music side moved. Her feast was celebrated as early as the 4th century. Sometimes her day is listed in August or November. She is buried in the Catacombs in a crypt next to the chapel of the popes. One picture in the chapel has her in the rich clothing of a patroness of Pope Paschal. The property of this part of the Catacombs actually belonged to her family. She was a virgin from a prominent family. Her father was a Roman senator. From early childhood she dedicated her life to God with a vow of chastity. However, her parents arranged a marriage between her and a young noble named Valerian. It is not clear when she broke the news to Valerian that she had a vow of chastity. Some sources say before the wedding and some say after she had taken the vows of marriage. At any rate, she announced to Valerian she was betrothed to an angel and therefore would remain a virgin even though she was married. Surprisingly, Valerian agreed to this arrangement. Later he and his brother converted to Christiantiy. This was when it was illegal in Rome. They were martyred. Soon after Cecilia too was martyred. She was first locked in a bath inher home to be suffocated by the steam. She emerged unharmed. She was then beheaded. Supposedly, her head did not completely severe from the stroke of the axe and so she lived for 3 days. During this time, the story goes, she gave her assets to the poor and her home to be used as a church. She actually did not become patron saint of music until the 15th century and only because of a mistranslation from the Latin of the prayer to remain a virgin. Be that as it may, she is considered one of the muses of poetic art. She is often in paintings. If you see a woman with a rapt attention playing an organ or singing, it is most likely St. Cecelia. Both Handel and Henry Purcell wrote works dedicated to her. Chaucer makes direct referend to her in the Second nun's Priest Tale. The children's choir at St. Cross of Hermosa Beach is named the St. Cecilia Choir. Our own Father Bob used to sing in it under the direction of Russell Wing. He has a picture in his robes with a great big bow under his chin.

Hugh Latimer - Under Henry VIII Latimer was bishop of Worcester. An advocate of the protestant reforms taking place on the continent he resigned his sea when Henry refused to allow them in England. His sermons concentrated on the ethical aspects of Christianity rather than doctrine. Still he was a most unwelcome voice to Mary as she attempted to return the church to the Roman fold.

Nicholas Ridley - served as chaplain to Cranmer and later helped to write the first Book of Common Prayer. When Edward died he was on the list of voices to be silenced by Mary in her efforts to return the church to the Pope. He and Latimer were burned at the stake 16 October, 1555.

St. Stephen: You can read about Stephen, deacon and martyr, in Acts 6:5-7:60, although the speech in chapter 7 is a rehearsal of the history of the Jewish people from Abraham to the prophets. Life in the gathered people who followed Jesus was not as rosy as we sometimes believe. There were arguments, some of the folks felt that they were not getting their share of the common food and goods. The community chose men to handle an equitable distribution. These were the first deacons. Stephen was one of them. He was also a good speaker and used verbal argument to try to bring more Jews to see Jesus as the one promised. This led to his arrest and trial before a temple court. He was condemned and stoned; the first martyr to the Christian faith.

Saints in the Northwest bottom corner

Paul - Called Saul in the Hebrew, his name was changed to Paul when he began missionary work in the Greek speaking world. The earliest writings in the New Testament are letters Paul wrote to encourage members of churches begun in response to his preaching.

Theodore of Tarsus - 602 -668 - You can tell from the miter on his head and the crosier in his hand that Theodore is a bishop. A monk of the Eastern Christian, he went from Rome to England to bind up a church torn by plague and the clash of Celtic and Roman practices. He established schools, rearranged dioceses, appointed new bishops, and reorganized the monasteries. He was the first bishop to be recognized by all the English people.

Patrick 386 - 493 - As a youth Patrick was captured by the Danes and taken to Ireland to be sold as a slave. While there he learned the language, culture and religion of the people. Eventually he made his way back to his family home in England. From there he went to the continent and entered a monastery. As a missionary to Ireland, he used his knowledge of the people to win them to Christianity.

Hilda 614 - 680 Hilda was baptized by the chaplain Bertha brought to England at her marriage. She entered a convent organized on the Celtic pattern in Northumbria. From there she organized other monastic units. She is shown with a crosier to indicate her status as equal to that of a bishop.

Margaret 1045 - 1092 Blown onto the shore of Scotland by a storm, Margaret and her mother were taken in by the Scots king. Although Margaret had been on her way to a convent on the continent the king married her. She used her influence as queen to call a synod that regularized the observance of Lent and Easter, She also founded several churches.

Cranmer 1489 - 1556 Thomas Cranmer represented Henry to the Pope in Rome in researching grounds for a divorce. Later he spent time on the continent and returned to England with awareness of the reformation and a wife. Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury by Henry and confirmed by Rome he was one of the writers of the first two editions of The Book of Common Prayer.

C. S. Lewis 1898 - 1963 Known these days of the author of the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Lewis held a chair in medieval literature at Oxford. He used his considerable linguistic talent as a Christian apologist. He is shown wearing his scholars gown, leaning against a desk and smoking a pipe.

Saints in the Southwest bottom of the main window (from left to right)


Mary The mother of Jesus, sometimes called theotokas, which means God bearer. She had the task of being the human mother to the one who is both human and divine. The biblical accounts place her at the cross and at the tomb on Easter morning. Legend says that she moved to Ephasus with the apostle John and died there.

John The son of a successful businessman/fisher, John left all that to follow after Jesus. With a thrust of irony Jesus apparently referred to he and his brother as sons of thunder for their request to call lightening down upon a town that did not receive the traveling band. There are five writings in our bible attached to the name John; gospel of John, letters 1,2,3 John and the Revelation to John.

Augustine of Canterbury died in 604 - Gregory 1 sent Augustine to Canterbury in an effort to reclaim England as Christian. Augustine is credited with rebuilding the church at Canterbury, spreading the good news to the pagans and rededicating their shrines to Christianity.

King Ethelbert of Kent 552-616 - A pagan worshiper of the god Odin he married the Christian woman Bertha and gave her the church at Canterbury. She brought her own chaplain to England and began the process of reawakening the religion. Ethelbert’s baptism shortly after the arrival of Augustine influenced many others to join the church. He is also know as the king to issue the first written laws to England.

Alfred the Great died 899 - Known as the Great for his prowess as a warrior against the invading Danes. In 858 he made a pilgrimage to Rome with his father. As ruler in England he made a peace with the Danes and forced them to accept baptism. He also established a school to translate church documents into the local language.

Bishop Jackson Kemper was born 24 December 1789 in Pleasant Valley, New York, attended Columbia College, and was ordained a priest in 1814. In 1835, the Episcopal Church undertook to consecrate missionary bishops to preach the Gospel west of the settled areas, and Kemper was the first to be chosen. He promptly headed west. Having found that clergy who had lived all their lives in the settled East were slow to respond to his call to join him on the frontier, he determined to recruit priests from among men who were already in the West, and established a college in St. Louis, Missouri, for that purpose. He went on to found Nashotah House and Racine College in Wisconsin. He constantly urged a more extensive outreach to the Indian peoples, and translations of the Scriptures and the services of the Church into Indian languages. From 1859 till his death in 1870, he was bishop of Wisconsin, but the effect of his labors covered a far wider area.

The following prayer, from an Episcopal source, refers to him as the first missionary bishop in the United States. Whether this is literally true, or means only first Anglican missionary bishop, I do not know.

PRAYER (traditional wording):
Lord God, in whose providence Jackson Kemper was chosen first Missionary bishop in this land, that by his arduous labor and travel congregations might be established in scattered settlements of the West: Grant that the Church may always be faithful to its mission, and have the vision, courage, and perseverance to make known to all peoples the Good News of Jesus Christ; who with thee and the Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth, one God, for ever and ever.

PRAYER (contemporary wording):
Lord God, in whose providence Jackson Kemper was chosen first Missionary bishop in this land, and by his arduous labor and travel established congregations in scattered settlements of the West: Grant that the Church may always be faithful to its mission, and have the vision, courage, and perseverance to make known to all peoples the Good News of Jesus Christ; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever.