Saints in the window at christ church rb

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.