Year: 2010

The collect for today, the commemoration of Lancelot Andrewes (1555-1626), Bishop of Winchester, scholar, spiritual writer (source):

O Lord God,
who didst give Lancelot Andrewes many gifts
of thy Holy Spirit,
making him a man of prayer and a pastor of thy people:
perfect in us that which is lacking in thy gifts,
of faith, to increase it,
of hope, to establish it,
of love, to kindle it,
that we may live in the light of thy grace and glory;
through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord,
who liveth and reigneth with thee,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

The Epistle: 1 Timothy 2:1-7a
The Gospel: St Luke 11:1-4

A prayer of confession of Lancelot Andrewes, from his Preces Privatae (Private Prayers):

Thou who hast said,
“As I live, saith the Lord,
I will not the death of a sinner,
but that the ungodly return from his way and live;
turn ye, turn ye from your wicked way,
for why will ye die, O house of Israel?”
turn us, O Lord, to Thee,
and so shall we be turned.
Turn us from all our ungodlinesses,
and let them not be to us for punishments,
I have sinned, I have committed iniquity,
I have done wickedly,
from Thy precepts, and Thy judgments.
To Thee, O Lord, righteousness,
and to me confusion of face,
as at this day,
in our despicableness,
wherewith Thou hast despised us.
Lord, to us confusion of face,
and to our rulers
who have sinned against Thee.
Lord, in all things is Thy righteousness,
unto all Thy righteousness;
let then Thine anger and Thy fury be turned away,
and cause Thy face to shine
upon Thy servant.
O my God, incline Thine ear and hear,
open Thine eyes and see my desolation.
O Lord hear, O Lord forgive,
O Lord hearken and do;
defer not for Thine own sake, O my God,
for Thy servant is called by Thy Name.
In many things we offend all;
Lord, let Thy mercy rejoice against Thy judgment in my sins.
If I say I have no sin, I deceive myself,
and the truth is not in me;
but I confess my sins many and grievous,
and Thou, O Lord, art faithful and just,
to forgive me my sins when I confess them.
Yea, for this too
I have an Advocate with Thee to Thee,
Thy Only-begotten Son, the Righteous.
May He be the propitiation for my sins,
who is also for the whole world.
Will the Lord cast off forever?
and will He be no more entreated?
Is His mercy clean gone forever?
and is His promise come utterly to an end forevermore?
Hath God forgotten to be gracious?
and will He shut up His loving kindness in displeasure’!
And I said, It is mine own infirmity;
but I will remember the years of the right hand of the most High.

Source: Give Us Grace: An Anthology of Anglican Prayers, compiled by Christopher L. Webber. (Anglican Book Centre, Toronto, 2004), pp. 31-32.

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The collect for today, the Feast of Saint Matthew, from The Book of Common Prayer (Canadian, 1962):

O ALMIGHTY God, who by thy blessed Son didst call Matthew from the receipt of custom to be an Apostle and Evangelist: Grant us grace to forsake all covetous desires and inordinate love of riches, and to follow the same thy Son Jesus Christ; who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, world without end. Amen.

The Epistle: 2 Corinthians 4:1-6
The Gospel: St Matthew 9:9-13

Artwork: Unknown Florentine painter, Saint Matthew, c. 1550-60. Santa Croce Museum, Basilica di Santa Croce (Basilica of the Holy Cross), Florence. Photo taken by admin, 17 May 2010.

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The collect for today, the commemoration of John Coleridge Patteson (1827-71), Missionary, First Bishop of Melanesia, Martyr (source):

O God of all tribes and peoples and tongues,
who didst call thy servant John Coleridge Patteson
to witness in life and death to the gospel of Christ
amongst the peoples of Melanesia:
grant us to hear thy call to service
and to respond with trust and joy
to Jesus Christ our redeemer,
who liveth and reigneth with thee,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

The Epistle: 1 St Peter 4:12-19
The Gospel: St Mark 8:34-38

John Coleridge Patteson was a curate in Devon when Bishop of New Zealand George A. Selwyn persuaded him to go out to the South Pacific as a missionary. In 1856 he journeyed to Melanesia. He encouraged boys to study at a school Selwyn had founded in New Zealand and later set up a school in Melanesia. He was very proficient in languages and eventually learned twenty-three different languages and dialects spoken in Melanesia and Polynesia.

In 1861 Patteson was consecrated Bishop of Melanesia; he travelled across his diocese constantly, preaching, teaching, confirming, building churches, and living among the people. On the main island of Mota most of the population were converted.

The Melanesian Mission of Bishop Patteson was a great success, until he encountered the slave traders. Laws against the slave trade were poorly enforced, and traders frequently raided the islands to kidnap or entice young men to work on plantations in Fiji and Queensland.

In September 1871, Patteson and a small group approached the tiny island of Nakapu, unaware that slave traders had recently raided it and killed five islanders. He landed alone and unarmed. The islanders did not recognise him and apparently mistook him for a slave trader. Later, a canoe containing his dead body was pushed out toward the rest of his party. He had been clubbed to death and covered with a palm frond bearing five knots—indicating that he had been killed to avenge the earlier deaths. He was buried at sea the following day.

England was shocked by news of Bishop Patteson’s death. Parliament soon took steps to outlaw slavery and the slave trade in Britain’s South Pacific territories and to improve conditions for natives there. There was also increased interest in missionary work in the Pacific.

The second Bishop of Melanesia, John R. Selwyn, son of Archbishop George Selwyn, visited Nakapu and helped the islanders realise their tragic error. A cross was erected at the place where John Coleridge Patteson had died.

Photograph of Bishop John Coleridge Patteson (c. 1867) from the National Library of New Zealand, reference number: 1/2-127104-F

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