Month: October 2026

Prayers and liturgy

St. Denys, Bishop and Martyr

The collect for today, the Feast of Saint Denys (d. c. 258), Bishop of Paris, Patron Saint of France, Martyr (source):

Master of Sir John Fastolf, Saint Denis Holding His HeadO GOD, who as on this day didst endow thy blessed Martyr and Bishop Saint Denys with strength to suffer stedfastly for thy sake, and didst join unto him Rusticus and Eleutherius for the preaching of thy glory to the Gentiles: grant us, we beseech thee, so to follow their good example; that for the love of thee we may despise all worldly prosperity, and be afraid of no manner of worldly adversity. Through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The Lesson: Acts 17:22-34
The Gospel: St Luke 12:1-9

Artwork: Master of Sir John Fastolf, Saint Denis Holding His Head, c. 1430- 1440. Tempera, gold leaf, and ink on parchment, Getty Center, Los Angeles.

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Prayers and liturgy

Robert Grosseteste, Bishop and Scholar

The collect for today, the commemoration of Robert Grosseteste (c. 1175-1253), Bishop of Lincoln, Scholar (source):

William Morris from a design by Edward Burne-Jones, Bishop Robert GrossetesteO God our heavenly Father, who didst raise up thy faithful servant Robert Grosseteste to be a bishop and pastor in thy Church and to feed thy flock: Give to all pastors abundant gifts of thy Holy Spirit, that they may minister in thy household as true servants of Christ and stewards of thy divine mysteries; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

The Lesson: Acts 20:28-32
The Gospel: St. Luke 16:10-15

Artwork: William Morris from a design by Edward Burne-Jones, Bishop Robert Grosseteste, 1896. Stained glass, St. Paul’s Church, Morton, England.

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Prayers and liturgy

William Tyndale, Translator and Martyr

The collect for today, the commemoration of William Tyndale (c. 1495-1536), Priest, Translator of the Scriptures, Reformation Martyr (source):

Embankment Statue, William TyndaleO Lord, grant to thy people
grace to hear and keep thy word
that, after the example of thy servant William Tyndale,
we may both profess thy gospel
and also be ready to suffer and die for it,
to the honour of thy name;
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: St. James 1:21-25
The Gospel: St. John 12:44-50

Artwork: Sir Joseph Edgar Boehm, William Tyndale statue, 1884, Victoria Embankment Gardens, London. Photograph taken by admin, 30 September 2015.

Inscription on bronze plaque:
William Tyndale
First translator of the New Testament into English from the Greek.
Born A.D. 1484, died a martyr at Vilvorde in Belgium, A.D. 1536.
“Thy word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path” – “the entrance of thy words giveth light.” Psalm CXIX. 105.130.
“And this is the record that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his son.” I. John V.II.
The last words of William Tyndale were “Lord! Open the King of England’s eyes”. Within a year afterwards, a bible was placed in every parish church by the King’s command.

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Prayers and liturgy

Audio file of 8:00am Holy Communion service, Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity

Click here to listen to an audio recording of the 8:00am service of Holy Communion at Christ Church on the Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity.

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Sermons

Sermon for the Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity

“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God”

God commands us to love him. And so we must, for his command does not issue from any lack or insufficiency on his part. God does not need our love. His command proceeds instead from his very being. He is active Love, everlasting love, as we are constantly reminded in the recurring refrain of the Trinity season: “God is love and he that abideth in love abideth in God and God in him.” Thus God’s command to love him equally extends to his command to love others and ourselves for his sake, for this is the perfecting of his divine image in us. It is really all about grace as what defines and perfects our lives. The Gospel illustrates what is said in the Epistle about “the grace of God which is given [us] by Jesus Christ; the grace that enriches [us] in all utterance, and in all knowledge,” and that confirms us unto the end, our end or being in Christ.

“The end of the matter, all has been heard,” Ecclesiastes concludes. It is the most philosophical book of the Hebrew Scriptures. Having surveyed all the forms of human endeavour under the sun and found them wanting, for “all is vanity” or empty, the Preacher finishes with the words, “Fear God and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man.” It became the title of Richard Allestree’s famous treatise, The Whole Duty of Man (1684), which along with William Law’s A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life (1728), profoundly influenced Christian life and witness in the 18th century, praised by such different personalities as Samuel Johnson, Edward Gibbon, and John Wesley. Fear means awe and wonder; in short, love for what is greater than all else. As Jesus says, “there is none other commandment greater than these.”The whole duty of the Christian appears in this command to love. “For when the love of God precedes, the love of neighbour follows” (Augustine). Love of God and love of neighbour sum up the whole of the Old Law and, in Christ, they become both the fulfillment of the Law and the very heartbeat of Christian life. God’s life in Christ “shall confirm you [keep your steadfast] unto the end,” say St. Paul. That divine life is the “grace to withstand the temptations of the world, the flesh and the devil” and the reason for “pure hearts and minds to follow thee the only God,” as the  Collect says.

(more…)

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Events, Month at a Glance

Month at a Glance, October

Sunday, October 4th, Trinity 18
8:00am Holy Communion
10:30am Holy Communion

Thursday, October 8th
7:00pm Seminar on the Catechism by way of King Oswald’s Heirs, #1: Intro to end of Ch. 11, Coronation Room, Parish Hall

Sunday, October 11th, Harvest Thanksgiving / Trinity 19
8:00am Holy Communion
10:30am Holy Communion

Tuesday, October 13th
7:00pm Parish Council Meeting

Saturday, October 17th
9:00-11:00am Church Cleanup

Sunday, October 18th, St. Luke / Trinity 20
8:00am Holy Communion
10:30am Holy Communion

Monday, October 19th
7:00pm Christ Church Book Club, Coronation Room, Parish Hall: Daisy Dunn’s The Shadow of Vesuvius: A Life of Pliny (2019) and Niall Ferguson’s Doom: The Politics of Catastrophe (2021).

Saturday, October 24th
9:00-4:00 Quiet Day (WORCs)

Sunday, October 25th, Trinity 21
8:00am Holy Communion
10:30am Holy Communion
(Followed by Time of Refreshment & Fellowship, Hall)

Wednesday, October 28th, St. Simon & St. Jude
7:00pm Holy Communion, followed by Seminar on the Catechism, King Oswald’s Heirs # 2, Ch. 12 – end of Ch. 21, Coronation Room, Parish Hall

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Prayers and liturgy

The Eighteenth Sunday After Trinity

The collect for today, the Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity, from The Book of Common Prayer (Canadian, 1962):

Francisco de Zurbarán, Christ the Saviour BlessingLORD, we beseech thee, grant thy people grace to withstand the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil, and with pure hearts and minds to follow thee the only God; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle: 1 Corinthians 1:4-8
The Gospel: St. Mark 12:28-37

Artwork: Francisco de Zurbarán, Christ the Saviour Blessing (Salvator Mundi), 1638. Oil on canvas, Prado, Madrid.

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Prayers and liturgy

Remigius, Bishop

The collect for today, the Feast of Saint Remigius (c. 438-533), Bishop of Reims, Apostle to the Franks (source):

François Dubois, Saint Remigius baptises King Clovis I in the presence of Queen ClotildeO God, who by the teaching of thy faithful servant and bishop Remigius didst turn the nation of the Franks from vain idolatry to the worship of thee, the true and living God, in the fullness of the catholic faith; Grant that we who glory in the name of Christian may show forth our faith in worthy deeds; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

The Epistle: 1 St. John 4:1-6
The Gospel: St. John 14:3-7

Remigius was consecrated bishop of Reims, France, at age 22. The pagan Clovis I, who had married the Christian princess Clotilde, began his reign as king of the Franks about 20 years later, in 481.

Before entering combat against German tribes at Tolbiac, Clovis prayed to “Clotilde’s God” for victory. His soldiers won the battle, and Clotilde asked Remigius to teach the king about Christianity. Clovis was amazed by the story of “this unarmed God who was not of the race of Thor or Odin”. In the words of Remigius, the king came “to adore what he had burnt and to burn what he had adored”.

In 496, Remigius baptised Clovis in a public ceremony at Reims Cathedral. Three thousand Franks also became Christians. Under the king’s protection, Remigius was able to spread the gospel and build churches throughout Gaul.

Artwork: François Dubois, Saint Remigius baptises King Clovis I in the presence of Queen Clotilde, 1829. Mural painting, Panthéon, Paris.

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