Charles Simeon, Pastor
by CCW | 13 November 2026 01:00
The collect for today, the commemoration of Charles Simeon (1759-1836), Priest, Evangelical Divine (source[1]):
O loving God, who orderest all things by thine unerring wisdom and unbounded love: Grant us in all things to see thy hand; that, following the example and teaching of thy servant Charles Simeon, we may walk with Christ in all simplicity, and serve thee with a quiet and contented mind; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
The Epistle: Romans 10:8b-17[2]
The Gospel: St. John 21:15-19[3]
Charles Simeon served as vicar of Holy Trinity Church, Cambridge[4], from 1782 until his death. His zealous evangelical preaching was bitterly opposed by parish leaders, but proved immensely popular and influential among Cambridge undergraduates. He supported the British and Foreign Bible Society and helped to found the Church Missionary Society. His curate Henry Martyn became chaplain of the East India Company and one of India’s best-known missionaries.
Historian Lord Macaulay wrote of him, “If you knew what his authority and influence were, and how they extended from Cambridge to the most remote corners of England, you would allow that his real sway in the Church was far greater than that of any primate.”
A meditation on the life of Charles Simeon, by John Piper, is posted here[5].
- source: https://justus.anglican.org/resources/bio/67.html
- Romans 10:8b-17: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=romans%2010:8-17&version=ESVUK
- St. John 21:15-19: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=john%2021:15-17&version=ESVUK
- Holy Trinity Church, Cambridge: https://www.htcambridge.org.uk/
- posted here: https://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Biographies/1460_Brothers_We_Must_Not_Mind_a_Little_Suffering/
Source URL: https://christchurchwindsor.ca/2026/11/13/charles-simeon-pastor-13/