A newer, and very welcome, addition to our calendar, Bedell was a member of a now-forgotten order of Episcopal nuns, the Order of Deaconesses, who offered ministry similar to that of the nursing/teaching sisters of the Church of England. She was an interesting woman who, in her early thirties, initially became a missionary to the Seminole tribe in Florida and later to the Inuit in the far reaches of Alaska. She is credited with convincing the Seminole to use their native arts to raise money for the tribe's education and health-care needs, thus beginning that tradition among American Indians. She founded schools and clinics in both Florida and Alaska, and was a popular writer in Episcopal Church publications up until her death. [She also could tell a story. She once told the taciturn, long-time rector of my home parish about the ordeal of having to catheterize a rather surprised Inuit man; a story that reduced my rector to tears of laughter.]
Holy God, you chose your faithful servant Harriett Bedell to exercise the ministry of deaconess and to be a missionary among indigenous peoples: Fill us with compassion and respect or all people, and empower us for the work of ministry throughout the world; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
January 9: Julia Chester Emery [1852-1922]
"Emery was the National Secretary of the Women's Auxiliary of the Board of Missions for forty years, from 1876 to 1916. Emery's father was a New England sea captain. Two of her brothers became priests. Her sister Mary preceded Julia as National Secretary of the Auxiliary and served from 1872 to 1876. During her time as National Secretary, Julia visited every diocese in the United States, coordinating and encouraging work in support of missions. She traveled to London as a delegate to the Pan-Anglican Congress. She traveled to Japan, China, Hong Kong and the Philippines to advance missionary work there, and to be able to report on it to the Episcopal women in the United States.
She founded the United Thank Offering (UTO), which gave each woman a small box with a slot in the top and encouraged them to drop a small contribution in to it whenever they felt thankful for something. Once a year, the women of the parish presented these at a Sunday service. The money was sent to national headquarters to be used for missions."
[Personal note: When I was a monk we had a van that was used throughout our diocese for mission work that was purchased through a UTO grant. It was painted like one of the well-known "blue boxes" and included a black stripe on the roof, symbolic of the coin slot on the actual boxes. It's a fond memory as the sight of the van used to elicit smiles among members of tiny congregations scattered through the hills of western Pennsylvania. I also recall my mother dropping coins in her UTO box whenever I brought home a reasonable report card. The UTO didn't get rich off of that, though.]
A further note: At its height of influence, the UTO was the single most successful fund-raising group in the Episcopal Church. Not bad for a bunch of women who weren't even allowed to vote in parish meetings or serve on vestries.
God of all creation, you call us in Christ to make disciples of all nations and to proclaim your mercy and love: Grant that we, after the example of your servant Julia Chester Emery, may have vision and courage in proclaiming the Gospel to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our light and our salvation, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
January 10: William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury [1573-1645]
Laud was one of the "Caroline Divines", those clergy of the Church of England who opposed the horrid and oppressive theology of the Puritans, thus rallying around the authority of King Charles I in his role as "defender of the faith". [Note: Charles in Latin is "Caroline".] He was martyred by the Puritans, of course, because that's what they do...er, did.
There is rather a lot to discover when one takes a voyage around Laud, and a good place to start would be here.
Keep us, O Lord, constant in faith and zealous in witness, that, like your servant William Laud, we may live in your fear, die in your favor, and rest in your peace; for the sake of Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen
January 12: Aelred, an abbot [1109-1167]
Aelred is prized especially in the Scottish Episcopal Church for two reasons. First, his original position was that of Master of the Household for the Scottish king, David I. Second, and of greater importance to the mostly convivial Scots, he redefined the holy call of friendship.
When service to the king no longer fulfilled him, Aelred became a member of the Cistercian order of monks, who were notoriously severe even by the standards of the Middle Ages. In response to one of their common practices...well, I'll let the reader enjoy this link:
"In many religious houses, where the monks or nuns walk two by two into chapel or the dining hall or while pacing about during the daily hour of recreation, the superior will make a point of constantly shifting partners, lest anyone form a liking for one partner more than another. (This does not apply just to friends. It is sometimes held that no monk ought to allow himself any preferences in food or drink.) Against this view, Aelred wrote that it is compatible with the highest degree of Christian perfection to take special pleasure in the company of particular friends."
If the Episcopal Church had patron saints in the same manner as does the Church of Rome, Aelred would be the patron of friendship. Actually, he is unofficially and rightly so even in our tradition.
Pour into our hearts, O God, the Holy Spirit's gift of love, that we, clasping each the other's hand, may share the joy of friendship, human and divine, and with your servant Aelred draw many to your community of love; through Jesus Christ the Righteous, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.