Today the Church remembers Nicholas Ferrar who lived from 1592 to 1637. He was a man of prayer, a scholar, a business man, a family man, and the founder of a religious community. He was ordained deacon in the Church of England.
The Ferrar family was deeply involved in the London Virginia Company. His family home was often visited by Sir Walter Raleigh, half-brother of Sir Humphrey Gilbert.
In 1626 Nicholas Ferrar and his extended family left London and moved to the deserted village of Little Gidding in Huntingdonshire. The household was centred on the Ferrar family: Nicholas's mother, his brother John Ferrar (with his wife Bathsheba and their children), and his sister Susanna (and her husband John Collett and their children). They bought the manor of Little Gidding and restored the abandoned little church for their use. The household always had someone at prayer. They tended to the health and education of local children, and Nicholas and his family produced harmonies of the gospels that survive today as some of the finest in Britain.
Nicholas Ferrar died on 4 December 1637, but the family continued their way of life without him, and the religious life only ended in 1657 on the deaths, within a month, of John Ferrar and Susanna Collett.
The Puritans criticized the Ferrars’ way of life as being “monastic”. However, the Ferrars never lived a formal religious life: there was no Rule, vows were not taken, and there was no enclosure. In this sense there was no “community” at Little Gidding, but rather a family living a Christian life in accordance with the Book of Common Prayer according to the Church’s principles.
Nicholas and his family serve as an example for us today. They were an ordinary family whose lives centered on living a life of prayer as a family. This life of prayer led them to care for the community around them.
The collect for the day: Lord God, make us so reflect your perfect love; that, with your deacon Nicholas Ferrar and his household, we may rule ourselves according to your Word, and serve you with our whole heart; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR MINISTRY
During this Advent Season and as the Spirit moves you, please consider offering your assistance to these three organizations: (1) Lord of the Streets needs warm men’s clothing; (2) St. Vincent’s House needs food for its pantry, and (3) Ronald McDonald House needs food for those who stay at the center while their children are undergoing treatment. You can bring the goods for these organizations to St. Augustine’s and we will distribute them.
CALENDAR REMINDERS
Today is World AIDS Day. There are activities a the Island Community Center on Broadway from 1 to 5 p.m. today.
Please remember to sign-up for Sunday Fellowship.
Adult Christian Formation during the weeks of Advent at 11:00 a.m.: “Looking Back, Looking Forward and at the Present: Christmas, the Final Judgment and Prophets”.
Join Lee Runion who will offer an art class on making Christmas decorations on Saturday, 4 December from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. He is a wonderful teacher and it is a great opportunity to be creative even for those of us who may be challenged in that area.
The day is drawing near, Big Mista BBQ fundraiser for the Community Garden, Saturday, 11 December. Melva Pope has tickets, so please pick some up for friends and family.
PLEASE REMEMBER EVERYONE ON OUR PRAYER LIST, especially Carol Freeman, Jo and Karen as they travel home and Pat Tate.
Your servant in Christ,
Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550
The Ferrar family was deeply involved in the London Virginia Company. His family home was often visited by Sir Walter Raleigh, half-brother of Sir Humphrey Gilbert.
In 1626 Nicholas Ferrar and his extended family left London and moved to the deserted village of Little Gidding in Huntingdonshire. The household was centred on the Ferrar family: Nicholas's mother, his brother John Ferrar (with his wife Bathsheba and their children), and his sister Susanna (and her husband John Collett and their children). They bought the manor of Little Gidding and restored the abandoned little church for their use. The household always had someone at prayer. They tended to the health and education of local children, and Nicholas and his family produced harmonies of the gospels that survive today as some of the finest in Britain.
Nicholas Ferrar died on 4 December 1637, but the family continued their way of life without him, and the religious life only ended in 1657 on the deaths, within a month, of John Ferrar and Susanna Collett.
The Puritans criticized the Ferrars’ way of life as being “monastic”. However, the Ferrars never lived a formal religious life: there was no Rule, vows were not taken, and there was no enclosure. In this sense there was no “community” at Little Gidding, but rather a family living a Christian life in accordance with the Book of Common Prayer according to the Church’s principles.
Nicholas and his family serve as an example for us today. They were an ordinary family whose lives centered on living a life of prayer as a family. This life of prayer led them to care for the community around them.
The collect for the day: Lord God, make us so reflect your perfect love; that, with your deacon Nicholas Ferrar and his household, we may rule ourselves according to your Word, and serve you with our whole heart; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR MINISTRY
During this Advent Season and as the Spirit moves you, please consider offering your assistance to these three organizations: (1) Lord of the Streets needs warm men’s clothing; (2) St. Vincent’s House needs food for its pantry, and (3) Ronald McDonald House needs food for those who stay at the center while their children are undergoing treatment. You can bring the goods for these organizations to St. Augustine’s and we will distribute them.
CALENDAR REMINDERS
Today is World AIDS Day. There are activities a the Island Community Center on Broadway from 1 to 5 p.m. today.
Please remember to sign-up for Sunday Fellowship.
Adult Christian Formation during the weeks of Advent at 11:00 a.m.: “Looking Back, Looking Forward and at the Present: Christmas, the Final Judgment and Prophets”.
Join Lee Runion who will offer an art class on making Christmas decorations on Saturday, 4 December from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. He is a wonderful teacher and it is a great opportunity to be creative even for those of us who may be challenged in that area.
The day is drawing near, Big Mista BBQ fundraiser for the Community Garden, Saturday, 11 December. Melva Pope has tickets, so please pick some up for friends and family.
PLEASE REMEMBER EVERYONE ON OUR PRAYER LIST, especially Carol Freeman, Jo and Karen as they travel home and Pat Tate.
Your servant in Christ,
Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550
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