St. Chad of Lichfield

On this Monday in the second week of Lent, the Church remembers the life and ministry of St. Chad, Bishop of Lichfield.  James Kiefer writes:

 

Chad, Bishop of Lichfield, is perhaps best known for not being Archbishop of York. He was elected and duly installed, but various persons raised objections, and rather than cause division in the Church he withdrew in favor of the other candidate, Wilfrid (see 12 Oct). (The objection was that some of the bishops who had consecrated him--although not Chad himself--were holdouts who, even after the Synod of Whitby had supposedly settled the question in 663, insisted on preserving Celtic customs on the date of celebrating Easter and similar questions, instead of conforming to the customs of the remainder of Western Christendom.) He was soon after made Bishop of Lichfield in Mercia. There he travelled about as he had when Archbishop of York, always on foot (until the Archbishop of Canterbury gave him a horse and ordered him to ride it, at least on long journeys), preaching and teaching wherever he went. He served there for only two and a half years before his death, but he made a deep impression. In the following decades, many chapels, and many wells, were constructed in Mercia and named for him. (It was an old custom to dig a well where one was needed, and to mark it with one's own name or another's, that thirsty travelers and others might drink and remember the name with gratitude.)

 

Let us pray:  Almighty God, whose servant Chad, for the peace of the Church, relinquished cheerfully the honors that had been thrust upon him, only to be rewarded with equal responsibility: Keep us, we pray, from thinking of ourselves more highly than we ought to think, and ready at all times to step aside for others, (in honor preferring one another,) that the cause of Christ may be advanced; in the name of him who washed his disciples' feet, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen.

 

CALENDAR REMINDERS

 

Join us for the second Island-wide Lenten teaching Wednesday, March 4, 2015

 

         THE RULE OF LIFE

 

                  Wednesday, March 4

                  Grace Episcopal Church

                  1115 36th Street

                  6:00 p.m. Eucharist in the Church

                  6:30 p.m. Light meal and teaching in Jinkins Hall

 

         On this Wednesday we welcome The Very Rev. Barkley Thompson Dean of Christ Church Cathedral, Houston

 

Please remember everyone on our Prayer List, especially Liz, Susan, Carol, Raul, Lee’s father, those who are alone, those who have no one to pray for them.

 

Your servant in Christ,

 

Fr. Chester J. Makowski+

St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church

Galveston, Texas 77550