Readings:
Psalm 84:1-6 or 133
Ephesians 4:11-16
Matthew 21:12-16Preface of a Saint (1)
PRAYER (traditional language):
Do not let thy Church close its eyes, O Lord, to the plight of the
poor and neglected, the homeless and the destitute, the old and the sick,the
lonely and those who have no one to care for them. Give us the vision
and compassion with which thou didst so richly endow thy servant William
Augustus Muhlenberg, that we may labor tirelessly to heal those who are
broken in body or spirit, and to turn their sorrow into joy; through Jesus
Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
PRAYER (contemporary
language):
Do not let your Church close its eyes, O Lord, to the plight of the
poor and neglected, the homeless and the destitute, the old and the sick,the
lonely and those who have no one to care for them. Give us the vision
and compassion with which you so richly endowed your servant William Augustus
Muhlenberg, that we may labor tirelessly to heal those who are broken
in body or spirit, and to turn their sorrow into joy; through Jesus Christ
our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God,
for ever and ever.
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WILLIAM AUGUSTUS MUHLENBERG
PRIEST (8 APR 1877)
William A. Muhlenberg was born in Philadelphia on 16 September 1796,
to a distinguished German Lutheran family. Attracted to the Episcopal
Church by its use of English, he was ordained in 1817. He was active
in promoting the Sunday School movement, and concerned that the Church
should minister to all social groups. He wrote hymns and compiled hymnals,
greatly expanding the range of music in Episcopal churches. In 1828
he founded, and for twenty years headed, Flushing Institute (later St
Paul's College), a boys' school in Flushing, New York. There he made
extensive use of music, flowers, vestments, and an emphasis on the Church
year and on sacramental worship, with the weekly reception of the sacrament
of Holy Communion, while at the same time preaching with great force
and conviction the Reformation doctrines of grace and of justification
by faith. Out of his ministry came inspiration for the establishment
of Church schools and hospitals, and an outreach to the poor. In 1846
he founded the Church of the Holy Communion in New York City, with a
parish school, a parish unemployment fund, and trips to the country
for poor city children. He called himself an "Evangelical Catholic,"
and by his firm stand for Evangelical Faith, Apostolic Order, and Corporal
Works of Mercy, he spoke to all parties in the Church while belonging
to none. As one writer has said, "There was not a significant area
of the Church's life, during his ministry, that he did not elevate and
strengthen by the pureness of his life and the vigor of his consecrated
imagination."
by James Kiefer