These weekly “People to Commemorate” posts are a kind of calendar for the commemoration of the saints, reproduced here from a Uniting Church Assembly document which can be found in full here. They are intended for copying and pasting into congregational pew sheets on the Sunday closest to the nominated date.

Images (where provided) are of icons by Peter Blackwood; click on the image to download a high resolution copy of the image.

G.F. Handel, faithful servant

George Frederick Handel  (1685-1759)

Born in Halle, Germany on 23^rd February 1685 (the same year as J. S. Bach), Handel’s surname was originally Händel. His Christian names had a variety of spellings, but the English forms George Frederick eventually predominated. Handel first studied law, but following the death of his father he concentrated on music. He soon became a brilliant performer on violin and keyboard instruments. At the age of 25 he was appointed court conductor at Hanover, having already composed four operas.

After visits to England he settled there permanently in 1712 and became a British subject in 1726. Queen Anne gave him a permanent salary of £200 per year, which was raised to £600 by King George II.

Between 1720 and 1730 Handel wrote 15 operas but several opera houses founded between 1719 and 1734 ran into financial trouble, leaving him in considerable debt.

From 1737 his major choral works were limited to oratorios, the most famous being Messiah, first performed in Dublin in 1742. In recent times Messiah has usually been shortened by the omission of several items, but the original was quite long and was composed in the remarkably short time of less than four weeks. It is undoubtedly the most popular of all oratorios, being performed by many choirs across the world each year. It appeals both to regular concert-goers and to people who attend concerts only rarely.

Handel’s compositions include 32 oratorios, 46 operas, 28 solo-cantatas, 72 cantatas of other kinds as well as a great number of orchestral works, solo works for various instruments, anthems and songs. Of his orchestral works the most famous is probably the Water Music, composed about 1715 for a royal “progress” on the Thames.

In 1737 Handel had a stroke, which left him partially paralysed, and by 1752 he was completely blind. Despite these disabilities he continued composing, with the help of a copyist, and he even directed some performances of his oratorios. His last performance of Messiah was on 6^th April 1759, only eight days before his death.

Many people say they cannot read the Scripture passages used in Messiah without hearing Handel’s music in their heads. This applies particularly to passages from Isaiah (e.g. “He shall feed his flock”, Is.40:11) and Revelation (e.g. “Worthy is the Lamb”, Rev.5: 12-13).

Handel composed only three hymn-tunes but the tune MACCABAEUS, sung in many languages to the Easter hymn “Thine be the glory”, was adapted from one of his oratorios.

Rev D’Arcy Wood

These weekly “People to Commemorate” posts are a kind of calendar for the commemoration of the saints, reproduced here from a Uniting Church Assembly document which can be found in full here. They are intended for copying and pasting into congregational pew sheets on the Sunday closest to the nominated date.

Images (where provided) are of icons by Peter Blackwood; click on the image to download a high resolution copy of the image.

J.S.Bach, faithful servant

Johann Sebastian Bach  (1685-1750)

There were evidently 53 members of the Bach family, between 1520 and 1809, who were distinguished musicians. The most famous by far was Johann Sebastian, born on 21^st March 1685 at Eisenach in Thuringia, Germany.

His massive output as a composer is often classified into the three periods of his working life as organist, choirmaster and composer, the first at Weimar (1708-17), then Kőthen (1718-23) and finally Leipzig (1723-50). Most of his greatest works were composed during the last  –  and longest  – of these periods, when he held the prestigious post of Kantor at St Thomas’. In this appointment he was in charge of the music at the school, at St Thomas’ Church and in neighbouring churches.

In Leipzig, and before that period as well, he composed cantatas, which are liturgical works involving choir, a small orchestra and (usually) several vocal soloists. When a new cantata was required, which was almost every week at one stage, Bach would compose the music to suit the forces available that particular week. Most cantatas were based on a hymn-tune, which was already in use in the Lutheran Church at the time. Bach would arrange the tune with new harmonies for the choir and set one or more arias and recitatives for the soloists. These latter would elaborate the Scripture readings for the day. Lutheran pietism was at its height, so the texts would often describe an intimate relationship between the believer and the Lord Jesus. Bach’s own faith was expressed in the intensity of the music.

The chorale preludes for organ had a liturgical function also, being rather like meditations on the main hymn-tune (or tunes) of the day. Still played frequently by organists around the world, the chorale preludes numbered 143 by the end of Bach’s life. Young organists, to this day, cut their teeth on the preludes and fugues, of which 26 survive.

Bach’s St John Passion and St Matthew Passion are monumental works. One commentator has described the St Matthew as one of the greatest, if not the greatest achievement of Western art, in any medium. Other sacred works on a large scale are his Mass in B minor and the Christmas Oratorio.

Bach also composed a great many secular works. It has often been remarked that the style of these is the same as his sacred music, which raises the interesting question of what makes music “sacred”. In Bach’s case the answer is probably the context in which the music was intended to be performed. His orchestral suites and other chamber works such as the famous Brandenburg Concertos were performed at court or in large households. His solo works for harpsichord and clavier, also his unaccompanied works for violin, could be performed in any venue. Thousands of young pianists today are introduced to his Forty-eight Preludes and Fugues, commonly known simply as “the 48”. Not all his keyboard works are short: the  Goldberg Variations and The Art of Fugue are long and extremely demanding.

In the last months of his life Bach became completely blind and he died in Leipzig on 28^th July 1750 at the age of 65.

Although he was famous in his lifetime, Bach’s music was almost neglected in the latter half of the 18^th century and the early part of the 19^th. It was Felix Mendelssohn who was mainly responsible for the revival of interest in  – and performance of  – the works of Bach. The huge circulation of recordings since World War II has meant that millions of people have come to appreciate the genius of Bach. His mastery of composition has exerted great influence on later composers, not only those of the Romantic era but also those regarded as avant-garde.

by Rev D’Arcy Wood

These weekly “People to Commemorate” posts are a kind of calendar for the commemoration of the saints, reproduced here from a Uniting Church Assembly document which can be found in full here. They are intended for copying and pasting into congregational pew sheets on the Sunday closest to the nominated date.

Images (where provided) are of icons by Peter Blackwood; click on the image to download a high resolution copy of the image.

Isaac Watts, faithful servant

Isaac Watts   (1674 – 1748)

Isaac Watts is sometimes called “the father of English hymnody”, not because there were no hymns in English before him but because of the strength of his theology, his poetic skill and the inspiration he gave to later hymn-writers from Charles Wesley onward.

Isaac’s father (also called Isaac) was in prison when his son was born because the older Isaac was a strong Dissenter, i.e. one of those who would not conform to the Church of England, the Church “established” by law. Until the 19^th century only members of that Church could attend university, so the younger Isaac was educated at a nonconformist academy near London.

In 1699 Watts began his ministry as assistant at Mark Lane Independent Chapel in London and three years later was appointed the senior minister there. In 1712 he became seriously ill and was invited to live with the family of Sir Thomas Abney in Hertfordshire. His health was always fragile and he remained with the Abney household for the rest of his life, becoming the family chaplain. Despite his poor health he was able to continue a limited ministry at the Mark Lane congregation and he also continued writing. His philosophical and theological works were highly regarded.

Watts’s first volume of hymns, many of them based on the psalms, was published in 1707. Another volume published in 1715 went through 95 editions by 1810, a testament to their huge popularity. A 20^th century commentator George Sampson wrote that “Watts shaped out the pattern of the congregational hymn as we know it”. Some of his hymns which are in common use today are “I’ll praise my Maker while I’ve breath” (a paraphrase of Psalm 146), “Our God, our help in ages past” (a paraphrase of Psalm 90) and “When I survey the wondrous cross”, which is regarded by some as the greatest of all hymns in the English language. Twenty-seven of his hymns and paraphrases are included in the hymnal “Together in Song” (1999), a number exceeded only by Charles Wesley.

Very few hymns have demonstrated the staying-power of the hymns of Watts. His profound knowledge of Scripture, his theological scholarship and his poetic ability combined to produce 600 hymns, many of them of outstanding quality. Whether writing about creation, the person of Christ, salvation, the Word of God or Christian living, Watts nearly always goes to the heart of the matter.  The noted writer Brian Wren (born 1936), whose many hymns are sung across the English-speaking world, has acknowledged his considerable debt to Watts.

by Rev D’Arcy Wood

These weekly “People to Commemorate” posts are a kind of calendar for the commemoration of the saints, reproduced here from a Uniting Church Assembly document which can be found in full here. They are intended for copying and pasting into congregational pew sheets on the Sunday closest to the nominated date.

Images (where provided) are of icons by Peter Blackwood; click on the image to download a high resolution copy of the image.

Hilda of Whitby, faithful servant

Whitby Abbey, in England’s North Yorkshire, is perched on top of a steep hill, exposed to the cold winds blowing in from the North Sea. Standing here amidst its ruins it is easy to appreciate the tenacity of those who lived out a call to the religious life on this site. In particular we are remembering Hilda of Whitby, who around 657 became the first Abbess of the Monastery. We remember Hilda (or “Hilde” as she was called in her day) for her strong faith and servant leadership.

Born in 614 into a Northumberland royal family, she decided to become a nun at about the age of 33. Under the leadership of St Aidan (another significant figure in Celtic Christianity) she established a number of monasteries before being invited to lead the newly-established one at Whitby in approximately 657.  It was a double monastery (then called Streonashalh), housing religious communities for men and for women. Hilda created a community with fine educational and religious formation standards. She encouraged members of the community to develop their gifts and callings, and the monastery produced five bishops. When Caedmon, a humble worker in the monastery stable, was brought before her, after receiving a song in a vision, she designated him poet and songwriter.  (Note: the Wikipedia reference to Caedmon has links to an audio recording of his most famous poem, spoken in old English.)

These were early years in the formation of Christian England, and Celtic culture and Roman influence sometimes led to disputes. Raised in Celtic Christianity, Hilda must have found it quite confronting when her monastery was chosen as the venue for the Synod of Whitby around 664. A variance in the observance of Easter had begun to emerge and the Synod of Whitby resolved to continue this in the Roman tradition, which Hilda took on board. As the reputation of Hilda and her monastery grew, bishops and kings sought her advice. She was clearly not only a wise and able leader of the daily life of her communities, but also a respected spiritual guide.

For the last seven years of her life Hilda suffered very poor health, but she remained in leadership and was not afraid to oppose church leaders when she was unhappy with decisions or directions being taken!

Hilda died in 680. One of her nuns, Begu, had a vision before she died in which she saw the roof of the monastery opening and the soul of Hilda carried to heaven by angels. The monastery she founded was destroyed by Vikings in 867. In 1078 it was re-built as a Benedictine Monastery, and destroyed in 1540 in Henry V111’s dissolution of the monasteries. It is these ruins that stand on the hilltop at Whitby today.

A beautiful series of contemporary Orthodox icons depicting scenes from Hilda’s life can be found at http://www.wilfrid.com/saints/search_of_hilda06.htm

Contributed by Ann Siddall

These weekly “People to Commemorate” posts are a kind of calendar for the commemoration of the saints, reproduced here from a Uniting Church Assembly document which can be found in full here. They are intended for copying and pasting into congregational pew sheets on the Sunday closest to the nominated date.

Images (where provided) are of icons by Peter Blackwood; click on the image to download a high resolution copy of the image.

Margaret of Scotland, faithful servant

Saint Margaret was canonised in 1250 by Pope Innocent IV in recognition of her personal holiness, faithfulness to the Church, work for religious reform, and charity, her Feast Day now being celebrated on 16 November. An English princess of the House of Wessex, she is also known as Margaret of Wessex, Queen Margaret of Scotland and sometimes called “The Pearl of Scotland”.

Margaret was born in exile in Hungary around 1045, daughter of Edward the Exile and granddaughter of Edmund Ironside, King of England and with her siblings, Edgar the Ætheling and Cristina, grew up in the Hungarian court.

When Margaret was still a child her father, Edward, was recalled to England as a possible successor to Margaret’s great-uncle, the childless Edward the Confessor, but died soon after landing. Margaret continued to live at the English court, her brother Edgar Ætheling being considered a possible successor. But when the Confessor died in January 1066, Harold Godwinson was selected as king. After Harold’s defeat at the battle of Hastings later that year, Edgar was proclaimed King of England. But after William the Conqueror’s victory, Edgar was taken to Normandy. He was returned to England in 1068, when Edgar, Margaret, Cristina and their mother Agatha fled north to Northumbria.

According to tradition, Agatha decided to return to the continent, but they were shipwrecked on the way and driven on to the coast of Scotland. Soon after, Margaret met Malcolm 111, and they were married by 1070.  She is believed to have had a moderating influence on this rather rough and uneducated man, and would read to him from the Bible. He so admired her devotion that he had her books decorated in gold and silver. One of these is kept at the Bodleian Library in Oxford. She and Malcolm had six sons and two daughters, whose religious instruction and other studies Margaret supervised.

Guided by Lafranc, the future Archbishop of Canterbury, she encouraged reforms in the Scottish Church, seeking to bring it in line with the Church of Rome. She encouraged synods and was present for the discussions which tried to correct religious abuses common among priests and lay people, such as simony, usury and incestuous marriages. Together with Malcolm, she founded several churches. She also sought to improve her adopted country by promoting the arts and education.

In her personal life, she spent much of her time in prayer, devotional reading, and ecclesiastical embroidery. During Lent and Advent she would rise at midnight to go to church. In 1072 she invited the Benedictine order to establish a monastery at Dunfermline in Fife, and established ferries at Queensferry and North Berwick to assist pilgrims. She was also known for her charity. Before eating her own meals, she would wash the feet of the poor and ensure that they were fed. Margaret was also a benefactor of Iona Abbey providing funds for a chapel in the Relig Oran (the graveyard were Oran, a companion of Columba, was the first to be buried). It is the only chapel that still stands on the monastic site.

Because of all this, she was considered as an exemplar of the “just ruler”.

By 1093 Margaret was close to death and died three days after hearing that Malcolm and their eldest son Edward had been killed at the Battle of Alnwick.  People still visit her tomb at Dumferline Abbey and her chapel in Edinburgh Castle.

Rev Pam Kerr

These weekly “People to Commemorate” posts are a kind of calendar for the commemoration of the saints, reproduced here from a Uniting Church Assembly document which can be found in full here. They are intended for copying and pasting into congregational pew sheets on the Sunday closest to the nominated date.

Images (where provided) are of icons by Peter Blackwood; click on the image to download a high resolution copy of the image.

Søren Kierkegaard, Christian thinker

Kierkegaard was at once a devastating critic and a passionate advocate of Christianity. He was a 19^th century Danish thinker, who wrote many books – often with very strange titles – in his own distinctive style and who continues to pose challenging questions to Christians today. Because of his intense focus on the individual person, he is often regarded as the ‘father’ of modern existentialism.

Born in 1813, he felt deeply the death of his mother, three siblings and his father within a short span of years. He felt that there was a curse on his family on account of a great ‘sin’ committed by his father. He felt a misfit in the society of his day and is often called ‘the melancholy Dane’. He broke off an engagement because he would not involve his fiancée in his unusual life and on his death-bed he would not receive holy Communion from a (Lutheran) pastor, ‘the king’s official’.

Kierkegaard was fiercely critical of the way Christianity was practised in Denmark, where the Lutheran church was the state church. ‘Even the cows in Denmark are Christian!’ He could not bear to think that people might live in the illusion of being Christian when they merely ‘played’ at Christianity. What matters is actually to be a Christian; it is not a system of thought simply to be given intellectual assent.

Kierkegaard attacked the very idea of explaining Christianity. He vigorously opposed the philo­sophical system of Hegel, both for its grand metaphysical systematising and for offering an explanation of Christianity at a higher level. Kierkegaard’s writing was a loud protest against this in the name of concrete existence; this made him one of the fore­runners of existentialism. Being based on the ‘Absolute Paradox’ (that God became human), Christianity is not to be explained. A person responds to it in faith and trust, staking one’s whole life on it, like ‘swim­ming in 20,000 fathoms of water’; not by intellectualising it and trying to prove its truth.

Kierkegaard never fails to challenge, even if he is sometimes shockingly over-stated. His style is deeply ironic, often caustic. If he were writing today, he might have said that faith is like bungy-jumping. This doesn’t say everything to be said about faith, but it does identify something essen­tial to it.

Christiaan Mostert