ST JAMES EPISCOPAL CHURCH HEBBRONVILLE

09/05/2026

“Grant, O Lord, that we may be instrumental in commencing this great and blessed work.” - Alan Francis Gardiner (1794-1851), Missionary and Founder of the Society of Anglican Missionaries & Senders (SAMS)

Alan Gardiner was a distinguished officer in the British navy. After the death of his young daughter, Gardiner committed his life to missionary service. He served as a missionary in South Africa, Chile, Bolivia, and Argentina, often without funding from British mission agencies. He committed himself, in particular, to the Yaghan people of Patagonia, the world’s southernmost indigenous population. When Charles Darwin had earlier encountered the Yaghans, Darwin had commented that, “Viewing such men, one can hardly make oneself believe they are fellow creatures and inhabitants of the same world.” Gardiner thought differently. He saw the Yaghans as human beings, bearing the image of God, and in need of the good news of Jesus. Through the humility and self sacrifice of Gardiner and his fellow missionaries, the Yaghans embraced the Gospel and a new mission organization, the Society of Anglican Missionaries & Senders, was born.

Almighty and everlasting God, you called your servant Alan Gardiner to preach the Gospel to the people of Patagonia: Raise up in this and every land evangelists and heralds of your kingdom, that your Church may proclaim the unsearchable riches of our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Art & history by Ben Lansing, www.ourchurchspeaks.com

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09/05/2026

From Word on Fire:

Luke 6:1–5
Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus declares that he is Lord of the Sabbath.

Again and again, Jesus is portrayed as violating the sacred command to rest on the seventh day. His disciples pick grain on the Sabbath, and many times he cures on the Sabbath, much to the dismay of the protectors of Jewish law.

When challenged, he declares himself Lord of the Sabbath (a breathtaking claim for a Jew to make, since Yahweh alone could be assigned that title) and clarifies that the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath.

In short, he claimed the properly divine prerogative of relativizing the significance of perhaps the defining practice of pious Jews and placing it in subordination to the kingdom of God.

09/02/2026

“I will stay with the fathers and the sisters.” - Lucian Tapiedi (1921-1942), final words before martyrdom alongside fellow Christian martyrs

Lucian Tapiedi was among a group of Anglican clergy, teachers, and medical missionaries ministering in Papua New Guinea in the 1930’s and 1940’s. The son of a Papuan sorcerer, Tapiedi came to faith in Christ at an Anglican mission school and later became a teacher at St. Aidan’s Teacher Training College in Dogura. During World War II, with Japanese invasion imminent, the Anglican Bishop of New Guinea instructed missionaries and clergy to remain in New Guinea and not abandon those they served, despite the extreme risks. “If we all left, it would take years for the Church to recover from our betrayal of our trust. If we remain — and even if the worst came to the worst and we were all to perish in remaining — the Church would not perish, for there would have been no breach of trust in its walls, but its foundations and structure would have received added strength for the future building by our faithfulness unto death.” Tapiedi and many others agreed to stay at their posts and suffered martyrdom soon after the invasion. Today, Tapiedi is among the ‘Modern Martyrs’ carved in limestone on the exterior of Westminster Abbey.

Almighty God, you gave your servants, the martyrs of Papua New Guinea, boldness to confess the Name of our Savior Jesus Christ before the rulers of this world, and courage to die for this faith: Grant that we may always be ready to give a reason for the hope that is in us, and to suffer gladly for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Art & history by Ben Lansing

Order the book, support the artist, get prints & downloads, listen to the podcast, and more at www.ourchurchspeaks.com

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08/31/2026

“As the tide draws the waters close in upon the shore, make me an island, set apart with you, God, holy to you. Then, with the turning of the tide, prepare me to carry your presence to the busy world beyond, the world that rushes in on me, until the waters return and enfold me back to you.” - Aidan of Lindisfarne (?-651), Abbot-Bishop, Missionary to Northumbria

By the time of Aidan’s ministry, Christianity had been present in the British isles for over 5 centuries, but paganism had displaced the progress of the Gospel in much of England. Aidan was a monk on the ancient, isolated island monastery of Iona. At the invitation of King Oswald, Aidan was sent as a missionary to Northumbria. Aidan founded churches and monasteries and ministered in gentleness and humility to all people, whether kings, slaves, or children. Aidan is credited with playing a pivotal role in the conversion of the Anglo Saxons.

Almighty and everlasting God, you called your servant Aidan of Lindisfarne to preach the Gospel to the people of Northumbria: Raise up in this and every land evangelists and heralds of your kingdom, that your Church may proclaim the unsearchable riches of our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Art & history by Ben Lansing

Order the book 📚 and listen to the podcast 🎙️ www.ourchurchspeaks.com

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08/30/2026

“To win souls to Christ… Preach the Cross from the Cross.” - Charles Chapman Grafton (1830-1912), Bishop & Ecumenist

Charles Grafton was a bishop in the Episcopal Church USA and advocate of the Oxford Movement, a movement that sought to bring back many of Anglicanism’s ancient practices that had fallen out of favor after the Reformation. Grafton sought dialogue with Orthodox and Roman Catholic leaders and founded Anglican monastic societies.

O God, our heavenly Father, you raised up your faithful servant Charles Chapman Grafton to be a Bishop and pastor in your Church and to feed your flock: Give abundantly to all pastors the gifts of your Holy Spirit, that they may minister in your household as true servants of Christ and stewards of your divine mysteries; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Art & history by Ben Lansing

Order the book 📚 and listen to the podcast 🎙️ www.ourchurchspeaks.com

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08/30/2026

08/28/2026

“Joy is the net of love by which you can catch souls.- Augustine (354-430), Bishop of Hippo, Teacher of the Faith

Augustine was a North African Early Church Father and one of the most influential theologians in church history. Until his 30’s, Augustine wanted nothing to do with Christianity. He spurned the Christian faith of his mother and sought fulfillment in sexual indulgence, academic achievement, and esoteric, occult spirituality. His autobiographical “Confessions” beautifully recounts the many ways that God sought Augustine and brought him into the fullness of the faith, fullness of beauty, and fullness of joy in Jesus Christ. As a Christian, Augustine became a bishop and addressed many pastoral controversies, including confronting the cult of Manichaeism that had once had such a powerful hold on Augustine. Augustine’s greatest work, “The City of God,” is a cornerstone of Western theology.

Almighty God, you gave your servant Augustine of Hippo special gifts of grace to understand and teach the truth revealed in Christ Jesus: Grant that by this teaching we may know you, the one true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Art & history by Ben Lansing //

PREORDER the NEW book 📚, order prints & downloads 🖼️, and listen to the podcast 🎙️ at www.ourchurchspeaks.com

08/27/2026

“Nothing is far from God.” - Monica (331-387), Mother of Augustine of Hippo

Monica was an African Christian who watched her family fall apart. Her husband cheated on her. Her son, Augustine, left the Christian faith for a decadent life in the big city, becoming a slave to sexual addiction and the occult. For many years, Monica spent every night praying and weeping, pleading for the Lord to bring her son back into the truth. The Lord kept every one of Monica’s tears in his bottle (Psalm 56:8), and brought her son to repentance and acceptance that Christ was the answer to his wanderings. Augustine was baptized and eventually became the most influential Church Father of the Western Church.

Almighty God, you have surrounded us with a great cloud of witnesses: Grant that we, encouraged by the good example of your servant Monica, may persevere in running the race that is set before us, until at last, with her, we attain to your eternal joy; through Jesus Christ, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Art & history by Ben Lansing //

preorder the NEWbook 📚 and listen to the podcast 🎙️ at www.ourchurchspeaks.com //

08/26/2026

“What prevents me from being baptized?” - Simeon Bachos (fl. 30’s), Evangelist

In the first five centuries of Christianity, Africa played a significant role in shaping Christian scholarship and tradition. The churches of Africa produced significant churches, theologians, and saints who have inspired Christians of every successive century. One of the first African converts to Christianity was discovered by the deacon Philip, as he journeyed from Jerusalem to Gaza. Philip encountered the man sitting on the side of the road in his chariot, reading from an ancient scroll. The man was a eu**ch and treasurer of the Queen of the Ethiopians. Likely a Gentile convert to Judaism or an African Jew, this traveler was returning from a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and sat reading the suffering servant passage from the book of Isaiah. Philip approached and asked if the man understood what he was reading. “How can I,” said the Ethiopian, “unless someone guides me?” Philip then shared the good news about Jesus. In some traditions, the Ethiopian, assigned the name ‘Simeon Bachos,’ responded to Philip’s teaching with, “I believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” Scripture recounts that he asked to be baptized immediately. “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?” Philip baptized the convert and sent Bachos on his way, rejoicing. Tradition holds that Bachos journeyed home, sharing the Gospel in East Africa. The Christian faith flourished for many centuries in Sudan and Ethiopia. Today, an ancient Ethiopian tradition of Christianity has survived the centuries and points to the ancient legacy of the faith in the African contintent.

Almighty and everlasting God, you called your servant Simeon Bachos to preach the Gospel to the people of East Africa: Raise up in this and every land evangelists and heralds of your kingdom, that your Church may proclaim the unsearchable riches of our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Art & history by Ben Lansing

PREORDER the NEW book and listen to the podcast - ourchurchspeaks.com

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08/26/2026

“Fix your whole heart upon God and love Him with all your strength.” - Louis (1214-1270), King of France

Louis IX was King when very few European rulers came close to exhibiting the attributes of ‘saintly’ character. While some of his policies could still be considered ‘Medieval’ by modern standards, Louis’ faith inspired him to implement many beneficial societal reforms. Among these reforms were changes to French legal standards, implementing the novel concept of ‘innocence until proven guilty’ and the right to appeal. Louis’ wisdom and devout faith were renown throughout Europe and other rulers called upon Louis to arbitrate disputes outside of his kingdom. Louis is the namesake of Saint Louis, Missouri.

Almighty God, you have surrounded us with a great cloud of witnesses: Grant that we, encouraged by the good example of your servant Louis, may persevere in running the race that is set before us, until at last, with him, we attain to your eternal joy; through Jesus Christ, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Art & history by Ben Lansing

PREORDER the book 📚 and listen to the podcast 🎙️ www.ourchurchspeaks.com //

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