Proclaimer Blog
Happy New Year
So here it is. 2015. I always enjoy reading the January Evangelicals Now for its list of notable anniversaries. We try and plan at least a few events in our church around some of these notable dates: it’s helpful for people to have a sense of Christian history and how we have got to where we are. Here are some to pick out:
Mary Slessor died 13 Jan 1915. We’ve lots of Nigerian connections in our church so this could be a significant anniversary for us – however, I prefer celebrating births rather than deaths, so we’ll have to see…
William Chalmers Burns born 1 April 1815. He was one of the first and most inspirational China missionaries.
Margaret Clarkson, hymnwriter, born 8 June 1915. I love her hymns. Some are well known, many more deserve to be. Look them up.
Jan Hus died 6 July 1415. I know, I know, it’s a death (see above), but martyrdom is slightly different. One of my heroes, and a shining light before the Reformation. Well worth telling people about.
Richard Baxter, pastor, born 12 November 1615. He had a few strange theological beliefs, but was a fine pastor and (trivia alert) is the most prolific Christian author we know from any age.
There are also some notable events celebrating anniversaries, not least the passing of the Five Mile Act (1665) – not one of our Parliament’s most glorious moments, especially sitting on the non-conformist side of the fence as I do.