Fr Luke Miller

A Sermon preached at the church of S Sepulchre without Newgate, at the Institution of The Rev’d David Ingall Titus 2:1-14; Luke 17:7-10 Titus 2:13  Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. Why are we doing all this? Pomp and circumstance, celebration and legal formularies; all to mark the beginning of something which began some time ago. It is not, David, because of you. Do not get me wrong, you have done an absolutely brilliant job, and we are all really grateful to you for all the work that you have put in. It has been wonderful that the Patrons have agreed with all of us locally that there is no one else more suited to carrying forward the work here at S Sepulchre’s. But actually, we would not mark that with all of this. The Lord is clear with a message almost harsh in its austerity: “ when y ou have done everything you were to...

Fr George Congreve In 1866 Fr Benson, Father Founder of the Society of S John the Evangelist, ( SSJE ) conducted an interesting correspondence on the matter of vows with Bishop Wilberforce of Oxford in seeking his original permission to establish his ‘college of clergymen’. Responding to Wilberforce’s initial refusal to allow the new Society vows, Benson wrote: “ the blessedness of a vow consists in the faith that God will give special gifts as a covenant to those who thus definitely give up some possible future of earthly enjoyment for him ” naturally, it would be “mischievous to make a thing accidentally sinful to ourselves which would not be sinful naturally.” Faith however “seeks to give up natural possibilities for divine promises.” Writing in 1896 George Congreve, a slightly younger member of the Society became in the 1890s the great teacher in the Church  of England about  how to form  and live the Religious Life. also commented on Vows: “the Religious vow...