1. On this day, Pope John XXII of Avignon was elected in 1366, and Frank Buchman, a founder of the Oxford Group, died in 1961. Our reading is by Cliff Ashby, "A Stranger in this Land."
  2. In 1801, on this day, was arguably the most significant Christian event in US history, the Cane Ridge Revival. But also on this day, five years later, the Holy Roman Empire was disbanded. Our reading is "The Contrite Heart" by William Cowper.
  3. On this day, we remember the northern renaissance 16th-century artists Dürer, Cranach, and Grunewald. Today is also the 85th birthday of poet Wendell Berry, born in 1934. Our reading is his poem, "Enemies."
  4. In just over five minutes, we learn of the Papal encyclical Aeterni Patris from 1879, we remember missionary James Chalmers, born on this day in 1841, and we hear our reading "A Word Made Flesh is Seldom" by Emily Dickinson.
  5. On this day, we remember Rochester native Augustus Strong, born 1836, and we remember the death of Alexander Solzhenitsyn in 2008. Our reading is from James Macualey, "In the Twentieth Century."
  6. On this day, we remember the treaty at Nuremberg of 1532 and also the 16th century St. Basil, fool for Christ. Our reading is from Mustapha by Fulke Grenville.
  7. On this day, we remember the death of Queen Anne in 1714, known as the Protestant Passover. We also remember Andrew Melville, born in 1545. Our reading is "His Metrical Prayer" by James Graham.
  8. On this day in 1541, the failed conference in Regensburg seeking reconciliation between Rome and the Lutherans ended. And on this day 1970, the New American Standard Bible translation was released. Our reading is from Martin Luther from his "Sermons on the Gospel of St. John."
  9. On this day, we remember Robert Barnes, the English reformer who also studied in Wittenberg. We also remember the endorsement of "In God We Trust" as the official motto of the US in 1956. Our reading is by AE Housman, "Easter Hymn."
  10. On this day, we remember the feast of Lazarus, Mary, and Martha of Bethany. On this day in 1793, the Bethel American Methodist Episcopal church was dedicated. Our reading is "Blind Bartimaeus" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
  11. On this day, we remember J.S. Bach, who died in 1750. We also remember Jesuit priest and preeminent posthumous poet G.M. Hopkins. Our reading is "Pied Beauty" by G.M. Hopkins.
  12. We remember The Seven Sleepers of Ephesus, whose rarely recognized feast is today. On this day, notable Anglican and evangelical John Stott died in 2011. Our reading is from Stott, "the Cross of Christ."