I'd rather be governed by a wise Turk than by a foolish Christian.
--attributed to Martin Luther
29 September 2008
26 September 2008
Hierarchy and the financial crisis
It is no help that some of the loudest critics have little interest in what went wrong, less in how to fix it, and none at all in safeguarding against problems in future. Rowan Williams, the archbishop of Canterbury, this week applauded the UK government’s ban on short selling. His colleague, John Sentamu, declared that the short sellers of bank shares were “clearly bank robbers and asset strippers”. These are the words of a well-meaning man who can see no moral or practical difference between a car thief, a scrap-yard mechanic, and a person who insures a car and thus profits if it is stolen.
Financial Times, Sept. 25
Financial Times, Sept. 25
Thomas Clarkson
26 September
Thomas Clarkson, deacon, English campaigner for abolition of slavery and the slave trade, died 26 September 1846.
Thomas Clarkson was born in Wisbech, in the Fens of Cambridgeshire, in 1760. He was educated at St John’s College, Cambridge, and was afterwards ordained deacon. In 1785 Cambridge University held an essay competition with the title: “Is it lawful to enslave the unconsenting?” Clarkson had not considered the matter before, but after carrying out considerable research on the subject he submitted his essay. Clarkson won first prize and was asked to read his essay to the University Senate.
On his way home to London he had a spiritual experience. He later described how he had “a direct revelation from God ordering me to devote my life to abolishing the trade.” Clarkson contacted Granville Sharp, who had already started a campaign to end the slave trade. In 1787 Clarkson and Sharp formed the Society for the Abolition of the Slave Trade. Of the twelve members on the committee, nine were Quakers. Influential figures such as John Wesley and Josiah Wedgwood gave their support to the campaign. Later they persuaded William Wilberforce, MP for Hull, to be their spokesman in the House of Commons.
Clarkson was given the responsibility of collecting information to support the abolition of the slave trade. This included interviewing 20,000 sailors and obtaining equipment used on the slave ships such as iron handcuffs, leg shackles, thumb screws, instruments for forcing open slave’s jaws, and branding irons. In 1787 he published his pamphlet, A Summary View of the Slave Trade and of the Probable Consequences of Its Abolition. Clarkson was a brilliant writer, and Jane Austin, who completely disagreed with his views on slavery, was so impressed with his writing style that she claimed after reading one of his books that she was “in love with its author.”
After the passing of the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act in 1807, Clarkson published his book History of the Abolition of the African Slave Trade. Clarkson was not satisfied with the measures passed by Parliament and joined with Thomas Fowell Buxton to form the Society for the Mitigation and Gradual Abolition of Slavery. Clarkson had to wait until 1833 before Parliament passed the Slavery Abolition Act, which gave all slaves in the British Empire their freedom. Clarkson retired to Ipswich, Suffolk, where he died on 26 September 1846.
25 September 2008
Neither a borrower nor a lender be
Hamlet, Act I, Scene 3. From the stock of aphorisms by garrulous old Polonius to his hot-headed son Laertes, about to embark for Paris to pursue a French education.
Too bad if you've got a mortgage and a savings account.
Too bad if you've got a mortgage and a savings account.
24 September 2008
Anna Alexander of Georgia
24 September
Anna E. B. Alexander, deaconess and African-American teacher in the diocese of Georgia, died 24 September 1947.
Born about 1865, Anna E. B. Alexander was the first African-American set apart as a deaconess in The Episcopal Church. She worked in rural southeast Georgia, in an area known as Pennick, in Glynn County, a community of former slaves and poor whites. In the 1890s near Darien, she founded first the Church of the Good Shepherd and then a school. There she taught young boys and girls to read—according to legend, from the Book of Common Prayer and the Bible—in a one-room schoolhouse, which was later expanded to two rooms with a loft where she lived.
She ministered in Pennick for 53 years, being consecrated deaconess in 1907. As part of her work in Glynn County, she helped make camps possible for young white members of the diocese, and they responded by building a cabin in her honor. The diocese segregated its black and white congregations in 1907, and the African-American congregations were not invited to another diocesan convention until 1947, the year of her death on 24 September.
Thyrsus of Smyrna
24 September
Thyrsus of Smyrna, deacon and martyr, with presbyter Andochius and merchant Felix, tortured and killed in Gaul, 2nd c.
Bishop Polycarp of Smyrna sent Andochius and Thyrsus to what is now Burgundy in central France. They settled in Augustodunun (Autun), where they converted their host, a rich merchant named Felix. For teaching the gospel, all three were scourged, suspended all day by their hands (tied behind their backs), and thrown into the fire, but the fire did not consume them. Finally their necks were broken with heavy bars, killing them. They were venerated throughout Gaul.
Thyrsus of Smyrna, deacon and martyr, with presbyter Andochius and merchant Felix, tortured and killed in Gaul, 2nd c.
Bishop Polycarp of Smyrna sent Andochius and Thyrsus to what is now Burgundy in central France. They settled in Augustodunun (Autun), where they converted their host, a rich merchant named Felix. For teaching the gospel, all three were scourged, suspended all day by their hands (tied behind their backs), and thrown into the fire, but the fire did not consume them. Finally their necks were broken with heavy bars, killing them. They were venerated throughout Gaul.
19 September 2008
Susanna of Eleutheropolis (Palestine)
19 September
Susanna, deacon and martyr, adult convert, martyred at Eleutheropolis in Palestine, in 362.
Susanna grew up in Palestine as the daughter of Arthemius, a rich pagan priest, and Martha, a Hebrew woman. After their deaths, she was baptized as a Christian, freed her slaves, gave her property to the poor, and decided to live as an ascetic. She cropped her hair, put on male clothing, took the name John, and presented herself at a men’s monastery in Jerusalem. The monks assumed she was a eunuch and accepted her.
Still disguised, Susanna eventually became superior of the community. After twenty years in the monastery, a visiting nun fell in love with her and tried to win her affections. When this failed, the nun accused Susanna of seducing her. The local bishop, Kleopas of Eleutheropolis, was called in with two deaconesses. Susanna revealed her gender to the deaconesses, and her name was cleared. The bishop was impressed with Susanna and brought her back to his cathedral. He ordained her a deaconess and appointed her abbess of a convent. She served as spiritual elder for many years, served the poor, extended hospitality, and prayed for the healing of many.
During the persecution of Julian the Apostate she was arrested by the prefect Alexander and tortured for refusing to offer sacrifices to pagan gods. When her torturers realized that they could not break her faith, they threw her into prison, where she died from her wounds and lack of food.
Susanna, deacon and martyr, adult convert, martyred at Eleutheropolis in Palestine, in 362.
Susanna grew up in Palestine as the daughter of Arthemius, a rich pagan priest, and Martha, a Hebrew woman. After their deaths, she was baptized as a Christian, freed her slaves, gave her property to the poor, and decided to live as an ascetic. She cropped her hair, put on male clothing, took the name John, and presented herself at a men’s monastery in Jerusalem. The monks assumed she was a eunuch and accepted her.
Still disguised, Susanna eventually became superior of the community. After twenty years in the monastery, a visiting nun fell in love with her and tried to win her affections. When this failed, the nun accused Susanna of seducing her. The local bishop, Kleopas of Eleutheropolis, was called in with two deaconesses. Susanna revealed her gender to the deaconesses, and her name was cleared. The bishop was impressed with Susanna and brought her back to his cathedral. He ordained her a deaconess and appointed her abbess of a convent. She served as spiritual elder for many years, served the poor, extended hospitality, and prayed for the healing of many.
During the persecution of Julian the Apostate she was arrested by the prefect Alexander and tortured for refusing to offer sacrifices to pagan gods. When her torturers realized that they could not break her faith, they threw her into prison, where she died from her wounds and lack of food.
16 September 2008
Abundantius of Rome
16 September
Abundantius, deacon and martyr of Rome, arrested with presbyter Abundius for refusing to offer sacrifice to Hercules, tortured at Mammartine prison in Rome, and martyred by beheading, with Abundius and senator Marcian and his son John, in the persecution of Diocletian, c. 304.
Abundantius, deacon and martyr of Rome, arrested with presbyter Abundius for refusing to offer sacrifice to Hercules, tortured at Mammartine prison in Rome, and martyred by beheading, with Abundius and senator Marcian and his son John, in the persecution of Diocletian, c. 304.
15 September 2008
Emilas of Córdoba
15 September
Emilas, deacon and martyr, with Jeremiah, at Córdoba in Spain, in 852. The two young men were imprisoned and beheaded in Córdoba under the Emir Abderrahman. They are two of the forty-eight Martyrs of Córdoba, described in detail by Eulogius. They were executed for capital violations of Muslim law in al-Andalus. The martyrdoms took place between 851 and 859. With few exceptions, the Christians invited execution by publicly stating their faith and beliefs. Some appeared before the Muslim authorities to denounce Mohammed; others, Christian children of Islamic-Christian marriages, publicly proclaimed their Christianity. The lack of an interested chronicler after Eulogius’ own martyrdom in 859 has given the false impression that there were fewer episodes later in the ninth century.
Emilas, deacon and martyr, with Jeremiah, at Córdoba in Spain, in 852. The two young men were imprisoned and beheaded in Córdoba under the Emir Abderrahman. They are two of the forty-eight Martyrs of Córdoba, described in detail by Eulogius. They were executed for capital violations of Muslim law in al-Andalus. The martyrdoms took place between 851 and 859. With few exceptions, the Christians invited execution by publicly stating their faith and beliefs. Some appeared before the Muslim authorities to denounce Mohammed; others, Christian children of Islamic-Christian marriages, publicly proclaimed their Christianity. The lack of an interested chronicler after Eulogius’ own martyrdom in 859 has given the false impression that there were fewer episodes later in the ninth century.
07 September 2008
Our bishop on evacuation
The following, in italics, is from Bishop Jenkins' blog. I plan to stay home next time, unless the storm is Category 4; my son-in-law has a generator at his house. Incidentally, Bishop, the axe in the attic motif dates from Chaucer's "Miller's Tale," where it anticipates the second coming of the Flood, with hilarious results.
Nell Bolton, the Canons and I toured a bit of the Southwest Deanery on Friday, The Bridge on Hwy. 315 was broken and the Falgout Canal road flooded so we could not get to Bayou du Large. The devastation and need in Terrebonne Parish is huge.
As I drove back to my personal home in Slidell, La., I passed convoys of trucks bringing power workers into the region. I also passed convoys of buses bringing home those who had needed assistance to evacuate. The stream of autos returning to New Orleans has been heavy for three days. I congratulate the Governor of Louisiana and the Mayor of New Orleans on the evacuation effort for Gustav. I have been quick to criticize; my congratulations are genuine.
A lot of us will not be able to willing to go next time. Should IKE threaten, many of us will just try to hunker down. The infantile pleas of grossly inarticulate leaders will likely fall upon deaf ears. The Gustav evacuation demonstrated even to those of us who have some means, the frustration of not being able to meet our basic needs when nothing is available for purchase. We have now an experience, albeit it miniscule, of being poor. For example, even the rich are poor in Houma today. There is no electricity; there is little clean water, if any. I hope we learn from this experience.
A deep sadness of the Gustav evacuation was hearing the telephone calls on WWL radio of the poor who had evacuated and then been turned out of their hotels for lack of resources. Some who self evacuated did not have the means to purchase fuel for the trip home. I assume that those of us who rely solely upon a monthly check will get those funds when the power comes on. In the meantime, we have nothing to live on except the generosity of others. Many of us will not have the means, financially or emotionally, to go again. Some have said it is better to die here than elsewhere.
None of this should be considered an excuse to stay put if an evacuation is ordered. If we are called to go again, we must go!
It is joked that in New Orleans a common wedding present is an axe to put in the attic of your home. An axe in the attic is needed to cut through the roof if you must evacuate vertically. I am off to the Home Depot to replenish my hurricane supplies and to purchase an axe.
Bishop Jenkins
Nell Bolton, the Canons and I toured a bit of the Southwest Deanery on Friday, The Bridge on Hwy. 315 was broken and the Falgout Canal road flooded so we could not get to Bayou du Large. The devastation and need in Terrebonne Parish is huge.
As I drove back to my personal home in Slidell, La., I passed convoys of trucks bringing power workers into the region. I also passed convoys of buses bringing home those who had needed assistance to evacuate. The stream of autos returning to New Orleans has been heavy for three days. I congratulate the Governor of Louisiana and the Mayor of New Orleans on the evacuation effort for Gustav. I have been quick to criticize; my congratulations are genuine.
A lot of us will not be able to willing to go next time. Should IKE threaten, many of us will just try to hunker down. The infantile pleas of grossly inarticulate leaders will likely fall upon deaf ears. The Gustav evacuation demonstrated even to those of us who have some means, the frustration of not being able to meet our basic needs when nothing is available for purchase. We have now an experience, albeit it miniscule, of being poor. For example, even the rich are poor in Houma today. There is no electricity; there is little clean water, if any. I hope we learn from this experience.
A deep sadness of the Gustav evacuation was hearing the telephone calls on WWL radio of the poor who had evacuated and then been turned out of their hotels for lack of resources. Some who self evacuated did not have the means to purchase fuel for the trip home. I assume that those of us who rely solely upon a monthly check will get those funds when the power comes on. In the meantime, we have nothing to live on except the generosity of others. Many of us will not have the means, financially or emotionally, to go again. Some have said it is better to die here than elsewhere.
None of this should be considered an excuse to stay put if an evacuation is ordered. If we are called to go again, we must go!
It is joked that in New Orleans a common wedding present is an axe to put in the attic of your home. An axe in the attic is needed to cut through the roof if you must evacuate vertically. I am off to the Home Depot to replenish my hurricane supplies and to purchase an axe.
Bishop Jenkins
Memorius of Troyes
7 September
Memorius, deacon and martyr of Troyes in France, with companions, beheaded by Attila the Hun, 451. Also called Mesmin or Nemorius, Memorius was sent by Lupus, bishop of Trier, with four companions to ask Attila to spare Troyes, on the Seine northeast of Paris. Attila beheaded Memorius and his fellow delegates. Although there is some doubt about this account, the relics of the martyrs are still venerated.
Memorius, deacon and martyr of Troyes in France, with companions, beheaded by Attila the Hun, 451. Also called Mesmin or Nemorius, Memorius was sent by Lupus, bishop of Trier, with four companions to ask Attila to spare Troyes, on the Seine northeast of Paris. Attila beheaded Memorius and his fellow delegates. Although there is some doubt about this account, the relics of the martyrs are still venerated.
04 September 2008
Phoebe of Cenchreae
Modern icon of Phoebe
3 September
Phoebe of Cenchreae, deacon, died c. 64.
“I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon [διάκονον] of the church at Cenchreae, so that you may welcome her in the Lord as is fitting for the saints, and help her in whatever she may require from you, for she has been a benefactor of many and of myself as well” (NRSV Romans 16:1‑2).
Cenchreae was the eastern seaport of the city of Corinth and a popular stop for people traveling from Syria or Asia Minor. A prominent member of the church at Cenchreae, Phoebe was Paul’s ambassador or minister plenipotentiary, bringing his letter to the church at Rome.
Four centuries later, John Chrysostom praised Phoebe’s work for the church as an inspiration and model for both men and women to imitate. He called her a saint—a holy person and a woman who served the church through the office of deacon. Today Phoebe is honored as the prototype for women deacons just as Stephen is the prototype for men deacons. The name Phoebe means “bright” or “radiant”; Apollo and Diana, gods of the sun and moon, were often referred to as “Phoebos” and “Phoebe.” The Orthodox church in Chenchreae is named St Phoebe the Deacon.
“I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon [διάκονον] of the church at Cenchreae, so that you may welcome her in the Lord as is fitting for the saints, and help her in whatever she may require from you, for she has been a benefactor of many and of myself as well” (NRSV Romans 16:1‑2).
Cenchreae was the eastern seaport of the city of Corinth and a popular stop for people traveling from Syria or Asia Minor. A prominent member of the church at Cenchreae, Phoebe was Paul’s ambassador or minister plenipotentiary, bringing his letter to the church at Rome.
Four centuries later, John Chrysostom praised Phoebe’s work for the church as an inspiration and model for both men and women to imitate. He called her a saint—a holy person and a woman who served the church through the office of deacon. Today Phoebe is honored as the prototype for women deacons just as Stephen is the prototype for men deacons. The name Phoebe means “bright” or “radiant”; Apollo and Diana, gods of the sun and moon, were often referred to as “Phoebos” and “Phoebe.” The Orthodox church in Chenchreae is named St Phoebe the Deacon.
Three deacons
1 September
Ammon, deacon and martyr in Thrace (now in southern Balkans), with forty young women he had converted, under the persecutions of Emperor Licinius, died 322. Ammon was singled out and slain by having a red hot poker placed on his head.
Laetus, deacon and martyr, with Vincent of Xaintes (first bishop of Dax in Gascony, France), date of death unknown, perhaps 5th c. Possibly born in Spain, they are venerated in Toledo.
Hilaria, deacon, daughter of bishop Remigius of Rheims in Frankish Gaul, died 6th c. In 530 Remigius left a bequest to “my blessed daughter, Hilaria the deacon.”
Ammon, deacon and martyr in Thrace (now in southern Balkans), with forty young women he had converted, under the persecutions of Emperor Licinius, died 322. Ammon was singled out and slain by having a red hot poker placed on his head.
Laetus, deacon and martyr, with Vincent of Xaintes (first bishop of Dax in Gascony, France), date of death unknown, perhaps 5th c. Possibly born in Spain, they are venerated in Toledo.
Hilaria, deacon, daughter of bishop Remigius of Rheims in Frankish Gaul, died 6th c. In 530 Remigius left a bequest to “my blessed daughter, Hilaria the deacon.”
Oakerhater of the Cheyenne
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Left: Oakerhater with John B. Wicks
Right: Self-portrait as war chief
31 August
David Pendleton Oakerhater, deacon, former war chief, and missionary to the Cheyenne in Oklahoma, died on 31 August 1931.
Oakerhater (Okuhhatuh, or Making Medicine) was born between 1844 and 1851 on a Cheyenne reservation in western Oklahoma. He grew up to become a war chief of the Southern Cheyenne. In April 1875 he and twenty-seven other warriors were taken prisoner by the U. S. Army. They were marched to a military post and, without trial, were eventually taken by train to Fort Marion in St Augustine, Florida (originally Castillo de San Marcos, now a national monument).
The commander of Fort Marion, Lieutenant Richard H. Pratt, taught the prisoners English and educated them. Seeing that Oakerhater was a natural leader, he placed him at the head of the Indian self-discipline force. He also encouraged the younger Indians to earn some money giving lessons in art and archery to visitors. Using pencils, watercolors, and military ledger books, and drawing in a style adapted from traditional symbol or pictographic drawings on tepees, rocks, hides, and wood, the Indians recorded life on the plains and recent events at the fort. These “ledger drawings” are found today in private collections and museums across the country. Oakerhater’s drawings bear the name “Making Medicine,” a translation of his Cheyenne name.
As a result of Pratt’s kindness, Oakerhater and some others converted to Christianity. In February 1877, at a gathering of the prisoners, Making Medicine spoke for the young men. In a letter sent to Washington, Pratt recorded the speech, as translated into English:
“I have learned to sing the saviors hymns and have given myself to him. Heretofore I have led a bad life on the plains, wandering around living in a house made of skins. I have now learned something of the Great Spirits road and want to learn more. We have lived in this old place for two years. It is old and we are young. [W]e are tired to it. We want to go away from it, anywhere. We want Washington to give us our wives and children, our fathers and mothers and sent us somewhere, where we can settle down and live like white men. Washington has lots of good ground laying around loose, give us some of it and let us learn to make things grow. We want to farm the ground. We want a house and pigs and chickens and cows. We feel happy that we have learned so much, that we can teach our children. I speak for the young men. We want to work. We young men all belong to you. You have put a great deal into our hearts that was never there before. Our hearts are getting bigger every day. We are thankful for what we have learned. This is the feeling of all the young men that are here. We are willing to learn and want to work.”
In 1878 four prisoners decided to study for the ordained ministry. Deaconess Mary D. Burnham, of the House of the Good Shepherd in Syracuse, New York, raised the needed funds. Mrs. Alice Key Pendleton of Cincinnati (daughter of Francis Scott Key and wife of U. S. Senator George Hunt Pendleton of Ohio) paid Oakerhater’s tuition for three years. Sponsored by the Episcopal Diocese of Central New York, the four traveled north. They lived and studied in the home of the Rev. and Mrs. John B. Wicks of Paris Hill, New York. When Oakerhater was baptized in Grace Episcopal Church, Syracuse, on 6 October 1878, by Bishop Frederic Huntington, he took the name David Pendleton Oakerhater, in honor of the Bible warrior and the woman who paid his way. A few days later he was confirmed. His wife Nomee (Thunder Woman) joined him but died in childbirth in July 1880.
Oakerhater was ordained a deacon on 7 June 1881, and he and Wicks immediately set out for Cheyenne country. They established the Episcopal mission at the Darlington Indian Agency on 16 June 1881. On his first Sunday after returning to Oklahoma, Oakerhater gathered his people and told them:
“Men, you all know me. You remember me when I led you out to war I went first and what I told you was true. Now I have been away to the East and I have learned about another captain, the Lord Jesus Christ, and he is my leader. He goes first, and all he tells me is true. I come back to my people to tell you to go with me now in this new road, a war that makes all for peace, and where we have only victory.”
A few days later he conducted the first Christian burial service ever known among the Cheyenne. Later that summer Cheyenne agent John Miles, writing about the returned Fort Marion prisoners, said that Oakerhater was preaching in his native tongue, and no better example of Christian manhood was to be found. Wicks and Oakerhater taught and conducted services regularly in Indian camps, tents, or the agency school building.
On 4 January 1883, Oakerhater wrote to Pratt, now a captain:
“MY DEAR CAPT. PRATT, Your good letter come to me when I was received your kind letter and made me great delighted to hear that great many Indian children go study very hard and learn the white man way and want to know how read God Bible and write a letters. I know that great many white people very kind to us and show us that he is the Son of God is way I have been sitting and thinking about that is very good for us Christian civil people come up everywhere Indian country and teach to us and pray for us great deal and tell us that only one god in heaven and pray to him that great Father up heaven I think afterward all Indian tribes understand God is way and love him and pray great deal I know that my poor heathen people making medicine dances that makes great trouble I want you to tell Washington Indian medicine dance cut. I think I know all good white people they want better way that he is way the Son of God and also you want the same way and so you best to help Indian children and show Bible read and thank you My Dear Capt. Pratt God knows you and grant help you in your work I know before that made me sergeant what you say to me I will try hard to right you know how it is I love you I hope sometime to see you and shake hand with you. Oh! how much I glad see you since my return all the time think very often my kind friend at the East also Mr. Wicks want poor heathen medicine cut and want new better way that is all from your loving friend. DAVID PENDLETON.”
Oakerhater’s second wife, Susie, died on 5 February 1890. When the Missionary District of Oklahoma and Indian Territory was created, and Francis Key Brooke was sent in 1893 as its first bishop, he noted that “Oakerhater remained the only ordained representative of the Episcopal Church in Indian Territory.” Wicks had returned to New York due to illness in 1884. The Rev. David Sanford, who spoke Cheyenne, joined Oakerhater in 1894 to serve the camps at Darlington and Bridgeport. With funds that Bishop Brooke solicited in the East, a chapel was erected at Bridgeport where Sanford had his home.
In 1897 a government day school with fifteen pupils opened on Chief Whirlwind’s allotment southeast of Fay. Oakerhater ministered to these children and to their families camped nearby. When Oakerhater and Minnie White-Buffalo were married about 1898, their home was the church facility.
When the government day school closed in 1901, the building was given to Whirlwind’s widow, who gave it to The Episcopal Church in 1904. The agency allowed a mission day school to be established “for the care of those unhealthy children who are debarred from government schools.” The agency often accused Sanford of falsely certifying that a child was physically unable to attend boarding school and needed to be at Whirlwind. Sanford enrolled as many children as possible at Whirlwind regardless of physical condition in order to save their lives, as many children were dying in the boarding schools because of the excessive steam heated buildings.
In 1916 the government pressed The Episcopal Church to close Whirlwind School. The next year the mission was closed and sold, an irreparable loss to the religious life of the Cheyenne. Oakerhater was retired on a small pension after thirty-six years as a deacon. In retirement he continued to counsel, preach, bury, baptize, and prepare his people for confirmation. He was never ordained to the priesthood and therefore never celebrated Holy Communion with his flock.
Oakerhater worked hard to bring the peace of Christ to his people. He operated the Whirlwind Mission and school at Watonga, Oklahoma, at great personal cost, overcoming the apathy of churches and the opposition of the government. Guided by his great captain, he never gave up. The Cheyenne respected Oakerhater’s faith and nicknamed him “God’s Warrior.”
Oakerhater died on 31 August 1931 and was buried in the small Indian cemetery at Watonga. In 1985 General Convention voted to add him to the calendar of saints of The Episcopal Church, with feast day of September 1. Biography, photos, and letters are available through Oklahoma State University at http://digital.library.okstate.edu/Oakerhater/index.html. Another site with letters and other documents is http://home.epix.net/~landis/oakerhater.html.
Oakerhater (Okuhhatuh, or Making Medicine) was born between 1844 and 1851 on a Cheyenne reservation in western Oklahoma. He grew up to become a war chief of the Southern Cheyenne. In April 1875 he and twenty-seven other warriors were taken prisoner by the U. S. Army. They were marched to a military post and, without trial, were eventually taken by train to Fort Marion in St Augustine, Florida (originally Castillo de San Marcos, now a national monument).
The commander of Fort Marion, Lieutenant Richard H. Pratt, taught the prisoners English and educated them. Seeing that Oakerhater was a natural leader, he placed him at the head of the Indian self-discipline force. He also encouraged the younger Indians to earn some money giving lessons in art and archery to visitors. Using pencils, watercolors, and military ledger books, and drawing in a style adapted from traditional symbol or pictographic drawings on tepees, rocks, hides, and wood, the Indians recorded life on the plains and recent events at the fort. These “ledger drawings” are found today in private collections and museums across the country. Oakerhater’s drawings bear the name “Making Medicine,” a translation of his Cheyenne name.
As a result of Pratt’s kindness, Oakerhater and some others converted to Christianity. In February 1877, at a gathering of the prisoners, Making Medicine spoke for the young men. In a letter sent to Washington, Pratt recorded the speech, as translated into English:
“I have learned to sing the saviors hymns and have given myself to him. Heretofore I have led a bad life on the plains, wandering around living in a house made of skins. I have now learned something of the Great Spirits road and want to learn more. We have lived in this old place for two years. It is old and we are young. [W]e are tired to it. We want to go away from it, anywhere. We want Washington to give us our wives and children, our fathers and mothers and sent us somewhere, where we can settle down and live like white men. Washington has lots of good ground laying around loose, give us some of it and let us learn to make things grow. We want to farm the ground. We want a house and pigs and chickens and cows. We feel happy that we have learned so much, that we can teach our children. I speak for the young men. We want to work. We young men all belong to you. You have put a great deal into our hearts that was never there before. Our hearts are getting bigger every day. We are thankful for what we have learned. This is the feeling of all the young men that are here. We are willing to learn and want to work.”
In 1878 four prisoners decided to study for the ordained ministry. Deaconess Mary D. Burnham, of the House of the Good Shepherd in Syracuse, New York, raised the needed funds. Mrs. Alice Key Pendleton of Cincinnati (daughter of Francis Scott Key and wife of U. S. Senator George Hunt Pendleton of Ohio) paid Oakerhater’s tuition for three years. Sponsored by the Episcopal Diocese of Central New York, the four traveled north. They lived and studied in the home of the Rev. and Mrs. John B. Wicks of Paris Hill, New York. When Oakerhater was baptized in Grace Episcopal Church, Syracuse, on 6 October 1878, by Bishop Frederic Huntington, he took the name David Pendleton Oakerhater, in honor of the Bible warrior and the woman who paid his way. A few days later he was confirmed. His wife Nomee (Thunder Woman) joined him but died in childbirth in July 1880.
Oakerhater was ordained a deacon on 7 June 1881, and he and Wicks immediately set out for Cheyenne country. They established the Episcopal mission at the Darlington Indian Agency on 16 June 1881. On his first Sunday after returning to Oklahoma, Oakerhater gathered his people and told them:
“Men, you all know me. You remember me when I led you out to war I went first and what I told you was true. Now I have been away to the East and I have learned about another captain, the Lord Jesus Christ, and he is my leader. He goes first, and all he tells me is true. I come back to my people to tell you to go with me now in this new road, a war that makes all for peace, and where we have only victory.”
A few days later he conducted the first Christian burial service ever known among the Cheyenne. Later that summer Cheyenne agent John Miles, writing about the returned Fort Marion prisoners, said that Oakerhater was preaching in his native tongue, and no better example of Christian manhood was to be found. Wicks and Oakerhater taught and conducted services regularly in Indian camps, tents, or the agency school building.
On 4 January 1883, Oakerhater wrote to Pratt, now a captain:
“MY DEAR CAPT. PRATT, Your good letter come to me when I was received your kind letter and made me great delighted to hear that great many Indian children go study very hard and learn the white man way and want to know how read God Bible and write a letters. I know that great many white people very kind to us and show us that he is the Son of God is way I have been sitting and thinking about that is very good for us Christian civil people come up everywhere Indian country and teach to us and pray for us great deal and tell us that only one god in heaven and pray to him that great Father up heaven I think afterward all Indian tribes understand God is way and love him and pray great deal I know that my poor heathen people making medicine dances that makes great trouble I want you to tell Washington Indian medicine dance cut. I think I know all good white people they want better way that he is way the Son of God and also you want the same way and so you best to help Indian children and show Bible read and thank you My Dear Capt. Pratt God knows you and grant help you in your work I know before that made me sergeant what you say to me I will try hard to right you know how it is I love you I hope sometime to see you and shake hand with you. Oh! how much I glad see you since my return all the time think very often my kind friend at the East also Mr. Wicks want poor heathen medicine cut and want new better way that is all from your loving friend. DAVID PENDLETON.”
Oakerhater’s second wife, Susie, died on 5 February 1890. When the Missionary District of Oklahoma and Indian Territory was created, and Francis Key Brooke was sent in 1893 as its first bishop, he noted that “Oakerhater remained the only ordained representative of the Episcopal Church in Indian Territory.” Wicks had returned to New York due to illness in 1884. The Rev. David Sanford, who spoke Cheyenne, joined Oakerhater in 1894 to serve the camps at Darlington and Bridgeport. With funds that Bishop Brooke solicited in the East, a chapel was erected at Bridgeport where Sanford had his home.
In 1897 a government day school with fifteen pupils opened on Chief Whirlwind’s allotment southeast of Fay. Oakerhater ministered to these children and to their families camped nearby. When Oakerhater and Minnie White-Buffalo were married about 1898, their home was the church facility.
When the government day school closed in 1901, the building was given to Whirlwind’s widow, who gave it to The Episcopal Church in 1904. The agency allowed a mission day school to be established “for the care of those unhealthy children who are debarred from government schools.” The agency often accused Sanford of falsely certifying that a child was physically unable to attend boarding school and needed to be at Whirlwind. Sanford enrolled as many children as possible at Whirlwind regardless of physical condition in order to save their lives, as many children were dying in the boarding schools because of the excessive steam heated buildings.
In 1916 the government pressed The Episcopal Church to close Whirlwind School. The next year the mission was closed and sold, an irreparable loss to the religious life of the Cheyenne. Oakerhater was retired on a small pension after thirty-six years as a deacon. In retirement he continued to counsel, preach, bury, baptize, and prepare his people for confirmation. He was never ordained to the priesthood and therefore never celebrated Holy Communion with his flock.
Oakerhater worked hard to bring the peace of Christ to his people. He operated the Whirlwind Mission and school at Watonga, Oklahoma, at great personal cost, overcoming the apathy of churches and the opposition of the government. Guided by his great captain, he never gave up. The Cheyenne respected Oakerhater’s faith and nicknamed him “God’s Warrior.”
Oakerhater died on 31 August 1931 and was buried in the small Indian cemetery at Watonga. In 1985 General Convention voted to add him to the calendar of saints of The Episcopal Church, with feast day of September 1. Biography, photos, and letters are available through Oklahoma State University at http://digital.library.okstate.edu/Oakerhater/index.html. Another site with letters and other documents is http://home.epix.net/~landis/oakerhater.html.
Back from Gustav
We have returned home from five days in Pensacola. Minor damage: a back door blown open, with lock bolt extended, and locksmith couldn't pick the lock to repair it.
Meanwhile, I'll catch up on the deacon saints.
Meanwhile, I'll catch up on the deacon saints.
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