Charles Henry Brent, Bishop of the Philippines, and Western New York, 1862-1929 .And the anniversary of my baptism.

                                           Romans 11:16, 18

If 

the 

root 

is 

holy, 

then 

the branches are holy… remember, 

that it  is not you that support 

the root, but the root that 

supports you. 

Born in 1862, in 1901 Charles Henry Brent was elected missionary bishop to the Philippines. He served in World War 1 as Senior Chaplain of the American Expeditionary Forces and later still served as  Bishop of Western New York. The central focus of his life and ministry was Christian unity. He was "a man whom soldiers were proud to salute and children were happy to play with, who could dominate a parliament and minister to an invalid, a priest and bishop who gloried in the heritage of his Church, yet who stood among all Christian[s] as one who served…"  Also a man of prayer, he wrote the last of the three Collects for Mission at Morning Prayer  (BCP  page  101)) 

                       Lord Jesus Christ, you stretched out your arms of love on the hard wood of the cross that everyone might come within the reach of your saving embrace: so close us with your Spirit that we, reaching forth our hands in love, may bring those who do not know you to the knowledge and love of you; for the honor of your Name.