Readings:
Isaiah 12:1-6
Psalm 90:1-12
2 Corinthians 4:11-18
Luke 15:1-7Preface of Pentecost
[Common of a Missionary]
[Common of a Pastor]
[For the Ministry II]
[For the Mission of the Church]
PRAYER (traditional language)
O God, who in thy providence didst call Joseph Schereschewsky to the ministry of this church and gave him the gifts and the perseverance to translate the Holy Scriptures: Inspire us, by his example and prayers, to commit our talents to thy service, confident that thou dost uphold those whom thou dost call; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy
Ghost, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
PRAYER (contemporary language)
O God, who in your providence called Joseph Schereschewsky to the ministry of this church and gave him the gifts and the perseverance to translate the Holy Scriptures: Inspire us, by his example and prayers, to commit our talents to your service, confident that you uphold those whom you call; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Lessons revised at General Convention 2024.
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SAMUEL ISAAC JOSEPH SCHERESCHEWSKY
SCHOLAR, TRANSLATOR, BISHOP (14 OCT 1906)
Samuel
Isaac Joseph Schereschewsky was born in Lithuania in 1831, went to Germany
to study for the rabbinate, there became a Christian, emigrated to America,
trained for the priesthood, and in 1859 was sent by the Episcopal Church
to China, where he devoted himself from 1862 to 1875 to translating the
Bible into Mandarin Chinese. In 1877 he was elected Bishop of Shanghai,
where he founded St. John's University, and began his translation of the
Bible into Wenli (the classical Chinese style of writing). He developed Parkinson's disease,
was largely paralyzed, resigned his position as Bishop of Shanghai, and
spent the rest of his life completing his Wenli Bible, the last 2000 pages
of which he typed with the one finger that he could still move.
Four years before his death in 1906, he said: "I have
sat in this chair for over twenty years. It seemed very hard at first.
But God knew best. He kept me for the work for which I am best fitted."
Largely because of the quote above, Bishop Schereschewsky has been chosen
'patron saint' of the Anglican internet mailing list, sometimes known
as the "cyberparish of St. Sam's". You can find out more about him at
their web site: http://www.stsams.org/patron.htm