Explore the Story - Children

Pastor Absalom Jones was reared a domestic slave on a plantation in Delaware. His charm, wit, and sincerity gained for him the affection of all who knew him. He was able to save enough pennies, given to him as tips, to purchase for himself a primer, a spelling book, and a New Testament. This was the beginning of an insatiable quest for knowledge which was to occupy much of his life.

When he was sixteen years old his mother, five brothers, and one sister were sold, and he was taken to Philadelphia with his master. The more stimulating environment of the city, added to a desire to correspond with his mother, resulted in an intensified effort to learn. He went to night school and also studied theology under Bishop William White, from whom he eventually received holy orders. He married, bought a house and land, and finally, at age thirty-seven, he was granted his freedom. Finding that Philadelphia"s “white” churches were not truly open to him or his people, he founded the African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas.

He was an exemplary pastor and an able student of Holy Scripture and human nature. He had found Our Lord and in his Name had overcome seemingly insurmountable odds. Jones bore witness, with his life, to the truth that all people are bearers of God's image.

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One of the boldest and most spirited figures in history, it is a shame that Francis is sometimes dismissed as simply a quiet bird-watcher. Actually he was an outspoken and controversial social activist. He was one of the greatest preachers of all time. His concern with poverty and ecology give him a strikingly modern quality. Although he was a wealthy cloth merchant's son, he gave all he had to help the poor and was contented with only the barest necessities for himself. He vigorously opposed the abuse of political power, particularly when it was wielded by the Bishop of Rome.

Francis was effective in initiating sweeping social and economic reforms. He was a popular singer, often called "God's Troubadour." His most famous hymn, "Canticle to Brother Sun" (#406 in The Hymnal 1982), has stood the test of time. Francis founded one of the strongest and most dynamic religious orders in Christendom. Today we find Franciscan Friars in both the Roman and Anglican communions.

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Late in the summer of 1878 yellow fever struck Memphis, Tennessee, killing thousands. The Episcopal cathedral, St. Mary's, and its adjacent Church Home were in the center of the most infected area and became shelters for victims. The cathedral staff and the Sisters of St. Mary, who operated the Church Home, faced enormous burdens in caring for the sick and dying. Sisters on retreat in Peekskill, New York, when the epidemic broke out, instead of keeping a safe distance, rushed back to Memphis.

Sister Constance was the first of the nuns to be stricken. As she died on September 9, her last words were “Alleluia, Hosanna,” simple words of praise remembered and inscribed on the cathedral's high altar. Sister Constance's companions in service to the sick and dying, Sisters Thecla and Ruth, soon followed her to the grave, as did Sister Frances, headmistress of the Church Home. She had nursed some thirty children at one time and had watched twenty-two die. The Rev. Louis Schuyler, a chaplain to the Sisters of St. Mary, also died of the fever, as did Canon Charles Parsons. Parsons was blessed with a vision of heaven as he lay dying and his last words were, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”

On this day we honor those who gladly risked their own lives in order to save the lives of many and to assuage the final suffering of others.

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