What’s ON @ St Oswald’s
Sunday 1000 Sung Eucharist
Sunday School – in conjunction with service
Tuesday 1930-2130 St Oswald’s Vestry (First/month)
Wednesday 0930 1130 1730 & 1930 Slimming World
C Ellis 0773 353 8448
1000 Eucharist
Friday 1900-2000 AA Contact Helpline 08475 697 555
Saturday 1000-1100 H Warnock Private Dance Classes
1930-2200 Sequence Dance
Contact: H Warnock (01355-265233)
SAINTS COMMEMORATED IN July & AUGUST
3 July St Thomas (First Century)
Th omas is known from 3 episodes in John’s Gospel, the third is one of the
best-known passages in the New Testament, “doubting Thomas”. He
becomes the only one of the disciples to make a full confession of faith in
Christ’s divinity. His role is therefore of vital importance, it has been
suggested that he is ‘the beloved disciple’, not John. After that, all his life is
tradition. Eusebius wrote that Thomas went to preach to the Parthians,
which is now in Iran. Most persistent is the tradition that he went to Southern
India. The Syriac Christians of Malabar still call themselves ‘Christians of St
Thomas’. They claim that he was martyred there in 72 and his body is buried
in Mylabore near Madras. An account of his work in India is in the ‘Acts of
Thomas (3 rd century). In 1940 a Coptic manuscript of a Gospel of Thomas
was discovered, also an ‘Infancy Gospel of Thomas’ tells of miracles Christ
worked as a child. He is patron Saint of builders since he is supposed to
have built a palace for a local Indian king ((repeated in the Golden Legend)
11 July St Benedict (about 480-547 AD)
Benedict is one of the most formative influences on Western society through
the rule he wrote for his monks, but no contemporary writing about him
survives. The first is by Pope Gregory the great (The Dialogues, written 593-
4 in Rome.) According to him, Benedict was born in the Province of Nursia
and studied in Rome. He joined a group of pious Christians but when he
became known to be a wonder-worker, he moved on and became a hermit.
After being asked by a number of groups to join them, he finally went to
Monte Cassino in 525, where he perfected his rule. It was based on some
teachings of the Desert Fathers like St Basil and St Augustine. When he
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