St. Dunstan
What could have been.
St. Dunstan was a renowned and well loved Archbishop of Canterbury (which is why we remember his feast day here at St. Anselm).
He was so loved that for the better part of two centuries he was easily England’s favourite Saint – and between him and St. Edmund was a favourite to become the patron Saint of England.
In the end of course England chose St. George, which makes St. David the only native of the country for which he is the Patron Saint in the British Isles. Patrick was Welsh, Andrew was from Judea and George was Greek/Palestinian.
Dunstan was a monk (in Glastonbury), a writer and artist (he was particularly known for this), he was behind some pretty major reforms at Glastonbury and is often credited with the restoration of monastic life towards the end of the 10th Century when it had started to wane.
From there (where he became Abbot) he went on to be Bishop of Worcester and then London (two of the biggest Offices in the land).
Then in 960AD he went to Rome and was made Archbishop of Canterbury. He was an incredibly talented minister (both in faith and in politics). In fact, the coronation service that he wrote for the coronation of King Edgar in 973AD still forms the basis of our current coronation service.
He was also known for his amazing generosity. At one point on a journey to Rome his generosity was so great that nothing was left for him or his followers and retainers. There were many complaints among his retinue!
He has many examples for us to follow. Patience, love, a dedication to learning and to sharing that knowledge – but perhaps most importantly his excessive generosity.
St. Dunstan pray for us…
Fr. Matthew
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Other news
Cleaning – again! We’ll be doing a deep clean on Saturday 22nd May at the same time as the bric-a-brac is running. Please come and lend a hand, even if it’s just for a short time.
Bric-a-brac is back! Saturday 22nd May 10am – 1pm, if you have items to sell please bring them on the morning. If you’re willing to run a tea/coffee/cake stall please contact Fr. Matthew.
Tea & Coffee return after services form Sunday 23rd May.
Susan is now organising the Sunday readings rota – please speak to her if you’d like to try reading at Sunday Mass.
Summer Rosary Mission. We’ve raised over £800 via an internet appeal to fund our Mission this summer. If you’d like to be part of it – please speak to Fr. Matthew.
Help fund an organist – please consider setting up regular giving with the Parish Giving Scheme. Call 0333 002 1271 with your bank details to hand and quote our Parish Code – 230 623 503 or visit our website www.stanselm.co.uk/giving