EACH week we remember the Christians who have gone before us, sometimes only a few but other weeks are brimming with people.

The week of August 27 starts with Monica, mother of Augustine of Hippo, followed by Augustine himself on August 28. We, in St. Austell, are proud that one of our churches is named after St Augustine.

On Friday we remember the beheading of John the Baptist. John was the cousin of Jesus and started to preach before him and baptised Jesus. His message was clear: we had to be sorry for the things which hurt others and look towards loving God. He was arrested by the local king, Herod, and thrown into prison.

When a sweet young thing named Salome danced a great dance Herod promised her almost anything she wanted and her mother, who did not like John, suggested she ask to have John’s head served up on a plate. Herod obliged. A sad story of corruption and power.

On Saturday, August 30, we are asked to celebrate the life of John Bunyan, the writer, best known for his novel The Pilgrim's Progress. He was a Puritan, and his works often explore themes of sin, redemption, and the Christian life. 

On Monday, September 1, we remember St Giles, a hermit who lived around 720 CE. probably in the lower Rhône region.

Lastly before the week is out on Tuesday, September 2, we remember the martyrs of Papua New Guinea in both 1901 and 1942. James Chalmers, Oliver Tomkins and some companions were sent to New Guinea by the London Missionary Society.

They met their death by martyrdom in 1901. Forty years later, during the Second World War, New Guinea was occupied by the Japanese Army and Christians were persecuted and killed.

Alan Coode

Reader in the Parish of St Austell