Martin was an eminent second generation German, Evangelical Lutheran, Christian theologian, and a protestant reformer, churchman and confessor. He studied under Martin Luther at the University of Wittenberg , Germany. After Luther death (1546) he transfered to the University of Konigsberg (1547-8). A plague caused him to move swiftly to Saafeld. Returned to Konigsberg (1550) to be employed by Albert, Duke of Prussia as the the court librarian.He now applied himself to theological studies with unrestricted access to what was considered one of the finest libraries in Europe. 1553 returned to Wittenberg where he joined the University faculty.in 1554. 1554 ordained and became co-adjutor of Joachim Morlin. 1567 took over as ecclesiastical superintendent when Morlin resigned. 1575/6 helped establish University of Helmstedt. 1577 Formula of Concord - one of the primary authors 1580 Book of Concord:Confessions of the Evangegelical Lutheran Church instrumental in publication ? Examination of the Council of Trent and On the Two natures of Christ 1586 held post for 19 years, until he died. His works demonstrate his ability as a biblical, doctrinal and historical theologian in the orthodox Lutheran tradition. Martin died in Braunschweig aged 65. In the Evangelical Lutheran tradition he is known as Alter Martinus - the Second Martin. Source Wikipedia

Thomas was a Scottish minister, professor of theology, political economist, and a leader of both the Free Church of Scotland and the Church of England. He has been called* Scotland’s greatest 19th century churchman*. Aged 11 he attended the University of St. Andrews studying mathematics. January 1799 he was licensed as a preacher. May, 1803, following further courses of lectures, he was ordained as minister of Kilmany and acted as assistant to the professor of mathematics at St. Andrews. His mathematics lectures roused enthusiasm but were discontinued by the authorities.so he opened mathematical classes of his own which attracted many students. Also gave lectures on Chemistry. and administered his parish. 1805 unsuccessful in application for professorship in mathematics at University of Edinburgh. 1815 became minister of the Tron church in Glasgow. His reputation as preacher in Glasgow spread through out the UK. Read paragraph on Parochial Work. 1823 he accepted the chair of moral philosophy at the University of St. Andrews. 1828 he was transferred to the chair of Theology at the University of Edinburgh. 1834 he became leader and chairman of the evangelical section of the Scottish Church in the General Assembly which stood for ‘non-intrusionism’ ( definition - no minister should be intruded into any parish contrary to the will of the congregation) Also elected fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. 1835-41 he served as Vice-president f the Royal Society of Edinburgh. 1840 unsuccessfully applied for chair of Divinity at the University of Glasgow. Thomas made a number of appeals as leader and by 1841 , 7 years later when he resigned as convener, £300, 000 had been contributed and 220 new churches built. 1844 he announced a church extension campaign for new building. 1846 became first principal of the Divinity Hall of the Free Church of Scotland. On Friday,28th May 1847 he returned to his house at Church Hill. On the Saturday he prepared a report and continued in his usual health and spirits and retired to rest. He died on the Sunday. He was discovered lying dead in bed. His academic years resulted in a prolific literature of various kinds: his writings filled more than 30 volumes. The Thomas Chalmers Centre in Kirkliston is named after him. Thomas Chalmers has been correctly called Scotland’s greatest nineteenth century churchman. He was also an outstanding mathematician. Source Wikipedia

William was a Christian minister serving a congregation in Salford, England. In 1800 he established a new congregation in Salford and built the chapel, Christ Church, at his own expense .He founded the Bible Christian Church in 1809. Followers were known as Cowherdites. He was one of the philosophical forerunners of the vegetarian Society founded in 1847. His early ideas and insights into the abstinence from eating meat, provided the basis for early ideas about vegetarianism. On 18th of January 1809 he asked his congregation, during his sermon, to refrain from eating meat. He is credited with being the main figure advocating the theory of vegetarianism. One of the distinct feature of the Bible Christians was a belief in a meat-free ‘vegetable diet’, known today as ovo-lacto vegetarianism, as a form of temperance.

Rowland Hill was an English teacher, inventor and social reformer. He campaigned for a comprehensive reform of the postal system… he is usually credited with originating the basic concepts of the modern postal service, including the invention of the postage stamp. He started to take an interest in postal reforms in 1835 Hill’s pamphlet Post Office Reform;Its importance and Practicability was submitted to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Thomas Spring Rice on 4th January 1817. It was then circulated privately. The postal service was mismanaged, wasteful, expensive and slow. It had become inadequate for the needs of an expanding commercial and industrial nation. It stated costs could be reduced if postage were prepaid by the sender. Proposing an adhesive stamp to indicate pre-payment of postage. 1840 was the first year of the Penny Post. In May 1840 the world’s first adhesive postage stamps were distributed. Rowland continued at the Post Office until the Conservative Party won the 1841 General Election . In July 1842, amid rancorous controversy, he was dismissed.

Philip was born in London and became a Congregationalist minister, educator, author and hymn writer. He was the last of Daniek Doddridge’s (died 1715) 20 children. His mother died when he was only 8; his father died 4 years later. Downes became his guardian who squandered Philip’s inheritance. Samuel Clarke of St. Albans took him on and treated him like a son and encouraged his call to the ministry. They remained lifelong friends. ( Years later, he led Samuel’s funeral and gave this tribute To him under God I owe even myself and all my opportunities of public usefulness in the church.) His mother, before he could read, taught him th history of the Bible from chimney tiles on of their sitting room. In his youth he was educated first by a tutor then boarded at a private school in London. In 1712 he attended Kingston-upon -Thames grammar school With independent religious leanings in 1719 he chose, with Samuel’s support to enter the Dissenting academy at Kibworth in Leicestershire. In 1723 he was chosen by a general meeting of Nonconformist ministers to conduct the academy (1723-1751). He initiated a Youth’s Scheme In 1729 he was invited to be the pastor of an independent congregation in Northampton. His sermons were mainly practical in character. In the 1730s and 1740s he continued his academic and pastoral work and developed close relations with numerous early revivalists and independents, through extensive visits and correspondence. This enabled him to establish and maintain a circle of influential independent religious thinkers and writers. He was both an author and hymnist. The Rise and progress of Religion in the Soul was translated into 7 languages. It is said that this work best illustrates his religious genius. Charles Spurgeon called it *that holy book * (See Works) He wrote over 400 hymns. Most of them were written as summaries of his sermons and to help his congregation express their response to the truths they were being taught. * O God of Bethel, by whose hand * continues to be used across the English speaking world. In 1736 both Aberdeen universities gave him a Doctor of Divinity degree. Phillip’s health had never been good and it finally broke down in 1751. He had sailed to Lisbon in September and he died of tuberculosis on 26th October. He was buried in the British Cemetery in Lisbon, where his grave and tomb may still be seen. Philip worked towards a united Nonconformist body that would have a wide appeal, retaining highly cultured elements without alienating those less educated. By Grace he succeeded in his mission. Source Wikipedia

Robert was an English philanthropist and Anglican layman. He was a pioneer of the Sunday School movement although he did not start the first Sunday School. The original schedule for schools -as written by Robert was The children were to come after ten in the morning, and stay till twelve; they were then to go home and return at one; and after reading a lesson, they were to be conducted to church. After church, they were to be employed repeating the catechism till after five, and then dismissed with an injunction to go home without making a noise. He inherited a publishing business from his father and in 1757 he became proprietor of the Gloucester Journal. In 1758 he moved the business to Robert Raikes’ House. He was interested in prison reform, specifically with the conditions in Gloucester gaol and saw that vice would be better prevented than cured. He saw schooling as the best intervention. The movement began in July 1780 in the home of Mrs Meredith and with a school for boys in the slums. The best available time was Sunday- the boys were working 6 days a week in the factories. The teachers were lay people. The text book was the Bible. Later girls also attended. He used his newspaper to publicise the schools and bore most of the cost himself in the early years. Despite controversy and disputes, in the early years, Sunday Schools -some called the schools* Raikes’Ragged School* grew at a phenomenal rate in Great Britain. 1788 - 300,000 children 1831 - `.1,250,000 1910 - 5,500,000 These schools preceded the first state funding schools for the general public. They are seen as the forerunners of the currwnt English school system The money of phianthropist Robert Raikes was not wasted.

William was a C. of E. priest. He was the author of the trilogy The Life, the Walk and the Triumph o f Faith which was highly thought of by evangelicals. In 1736 he was ordained a deacon: in 1738 he was ordained a priest. In 1741 he was appointed chaplain to the Lord Mayor of London, Daniel Lambert which gave him the opportunity to preach in St. Paul’ s Cathedral. In about 1748 he underwent an evangelical conversion and he became a lecturer. This gave him the opportunity to preach evangelical doctrine to large crowds despite the opposition of the church hierarchy. In 1750 he was appointed assistant morning preacher at St. George’s Hanover Square in the West End of London. In 1751 he accepted, for a short time, the professorship of Gresham Professor of Astronomy . His biographer, William Bromley Cadogan, said in this role William attempted to prove that God was best acquainted with his own works and had given the best account of them in his own words. In 1766 following a dispute over his election he became Rector of St. Andrew by the Wardrobe. Nearly 30 years later, 26th July 1795, he was buried in his church. He was a notable Hebrew scholar and between 1747-9 he published a volume revision of Mario di Calasio’s Hebrew dictionary and concordance.

Christopher was born Basil Butler in Reading, Berkshire. He was a convert from the C of E to the Roman Catholic Church, a bishop, scholar and a Benedictine monk. He became the 7th Abbot bishop of Downside Abbey (1946-66), Abbot President of the English Benedictine Congregation and an auxiliary bishop of Westminster (1966). It was in his capacity as Abbot President (1961-66) of the English Benedictine Congregation and as an outstanding scripture scholar, that Christopher was called to Rome to participate in Vatican 11 (1962-65). He was one of maybe 24 (men who made the Council’ contributing, often in fluent Latin, to many of council’s documents. Christopher was a prolific writer. a bibliography of his books, articles and reviews running to some 337 titles. He was a popular guest on BBC’s radio programmes. Brief information included about Vatican11 Source Wikipedia

William was an English official on board the Mayflower in 1620 He was probably born in Scrooby, Nottinghamshire. He studied briefly at Peterhouse, Cambridge before entering the service of William Davison , ambassador to the Netherlands, in1584. He became a Puritan before moving illegally from England to Holland - the departure was a complex matter. They were arrested in 1607 but in 1608 they were successful leaving from the Humber estuary. For the first year they lived in Amsterdam, Holland. After controversy they moved to Leiden. He was first an assistant and later an elder to Pastor John Robinson. He printed and published Puritan religious books and taught English to university students. When the Speedwell sailed to England he was the highest ranked layman of the congregation and was their designated elder for the Plymouth colony. He was also the only pilgrim with political and diplomatic experience. The Mayflower departed Plymouth in England in September 1620. The 100 foot vessel carried 102 passengers and a crew 30/40 in cramped conditions. During the voyage the ship was buffeted by strong winds. After being blown off course by gales it landed first at Cape Cod. It continued on to an area near present day Plymouth, Massachsetts and landed on 21st December 1620. Within months half the passengers had died due to the cold, harsh New England winter. William served as the senior elder and religious leader of the colony until 1629 when pastor Ralph Smith arrived. He continued to preach irregularly until his death on 10th April 1644. 4 of the outer islands now bear his name - Great, Little, Middle and Outer Brewster. Source Wikipedia

Thomas Bray in 1698 founded the UK based Christian Charity *Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge ( SPCK) and in 1701 the separate Society for the Propagation of the Gospel(SPG). After graduation and ordination he* became a curate at Bridgnorth and then chaplain for Sir. Thomas Price at Lea Marstone. Thomas’s library drew the attention of John Kettlewell, the vicar at Coleshill, who pointed out to him that the poverty of country parsons kept then from owning and reading theological books, which could lead to ignorance and hopelessness and affect their ministry. As a result Thomas wrote and published the first volume of* Catechetical Lectures* The book sold well and drew the attention of Henry Compton, the Bishop of London, who had been impressed by his diligence and library ideas. Thomas as a result was sent to the colony of Maryland, USA to represent him. Maryland wanted an experienced, unexceptionable priest to supervise them. Thomas knew that the clergy willing to accept positions overseas were often among the poorest and unable to bring or obtain religious books, so he conditioned his acceptance upon having funds to supply the parishes with books. In 1699 he sailed to Maryland having started his library work in seaport libraries at Gravesend, Deal and Plymouth on his outward journey. He envisioned a library for each parish in the USA. During his lifetime 39 were established in the Colonies, over 80 were established in England and Wales. His efforts would eventually lead in the founding of nearly 100 libraries in the USA and over 200 in England. In 1706 he became rector of St.Botolph’s, Aldgate where he spent the final decades of his life serving that parish and engaging in other philanthropic and literary activities. *To obtain books for these libraries, requests are to made to the learned author now living, yo give copies of their books, and to others, especially merchants to the foreign plantations, to give money, of all of which there shall be a full amount published, * Steiner 1896 pp59-75 Source Wikipedia

Gideon was an American Presbyterian clergyman, evangelist, educator and missionary to the Cherokee and Creek nations He was born of Scots-Irish descent in Augusta County, Virginia. He was orphaned at the age of 11 and moved to live with relatives in Tennessee in 1787. As a youth he studied at Martin Academy in Washington County, Tennessee. He worked at a sawmill and as a surveyor to obtain an education . In 1792 he received his preacher’s license and 2 years later he was ordained by the Abingdon Presbytery of Virginia. In the 1790s he began his ministerial career as a pastor by founding the New Providence Church in Maryville.For the next 20 years he worked there and was known as a powerful and evangelizing public speaker.came In the early 19th century he raised funds to establish schools for Cherokee children. He became a cultural missionary to the Cherokees (1803-9). and founded 2 schools.Together the schools had an enrollment of about 100 students- mostly bicultural Cherokee-American boys. All his lessons were in English with material on culture and practices of Anglo-American society. (Unfortunately both schools were closed when his reputation was severely damaged due to a scandal related to alcohol.) He moved to Middle Tennessee where he served as an itinerant preacher and headed Harpeth Academy (1811-13). He founded 5 congregations in the area. Over the next 15 years he established new congregations and churches in Tennessee and Kentucky and was very successful as a fund raiser. Blackburn Seminary, in Carlinville, was named after him, in recognition of his life’s labours, in 1859. He was also active with the Kentucky Temperance Society, Gideon died just 4 days short of his 66th birthday. Source Wikipedia

St. Birinus was the first bishop of Dorchester. He was known as the ’ Apostle to the West Saxons’ for his conversion of the Kingdom of Wessex to Christianity. H e was a Benedictine monk. He was made bishop by Asterius in Genoa. Pope Honorius created the commission to convert the West Saxons. In 635 King Cynegils, who had allowed St. Birinus to preach and baptise his son and grandson, was trying to create an alliance with Oswald of Northumbria, a pagan king. to fight the Mercians. The ‘sticking point’ was that Oswald was a pagan. When Oswald was converted and baptised the alliance was made. St.Birinus was then given Dorchester-on-Thames as his episcopal see. He established several churches in Wessex - he supposedly aid the foundations for St. Mary’s in Reading. There is a church to St. Birinus in Calcot, Reading. That was our local church when we lived there. St, Birinus died in Dorchester on 3 December c649. Source Wikipedia

Thomas was born around 1495 in Norwich. He became a protestant martyr. He is believed to be the person who converted Hugh Latimer to the doctrines of the Reformers- he also died a martyr. Around 1550 , aged only 15, he entered Trinity Hall, Cambridge University where he studied law. Conversion He was ‘struck’ by these words from 1 Timothy ch1 v15 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came onto the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. ‘Immediately I felt a marvellous comfort and quietness, in so much that my bruised bones lept for joy.’ Scripture became his chief study and In 1519 he took holy orders. In 1525 he obtained a license to preach throughout the diocese of Ely. In 1527 he was arrested for heresy. He recanted and was released but in 1531 he was arrested again for spreading ideas critical of the hierarchical structure of the church and the cult of the saints, For this he was burnt at Lollards Pit, in Norwich,on 19 August 1531. Afterwards it was alleged that his execution had been carried out without the proper authorisation by the state. THe result was Bishop Nix in 1534 was condemned on this charge and had his property confiscated. ( Thomas was nicknamed Little Bilney because of his short stature.) Source Wikipedia

Thomas was popularly known as the ‘Archbishop of Nonconformity’. He was noted for sermons and writings in defence of the principles of Noncomformity, devotional verse and for involvement in the cause of anti-slavery After a short pastorate on the Isle of Wight he moved in 1829 to King’s Weigh House Chapel, London. There he continued to discharge the duties of the ministry until he resigned in 1869 (40 years). During his time there the congregation grew so large that a new chapel on Fish Street Hill was built. In 1834 he personally laid the foundation stone of the chapel. He visited Canada and the USA in 1845 . Between 1857-9 he visited the Australian colonies. He was twice chairman of the Congregational Union of England and Wales. He worked to obtain reunion with the C.of E. He introduced the chanting of psalms into Congregational worship as one step towards this. He gave a special impulse with the publication of The Service of Song in the House of the Lord. (See Books for other of his publications) On the other hand he wrote Twenty -Four Reasons for Dissenting from the Church of England (1848). He was an active member of the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society formed in 1839. He wrote the biography of Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton, a leading parliamentary abolitionist. Thomas’s liberality of view and breadth of ecclesiastical sympathy entitles him to be ranked, on questions of Nonconformity, among the most distinguished. He gave his last sermon in November 1873. Following months of pain Thomas died,aged 76, on 24th February 1874. He wrote the well known hymn Eternal Light! Eternal Light! Source Wikipedia

Dominic is best remembered for his part in St. John Henry Newman’s conversion. He is also commemorated for his work in his efforts to return England to the Catholic faith in the 19th Century. He entered the Passionist Order, about 1814 as a lay brother and in 1818 he was ordained a priest. He lectured and taught at several places in Italy up until 1841 (20+years) when his wish to work in England as a missionary became a reality. During this period he had produced many theological and philosophical works. He arrived in Folkestone in October 1841 - a little Italian priest in ‘comical’ attire. In February 1842 he secured possession of Aston Hall, Staffordshire. for the Passionists in England. In October 1845 he received ( St. ) John Henry Newman into the Roman Catholic Church. Dominic visited Littlemore where Newman made his confession to him. (Newman relates in his ‘Apologia’ how Barberi arrived soaked from rain and as he was drying Newman knelt down and asked to be received into the Catholic Church.) On 27th August 1849 he suffered a fatal heart attack on the train at Pangbourne, just outside Reading. Dominic is buried in St. Anne and Blessed Dominic Church, Sutton, Merseyside. By the time of his death in 1849 he had established 3 Passsionist houses and several chapels in England. He had preached innumerable sermons and received 100s of converts. In 1963 he was beatified by the RC church. Rest in peace Blessed Dominic Barberi Source Wikipedia

Samuel and Henrieta Barnett were social reformers, educationists and authors. They married in 1873 and the young couple went to the impoverished parish of St.Jude’s, a slum area, in Whitechapel intent on improving social conditions. The Barnetts worked hard for the poor of their parish- opening evening schools for adullts, providing them with music and entertainment, and serving on the local boards of guardians and on managing committees of schools. The Barnetts improved conditions and co-ordinated the various charities by co-operation with the Charity Organisation Society and the parish board of guardians. Between them they set up a number of organisations. 1876 The Metropolitan Association for Befriending Young Servants 1877 Children’s Fresh Air Mission established 1884 becoming Children’s County Holiday Fund 1880 Homes for Workhouse Girls started and promoted 1884 Founded the first ‘University Settlement’ at Toynbee Hall, where they now lived, in the East End of London 1888 Wrote together* Practicable Socialism * 1891 Founded London Pupil Teachers Association 1904 Hampstead Garden Suburb a model garden city Samuel served as Canon of Westminster Abbey from 1906 until his death in 1913. After Samuel’s death Henrieta carried on the good work for the next 10 years… 1914 Barnett House at Oxford (in memory of her husband In 1917 Henrietta awarded CBE and in 1924 DBE for services to social reform. Samuel and Henrietta Barnett are remembered on 17th June by C.of E. Source Wikipedia

Robert was born in King’s Lynn, Norfolk He was educated at Cambridge. He was an English protestant martyr who helped spread Lutheranism in England. He was a prior at Austin Friars. Thomas Bilney influenced him in embracing the teaching of the Reformers and in 1528 he escaped, to Antwerp for Germany where he formed a lasting friendship with Martin Luther. In the summer of 1531, while in Wittenberg, he was commissioned to ascertain Luther and other continental divines opinion on the divorce proceedings between Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon. He spent several years going between England and Germany A little more than a month after his protector, Thomas Cromwell, fell from favour, he was burnt as a heretic with two other Lutherans. On July 1540, along with 5 other religious dissidents - 3 Lutheran and 3 Catholic-. he was drawn on hurdles from the Tower of London to Smithfield to be executed Sources Wilipedia Briannica The Hodder and Stoughton Book of Famous Christians.

Earnest was originally a British mathematician and scientist. In his late twenties he became a liberal theologian and bishop. He became the leader of the Modernist movement in the Church of England. He was renowned as a pacifist during WW11. 1893 he went to Trinity College, Cambridge. I1897 elected to a Trinity Fellowship. 1902 appointed as a lecturer in Mathematics and ordained as a deacon in the Church of England. 1903 ordained as a priest. 1906/8 appointed junior dean. 1908 appointed tutor. 1915 he left Cambridge, and his career in mathematics, to become Master of the Temple in London. 1918 he received a canonry at Westminster Abbey. 1924 became bishop of Birmingham (1924-53) 1953 retired after nearly 30 years due to poor health. He was perhaps the best known liberal bishop of his time, identified with the modernist or broad church movement. His time as bishop was marked by continual controversy. His book The Rise of Christianity attacked many Christian claims including the virgin birth and the bodily resurrection of Christ. Read Pacifism and Eugenics, Earnest died, aged 79, at his home in Sussex.

William was a Church of Scotland minister, an author, radio and television presenter, and Professor of Divinity and Biblical Criticism at the University of Glasgow. He wrote a popular set of New Testament Bible commentaries -sold 1.5 million. He studied Classics and Divinity at Glasgow University (1925-9). He also studied at the University of Sam Ratulangi Manado (1932/3). 1933-47 He was minister at Trinity Church Renfrew from 1933-1946. In 1947 he returned to the University of Glasgow as a lecturer in New Testament. He became Professor of Divinity and Biblical Criticism in 1963. He then dedicated his life to making the best biblical scholarship available to the average reader. The Daily Study Bible was the result -17 commentaries on the N.T… Today, in its updated version, it is called the New Daily Study Bible series. Also In 2008 Saint Andrew Press took the study series and began to produce pocket-sized thematic titles called Insights. The books are introduced by contemporary authors, broadcasters and scholars. William wrote many other popular books drawing on scholarship but written in a highly accessible style. In his book The Mind of Jesus he states his aim was to make the figure of Jesus more vividly alive, so that we may know him better and love him more.- See list of Worksto appreciate the number of books that he wrote. William described himself theologically as a * liberal evangelical.* Source Wikipedia

Robert was a Scottish Quaker and was one of the most eminent writers belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (RSF) and a a member of the Clan Barclay. He was born at Gordonstoun in Moray, Scotland. He finished his education at the Scots College in Paris where his uncle was rector. In 1667 he followed his father and joined the recently formed RSF. In 1670 he married Christian Mollison, a fellow quaker, and they had 7 children. Soon afterwards he began to write in defence of the movement.*** Truth cleared of Calumnies (1670), a Catechism and Confession of Faith (1673) and Theses Theologiae (1676) *** His greatest work wasAn Apology for the True Christian Divinity (1676)originally published in Latin in Amsterdam, translated to English in 1678. It is claimed to be one of the most impressive theological writings of the century. (See '*Works 1670-1682 for full list) He was an ardent theological student who maintained* that all people can be illuminated by the Inward light of Christ… He was a strong supporter of George Fox in the controversies that beset the Quakers in the 1670s. Robert died aged just 41 His descendants include David Barclay, his great grand son, who became one of the founders of Barclays Bank.