St. Augustine of Canterbury Day

Letter From the Pastor

1 Thessalonians 5:24 The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do this.

St. Augustine of Canterbury Day

Summary: St. Augustine of Canterbury reminds us that even when we feel uncertain, God calls us to step out in faith, plant seeds for the future, and trust in His guiding hand.

This past Wednesday, May 28, we celebrated the feast day of our patron saint, St. Augustine of Canterbury — a man whose courage and faith helped lay the foundations of Christianity in England, and whose legacy continues to shape us today.

You may know his name, but do you know his story?

In the late 500s, Pope Gregory the Great was moved with compassion when he heard about the spiritual state of the Anglo-Saxon people in Britain. While Christianity had existed in Roman Britain centuries earlier, after the Roman withdrawal, much of the land had returned to pagan practices. Gregory chose Augustine, a Benedictine monk, to lead a mission to this distant land. Augustine was reluctant at first — after all, this was no small task! He would have to cross unfamiliar territory, face unknown dangers, and persuade powerful kings to listen. But encouraged by Gregory, he pressed on.

In 597, Augustine and 40 monks arrived on the shores of Kent. There they met King Æthelberht, a powerful Anglo-Saxon ruler married to a Christian queen, Bertha. Thanks to Bertha’s influence, Augustine and his monks were welcomed and allowed to preach freely. Remarkably, within a year, King Æthelberht himself was baptized, and thousands followed.

Augustine became the first Archbishop of Canterbury, establishing Canterbury as the center of English Christianity — a position it still holds today. He helped organize the church, set up monasteries, and worked to unify Roman and local Christian practices (though not without resistance).

But more than his historical achievements, what strikes me is Augustine’s spirit:

He was willing to go into unfamiliar lands and trust God’s guidance.

He combined boldness with humility, adapting his approach to meet people where they were.

He laid a foundation that he knew would outlast him, planting seeds for a church that would grow for generations.

As a community that bears his name, we are heirs to that same call. We, too, are called to carry the gospel into the world — maybe not to foreign lands, but certainly into unfamiliar hearts and situations. We, too, are called to build bridges between tradition and new life, between old wisdom and fresh possibility.

Happy feast of St. Augustine! May his prayers strengthen us as we continue the mission today.

Pastor Anny+

The Rev. Dr. Anny Genato+

Rector

St. Augustine of Canterbury Episcopal Church