The bicentenary of John Henry Newman’s first sermon was celebrated on 23 June in the tiny Oxfordshire village of Over Worton where he had preached exactly 200 years before, and in the very same church.
An evensong service was held at Holy Trinity church for 130 guests, led by Bishop Gavin. Hymns composed by Newman were sung, prayers of St John Henry were prayed, before the congregation – both Anglicans and Catholics – listened to the preacher, the Archbishop of Birmingham, Bernard Longley. In his sermon, the archbishop spoke about how much all Christians, whatever their denomination, can learn from St John Henry. Fittingly for the occasion, he revealed that recently the Archbishops of Canterbury and York had petitioned Rome for Newman to be made a Doctor of the Church.
This followed a short lecture on Newman and his preaching, drawing on the text of his first two sermons, given by Mgr Roderick Strange, Rector of Mater Ecclesiae College and author of Newman: the Heart of Holiness.
Bishop Gavin said: "The events on Sunday afternoon were an absolute delight, and a great example of Christian unity and fellowship – especially with Archbishop Bernard and I giving the blessing jointly at the end of the Evensong service."
Two hundred years earlier, John Henry Newman preached his first sermon, choosing the words of Psalm 27:14, ‘Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.’
Four days later, on Sunday 27 June, Newman took up duties as curate in the parish of St Clements, Oxford and preached his second sermon at a service presided over by the elderly rector. Based on Psalm 104:23, ‘Man goeth forth unto his work and to his labour until the evening’, it was in fact the first sermon he composed, though the second to be preached.
The commemorative event was made possible thanks to the work of Fr David Hartley, Parish Priest of Whitnash, and the Revd Jane Wright, rector of the Barton benefice, along with help from local parishioners, both Anglican and Catholic.
Pictured are, from left, the Revd Jane Wright; Bishop Gavin; Bernard Longley, Archbishop of Birmingham; and the Revd David Hartley, parish priest at Whitnash.
Read more about John Henry Newman's life.