In the liturgical calendar August is ordinary time. There are no Christian holidays but even ordinary days like August 5th have events that still contribute to the tapestry of Christianity.

1604: Baptism of John Eliot, American “apostle to the Indians.” His evangelistic zeal led in 1649 to establishing the (missionary) Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in New England. John Eliot began a trend that would lead many Native Americans to Christ. I’m glad because I have ancestry from two native tribes.

1656: Eight Quakers from England arrived in Boston and were immediately imprisoned by the local Puritan authorities. (The church-and-state amalgam of Puritanism looked upon non-ritual Quakerism with suspicion, regarding it as theologically apostate and politically subversive). The dissenter movement began that would lead to the proper idea of separation of Church and State.

1869: Birth of Grant C. Tullar, American Methodist evangelist and music publisher. He is remembered today for composing the tune to the hymn, “Face to Face with Christ My Savior.” Below is the lyrics to his song.

Face to face with Christ, my Savior,
Face to face—what will it be,
When with rapture I behold Him,
Jesus Christ Who died for me?

Face to face I shall behold Him,
Far beyond the starry sky;
Face to face in all His glory,
I shall see Him by and by!

Only faintly now I see Him,
With the darkened veil between,
But a blessed day is coming,
When His glory shall be seen.

What rejoicing in His presence,
When are banished grief and pain;
When the crooked ways are straightened,
And the dark things shall be plain.

Face to face—oh, blissful moment!
Face to face—to see and know;
Face to face with my Redeemer,
Jesus Christ Who loves me so.