Today in 1739, George Whitefield (pictured) preached his first ever al fresco sermon, in Kingswood, Bristol. This mining community had grown up beyond the pale of the established church, so Whitefield went out to them, and the field preaching of the evangelical revival was born. ‘Blessed be God,’ he said. ‘I have now broken the ice!’
Today in 1941, Maximilian Kolbe, a Franciscan friar, was arrested by the Gestapo and imprisoned in Warsaw. He was sent to Auschwitz that May as prisoner number 16670. A scientist, theologian and beloved priest, he not only continued to serve there, but gave his life to save another prisoner. Maximilian Kolbe was made a saint by Pope John Paul II in 1982.
Today in 1879, the first Catholic missionaries arrived in Uganda by canoe.
Ninety-eight years later in 1977, Ugandan radio announced the death of the Anglican Archbishop Janani Luwum in a car accident. He had in fact been arrested for his criticism of Idi Amin’s régime and severely beaten before being killed.
Painting by John Russell: National Portrait Gallery/Creative Commons