Boniface is hardly known in his own country. It has been in Germany, particularly in Fulda, that everybody knows about him. Today a visitor to Fulda can see a blood-stained book that has a deep cut in its 140 pages. It is believed to be a book which Boniface was reading when he was set upon by an armed gang. He tried to defend himself with the book but, like Becket, he became a martyr. He was 75 years old.
The other incident for which Boniface is remembered in Germany is his lumberjack exploit. An oak-tree at Geismar was said to be sacred to Thor. Boniface saw it as epitomising loyalty to the old gods and said it must be felled. Stripped to the waist, he set about his task. Onlooker waited for the lightning. What came was a sudden wind that toppled it and it fell, so they said, into four pieces. Nothing loth, Boniface had the timbers worked on to become part of a structure that became a Christian chapel.
There is no need to go as far as Fulda to connect with Boniface. He was born in about 679, so it is said, in Crediton, Devon, where he was known by his Anglo-Saxon name of Winfrith. He was taught his Latin in two monasteries, one at Nursling, near Winchester. In 718 he started on his evangelistic work in the Netherlands. In Crediton parish church is a statue of him.
Evangelistic drive took him to the Netherlands and then to Germany in the service of the Gospel. He was an instinctive evangelist but his leadership qualities led to his being made a bishop. As Archbishop of Mainz he brought order to the Christian Church scattered throughout Germany. Recruits from English monasteries, both men and women, joined the mission to Germany. There is a statue of Boniface in the grounds of Mainz cathedral.
Boniface has received tributes by historians. Like Alcuin (c737-804), who became a leader of the Carolingian renaissance among the Franks (among whom Boniface had also been influential) Boniface had a record that made his name familiar in northern Europe. He might well have earned a place as the patron saint of England. But it was not to be. He was, however, made the patron saint of Devon. He is much celebrated by Roman Catholics.
ISLAND CHURCHES
St Peter’s, Parkstone, Poole and St Mark’s, Gillingham, Kent have something in common – islands. St Peter’s has Brownsea Island with its St Mary’s church in its care. During the summer months there is a regular Sunday service. The Rector of St Peter’s is Mike Trotman.
St Mark’s has part of the old Royal Navy dockyard in its purview. The area is an island by a technicality; it is separated by what were dockyard basins from the mainland. St Mary’s island church, Gillingham is a worship-centre in a newly-developed housing area. It has the backing of a vigorous St Mark’s congregation under the leadership of the Vicar, Saju Muthalaly.
SIXTY-SIX MEN
Liz Woolley and others researched 66 names on the WW1 war memorial in St Mathew’s church, Oxford. This resulted in an award-winning film, an exhibition and other spin-offs. The Vicar, Jenni Williams, leads a largely female ministry team. Jon Williams is Associate Vicar. The church offers accommodation on ten Sunday nights January to March as part of the Oxford Winter Night Shelter and donates ten per cent of its income on mission to make a difference.
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