March 18

Okay, my list of birthday saints is pretty long today. That’s good! Today is an auspicious day for those working for peace and justice.

Today is the birthday, in 1789, of Charlotte Elliott, who wrote the hymn “Just As I Am.” The hymn became a staple in evangelical revivals for the next two centuries. Though overuse during “altar calls” has made the song into a Christian cliché, the lyrics reflect her own conversion. When she told a pastor that she wanted to get her life together before becoming a Christian, he replied, “Come as you are.” 

Today is also the birthday, in 1845, of Kicking Bear, a Lakota leader, warrior, and holy man in the Ghost Dance movement of the 1890’s. He was a perpetual advocate for Native American rights, whether that meant fighting or diplomacy. 

It is also the birthday, in 1919, of Elizabeth Anscombe who… man, how do I describe her? She was a practicing Roman Catholic philosopher who was a student of Ludwig Wittgenstien. She was an academic fireball with wit and attitude. She debated C.S. Lewis about miracles and most famously wrote a rebuke of Oxford University granting an honorary degree to President Truman. She did not think someone who dropped nuclear weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki deserved such an honor. Consistent with her Roman Catholic faith, she was staunchly anti-abortion, but carved out a place for women in academia in general and philosophy in particular.

Today is also the birthday, in 1922, of Fred Shuttlesworth, Baptist pastor and civil rights leader. He founded the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights, and co-founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. He survived bombings and other attempts on his life, and frequently cajoled other civil rights leaders into putting their bodies on the line. Many have said he put the “fighter” in the term “freedom fighter.” 

Today is also the birthday, in 1933, of Unita Blackwell, civil rights leader of Mississippi and the first African-American woman mayor of that state. She publicized voter suppression efforts (like registration tests) and organized student protests, including filing a lawsuit over school policies intended to squelch free speech. 

Today is the feast day of Cyril of Jerusalem, who died in 386. He taught and wrote prolifically and helped shape early Christian theology. 

Reflection: 

An interviewer asked Reverend Shuttlesworth why such a small percentage of people were willing to fight for Civil Rights, and he answered this way: 

When firemen and police were called in to disrupt a mass meeting at a church, Shuttlesworth said, 

My colleague T. Marie King, produced a documentary on Fred Shuttlesworth that aired on PBS and was nominated for an Emmy in 2023. You can view it here. 

Cyril of Jerusalem said this of the Holy Spirit: 

Prayer: Holy Spirit, who gently welcomes us just as we are; give us the power of the peaceful warrior, of prophets like Kicking Bull, Fred Shuttlesworth, and Unita Blackwell. Amen.