St. Cedd
(AD 620-AD 664)
Bishop of Essex
Abbot of Lastingham
Born: c. AD 620 in Northumberland
Died: 26th October AD 664 at Lastingham, Yorkshire North Riding

Discussing names with my Blog friend Elizabeth the other day, I mentioned that had I known about St. Cedd before Cedric's chrismation, I'd probably have chosen him for his patron saint (In no way do I want to minimize the impact of having the Patriarch Jacob as his saint, by the way). Yesterday, I recieved the neatest package from her containing an icon card of this English Orthodox saint. Thank you so much! It's greatly appreciated!

So, I decided to research him and here's his Hagiography.

St. Cedd was the eldest of four holy brothers, born into a noble Northumbrian family at the beginning of the 7th century. With his siblings, Cynebil, Caelin & (St.) Chad, he entered the school at Lindisfarne Priory at an early age and learnt the ways of the Irish monks under Bishop Aidan. They were eventually sent to Ireland for further study and all four subsequently became priests.

In AD 653, the mighty armies of King Penda of Mercia expanded their monarch's influence to the control of Middle Anglia (Leicestershire and parts of Lincoln and Derby), where his son Peada was appointed King. Soon afterward, the young king visited his neighbour, King Oswiu of Northumbria, at Walton (or Atwell or Wattbottle) and, as his new kingdom had already been considerably influenced by East Anglian Christianity, Peada agreed to be baptised in return for the hand of Oswiu's daughter, Alchflaed. Bishop Finan of Lindisfarne therefore welcomed the King and a number of his nobles into the Christian faith and Oswiu provided him with four priests to instruct his people further. One of these was St. Cedd.

Within a year, Cedd returned home, having helped to convert much of Middle Anglia to Christianity. He travelled to Lindisfarne to confer with Bishop Finan, who promptly sent this impress young missionary out once more to evangelise the people of Essex, who were sorely in need of some spiritual guidance. King Oswiu, having imposed his overlordship there, had persuaded King Sigeberht Sanctus to adopt Christianity, in a general mobilization against Penda of Mercia. Cedd thus turned south again to spread the word of God amongst the East Saxons. He baptised many of the locals and built several churches - possibly Prittlewell and West Mersea amongst them - and is particularly noted for the foundation of monasteries at Ythanchester (Bradwell-on-Sea) and Tilaburg (East Tilbury).

The following year, Cedd made a brief visit to Northumbria once more, where Bishop Finan had no hesitation in ordaining him as Bishop of Essex. Back in his southern province, Cedd pursued the work he had previously begun with more ample authority. He re-instated St. Paul's in London as the main seat of his diocese. He ordained priests and deacons to assist him in his work and gathered together a large flock of servants of Christ in his two monastic foundations.

Bishop Cedd always remained fond of his homeland, however, and was wont to make regular visits there. On one such occasion in AD 658, Cedd was approached by King Aethelwald of Deira who had been instructed in Christianity and administered the Sacraments by the Bishop's brother, Caelin. Finding Cedd to be a good and wise man, he pressed upon him to accept a parcel of land at Laestingaeu (Lastingham in Yorkshire) on which to build a Royal monastery and prospective mausoleum. Cedd eventually agreed, but would not lay the foundation stones until the place had first been cleansed through prayer and fasting. This, he undertook himself throughout lent, until his brother, Cynebil, took over, when the Bishop was called to the Royal Court. Cedd was the first Abbot of Lastingham and remained so while still administering to his flock in Essex.

Christianity had not quite been universally accepted in Cedd's southern province and, by AD 660, there was considerable discontent with the rule of King Sigeberht of Essex. He was murdered by his brothers, Swithelm and Swithfrith, and the former took the throne as a pagan King. St. Cedd was forced to flee north into East Anglia, where he settled at the Court of King Aethelwald at Rendlesham (Suffolk). The East Anglians appear to have held some sort of overlordship in Essex at this time and, within about two years, Aethelwald had persuaded Swithelm that it would be in his interest to become Christian. Cedd baptised him at Rendlesham, with Aethelwald as his godfather, and the two returned to Essex.

It was around this time that, owing to the influence of St. Wilfrid who had been established at Ripon by King Alchfrith of Deira, that a great divide was forming in the Northumbrian Church. All the missionaries of the north had been brought up in Iona or Lindisfarne, and followed the Celtic ritual. Wilfrid, ordained by a French bishop, introduced Roman ways. The split even extended to the Royal household where, each year, Oswiu celebrated the Celtic Easter feast and his Queen, the Roman. To settle this difference, and prevent a rupture, the King convened a religious synod at Whitby in AD 664. St. Cedd attended the synod - probably with his brother, Chad - to act as interpreter and to speak on behalf of his fellow Celtic ecclesiastics, Bishop Colman of Lindisfarne and Abbess Hilda of Whitby. On the opposing side were Abbot Wilfrid of Ripon, former Bishop Agilbert of Wessex, Romanus, the Queen's chaplain, and James the Deacon who had remained in Swaledale after St. Paulinus had fled Yorkshire. After much debate, it was decided that the Roman usages should be adopted and Cedd, along with many others, reluctantly renounced the customs of Lindisfarne and returned to his diocese to spread the new Roman ways amongst the people of Essex.

The same year, Cedd visited his Abbey at Lastingham while a great plague was, unfortunately, raging through the area. Both he and his brother, Cynebil, fell sick and, after placing Lastingham in the charge of their youngest brother, Chad, they died. Cedd was first buried in the open air and his funeral was attended by some thirty monks from Bradwell who, sadly, also contracted the plague and died. Eventually, a little stone church was built at the Lastingham, in honour the Virgin Mary, and Cedd's body was interred there, to the right of the altar. The latter remains intact in the Norman crypt that was later built on the site, though St. Cedd's bones were removed around the same time to the cathedral founded by his brother, Chad, at Lichfield.

Holy St. Cedd pray to God for us!

Icon from Orthodox England

Addressing Poverty

One of the things during Lent we focus on is increasing our Almsgiving. I heard an interesting piece on NPR this morning about a Poverty Simulator. The idea being that most of us in the Middle Class (myself included) have been broke at one time or another, but not impoverished. It really helps participants to understand the systemic barriers to just "pulling yourself up by the bootstraps".

How the Simulation works:


Poverty simulations give participants a taste of what it might be like to live in a low-income family. Leaving their real-world identities behind, groups of 40-85 participants assume new roles and life situations for around three hours. They must navigate daily tasks that would be familiar, if not for the limitations of having far fewer resources to draw on.

The Missouri Association for Community Action has designed a poverty simulation kit that includes 26 unique family profiles typical of Americans experiencing poverty. The kit is used by local agencies around the country to bring together government leaders, social service providers, educators, legal system personnel, civic groups and the business community to build a shared framework for understanding poverty.

During four 15-minute "weeks," those assigned adult roles try to maintain their home, feed their family, send children to school, keep their utilities on, make loan payments, pay for daily expenses like transportation, handle unexpected emergencies and figure out how to access local support and resources. Participants playing children clamor for attention, go to school and imagine the trials of poverty from a child's perspective.

Each family receives props like money, food stamps and transportation cards. They also live under certain constraints. If they have a job, they must spend seven out of the 15-minutes in each "week" sitting in the designated "workplace" or risk getting fired. If they don't have a bank account, they have to cash checks (and pay extra fees) at the "Quick Cash" outlet. Failure to pay their mortgage bills means the loan officer may serve them a foreclosure notice. "Luck of the Draw" cards can bestow an unexpected windfall, cause the breakdown of their only car or serve notice of a sudden school closure.

The staff who play the bureaucrats and cashiers are often people who have direct experience living in poverty. They draw from their real-world experiences to portray representatives from the local utility company, mortgage company, grocery store and child care facility, among other agencies. Other staff, such as the "illegal activities" person, commit robbery, buy and sell drugs or food stamps, and entice children into illegal activities. There is even a police officer to roam the room and respond to disputes.

The simulation kit prepared by the Missouri Association for Community Action isn't meant to be comprehensive. Salient issues such as health care, child support enforcement and the foster care system are not addressed for fear of cramming too much into an hour's session. However, local agencies often tailor the simulation to the characteristics of their communities and to participants' needs.

In just one evening of imitation poverty, real emotions build up. "Most people start off confident in their abilities," says Teresa Wilson of Missouri Association for Community Action. "But they often become angry and frustrated, because they feel like they're not being allowed access to resources they usually take for granted. Some ask, 'Why don't I have a debit card in here?' and I have to remind them they don't even have a bank account!"

Afterwards, trained facilitators lead participants and staff in a discussion. Participants reflect on their own ability to cope in a "state of poverty" and examine the issues and emotions raised by the interaction between the "poor" and community agencies. Staff sometimes share personal testimonials about their experiences in poverty.

Facilitators say significant attitude changes can occur during the brief but intense simulations. Many participants report that they gain a better understanding of the obstacles faced by low-income families. "I've worked with teachers who gain a better understanding of how reasons of poverty may cause students' behavioral problems in the classroom," says Wilson.

The experience helps build a shared framework that community members can draw upon to talk about poverty. Sometimes, participants decide to take personal action and generate ideas for working together to better support low-income families as they transition from government assistance to working independence

To read more about how this works including the profiles, as well as how Savannah is addressing Poverty, check out the story at NPR

And, let me know what you think.