July 7 in Christian History

Jul 07, 2009 01:29 PM EDT

1586 - Birth of Thomas Hooker, colonial American pastor and an originator of the earliest system of federal government in America.


1851 - Birth of Charles A. Tindley, African-American Methodist preacher and songwriter. His most enduring gospel hymns include 'Stand By Me,' 'Nothing Between,' 'Leave It There' and 'By and By.'


1946 - Italian-American educator, Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini (1850-1917) became the first American citizen to be made a saint in the Catholic Church. She arrived in the U.S. in 1889, and was naturalized in 1909.


1952 - Six churches met to form the Southern Baptist Association of Colorado, the first organization of this denomination in the state.


1959 - English apologist C.S. Lewis wrote in a letter: 'I "believed" theoretically in the divine forgiveness for years before it really came home to me. It is a wonderful thing when it does.'


© 1987-2009, William D. Blake. Used by permission of the author, from

Almanac of the Christian Church