The Power of Christian Relationships and the Rev. Author Stanton

Very few people will have heard of the Rev. Author Stanton, who lived from 1839 to 1913 and served as curate for St. Albin’s Parish in Holborn, England for fifty years. Such long-term cures are very rare today. However, where they are found, they are almost always an indication of real spiritual health in the life of a church. From all indications, this was just as true in Fr. Stanton’s day as it is in our own.

During his service, Fr. Stanton became a much-loved figure because of his dedication to the people of his parish. Because St. Albin’s was in a very economically challenged area, Fr. Stanton became a champion of the poor.   Among other things this priest founded organizations and clubs dedicated to the working class.

Now while those may not seem like great accomplishments, the relationships this man built over his fifty years of service, awarded him a funeral procession larger than that of Queen Victoria! A funeral procession, not to the cathedral of St. Paul’s who offered him a niche, but to the humble working man’s graveyard where he is buried today.

As I reflect on his life, I am reminded of the power of human relationships and the godly necessity of loving and caring for the people in our lives. I am also reminded of how poorly we measure success in our culture. By all accounts, this man should have been promoted and moved up in the church hierarchy more than once. But success in the eyes of God looks very different. Perhaps at the end of his life God looked back and counted how many souls this man nurtured, how many mouths he fed, how many people he prayed with in grief and in joy. No doubt he heard those long sought after words from Jesus, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.…Enter into the joy of your master.” (Matt. 25:21) May all our lives reflect such grace!