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A reflection and prayer to start the day with the Rev'd Dr Stephen Wigley, Chair of the Wales Synod of the Methodist Church.

Good morning. Today marks the Feast day of Caedmon, the 8th century poet, songster and monk of Whitby. We don’t know a great deal about him, and much of what do is taken from Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of the English speaking people. But what we have is enough to suggest that Caedmon came to his vocation in a highly unusual way. He was an uneducated herdsman attached to the monastery at Whitby and somewhat embarrassed by his inability to sing as the monks did in worship of God. Then one night, in a dream, he was granted the gift himself to compose and sing a song of praise, and when he was able to repeat this in the presence of the Abbess, he too was welcomed into the community. The significant thing about this was that the songs he composed and sang were in the vernacular, in English, when so much of the life of the Church was undertaken in Latin. And the fragments of his work which remain, from his ‘Hymn of Creation’, are some of the earliest examples of poetry in English to be found anywhere.

So Caedmon marks a hugely significant step forward in the life of faith. He died, according to Bede, ‘in holiness and perfect charity to all’, but his influence lives on as a forerunner of all those others to come, who will look to express the joy of their faith in a language which they and their fellow believers can understand. Indeed, there’s a sense in which we’re still learning how to do this – which makes it all the more fitting today to honour his memory and follow his example.

Living Lord,
We give thanks for the life and work of Caedmon, and we ask that inspired by his example we may find ways to share the joy of our faith so that others may be drawn into a living relationship with you.
For the sake of your Kingdom, Amen.