Bertha

This week, we will all be tracking and praying about Hurricane Bertha, and rightly so. However, in my research for the Lambeth Conference, I encountered another Bertha–Queen Bertha of Kent.
Bertha was the daughter of the King of Paris. When she married the pagan King Æthelberht of Kent, she brought her chaplain with her to England. She restored a Christian church in Canterbury, which dated from Roman times, dedicating it to Saint Martin of Tours. The present St Martin’s at Canterbury occupies the same site. Augustine of Canterbury, who was sent by Pope Gregory I to preach the Gospel in England in 596, owed much of his favorable reception there to the influence of Bertha.
King Æthelberht subsequently converted to Christianity. JW

Lord God,
We thank You for the life and ministry of Bertha, Queen of Kent. We ask You to raise up bishops’ wives whose steadfast fidelity and quiet piety prepare the way for Your work at the Lambeth Conference. Anoint them with Your Holy Spirit and surround them with Your holy angels. We pray in the name of Your Son, whose cross St. Augustine carried through the streets of Canterbury. Amen.