Wednesday, April 1, 2026

It is the 1st of April 2026. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis.

 

Be very careful today. I could have started the show with “this is the last episode ever,” but April Fools need to thread the needle between clever and surprising without causing anxiety. Does April Fool’s have to do with those who didn’t change the calendar with Pope Gregory? Probably not- but we’ll leave that for a later “Urban Legends” Weekend Edition.

 

But today’s story is fascinating, and there is a connection to 1517, and our friends at Mockingbird Ministries and our friends at Calvary/St George in New York City, where Jacob Smith leads the congregation, and many of us have spoken there.

 

Back in the 19th century, there was a rector at St. George’s named Stephen Tyng Sr. Tyng was rector as the area was gentrifying, and he is credited with converting J.P. Morgan.

 

One of Tyng’s sons was Dudley Atkin Tyng, who would follow in his father's footsteps- both in the ministry as an Episcopalian and in that particular slice of “Evangelical Episcopalians”. Dudley was opposed to the Oxford movement and in favor of cross-denominational church meetings reminiscent of the Great Awakening. He studied for ministry and was ordained in the Episcopal church. By 1854, he was in a parish in Philadelphia that his father once served- the Church of the Epiphany. In this, the lead up to the Civil War, Dudley Tyng was a fiery abolitionist preacher- his famous sermon “Our Country's Troubles” inflamed the situation at Epiphany- he said:

 

“It is undoubtedly a great evil when the teachers of religion forsake their appropriate themes to mingle in all the heated controversies of the day….But may there not also be an opposite extreme? May there not be silence when great principles are at stake? … May not the dread of offense be carried so far as to put the pulpit in bondage? …At such times the Christian ministry may be criminal if it does not speak out boldly in behalf of right … It seems to me that we have now reached such a time.”

 

He would be removed from the rectorship and organize his own independent evangelical church- the Church of the Covenant. He would begin assisting with the weekday noon prayer meetings at the local YMCA. It was there, on this day in 1858, that he gave a famous sermon to some 5,000 in attendance. His text was Exodus 11, and he is reported to have said: “I must tell my Master’s errand, and I would rather this right arm were amputated at the trunk, than that I should come short of my duty to you in delivering God’s message.”

 

The sad irony took place just weeks later when he was walking around his Pennsylvania farm. Checking on a corn sheller and the mule driving the machine, he had his sleeve caught in the machine- his arm was crushed and had to be amputated- but without modern antibiotics, it led to his death. There are various stories about his injury and his deathbed- but he is reported by a friend, George Duffield Jr., to have implored his friends and fellow Christians, in this time of crisis, to “Stand Up For Jesus”. Just after Dudley’s death, George Duffield preached a sermon on Ephesians 6 and the verse “put on the full armor of God… so that you may be able to stand”. He then read the lyrics to his newly penned hymn, “Stand up, Stand Up for Jesus.” He would read:

Stand up, stand up for Jesus,

stand in His strength alone;

the arm of flesh will fail you,

ye dare not trust your own.

Put on the gospel armor,

each piece put on with prayer;

where duty calls or danger,

be never wanting there.

 

This would become one of the most popular 19th and early 20th-century hymns set to a tune based on a melody from Franz Schubert. It was published in the Baptist Hymnal “The Psalmist” in 1858, and then into the Presbyterian hymnal “The Church Psalmist” in 1859, and then into the popular “Golden Chain” hymnal. It has been slightly altered over time to amend some of the militaristic language. It could not, however, be salvaged by the Presbyterians who cut it from a 1990 hymnal as to avoid offending those who cannot stand up. I’ll let you do with that what you will. Today we remember the sermon from Dudley Tyng on this day, his ominous words, his death, and the hymn that it produced.

 

 

The Last word for today comes from the daily lectionary and John 12 as we continue in Holy Week

23 Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 25 Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.

27 “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name!”

Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” 29 The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him.

 

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 1st of April 2026, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man whose favorite Lutheran hymn is “Be Very Still for Jesus.” he is Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man who knows some charismatic Lutherans, really! I’m a fan— I’m Dan van Voorhis.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.