The Lesser Feast of Adeline Blanchard Tyler and her Companions
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Page numbers listed are from The Book of Common Prayer.
Opening Sentence, page 103
Officiant: O God, make speed to save us.
People: O Lord, make haste to help us.
All: Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia.
Psalm 103:1-6, page 733
1 Bless the Lord, O my soul, *
and all that is within me, bless his holy Name.
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, *
and forget not all his benefits.
3 He forgives all your sins *
and heals all your infirmities;
4 He redeems your life from the grave *
and crowns you with mercy and loving-kindness;
5 He satisfies you with good things, *
and your youth is renewed like an eagle’s.
6 The Lord executes righteousness *
and judgment for all who are oppressed.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
Reading: Matthew 14:13-21
Jesus withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them and cured their sick. When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” Jesus said to them, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” They replied, “We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.” And he said, “Bring them here to me.” Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full. And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.
All: Thanks be to God.
Reflection: Adeline Blanchard Tyler and her Companions Lesser Feasts and Fasts 2024
Adeline Blanchard Tyler (1805‑1875) was the first Episcopal deaconess. Along with Caroline (Carrie) Elizabeth Guild (1827‑1880), Eveline Black (1825‑1875), and Catherine Minard (1837‑1917), she was admitted to the office of deaconess on the 4th of November 1856. Accepting the threefold charge to be “servants of the Lord Jesus; servants to the sick and poor and needy, of every class, for Jesus’ sake; and servants to one another,” they provided nursing care, religious and practical education, material support, and advocacy at the newly established St. Andrew’s Infirmary in Baltimore. They cared for men, women, and children, Black and white, from near and far, and would become known as the United Deaconesses of Maryland.
Previously, Adeline had been a member of Boston’s Trinity Church, where she was among the founders of Trinity Hall, a Sunday School for poor children; the Episcopal City Mission; and St. Stephen’s Chapel. After joining the Church of the Advent in 1846 (where she would later sponsor Carrie Guild for baptism), Adeline continued in her works of Christian charity, becoming Matron of the Parish School, which the rector described as “a place of instruction for children of the Parish especially those who are poor and uncared for. We have about 50 children…10 are the children of colored Parishioners.”
In 1856, the Rev. Horace Stringfellow, rector of St. Andrew’s Church in Baltimore, invited Adeline to head his new infirmary, the fulfillment of his vision to emulate the nursing Sisterhoods and Deaconess hospitals he had seen in England and France. Adeline and Carrie arrived in Baltimore from Boston that September. They joined Eveline Black and Catherine Minard, who had been working with Stringfellow since 1855 at St. Andrew’s Church, but did not become deaconesses until Bishop Whittingham formally assumed “Pastoral Supervision and Visitorial care of your Sisterhood and of the Infirmary and Schools” on November 4, 1856. Soon the four original Deaconesses were joined by two associates, identified as Miss Hickey and Miss Martin. The report of the Infirmary’s first year notes 53 patients admitted, 88 out-door patients, 756 visits made, 93 children in the Charity School, 500 garments and 85 pairs of shoes distributed, 5 patients baptized, 4 confirmed, 8 admitted to their “first reception of the Holy Communion.”
During and after the Civil War, Adeline and her companions provided nursing care to the wounded on both sides of the conflict. At the Camden Street Hospital in Baltimore and the military hospital in Chester, Pennsylvania, and, somewhat later at the Naval Hospital at Annapolis, Maryland, often as many as one thousand wounded soldiers were under her care.
She died on January 9, 1875.
The Prayers, pages 106-107
Officiant: Lord have mercy.
People: Christ have mercy.
Officiant: Lord have mercy.
All:
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
Officiant: Lord, hear our prayer;
People: And let our cry come to you.
Officiant: Let us pray.
Merciful God, who endowed Adeline and her companions with faith and courage, wisdom and humility, and called them to serve you as deaconesses, ministering to the sick, the oppressed, and the poor: By your grace, grant that we, following their example, may live to serve you as they did, revealing your steadfast love to the world, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Intercessions and Thanksgivings
Dismissal, page 107
Officiant: Let us bless the Lord.
People: Thanks be to God.
Officiant: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all evermore. Amen.