WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.520 Well thank you again for having me here this morning. It's wonderful as I said to be able to 00:00:05.520 --> 00:00:11.439 speak about a woman from history and actually particularly a woman from history who most 00:00:11.439 --> 00:00:16.580 people don't know about. It's something I'm really passionate about telling some stories of some 00:00:16.580 --> 00:00:24.859 unknown women and when Steve asked me to speak about a woman from history steadfast in faith 00:00:24.859 --> 00:00:33.179 I immediately thought of Elizabeth Saunders. Now as I said she is a relatively unknown person 00:00:33.179 --> 00:00:40.619 from the early history of the New South Wales Baptists. Now the reason why I chose her was 00:00:40.619 --> 00:00:46.379 not because of my connections with the Baptist churches although I do think Baptist history is 00:00:46.379 --> 00:00:54.200 pretty interesting but it was really because of the multiple ways in which her life 00:00:54.200 --> 00:01:05.520 displayed the steadfast love, steadfast faithfulness of God. What I have in mind by that is partly the 00:01:05.520 --> 00:01:13.280 way in which at various points in her life story she showed steadfast faithful love toward God and 00:01:13.280 --> 00:01:23.219 others but also and perhaps even more so the ways in which she herself and her family experienced 00:01:23.219 --> 00:01:32.760 God's steadfast love and kindness in their own lives. One of my favourite words from the Old Testament 00:01:32.760 --> 00:01:40.060 is the Hebrew word hesed. It's the word that's sometimes translated as steadfast love. 00:01:41.719 --> 00:01:47.620 Especially in situations where the person demonstrating it is in a covenant relationship 00:01:47.620 --> 00:01:55.060 with another person and is steadfastly faithfully keeping that covenant of love. So it's the word that's used 00:01:55.060 --> 00:02:01.859 over and over again to describe the steadfast love of God himself toward his people. 00:02:03.219 --> 00:02:10.960 But it also gets used in situations where the love and mercy that's been shown spills over beyond 00:02:10.960 --> 00:02:18.620 any covenant responsibilities. It exists where there isn't any covenant relationship at all in some 00:02:18.620 --> 00:02:27.819 cases and for that reason in some translations like the NIV it's frequently translated not as steadfast 00:02:27.819 --> 00:02:35.740 love but as mercy or kindness. And for most of this talk as we reflect together on the story of 00:02:35.740 --> 00:02:44.360 Elizabeth Saunders it's that word kindness that I'll be using. And as I tell her story I want us to be 00:02:44.360 --> 00:02:50.420 listening for some of the echoes that we will hear of one of the great Old Testament stories of hesed 00:02:50.420 --> 00:02:57.879 of steadfast love and kindness. The story that we read in the Old Testament book of Ruth and we just heard 00:02:57.879 --> 00:03:05.719 the first chapter of that read just before quite beautifully. You might want to go and read 00:03:05.719 --> 00:03:12.340 the rest of it this afternoon. It's a short book and if you're already familiar with it you might see 00:03:12.340 --> 00:03:18.219 the connections as I speak about Elizabeth Saunders's life today. I think there are a lot of parallels. 00:03:19.460 --> 00:03:28.919 Twice exiled, vulnerable, widowed, living out the kindness and steadfast love of God in ways that 00:03:28.919 --> 00:03:35.699 were costly and controversial at times. Her life really does remind me in multiple ways of Ruth and Naomi's 00:03:35.699 --> 00:03:44.459 story. And that should not really be a surprise because the same kind and gracious God that they 00:03:44.459 --> 00:03:57.319 worshipped was her God too. Elizabeth Saunders was born in England in 1801 and grew up in Aberdeen in the 00:03:57.319 --> 00:04:04.239 north of Scotland. There's a picture of the place there. Her father was stationed as a lieutenant with the 00:04:04.240 --> 00:04:13.780 Navy. She married her husband John in May 1834 after meeting him when he was in Edinburgh training to be a 00:04:13.780 --> 00:04:22.240 Baptist missionary. Both had become strongly evangelical in their convictions during their formative years. 00:04:22.980 --> 00:04:28.759 John had made the decision to follow Christ in the aftermath of his mother's death when he was still a 00:04:28.759 --> 00:04:37.339 teenager. He left his family's congregational church and was baptised at Cold Harbour Lane Baptist Church or 00:04:37.339 --> 00:04:44.980 Denmark Place Baptist Church in Camberwell in London. His family had set their hearts in entering Parliament 00:04:44.980 --> 00:04:53.199 and he trained as a solicitor before leaving, becoming a Baptist pastor and starting to pursue the idea of 00:04:53.199 --> 00:05:01.979 overseas missionary work. Elizabeth's faith was also strongly evangelical. She was probably influenced by 00:05:01.979 --> 00:05:09.599 an evangelical revival in Scotland led by a man named Robert and James Holden in the early 19th century. 00:05:10.539 --> 00:05:15.579 And she was attending one of the congregational churches they had planted in Edinburgh and that's where she and 00:05:15.579 --> 00:05:24.359 John married. And this was a time when evangelicals were deeply concerned for the spread of the gospel into 00:05:24.359 --> 00:05:32.240 all the world and they were involved in a host of charitable causes. Lots of causes aimed at promoting 00:05:32.240 --> 00:05:40.479 justice and mercy. This was true for John and Elizabeth as well. So Elizabeth had been involved in various acts of 00:05:40.480 --> 00:05:47.920 service. She was an active member of a philanthropic group called the British Lady Society for promoting the 00:05:47.920 --> 00:05:55.160 reformation of female prisoners. They didn't go for short titles but did what it said. That was what they 00:05:55.160 --> 00:06:03.939 were interested in. And that was a group organised by Elizabeth Fry who's a more well-known person in 00:06:03.939 --> 00:06:11.420 history. A Quaker who was famous for her philanthropy and concerned for prison reform. And as a volunteer 00:06:11.420 --> 00:06:19.839 with that society, Elizabeth Saunders regularly visited Newgate Prison in London and that had notoriously 00:06:19.839 --> 00:06:25.720 bad living conditions for women and children. So volunteers like Elizabeth would bring in provisions 00:06:25.720 --> 00:06:34.900 like food and clothes and teach the women basic skills like needlework. They established a school for 00:06:34.900 --> 00:06:40.920 children who were living in prison with their mothers and lobbied the government for an improvement in the 00:06:40.920 --> 00:06:48.080 conditions for women in prisons throughout the country. And they also visited convict women who were 00:06:48.080 --> 00:06:53.060 being held in prison hulks on the Thames waiting to be transported to Australia. 00:06:53.060 --> 00:07:03.439 So for the first few months of their marriage, John served as a pastor in a Baptist church in 00:07:03.439 --> 00:07:10.040 Shacklewell in London. But he was deep in conversation with the Baptist Missionary Society. He actually 00:07:10.040 --> 00:07:15.860 wanted to be sent to India. But it wasn't long before someone else came to him and said, 00:07:15.860 --> 00:07:24.460 look, there's a Baptist congregation in Sydney that's just lost its pastor. It's just been planted and 00:07:24.460 --> 00:07:32.319 it doesn't, yeah, this is congregation. We need you. So just a few months into the marriage, 00:07:32.560 --> 00:07:39.439 Elizabeth and John boarded a female convict ship called the George Hibbert. They did this actually 00:07:39.439 --> 00:07:45.500 without financial support since New South Wales was not technically a missionary destination. So they 00:07:45.500 --> 00:07:52.740 weren't sent as missionaries. So they had to find other ways to get out to Australia. And Elizabeth Fry 00:07:52.740 --> 00:08:03.199 had pleaded earnestly with the Home Secretary, Lord Melbourne, to send Elizabeth Saunders as a matron to 00:08:03.199 --> 00:08:09.759 the convicts on this ship. This was the first time such a request was made. Usually they were sent out 00:08:09.759 --> 00:08:16.399 with any sort of care in that respect. And it's the first time it was granted and it meant that Elizabeth 00:08:16.399 --> 00:08:24.839 could go out as the matron to these female convicts and they could have free passage. John was also the 00:08:24.839 --> 00:08:31.560 chaplain to the female convicts. So this was their way to get to Australia. Now, it wasn't an easy 00:08:31.560 --> 00:08:39.259 journey. It was a long journey. It was arduous. Elizabeth actually battled severe seasickness. For most of the 00:08:39.259 --> 00:08:45.399 journey, she lost a worrying amount of weight. And on the same journey out, many others have come to 00:08:45.399 --> 00:08:54.220 dysentery and they died on their way out to Australia. John painted a vivid picture of the voyage in a letter 00:08:54.220 --> 00:09:00.940 home to his sister. There's a quote here, the rolling and pitching of the ship, the delay and heat 00:09:00.940 --> 00:09:08.320 during calms, the perilous position during gales, the cluck of the women during the day, the howling of 00:09:08.320 --> 00:09:14.100 the wind over a waste of waters during the night. Now added to those, then we may mention seasickness 00:09:14.100 --> 00:09:20.120 and cockroaches. And to these, the pleasure of often having part of your dinner in your lap before it got 00:09:20.120 --> 00:09:28.820 to your mouth. When Elizabeth became ill with seasickness, John actually performed the duties of 00:09:28.820 --> 00:09:34.840 chaplain and schoolmaster and some of her duties as well. And he started school lessons for the women 00:09:34.840 --> 00:09:40.500 and children on deck every morning, formed two Bible classes for the women and conducted two churches 00:09:40.500 --> 00:09:47.400 services on Sundays. And the ship's captain actually wrote about both of them later on. He remembered that 00:09:47.400 --> 00:09:54.540 many of the convict women weren't able to read and write when they boarded the ship. But by the end of 00:09:54.539 --> 00:10:00.319 the journey, after being taught by John, they could do both. And he also spoke positively about Elizabeth 00:10:00.319 --> 00:10:09.459 saying that she was very attentive and kind to these women. The Saunders' work, even on their journey 00:10:09.459 --> 00:10:15.559 to the colony, was rated a huge success by people like Elizabeth Fry. She looked back on their efforts 00:10:15.559 --> 00:10:22.079 saying, surely the result of our labours has hitherto been beyond our most sanguine expectations as to the 00:10:22.080 --> 00:10:26.960 improved state of our prisons, female convict ships and the convicts in New South Wales. 00:10:28.379 --> 00:10:34.860 So they arrived in Australia, but when they arrived in Sydney, things were even harder than the ship 00:10:34.860 --> 00:10:44.020 journey. Elizabeth described the colony as a wilderness, like being in complete exile. 00:10:44.780 --> 00:10:51.780 She struggled with the climate in Sydney and the vast array of vermin and bugs. She particularly hated 00:10:51.779 --> 00:10:57.980 the mosquitoes. In another letter home, John described their comical bedtime routine, 00:10:58.439 --> 00:11:04.500 which involved Elizabeth hopping into bed with the mosquito curtains drawn, with John on the outside 00:11:04.500 --> 00:11:10.959 with the candle, and Elizabeth smashing as many as were visible. Her fear of mosquitoes was so great 00:11:10.959 --> 00:11:15.639 that she would supplement the mosquito nets by sleeping with gloves and her head covered. 00:11:15.639 --> 00:11:22.139 Arriving in summer in Sydney was also a huge shock to her, coming from England. 00:11:22.960 --> 00:11:29.159 She continued to struggle with her health, telling her sister that her limbs were extremely weak and 00:11:29.159 --> 00:11:33.620 she didn't expect to gain much strength while the weather remained so hot. 00:11:34.939 --> 00:11:42.220 On arriving in Sydney, Elizabeth was also shocked by the realities of living in a penal colony. 00:11:42.220 --> 00:11:48.019 At this stage, convicts and ex-convicts meet up over a third of the population. 00:11:49.000 --> 00:11:53.820 They had a female convict living with them as a servant that they'd met on the way out. 00:11:55.160 --> 00:12:00.519 And Elizabeth and John maintained contact with this Society for Female Prisoners, 00:12:00.860 --> 00:12:07.200 sending back reports about various female convicts that the women back home in England were 00:12:07.200 --> 00:12:11.060 interested in and concerned for, and particularly those who had already come to faith. 00:12:12.220 --> 00:12:17.700 But as much as Elizabeth was interested in this cause and accustomed to poverty and the plight of 00:12:17.700 --> 00:12:23.300 prisoners and their families, she still found the constant presence of convicts in chains 00:12:23.300 --> 00:12:24.560 unsettling and disturbing. 00:12:25.399 --> 00:12:30.139 She could hear prisoners passing by on the streets of Sydney, clanking their chains, 00:12:30.639 --> 00:12:34.120 and she found the sound awful and heart-wrenching, she said. 00:12:34.940 --> 00:12:39.060 She would wonder if they were bush rangers or whether they would soon be executed. 00:12:39.059 --> 00:12:45.399 She commented that the conditions of the female convicts in Sydney were worse than she had seen 00:12:45.399 --> 00:12:48.500 in Newgate Prison on her visits there. 00:12:50.139 --> 00:12:51.619 Her quote was, 00:12:51.620 --> 00:12:56.179 You never beheld woman so degraded as she appears in Sydney streets. 00:12:57.779 --> 00:13:05.419 Nothing really about their lives in Sydney during those early months seemed comfortable or easy 00:13:05.419 --> 00:13:10.320 or familiar compared to the life that they'd left behind in London. 00:13:10.320 --> 00:13:21.760 This was not a choice that they would have made if they were looking for their happiness in the comfort and the safety of their familiar world 00:13:21.760 --> 00:13:24.460 or in the possessions that they could amass. 00:13:25.200 --> 00:13:30.300 But they knew deep down that this was a choice that they were compelled to make, 00:13:31.240 --> 00:13:33.480 that they were clear about why they had made it. 00:13:33.480 --> 00:13:38.139 Reflecting on some of the daily difficulties they were encountering, 00:13:38.460 --> 00:13:41.180 just a few months after their arrival, 00:13:41.519 --> 00:13:44.000 John reassured his brother in a letter home that, 00:13:44.759 --> 00:13:46.680 I am happy and so is Elizabeth. 00:13:47.279 --> 00:13:50.300 For we came out for an object and God favours us. 00:13:50.860 --> 00:13:55.060 But we put up with some things we should have no occasion to contend with at home. 00:13:55.059 --> 00:14:00.719 I write not to complain, he said in another letter written a few weeks later, 00:14:01.359 --> 00:14:04.759 for a kind God has made us and still keeps us happy. 00:14:05.219 --> 00:14:10.939 But to convince you how much his support and consolations can make every situation comfortable. 00:14:14.019 --> 00:14:19.439 But the way in which Elizabeth Saunders and her husband lived out the kindness of God 00:14:19.439 --> 00:14:24.739 went far beyond the discomforts and inconveniences that they endured. 00:14:25.059 --> 00:14:31.619 There was also frequently a sharp and risky edge of controversy to the kindness that they showed. 00:14:32.559 --> 00:14:39.019 And numerous occasions when they took choices that put their reputation and respectability at risk. 00:14:39.859 --> 00:14:44.500 And at a time in which reputation and respectability was everything, 00:14:44.739 --> 00:14:46.399 this was no small thing. 00:14:48.059 --> 00:14:50.599 The risk to reputation was there from the very beginning. 00:14:50.600 --> 00:14:55.340 The original Baptist pastor in Sydney, John McCaig, 00:14:55.860 --> 00:14:59.879 had been a figure of public ridicule and scorn. 00:15:00.519 --> 00:15:04.159 When he baptised his first converts in Woolloomooloo Bay, 00:15:04.820 --> 00:15:09.480 a crowd of cheering onlookers gathered around to hoot and laugh at him, 00:15:10.180 --> 00:15:13.000 throw stones while he was trying to baptise, 00:15:13.000 --> 00:15:16.059 and then they stole his shoes at the end of it. 00:15:17.360 --> 00:15:21.960 And things only got worse from there as his ministry unravelled, 00:15:22.220 --> 00:15:26.580 his life spiralled down into miserable drunkenness, 00:15:26.799 --> 00:15:30.700 gambling addiction, debtors prison, and attempted suicide. 00:15:31.139 --> 00:15:33.919 So that was the state of things when John was asked to come. 00:15:33.919 --> 00:15:38.159 So throwing in lot in with the Baptists in the 1830s 00:15:38.159 --> 00:15:41.639 was not a decision to join with the beautiful people. 00:15:43.199 --> 00:15:48.559 And the causes that her husband John threw himself into, 00:15:48.679 --> 00:15:50.459 alongside the work of pastoring, 00:15:51.439 --> 00:15:53.000 the Bathurst Street Baptist Church, 00:15:53.399 --> 00:15:55.740 and helping to plant a string of other ones, 00:15:55.839 --> 00:15:59.719 were frequently controversial and disreputable as well. 00:15:59.720 --> 00:16:03.980 The cause that John was best known for in his own time 00:16:03.980 --> 00:16:06.759 was his involvement in the temperance movement, 00:16:07.200 --> 00:16:10.720 a movement that sprang up in the 1830s and 1840s 00:16:10.720 --> 00:16:15.519 in response to a growing concern at the social harm 00:16:15.519 --> 00:16:18.440 caused by excessive consumption of alcohol, 00:16:18.620 --> 00:16:20.700 particularly drinks like gin and rum. 00:16:22.080 --> 00:16:24.279 Now, Elizabeth shared John's opinions 00:16:24.279 --> 00:16:27.160 about the effects of the rum trade on the colony. 00:16:27.159 --> 00:16:30.639 She was shocked at the level of street violence 00:16:30.639 --> 00:16:32.759 and public drunkenness in Sydney, 00:16:33.559 --> 00:16:36.659 writing home about it on multiple occasions. 00:16:37.939 --> 00:16:39.319 And the temperance campaign 00:16:39.319 --> 00:16:41.139 also was a joint effort between them. 00:16:41.779 --> 00:16:43.699 So John and Elizabeth did this together 00:16:43.699 --> 00:16:46.159 when she travelled with him, for example, 00:16:46.679 --> 00:16:50.059 when he made his first trip out of Sydney in 1835. 00:16:50.379 --> 00:16:53.480 He went and established temperance societies 00:16:53.480 --> 00:16:56.980 in country outposts like Campbelltown and Liverpool. 00:16:57.159 --> 00:17:00.779 Which were just tiny little towns at the time. 00:17:02.059 --> 00:17:04.859 And, yeah, that was a big journey, actually. 00:17:04.940 --> 00:17:06.659 And it was a big deal because it was at a time 00:17:06.659 --> 00:17:10.220 when temperance campaigners were finding it desperately hard 00:17:10.220 --> 00:17:12.440 to persuade the women of the colony 00:17:12.440 --> 00:17:14.000 to give their support to the cause 00:17:14.000 --> 00:17:16.099 because it was seen as being a cause. 00:17:16.200 --> 00:17:17.180 It was not respectable. 00:17:17.720 --> 00:17:21.879 It was not a good issue for ladies to involve themselves in. 00:17:21.880 --> 00:17:26.780 Over time, the work of Saunders as a leader 00:17:26.780 --> 00:17:27.860 of the temperance movement 00:17:27.860 --> 00:17:31.300 ended up winning him enormous respect and recognition. 00:17:32.420 --> 00:17:34.760 Public figures like Governor Gipps 00:17:34.760 --> 00:17:36.700 and the Attorney General John Plunkett 00:17:36.700 --> 00:17:38.020 were full of praise for him, 00:17:38.660 --> 00:17:41.280 even if there were other people less than impressed. 00:17:41.279 --> 00:17:45.279 But he was also outspoken on issues 00:17:45.279 --> 00:17:47.480 that were less popular at the time. 00:17:48.119 --> 00:17:49.879 And the most famous of these 00:17:49.879 --> 00:17:55.299 was the way that he responded to the Mile Creek Massacre in 1838 00:17:55.299 --> 00:17:59.539 when 28 Indigenous people were rounded up 00:17:59.539 --> 00:18:01.500 and slaughtered by stockmen 00:18:01.500 --> 00:18:03.500 at a property near Mile Creek 00:18:03.500 --> 00:18:06.220 in northwestern New South Wales. 00:18:06.220 --> 00:18:09.980 This was not the first time 00:18:09.980 --> 00:18:13.720 that large-scale killings of Indigenous people 00:18:13.720 --> 00:18:15.620 had taken place in New South Wales. 00:18:16.860 --> 00:18:18.480 But it was the first time 00:18:18.480 --> 00:18:20.220 that the perpetrators were held to account 00:18:20.220 --> 00:18:22.120 and charged with murder. 00:18:23.120 --> 00:18:26.339 In October, as the men were being tried, 00:18:27.019 --> 00:18:28.400 Saunders preached a sermon 00:18:28.400 --> 00:18:32.360 which caused a massive backlash in the press. 00:18:32.359 --> 00:18:37.119 The text of the sermon was Isaiah 26, 21. 00:18:38.119 --> 00:18:41.339 Behold, the Lord cometh out of his place 00:18:41.339 --> 00:18:43.959 to punish the inhabitants of the earth 00:18:43.959 --> 00:18:44.819 for their iniquity. 00:18:48.339 --> 00:18:50.319 The earth shall disclose her blood 00:18:50.319 --> 00:18:52.319 and shall no more cover her slain. 00:18:53.399 --> 00:18:56.199 And its climax was on the collective guilt 00:18:56.199 --> 00:18:57.679 of the whole colony 00:18:57.679 --> 00:18:59.599 for the shedding of innocent blood. 00:19:00.099 --> 00:19:00.719 More than that, 00:19:00.720 --> 00:19:03.039 he went on to set the massacre 00:19:03.039 --> 00:19:05.079 in the even larger context 00:19:05.079 --> 00:19:06.460 of the wrongs that had been done 00:19:06.460 --> 00:19:08.059 in invading the continent, 00:19:08.740 --> 00:19:09.900 stealing the land, 00:19:10.059 --> 00:19:11.779 and destroying communities 00:19:11.779 --> 00:19:13.680 by introducing a whole new set 00:19:13.680 --> 00:19:15.980 of European vices and addictions. 00:19:17.120 --> 00:19:18.620 Now, this was far beyond 00:19:18.620 --> 00:19:21.380 what almost anyone else was prepared to say 00:19:21.380 --> 00:19:23.299 at a time when even the decision 00:19:23.299 --> 00:19:25.839 to prosecute the perpetrators of the massacre 00:19:25.839 --> 00:19:28.079 was viewed as a controversial one. 00:19:28.079 --> 00:19:30.419 And the sermon 00:19:30.419 --> 00:19:32.399 and a follow-up speech he gave 00:19:32.399 --> 00:19:33.460 a few days later 00:19:33.460 --> 00:19:35.579 led to enormous controversy. 00:19:36.299 --> 00:19:38.619 There were threats of legal action, 00:19:39.699 --> 00:19:41.079 vicious public criticism, 00:19:41.319 --> 00:19:42.740 so particularly from the editor 00:19:42.740 --> 00:19:44.039 of the City Morning Herald. 00:19:44.539 --> 00:19:45.759 He attacked Saunders 00:19:45.759 --> 00:19:48.439 in a series of furious editorials 00:19:48.439 --> 00:19:51.159 accusing him of malicious falsehood 00:19:51.159 --> 00:19:53.079 and maniacal fury 00:19:53.079 --> 00:19:54.879 before going on to say, 00:19:54.880 --> 00:19:56.140 let him keep to his pulpit 00:19:56.140 --> 00:19:58.560 and attend to the narrow circle 00:19:58.560 --> 00:20:00.100 of his own congregation. 00:20:00.900 --> 00:20:01.820 For should he persist 00:20:01.820 --> 00:20:03.580 in assuming such airs of importance 00:20:03.580 --> 00:20:04.820 as he has lately assumed 00:20:04.820 --> 00:20:07.500 in denouncing and libeling the colonists, 00:20:07.980 --> 00:20:08.980 he may rest assured 00:20:08.980 --> 00:20:10.240 that we will drive him back 00:20:10.240 --> 00:20:12.520 to his proper position in society. 00:20:14.280 --> 00:20:16.000 Now, this could hardly have been 00:20:16.000 --> 00:20:18.560 a comfortable time for Elizabeth 00:20:18.560 --> 00:20:20.120 as she watched her husband 00:20:20.120 --> 00:20:22.340 stick his neck out repeatedly 00:20:22.339 --> 00:20:24.480 for a cause that he believed in, 00:20:24.559 --> 00:20:26.539 knowing that he would end up 00:20:26.539 --> 00:20:28.639 himself attacked so violently 00:20:28.639 --> 00:20:30.639 and relentlessly in response. 00:20:31.899 --> 00:20:33.500 John and Elizabeth's marriage 00:20:33.500 --> 00:20:35.639 was clearly the kind of relationship 00:20:35.639 --> 00:20:37.379 in which they travelled side by side 00:20:37.379 --> 00:20:38.599 and talked things through together. 00:20:39.259 --> 00:20:41.240 In the letters that they wrote back home, 00:20:41.939 --> 00:20:43.240 they frequently echo 00:20:43.240 --> 00:20:44.759 one another's thoughts. 00:20:45.059 --> 00:20:46.339 And John repeatedly mentions 00:20:46.339 --> 00:20:49.519 ways in which his prudent wife 00:20:49.519 --> 00:20:52.439 had advised him on various issues. 00:20:53.539 --> 00:20:55.439 On this issue, however, 00:20:56.059 --> 00:20:57.339 it seems that prudence, 00:20:57.919 --> 00:20:59.099 as they understood it, 00:20:59.639 --> 00:21:01.240 did not stand in the way 00:21:01.240 --> 00:21:03.199 of doing what was right and just, 00:21:03.459 --> 00:21:05.759 motivated by compassion and kindness 00:21:05.759 --> 00:21:07.779 and driven by conviction 00:21:07.779 --> 00:21:10.279 by the word of God. 00:21:10.279 --> 00:21:16.399 Now, the kindness that Elizabeth 00:21:16.399 --> 00:21:19.279 and John showed to others in Sydney 00:21:19.279 --> 00:21:20.579 was deeply costly. 00:21:21.460 --> 00:21:22.700 It affected them emotionally 00:21:22.700 --> 00:21:25.299 and it affected them physically as well. 00:21:25.960 --> 00:21:27.940 Elizabeth married relatively late 00:21:27.940 --> 00:21:29.440 at the age of 34 00:21:29.440 --> 00:21:31.519 and struggled to have children. 00:21:32.200 --> 00:21:33.879 They waited a long time 00:21:33.879 --> 00:21:35.319 before they welcomed a baby 00:21:35.319 --> 00:21:36.519 into their family. 00:21:37.460 --> 00:21:39.480 And finally, when the time came, 00:21:40.279 --> 00:21:42.480 their baby boy, Edmund, 00:21:42.720 --> 00:21:43.660 was stillborn. 00:21:44.980 --> 00:21:46.500 Now, who knows how things 00:21:46.500 --> 00:21:47.319 would have worked out 00:21:47.319 --> 00:21:49.420 if they'd stayed back in London 00:21:49.420 --> 00:21:52.059 and had the better medical care 00:21:52.059 --> 00:21:53.339 that would have been available 00:21:53.339 --> 00:21:54.220 to them back there. 00:21:55.639 --> 00:21:57.940 But it must have been a terrible time. 00:21:58.879 --> 00:22:01.759 Her sister came out the following year 00:22:01.759 --> 00:22:03.220 to join them. 00:22:03.579 --> 00:22:04.339 Her name was Sarah. 00:22:04.839 --> 00:22:06.220 And it was just in time 00:22:06.220 --> 00:22:07.799 to help Elizabeth 00:22:07.799 --> 00:22:10.220 through labour a second time. 00:22:10.279 --> 00:22:11.119 And this time, 00:22:11.220 --> 00:22:12.000 she gave birth 00:22:12.000 --> 00:22:14.160 to a healthy little girl 00:22:14.160 --> 00:22:15.619 whom they named Elizabeth 00:22:15.619 --> 00:22:16.799 or Bessie. 00:22:17.920 --> 00:22:18.920 By this time, 00:22:19.059 --> 00:22:21.379 Elizabeth Saunders was in her 40s 00:22:21.379 --> 00:22:22.559 and this would be 00:22:22.559 --> 00:22:24.299 their only living child. 00:22:26.500 --> 00:22:27.579 The time in Sydney 00:22:27.579 --> 00:22:30.220 also affected John's health. 00:22:30.639 --> 00:22:31.779 John worked hard. 00:22:31.779 --> 00:22:34.440 The sheer number of societies 00:22:34.440 --> 00:22:35.660 he was involved in running 00:22:35.660 --> 00:22:36.680 would have added up 00:22:36.680 --> 00:22:38.559 to a really heavy workload, 00:22:39.000 --> 00:22:40.039 especially his role 00:22:40.039 --> 00:22:41.279 in the temperance society. 00:22:41.980 --> 00:22:43.240 And if you add to this 00:22:43.240 --> 00:22:45.420 the burden of pastoring a church, 00:22:45.579 --> 00:22:46.899 which was in the initial stages 00:22:46.899 --> 00:22:47.680 of being established 00:22:47.680 --> 00:22:51.799 and overseeing a major building project, 00:22:52.319 --> 00:22:53.579 he must have been constantly 00:22:53.579 --> 00:22:55.519 on the edge of exhaustion. 00:22:57.019 --> 00:22:59.019 His letters home in the first year 00:22:59.019 --> 00:23:00.259 indicate that he always struggled 00:23:00.259 --> 00:23:00.940 with his health 00:23:00.940 --> 00:23:02.379 even from the very beginning. 00:23:03.240 --> 00:23:05.279 Over his 13 years in Sydney, 00:23:05.339 --> 00:23:06.539 it became even worse. 00:23:06.920 --> 00:23:08.460 It seems that no diagnosis 00:23:08.460 --> 00:23:09.259 was ever made. 00:23:09.579 --> 00:23:11.599 But most people who knew him 00:23:11.599 --> 00:23:12.460 seemed to agree 00:23:12.460 --> 00:23:14.819 that whatever the complaint was, 00:23:14.920 --> 00:23:16.140 the excessive zeal 00:23:16.140 --> 00:23:17.619 in his labours of usefulness, 00:23:17.660 --> 00:23:18.180 is the quote, 00:23:18.720 --> 00:23:20.259 his excessive zeal 00:23:20.259 --> 00:23:22.759 certainly exacerbated it. 00:23:22.759 --> 00:23:24.819 And by 1847, 00:23:25.039 --> 00:23:25.619 it was decided 00:23:25.619 --> 00:23:26.839 he would need to go back home 00:23:26.839 --> 00:23:27.319 to England. 00:23:28.140 --> 00:23:29.539 And after a large farewell, 00:23:29.980 --> 00:23:31.119 the family, 00:23:31.920 --> 00:23:32.359 Elizabeth, 00:23:32.799 --> 00:23:33.160 John, 00:23:33.400 --> 00:23:33.740 Bessie, 00:23:33.839 --> 00:23:34.220 their daughter, 00:23:34.420 --> 00:23:35.359 and Elizabeth's sister, 00:23:35.519 --> 00:23:35.859 Sarah, 00:23:36.440 --> 00:23:38.140 all sailed out from Sydney 00:23:38.140 --> 00:23:39.920 in January 1848. 00:23:41.839 --> 00:23:43.500 After returning to England, 00:23:43.900 --> 00:23:45.539 they settled back in London. 00:23:46.259 --> 00:23:47.559 John worked for some time 00:23:47.559 --> 00:23:48.519 as a solicitor 00:23:48.519 --> 00:23:50.000 and officiated 00:23:50.000 --> 00:23:51.639 as a past congregation 00:23:51.639 --> 00:23:52.539 in the suburbs. 00:23:53.740 --> 00:23:55.579 His health continued to decline 00:23:55.579 --> 00:23:56.859 and while he tried 00:23:56.859 --> 00:23:57.559 to conduct 00:23:57.559 --> 00:23:59.420 occasional religious services, 00:23:59.940 --> 00:24:00.720 he ended up 00:24:00.720 --> 00:24:02.539 unable to do anything. 00:24:03.579 --> 00:24:04.579 Elizabeth described him 00:24:04.579 --> 00:24:05.960 as being incapacitated 00:24:05.960 --> 00:24:07.420 by utter prostration. 00:24:08.420 --> 00:24:10.740 And he died in 1857. 00:24:12.039 --> 00:24:13.759 Up until his last weeks, 00:24:13.940 --> 00:24:14.900 he was still hoping 00:24:14.900 --> 00:24:16.519 to return to Australia, 00:24:17.380 --> 00:24:18.420 wanting to at least 00:24:18.420 --> 00:24:19.480 be put to rest 00:24:19.480 --> 00:24:20.259 in what he called 00:24:20.259 --> 00:24:21.660 that bright land. 00:24:22.700 --> 00:24:23.200 The knowledge 00:24:23.200 --> 00:24:24.759 that he would never return 00:24:24.759 --> 00:24:25.420 was, 00:24:25.580 --> 00:24:26.900 as Elizabeth described it, 00:24:26.960 --> 00:24:28.100 his death blow. 00:24:29.040 --> 00:24:30.120 His gravestone 00:24:30.120 --> 00:24:30.860 in England 00:24:30.860 --> 00:24:32.300 expressed the extent 00:24:32.300 --> 00:24:33.100 to which his time 00:24:33.100 --> 00:24:33.620 in Australia 00:24:33.620 --> 00:24:34.920 was the most significant 00:24:34.920 --> 00:24:36.080 of his life. 00:24:36.180 --> 00:24:36.600 It said, 00:24:37.480 --> 00:24:38.340 this memorial 00:24:38.340 --> 00:24:39.180 is erected 00:24:39.180 --> 00:24:39.960 by his widow, 00:24:40.360 --> 00:24:40.720 sister, 00:24:40.920 --> 00:24:41.519 and child, 00:24:42.140 --> 00:24:43.320 and may perhaps 00:24:43.319 --> 00:24:44.460 guide some old 00:24:44.460 --> 00:24:45.579 Australian friend 00:24:45.579 --> 00:24:46.980 to the last 00:24:46.980 --> 00:24:47.980 resting place 00:24:47.980 --> 00:24:49.579 of one whose energies 00:24:49.579 --> 00:24:50.259 were devoted 00:24:50.259 --> 00:24:52.240 to the best interests 00:24:52.240 --> 00:24:53.379 of that bright land. 00:24:55.799 --> 00:24:57.519 Now, John's death 00:24:57.519 --> 00:24:59.039 left Elizabeth 00:24:59.039 --> 00:25:00.019 destitute. 00:25:00.859 --> 00:25:01.599 The evening 00:25:01.599 --> 00:25:03.259 before the funeral, 00:25:03.980 --> 00:25:05.460 John's law firm 00:25:05.460 --> 00:25:06.099 partner 00:25:06.099 --> 00:25:07.240 sat her down 00:25:07.240 --> 00:25:08.399 and informed her 00:25:08.399 --> 00:25:08.939 that there were 00:25:08.939 --> 00:25:10.279 no funds left, 00:25:11.000 --> 00:25:12.039 not even enough 00:25:12.039 --> 00:25:13.079 to pay the funeral 00:25:13.079 --> 00:25:13.720 expenses. 00:25:15.079 --> 00:25:16.059 She lamented 00:25:16.059 --> 00:25:16.460 that, 00:25:16.659 --> 00:25:17.680 kind and generous 00:25:17.680 --> 00:25:18.779 as he was to others, 00:25:18.899 --> 00:25:19.619 he had not been able 00:25:19.619 --> 00:25:20.559 to save anything 00:25:20.559 --> 00:25:21.480 for his family 00:25:21.480 --> 00:25:23.039 and said that, 00:25:23.220 --> 00:25:24.200 I felt stupefied 00:25:24.200 --> 00:25:25.159 and horror-stricken, 00:25:25.700 --> 00:25:26.559 and what to do 00:25:26.559 --> 00:25:27.460 I knew not, 00:25:27.680 --> 00:25:28.740 nor do I now. 00:25:30.639 --> 00:25:30.879 Now, 00:25:30.980 --> 00:25:31.819 the poor law 00:25:31.819 --> 00:25:33.259 in Victorian England 00:25:33.259 --> 00:25:34.539 was a fragile 00:25:34.539 --> 00:25:35.799 and rickety 00:25:35.799 --> 00:25:36.639 safety net, 00:25:36.759 --> 00:25:37.259 and there was 00:25:37.259 --> 00:25:38.339 a very real 00:25:38.339 --> 00:25:39.379 possibility 00:25:39.380 --> 00:25:40.420 she would end up 00:25:40.420 --> 00:25:41.360 with no home 00:25:41.360 --> 00:25:42.840 and no means 00:25:42.840 --> 00:25:43.480 of support. 00:25:44.600 --> 00:25:45.900 Her only option 00:25:45.900 --> 00:25:47.780 was to cast herself 00:25:47.780 --> 00:25:49.020 on the kindness 00:25:49.020 --> 00:25:49.900 of others. 00:25:51.320 --> 00:25:52.240 So she asked 00:25:52.240 --> 00:25:53.000 some influential 00:25:53.000 --> 00:25:54.320 friends in Sydney 00:25:54.320 --> 00:25:55.660 if they would 00:25:55.660 --> 00:25:56.740 consider raising 00:25:56.740 --> 00:25:57.820 a small subscription 00:25:57.820 --> 00:25:58.440 for her. 00:25:59.900 --> 00:26:00.440 May the law 00:26:00.440 --> 00:26:01.340 direct our kind 00:26:01.340 --> 00:26:02.660 friends in Sydney, 00:26:02.780 --> 00:26:03.260 she said. 00:26:03.660 --> 00:26:04.780 I put my cause 00:26:04.780 --> 00:26:05.580 in their hands, 00:26:05.700 --> 00:26:06.500 the cause of the 00:26:06.500 --> 00:26:07.420 fatherless and the 00:26:07.420 --> 00:26:07.580 widow. 00:26:09.200 --> 00:26:09.700 There was an 00:26:09.700 --> 00:26:10.960 overwhelming response. 00:26:11.400 --> 00:26:12.000 Her letter was 00:26:12.000 --> 00:26:13.360 published in multiple 00:26:13.360 --> 00:26:14.539 Sydney newspapers, 00:26:15.140 --> 00:26:16.060 and an enormous 00:26:16.060 --> 00:26:16.980 amount was raised 00:26:16.980 --> 00:26:17.840 in response to her 00:26:17.840 --> 00:26:18.420 appeal. 00:26:18.920 --> 00:26:20.300 Despite the fact 00:26:20.300 --> 00:26:21.000 they'd been gone 00:26:21.000 --> 00:26:22.620 for 11 years, 00:26:23.340 --> 00:26:24.240 the Saunders family 00:26:24.240 --> 00:26:24.960 had not been 00:26:24.960 --> 00:26:25.340 forgotten. 00:26:26.320 --> 00:26:27.519 Over 200 donations 00:26:27.519 --> 00:26:28.140 were made, 00:26:28.300 --> 00:26:28.800 adding up to 00:26:28.800 --> 00:26:29.940 over £650 00:26:29.940 --> 00:26:31.200 in total. 00:26:31.640 --> 00:26:31.940 Now, that was 00:26:31.940 --> 00:26:32.840 a lot of money 00:26:32.840 --> 00:26:34.779 at the time 00:26:34.779 --> 00:26:35.720 when a house 00:26:35.720 --> 00:26:36.900 made would earn 00:26:36.900 --> 00:26:38.240 about £21 a year. 00:26:40.240 --> 00:26:40.759 Overwhelmed 00:26:40.759 --> 00:26:41.700 by this kindness, 00:26:42.220 --> 00:26:43.340 Elizabeth returned 00:26:43.340 --> 00:26:44.080 to Australia. 00:26:44.759 --> 00:26:45.780 The following year, 00:26:46.340 --> 00:26:46.960 she came with 00:26:46.960 --> 00:26:47.380 her daughter, 00:26:47.540 --> 00:26:47.880 Bessie, 00:26:48.040 --> 00:26:48.800 and her sister, 00:26:48.960 --> 00:26:49.200 Sarah. 00:26:49.360 --> 00:26:49.840 And the three 00:26:49.840 --> 00:26:51.500 women started 00:26:51.500 --> 00:26:52.660 a small school 00:26:52.660 --> 00:26:53.860 in Pitt Street, 00:26:53.960 --> 00:26:54.420 Redfern. 00:26:54.680 --> 00:26:55.300 It's pictured there 00:26:55.300 --> 00:26:56.500 and some terraces 00:26:56.500 --> 00:26:57.580 in Pitt Street. 00:27:00.620 --> 00:27:01.580 Elizabeth's daughter, 00:27:01.700 --> 00:27:02.160 Bessie, 00:27:02.680 --> 00:27:03.840 ended up a good deal 00:27:03.840 --> 00:27:04.640 wealthier than her 00:27:04.640 --> 00:27:04.860 mother. 00:27:04.859 --> 00:27:06.279 In 1868, 00:27:06.479 --> 00:27:06.939 she married 00:27:06.939 --> 00:27:07.659 Arthur Rennick, 00:27:08.159 --> 00:27:08.839 whom she met 00:27:08.839 --> 00:27:09.879 through the Redfern 00:27:09.879 --> 00:27:11.139 Congregational Church. 00:27:12.000 --> 00:27:12.919 Arthur went on 00:27:12.919 --> 00:27:14.500 to become a doctor 00:27:14.500 --> 00:27:15.399 and member 00:27:15.399 --> 00:27:16.059 of parliament. 00:27:16.719 --> 00:27:17.539 He was knighted 00:27:17.539 --> 00:27:18.379 and so she would 00:27:18.379 --> 00:27:19.179 later become known 00:27:19.179 --> 00:27:20.740 as Lady Elizabeth 00:27:20.740 --> 00:27:21.740 Rennick. 00:27:22.839 --> 00:27:23.559 But even in their 00:27:23.559 --> 00:27:25.259 wealth and respectability, 00:27:25.539 --> 00:27:25.979 the Rennicks 00:27:25.979 --> 00:27:26.939 carried with them 00:27:26.939 --> 00:27:28.139 something of the 00:27:28.139 --> 00:27:28.719 kindness 00:27:28.719 --> 00:27:29.979 that Bessie 00:27:29.979 --> 00:27:30.859 had seen modelled 00:27:30.859 --> 00:27:31.859 by her parents 00:27:31.859 --> 00:27:33.199 and the lessons 00:27:33.199 --> 00:27:34.019 that they had 00:27:34.019 --> 00:27:34.639 been taught, 00:27:35.559 --> 00:27:36.240 she'd been taught 00:27:36.240 --> 00:27:36.779 by them 00:27:36.779 --> 00:27:38.000 about the God 00:27:38.000 --> 00:27:39.479 who cares 00:27:39.479 --> 00:27:40.539 for widows 00:27:40.539 --> 00:27:41.399 and orphans. 00:27:42.639 --> 00:27:43.059 Arthur, 00:27:43.240 --> 00:27:43.799 her husband, 00:27:44.479 --> 00:27:45.740 was responsible 00:27:45.740 --> 00:27:46.719 for introducing 00:27:46.719 --> 00:27:48.659 the old age pension 00:27:48.659 --> 00:27:49.679 in New South Wales. 00:27:50.579 --> 00:27:51.939 He also introduced 00:27:51.939 --> 00:27:53.459 legislation that 00:27:53.459 --> 00:27:54.219 outlawed 00:27:54.219 --> 00:27:55.539 commercial baby farming 00:27:55.539 --> 00:27:56.439 and protected 00:27:56.439 --> 00:27:57.199 the right of women 00:27:57.199 --> 00:27:58.019 to keep their children 00:27:58.019 --> 00:27:58.899 if they were widowed 00:27:58.900 --> 00:27:59.840 or deserted. 00:28:00.780 --> 00:28:01.280 They were both 00:28:01.280 --> 00:28:02.160 prominent supporters 00:28:02.160 --> 00:28:03.740 of the Benevolent Society 00:28:03.740 --> 00:28:04.820 and a host 00:28:04.820 --> 00:28:05.759 of other charitable 00:28:05.759 --> 00:28:06.560 institutions, 00:28:06.720 --> 00:28:07.380 particularly those 00:28:07.380 --> 00:28:07.800 which helped 00:28:07.800 --> 00:28:08.680 women and children. 00:28:10.380 --> 00:28:10.780 Bessie 00:28:10.780 --> 00:28:12.300 continued to care 00:28:12.300 --> 00:28:12.940 for her mother 00:28:12.940 --> 00:28:13.380 Elizabeth 00:28:13.380 --> 00:28:14.920 and her aunt Sarah 00:28:14.920 --> 00:28:15.940 until their deaths. 00:28:16.800 --> 00:28:17.700 Elizabeth died 00:28:17.700 --> 00:28:18.920 in 1878 00:28:18.920 --> 00:28:19.920 in their home 00:28:19.920 --> 00:28:21.060 near Hyde Park 00:28:21.060 --> 00:28:21.860 in Sydney. 00:28:23.240 --> 00:28:23.640 Sarah 00:28:23.640 --> 00:28:25.160 continued to live 00:28:25.160 --> 00:28:25.500 with them 00:28:25.500 --> 00:28:26.259 and died 00:28:26.259 --> 00:28:27.460 ten years later 00:28:27.460 --> 00:28:28.300 in 1888. 00:28:29.300 --> 00:28:30.519 All three women 00:28:30.519 --> 00:28:31.540 are buried 00:28:31.540 --> 00:28:32.640 in the same plot 00:28:32.640 --> 00:28:33.740 at Rookwood Cemetery. 00:28:33.960 --> 00:28:34.460 You can still go 00:28:34.460 --> 00:28:35.500 and visit today. 00:28:37.500 --> 00:28:38.420 A few months 00:28:38.420 --> 00:28:39.300 after he arrived 00:28:39.300 --> 00:28:39.880 in the colony, 00:28:40.360 --> 00:28:41.019 John Saunders 00:28:41.019 --> 00:28:41.540 wrote home 00:28:41.540 --> 00:28:42.259 to his sister. 00:28:43.360 --> 00:28:44.180 You may think 00:28:44.180 --> 00:28:45.340 religion a hard 00:28:45.340 --> 00:28:46.140 service when it 00:28:46.140 --> 00:28:46.920 calls a man 00:28:46.920 --> 00:28:48.680 to leave his home, 00:28:49.100 --> 00:28:49.740 his country 00:28:49.740 --> 00:28:50.660 and his friends. 00:28:51.759 --> 00:28:52.800 So far from it. 00:28:52.860 --> 00:28:53.900 I can truly say 00:28:53.900 --> 00:28:54.700 my joys have been 00:28:54.700 --> 00:28:55.420 more regular, 00:28:56.000 --> 00:28:57.320 tranquil and intense 00:28:57.320 --> 00:28:58.120 than in a secular 00:28:58.119 --> 00:28:58.759 occupation 00:28:58.759 --> 00:28:59.859 and that with 00:28:59.859 --> 00:29:01.099 some little trials 00:29:01.099 --> 00:29:01.899 I have had 00:29:01.899 --> 00:29:03.239 greater consolations. 00:29:04.000 --> 00:29:04.639 Our family 00:29:04.639 --> 00:29:05.739 is much tried 00:29:05.739 --> 00:29:06.419 but God will 00:29:06.419 --> 00:29:06.899 out of this 00:29:06.899 --> 00:29:07.559 I trust 00:29:07.559 --> 00:29:08.500 adduce some 00:29:08.500 --> 00:29:09.899 excellence of character. 00:29:10.639 --> 00:29:11.519 May his glorious 00:29:11.519 --> 00:29:13.139 hand transmute 00:29:13.139 --> 00:29:14.619 our sordid metal 00:29:14.619 --> 00:29:15.919 to lustrous 00:29:15.919 --> 00:29:16.559 gold wear. 00:29:17.359 --> 00:29:18.059 Happy here 00:29:18.059 --> 00:29:18.699 and under the 00:29:18.699 --> 00:29:20.179 kind guardianship 00:29:20.179 --> 00:29:20.779 of our heavenly 00:29:20.779 --> 00:29:21.279 father, 00:29:21.679 --> 00:29:22.639 I trust you will be 00:29:22.639 --> 00:29:23.439 blessed at home. 00:29:24.079 --> 00:29:24.719 Pray the spirit 00:29:24.720 --> 00:29:25.360 of truth 00:29:25.360 --> 00:29:26.420 be with you. 00:29:28.960 --> 00:29:29.980 May the same 00:29:29.980 --> 00:29:30.960 spirit of truth 00:29:30.960 --> 00:29:31.799 be with us 00:29:31.799 --> 00:29:32.839 and the same 00:29:32.839 --> 00:29:34.120 kind guardianship 00:29:34.120 --> 00:29:34.940 of our heavenly 00:29:34.940 --> 00:29:36.420 father watch over 00:29:36.420 --> 00:29:37.240 our ways 00:29:37.240 --> 00:29:38.319 and may we know 00:29:38.319 --> 00:29:39.759 the same joy 00:29:39.759 --> 00:29:41.120 in his service. 00:29:41.860 --> 00:29:42.700 Let's pray together. 00:29:45.240 --> 00:29:46.339 Lord, we thank you 00:29:46.339 --> 00:29:46.900 for the life 00:29:46.900 --> 00:29:48.000 of Elizabeth Saunders. 00:29:48.240 --> 00:29:48.779 We thank you 00:29:48.779 --> 00:29:50.039 for her faithfulness 00:29:50.039 --> 00:29:50.559 to you 00:29:50.559 --> 00:29:52.299 and we thank you 00:29:52.299 --> 00:29:53.480 for the way 00:29:53.480 --> 00:29:54.619 that your steadfast 00:29:54.619 --> 00:29:55.639 love and kindness 00:29:55.639 --> 00:29:56.839 was so just clearly 00:29:56.839 --> 00:29:58.619 demonstrated in her life. 00:29:59.460 --> 00:30:00.399 We thank you 00:30:00.399 --> 00:30:03.379 that you 00:30:03.379 --> 00:30:05.940 also care for us 00:30:05.940 --> 00:30:06.799 in the same way 00:30:06.799 --> 00:30:07.619 you show us 00:30:07.619 --> 00:30:09.220 the same faithfulness 00:30:09.220 --> 00:30:09.920 and kindness 00:30:09.920 --> 00:30:11.119 day by day. 00:30:11.440 --> 00:30:12.480 In Jesus' name we pray. 00:30:12.619 --> 00:30:12.879 Amen.