Charles SimeonThe collect for today, the commemoration of Charles Simeon (1759-1836), Priest, Evangelical Divine (source):

Eternal God, who raised up Charles Simeon to preach the good news of Jesus Christ and inspire your people in service and mission: Grant that we with all your Church may worship the Saviour, turn in sorrow from our sins and walk in the way of holiness; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Charles Simeon served as vicar of Holy Trinity Church, Cambridge, from 1782 until his death. His zealous evangelical preaching was bitterly opposed by parish leaders, but proved immensely popular and influential among Cambridge undergraduates.  He supported the British and Foreign Bible Society and helped to found the Church Missionary Society.  His curate Henry Martyn became chaplain of the East India Company and one of India's best-known missionaries.

Historian Lord Macaulay wrote of him, "If you knew what his authority and influence were, and how they extended from Cambridge to the most remote corners of England, you would allow that his real sway in the Church was far greater than that of any primate."

A meditation on the life of Charles Simeon, by John Piper, is posted here.