Auburn Friends

Augustine of Hippo (354 – 430) also well-known as Saint Augustine, was a Christian theologian from Thagaste, Numidia Cirtensis and the Bishop of Hippo Regius. He is generally regarded as one of the most influential thinkers in the history of the Western world and is viewed as one of the most important Church Fathers of the Latin Church in the Patristic Period.

Amy Carmichael (1867 – 1951) was an Irish missionary in India who opened an orphanage and founded a mission in Dohnavur. She served in India for 55 years without once taking furlough. She wrote 35 books about her work.Amy died in India at the age of 83. She once wrote, “The word comfort is from two Latin words meaning ‘with’ and ‘strong’ – He is with us to make us strong. Comfort is not soft, weakening commiseration; it is true, strengthening love.”[Recorded 28/06/2026]

Martin Luther (1483-1546) was a German theologian and key figure in the Protestant Reformation, known for his criticisms of the Catholic Church and his emphasis on salvation through faith alone.  His famous statement concerning the Scripture, "Here I stand. I can do no other" are words to which all of God's children should respond with a loud "Amen!".

John Wycliffe (1330-1384) and Jan Hus (1371-1415) paved the path to Martin Luther and the Reformation. Living under the Roman Catholic Church in late Medieval period, both men lived lives centred on the Word of God, stood boldly against the religious culture of their day and gave their lives to ensure that all people could have access to the Bible and know the way of salvation.[Recorded on May 4, 2025]

Lilias Trotter (1853 – 1928) was a British missionary to North Africa. In her early twenties, her artworks were noticed by the renowned art critic, John Ruskin. However, Lilias forsook his offer of artistic greatness to continue her ministry work in London. In 1888, she left England, travelled to Algeria and continued there for 40 years, eventually founding the Algeria Mission Band. She brought the gospel to many remote desert and mountain villages around Algeria, using her creativity and artistic gifts.[Recorded on October 10, 2024]

Robert Murray M’Cheyne (1813-1843) is a name that many Christians will have heard, though few may know much about his life. But those who do, remember him for his love for Christ, his personal holiness and fervent prayer and his burden to win the lost. His was a short life, but his memory has been, and remains, an inspiration to many.[Recorded April 21, 2024]

Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) was an American theologian and pastor. He and his wife Sarah served in Northampton for 23 years where he played a significant role in the Great Awakening. He preached probably one of the most famous sermons during this extraordinary period of revival. 

For the slides (in PDF format) that accompanied this presentation, click hereCS Lewis (1898 – 1963), known to his friends as Jack, is best known as the author of The Chronicles of Narnia, but he is also noted for his other works of fiction, such as The Screwtape Letters and The Space Trilogy, and for his non-fiction Christian apologetics, including Mere Christianity, Miracles, and The Problem of Pain.Lewis was a close friend of JRR Tolkien, author of The Lord of the Rings. Both men served on the English faculty at Oxford University. Lewis fell away from his faith during adolescence but was converted at the age of 32, owing to the influence of Tolkien and other friends, and he became an “ordinary layman of the Church of England”. Lewis’s faith profoundly affected his work, and his wartime radio broadcasts brought him wide acclaim.[Recorded March 26, 2023)

Rosaria Butterfield, a former English professor and lesbian activist, came to Christ in what she describes as a “train wreck” conversion. This biography is based on her memoir The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert as well as her other book, The Gospel Comes with a House Key in which Rosaria writes about the necessity of godly hospitality in our post-Christian world.

William Tyndale (1494 – 1536) was an English Biblical scholar and linguistic genius who became a leading figure in the Protestant Reformation but us best remembered for his translation of the Bible into English.In 1535, Tyndale was arrested and in 1536, he was convicted of heresy by the Catholic Church and executed by strangulation, after which his body was burnt at the stake. His dying prayer was that the King of England's eyes would be opened and just one year later Henry VIII authorized the Matthew Bible, which was largely Tyndale's work, with missing sections translated by John Rogers and Myles Coverdale.