Living in Light of the Clapham Sect: A Legacy that Lives On
Mark Rodgers and award winning author Kevin Belmonte reflect on the legacy the Clapham Sect left, sharing stories of those who followed in their footsteps.
Hi Salt and Light readers! We’re excited to share the final page of Wilberforce’s Two Great Objects this week, where we witness the dramatic conclusion of the many long, hard years of courageous fighting to end slavery. Both Hannah More and William Wilberforce lived just long enough to see this victorious outcome.
To wrap up this mini-comic series, we’ll also conclude our interview with Kevin Belmonte, in which he shares with Mark a bit about another great “saint” who lived a life of salt and light in the context he found himself in. We hope this series has encouraged you, and that today’s post reminds you that there are many inspiring stories of people living as Salt and Light.
Mark Rodgers
Kevin, is there a story that we should tell in the future? Is there another person in history or even living today, who as a saint you feel embodies this idea of living as salt and light in culture faithfully, being in the world, but not of it. Is there a story that you think we should tell?
Kevin Belmonte
The answer that comes to mind straight away is William Borden, famous as Borden of Yale. Now, most people who know his story know that he intended to be a missionary to the Muslim peoples of China. But I want to back up from that, because he never got there. He tragically succumbed to spinal meningitis just before he had a chance to take ship for that mission field, before he ever did any of that, when he was an undergrad at Yale. And this is where I think it's so compelling for young people.
He established Yale Hope Mission in the inner city. “Hope, an inner city rescue mission” is the phrase he had. He bought the entire building. He was a person of great wealth. He bought the entire four story building there in New Haven. Got people in who knew how to run rescue mission work, but then had Yale undergrads working there to come alongside the homeless, the destitute, to give them lodging, to feed them, to give them job training, to help them through commending the hope of the Gospel, get their lives turned around. He went all over the country.
It was famous in its time, and it's at the heart of a biography of Borden that I wrote. But what he did at Yale, you know, because we hear about missionaries a lot, but I think what I find so fascinating is, before Borden had a chance to take up the mission work that he hoped to do, before he ever got there, he was simply doing what a lot of young people do today in college. How can I make a difference? How can I see my opportunities and make a difference for good? And he talked with other collegiates who knew about the needs for the destitute in the poor there in New Haven.
And that story just captivated me. And I thought that's something that's evergreen. Young people who are in college, who have gifts of the intellect or talents that they're seeking to cultivate there, they really want to make a difference for good in this world. And William Borden’s story as a collegiate, just simply going through a course of study. I mean, yes, he absolutely had Bible study groups and prayer groups where they encourage each other in faith, but they were always outward looking. And the story of Yale Hope Mission is remarkable, and it has great power.
I went back to his prep school, where his memory is cherished, the Hill School in Pennsylvania, just when COVID was winding down, and shared that story, and those young people were captivated. I shared the story of Yale Hope Mission through the life of one destitute, alcoholic man that William Borden had prayed with in light of faith and how he was brought back and had a house and a family. It just was remarkable for him to commend William Borden’s legacy in that way.
And so I think, yeah, that's a great story, and it's one that's not well known, and it was once upon a time because our friend Os Guinness's Great Aunt wrote the great book, Borden of Yale. And so it was Os. I just want to give a shout out to him as well. Since we're thanking friends who've been good to us, Os has been kind to so many of us, you and I, but he was especially kind to me in recommending this book to my eventual publisher and giving his blessing as the nephew of Geraldine Guinness Taylor, Hudson Taylor's daughter-in-law, who had written this classic biography.
And so I said, Look, if you can tell it in a way that brings it up to date, lets people access that world and what's meaningful about that story, you know, go for it. And so no, I think about that. Here we are talking today. We have the common grace of technology to bring us together across the miles, and we're comparing notes about our journey, you know. And I just think it's so wonderful to be able to have these moments where we can visit and and talk and share these stories, because it's a reminder to me, and a powerful one, that God has been good to us, and we have the opportunity to give back and to be good stewards. So I think that ties things in a nice bow for our time together.
Mark Rodgers
Thank you, Kevin. Such a pleasure to see you in person of sorts, as you said, through the gift of technology. And hope to see you in flesh, in person again soon. So thank you for today, friend, God bless you Kevin.
Thank you for reading with us during this mini-series, we pray that sharing these stories is a blessing to you all.