Tuesday, May 28, 2013

WCC Ecumenical Prayer Cycle: Botswana & Zimbabwe

Gabarone, Botswana
As I wrote about in a post a few months ago, part of my vicarage at Saint Peter's Church this year is is providing a supplemental paragraph about countries in the weekly Ecumenical Prayer Cycle created by the World Council of Churches. We pray for each country listed in the prayer cycle during the Intercessory Prayers at Saint Peter's on Sundays and the paragraph is included in our bulletin insert to provide context for those intercessions.

This week's countries (26 May - 1 June) are Botswana and Zimbabwe. While the paragraph below provides information on current events (with links to related news stories), check out the week's WCC page for additional prayer resources.
We give thanks for continued good governance in Botswana, Africa’s longest continuous multi-party democracy.  We pray for continued strengthening of the country’s HIV/ AIDS treatment programmes, as over one third of Botswana’s adult population are infected.  We pray for peace ahead of Zimbabwe’s upcoming general elections on June 29th and that the country’s new constitution is honored by all parties involved.
God's peace,
Dustin

Dustin currently serves as Vicar at the Lutheran Office for World Community and Saint Peter's Church in Manhattan, having recently completed his second year of a Masters of Divinity program at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia. While seeking ordination in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, his focus is on the intersection between worship, service and justice in de-centralized faith communities unencumbered by a traditional church building. In his free time, Dustin likes playing frisbee, hiking and pretending to know how to sing.

Saturday, May 25, 2013

Even God Cannot Be Alone - A Holy Trinity Sermon

Just finished up my draft for tomorrow's sermon at Saint Peter's Church where I serve as Vicar.  It's still a rough draft (particularly the ending), but I'd love to hear what you think:

Even God cannot be alone. Even God cannot be alone… for God only does the amazing work She does, in Holy Trinity, in Community. Even in Her oneness, God cannot be alone, for She only does the amazing work She does in Community. And in giving us just a hint about how that Community of the Trinity works in today’s gospel story by recording some of the final words of Jesus before his betrayal and arrest, Saint John shows extraordinary foresight. He shows extraordinary foresight because he realizes that God’s gathered people on Earth, the people that are literally the Body of Christ, will face new things… they will face new troubles, new challenges and new opportunities. In other words, Saint John knows we, the Body of Christ, will face change, and he knows we need assurance that the Community of the Trinity will be at work in that change.

Knowing that we will face change Saint John highlights the fact that Jesus is sending us an Advocate, a Spirit, the very Breath of God to lead us, to comfort us, to guide us into truth. Just listen again to the words of Saint John crying out to us from across millennia:
[Jesus said to his disciples,] I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
The Community of the Trinity is indeed at work in change… the Community of the Trinity is at work through the Spirit guiding us into truth, but there seems to be a big problem with what Jesus said… maybe it jumped out at you right away. The problem is that sometimes, and especially in the most rapidly changing and perhaps troubling of times, Jesus’ promise doesn’t seem to ring true. Whether confronting chaotic change in our personal lives or in the collective life of our faith communities, Jesus’ promise of the Spirit doesn’t seem to ring true… it can feel like there’s no Advocate, no Breath of God leading us into truth.

For many of us, myself included, this past year has been one of those times in particular, a year filled with immense challenge, a year filled with immense change, a year in which drowned in chaos, many of us have strained to feel the Spirit’s presence at all. In addition to whatever was going on in our own personal lives, let’s just do a quick recap of the immense changes and challenges our region, our city and our parish have faced over the last year: This past October many parts of our city and region were ravished by Hurricane Sandy, including many areas to have yet to fully recover. Around the same time we were also facing the anxiety of a bitter presidential election season, only to hear the devastating news a month later of the brutal murder of twenty children and six adult staff just north of us in Connecticut. The winter provided only a bit of a break… while certainly not bad news and in fact a great opportunity, the resignation of Pope Benedict and election of Pope Francis was still major change for a church that many of us hold dear to our hearts, and this thus brought about the stress that all major changes do. Increased tensions with a nuclear-armed North Korea also didn’t help matters. Continuing on, this April we were confronted by news of the Boston Marathon bombings, only to later hear that the perpetrators thought of coming to New York and setting off more bombs in Times Square. Only last weekend our city was rocked by news of the murder of Mark Carson in the West Village, killed out of hate because he was gay. Add onto all this hard decisions about staff reductions and budget cuts here at Saint Peter’s and the loss of our beloved Santa Clause, John Rusinak… folks, its easy to see that its been one heck of a year. It’s been one heck of a year, and many of us have understandably asked at times, “Where is God in all of this?”

Yet, there is immensely good news in such a dire situation. There is immensely good news in the fact that not even God can be alone, there is immensely good news in the fact that that God cannot be alone and that She only does the work She does in Holy Trinity, in Community. And, my sisters and brothers, there is immensely good news in the fact that God does not want us to be alone either. You see we too are invited into Community with God, as the Holy Spirit does the oftentimes slow, careful yet immensely powerful work of gathering us up together into the Body of Christ. While we held each other and wept at John Ruzinak’s funeral, the Spirit was there, gathering us up. While we sat at brunch and comforted folks who were flooded out of their homes or places of work by Hurricane Sandy, the Spirit was there, gathering us up. While we stood in worship doing the hard work of praying for not only the victims of the Newtown shootings and the Boston marathon bombings, but for the perpetrators of those heinous crimes as well as Christ commands us to do, the Spirit was there, gathering us up into the Body of Christ.

And ya know, even in the face of such a difficult year, Saint Peter’s has been doing amazing things in Christ, amazing things that have been celebrated and need to be celebrated, as the Spirit is there, gathering us up. Just look at this past weekend… I mean it was absolutely amazing… the work you folks are doing made the Bishop and many others cry tears of joy at brunch. You made the Bishop cry. And while wiping away his tears, Bishop Rembo said that our local iteration of the Body of Christ, our local expression of the Church here at Saint Peter’s is being exactly what the Church needs to be in this time, in this place, in this city. In a time when it’s trendy to talk about being a multi-cultural church, Saint Peter’s is actually doing the hard work of making it happen. There have of course been difficulties as we’ve entered into our new covenant relationship with Sion, but whether its been working through scheduling problems, surmounting communications barriers or simply dealing with our albs being hung up in the wrong place in the sacristy, those difficulties have been juxtaposed with joyous scenes of members of both congregations worshiping together, talking with one another about immigration reform on a Saturday afternoon and literally dancing with each other during Jazz for All last weekend. And in all these challenges and successes, the Spirit has been there with us, gathering us up into Community, gathering us up into the Body of Christ.

In a time when it’s trendy to talk about being a welcoming church, about being a resource for our local community, Saint Peter’s is actually doing the hard work of making it happen. There have of course been problems here as well, but whether it’s dealing with the frustration of not having enough space, or being extra protective of our communion wine or being rightfully angry about things being taped up on a freshly painted set of doors, those difficulties have been juxtaposed with joyous scenes of the Living Room being filled with folks getting a hearty breakfast on Christmas morning, of five folks showing up early at Federal Plaza to support their fellow congregation member seeking asylum status and this Sanctuary filled to capacity, worshiping together and learning about our heritage at the memorial vespers last weekend. And once again, in all these challenges and successes, the Spirit has been there with us, gathering us up into Community, gathering us up into the Body of Christ.

Even God cannot be alone, and She will not let us be alone either, and that is amazingly good news.  But I’ve been going on for a while already, and could keep going all morning, but we do have some Eucharist and some praying and some singing and the like to get to, so I’m going to conclude not with my own words, but with the prayerful words Christopher Vergara wrote for our Pentecost celebration last weekend, words that couldn’t describe any better how the Spirit has been work at Saint Peter’s over the last few months, gathering us up into Community with the Holy Trinity, gathering us up into the Body of Christ:

Up in the air
almost a 1000 cranes
Up in the air
70 hours of folding
6 emails about what shades of red orange and yellow to use
400 yards of fishing line
12 hrs in the catwalk
Up in the air
More smashed than folded 2yo desire to participate
Up in the air
A seminary field workers last Sunday
Up in the air
A mother and son's competition to see who is fastest
Up in the air
3 angry mothers on Mother's Day
Up in the air
Paper chaperones to teenage courting
Up in the air
Questions...
What are you doing?
What are those for?
Can I help
What is the next step?
What physically happens to us when we die?
Up in the air
Dealing with a parents death
Up in the air
Waiting...
Waiting for mass to end
Waiting for a mtg to start
Waiting for yoga, the opera, for poached salmon
Sitting waiting for another round of chemo
Up in the air
Another bombing
Up in the air
A shooting
Up in the air
A funeral for Santa Clause
Another deportation hearing
Another shooting
Up in the air
the fear that things will never change
Up in the air
The fear that things are changing to quickly
All these our joys and troubles we lift
Up in the air
Into your warm embrace O God
Trusting, trusting....
That there is nothing
Under the sea
On the ground or
Up in the air
That could ever separate us from your love and peace
In the name of our holy advocate, the Holy Spirit AMEN.


God's peace,
Dustin  

Dustin currently serves as Vicar at the Lutheran Office for World Community and Saint Peter's Church in Manhattan, having recently completed his second year of a Masters of Divinity program at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia. While seeking ordination in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, his focus is on the intersection between worship, service and justice in de-centralized faith communities unencumbered by a traditional church building. In his free time, Dustin likes playing frisbee, hiking and pretending to know how to sing.

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

WCC Ecumenical Prayer Cycle: Malawi and Zambia

President Joyce Banda
As I wrote about in a post a few months ago, part of my vicarage at Saint Peter's Church this year is is providing a supplemental paragraph about countries in the weekly Ecumenical Prayer Cycle created by the World Council of Churches. We pray for each country listed in the prayer cycle during the Intercessory Prayers at Saint Peter's on Sundays and the paragraph is included in our bulletin insert to provide context for those intercessions.

This week's countries (19 May - 25 May) are Malawi and Zambia. While the paragraph below provides some recent information (with links to related news stories), check out the week's WCC page for additional prayer resources.
We give thanks for great increases in the country of Malawi’s life-expectancy rate in recent years and for the continued service of its president Joyce Banda, who became Africa’s second female post-colonial head of state on 7 April, 2012. We give thanks for the continued advocacy of Zambia’s First Lady Dr. Christine Kaseba against child marriages in that country and around the world. We pray for the release of prominent Zambian human rights activist Paul Kasonkomona was arrested in April and charged with “soliciting for immoral purposes” after arguing for the rights of LGBTQ persons on live television.
God's peace,
Dustin

Dustin currently serves as Vicar at the Lutheran Office for World Community and Saint Peter's Church in Manhattan, having recently completed his second year of a Masters of Divinity program at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia. While seeking ordination in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, his focus is on the intersection between worship, service and justice in de-centralized faith communities unencumbered by a traditional church building. In his free time, Dustin likes playing frisbee, hiking and pretending to know how to sing.

Monday, May 20, 2013

Marching In Response to Hate Crimes Against the LGBTQ Community

On Friday night, Mark Carson, a 32 year old resident of Brooklyn was walking with a friend in Greenwich Village when three men started following them. One of the men reportedly exclaimed "Look at these faggots" before taking out a revolver and shooting Mark in the face.  Mark bled to death in the street that night, despite being quickly rushed to the hospital, simply because someone hated him for who he was.  The murder took place only blocks from the Stonewall Inn, one of the chief landmarks of the LGBTQ human rights movement.  It was only one of five anti-gay attacks in Manhattan this month alone.

Utilizing the power of social media, LGBTQ rights groups, political leaders, faith communities and ordinary citizens organized a vigil this past Saturday in response to Mark's murder and the rapidly increasing rate of hate crimes in our city, followed by a massive march and rally this evening. Horrified, shocked and really, really angry when I read about the murder this morning, I decided to attend the march and rally, and wow, I'm really glad I did.  I'll be unpacking the experience quite a bit more over the coming weeks, but for now I thought I'd list a few of my first takaways from the event:
  • Despite huge recent successes and great momentum, the LGBTQ human rights struggle is long from over.  If someone can be murdered because of who they love in one of the most gay-friendly neighborhoods in the one of the most gay-friendly cities in the world, we still have a whole lot of work to do. 
  • The murder of Mark Carson wasn't just an attack on the LGBTQ community... it was an attack on the entire city.  Most New Yorkers pride themselves on their inclusivity and acceptance, a fact that was clearly evident this evening.  There wasn't just members of the LGBTQ community marching, but a diverse group of allies as well.  I spoke with a bunch of teenagers who stopped in after school, saw a straight couple walking by pushing a baby stroller and spoke with local clergy.  I remember one particular conversation with a Wall Street banker who exclaimed "this was an attack on who were are as New Yorkers."
  • Speaking from a faith perspective, the Church needs to do a whole lot more to confess its historic and current sins against the LGBTQ community and stick up for the fact that all folks are created in the image of God and are entitled to be treated as such.  When the Church does so and acts as a proper moral compass for society, amazing things can happen! I spoke with a two faithful members of the Knights of Columbus, both gay, who said they were loved by their local sisters and brothers despite the Roman Catholic Church's intolerant hierarchy.  Even after being sent to a "pray the gay away" camp as a teenager, one of the men said that knowing that the Christian message is a message of love was still what gave him hope.
  • The Church is starting to change, and folks are taking notice.  I found it particularly striking that for the first time in such a situation, I never had to assure anyone that I was "one of the good guys" despite wearing my clerical collar.  While we still have so much work to do, the sense of camaraderie I felt this evening as a straight ally of faith was something that gave me immense hope for future.
God's peace,
Dustin

Dustin currently serves as Vicar at the Lutheran Office for World Community and Saint Peter's Church in Manhattan, having recently completed his second year of a Masters of Divinity program at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia. While seeking ordination in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, his focus is on the intersection between worship, service and justice in de-centralized faith communities unencumbered by a traditional church building. In his free time, Dustin likes playing frisbee, hiking and pretending to know how to sing.

Monday, May 13, 2013

What Happens after the Millennium Development Goals?

One of the primary issues I'm covering during my time at the Lutheran Office for World Community is the post-2015 dialogue, an ongoing process to create development goals to follow the completion of the Millennium Development Goals in 2015.  Unfortunately, while there's a lot of information out there on the web, I've yet to find a clear, concise and basic explanation of how the post-2015 dialogue is taking place.  What follows is a cross-post of a piece I wrote for Ecumenical Women that tries to fill that need.  While the piece specifically calls on the Ecumenical Women community to participate in the post-2015 dialogue, its equally appropriate for all of us to do so as global citizens.  I'd love to hear what you think!

As the CSW58 priority theme is “Challenges and achievements in the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for women and girls,” Ecumenical Women is focusing over the next few months on educating our online community about the MDGs and ongoing dialogue about what will follow their completion.

If you don't know much about the MDGs or even what they are, that's okay! To read a recent EW post on the basics, click here. While we'll be going into each of the eight MDGs (and specifically how they relate to women and girls) soon, a dialogue on figuring out what will replace the MDGs in 2015, currently termed "the post-2015 development agenda," is already well underway, and you can participate in it! Thus, we thought some information about how the dialogue has unfolded so far, and how you can get involved, might be helpful.

There are currently a number of separate processes providing input into the post-2015 dialogue, and luckily the UN Foundation and Dalberg Analysis have mapped it out in the infographic below:

Post2015 Timeline

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Open Working Group was set-up this past January in response to recommendations from Rio+20, a United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in 2012. While the working group is due to present its final recommendations to the UN General Assembly in September 2014, a draft report was released and opened for comments on 7 May, 2013. To read the draft report, click here. It remains to be seen however, if the SDGs will end up representing an entirely separate set of goals or will directly feed into the post-2015 development agenda.

The UN-led Process has a number of different moving parts. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon announced the creation of a High Level Panel to advise on post-2015 development agenda. The panel is co-chaired by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of Indonesia; President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia and Prime Minister David Cameron of the United Kingdom. After holding meetings in each of co-chairs' respective countries (as well as brief meeting at the 2012 General Assembly), the panel is scheduled to release its report at the end of May.

The UN, in conjunction with civil-society and other international organizations, is additionally leading 88 consultations in specific countries and 11 consultations on the following themes:
And here's where we as Ecumenical Women can lend our voice. All the links above will send you to specific consultation areas on the World We Want 2015, a web-platform created by the UN and civil-society to gather the priorities of people from every corner of the world.

If you'd prefer to provide more general input, you can create a profile and then answer questions like "World leaders are creating new development goals. What needs to be included?" on the World We Want 2015.

If you'd prefer to begin contributing through a basic survey, you can vote on your top priorities for development in the MY World survey.

There are also a number of non-UN activities feeding into the post-2015 dialogue. Beyond 2015, for instance, is a global civil society campaign that brings together more than 620 organizations.

So wow- that's a lot of information, but we hope you found it helpful. Be sure to participate in the World We Want, the MY World survey and please leave us a comment if you have any questions or concerns.

Finally, if you're interested in a more detailed timeline of the post-2015 dialogue, the Guardian has created a great resource that you can find here.

Dustin currently serves as Vicar at the Lutheran Office for World Community and Saint Peter's Church in Manhattan, having recently completed his second year of a Masters of Divinity program at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia. While seeking ordination in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, his focus is on the intersection between worship, service and justice in de-centralized faith communities unencumbered by a traditional church building. In his free time, Dustin likes playing frisbee, hiking and pretending to know how to sing.

WCC Ecumenical Prayer Cycle: Kenya and Tanzania

Nairobi, Kenya
As I wrote about in a post a few months ago, part of my vicarage at Saint Peter's Church this year is is providing a supplemental paragraph about countries in the weekly Ecumenical Prayer Cycle created by the World Council of Churches. We pray for each country listed in the prayer cycle during the Intercessory Prayers at Saint Peter's on Sundays and the paragraph is included in our bulletin insert to provide context for those intercessions.

This week's countries (5/12 - 5/18) are Kenya and Tanzania.  While the paragraph below provides some recent information (including links to related news stories for the first time), check out the week's WCC page for additional prayer resources.
We pray for the people of Tanzania affected by the bombing of Saint Joseph's Roman Catholic Church on Sunday, 5 May that killed three people and injured sixty others. We give thanks for a peaceful election and transition process this past March in Kenya and pray that all its’ churches speak in a unified voice on effective HIV/ AIDS prevention measures. We give thanks for years of sustained economic growth in both countries and pray this growth reaches the lives of all who call Tanzania and Kenya home.
God's peace,
Dustin

Dustin currently serves as Vicar at the Lutheran Office for World Community and Saint Peter's Church in Manhattan, having recently completed his second year of a Masters of Divinity program at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia. While seeking ordination in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, his focus is on the intersection between worship, service and justice in de-centralized faith communities unencumbered by a traditional church building. In his free time, Dustin likes playing frisbee, hiking and pretending to know how to sing.

Tuesday, May 07, 2013

One Grand Collective Story - Easter C6 Sermon (in video)

What follows is video of the sermon I preached this past Sunday evening during Jazz Vespers at Saint Peter's Church where I currently serve as Vicar.  It's predominately on the appointed first reading for the day, Acts 16: 9 - 15.



God's peace,
Dustin 

Dustin currently serves as Vicar at the Lutheran Office for World Community and Saint Peter's Church in Manhattan, having recently completed his second year of a Masters of Divinity program at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia. While seeking ordination in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, his focus is on the intersection between worship, service and justice in de-centralized faith communities unencumbered by a traditional church building. In his free time, Dustin likes playing frisbee, hiking and pretending to know how to sing.

Monday, May 06, 2013

WCC Ecumenical Prayer Cycle: Sudan, South Sudan, Uganda

Kampala, Uganda
As I wrote about in a post a few months ago, part of my vicarage at Saint Peter's Church this year is providing a supplemental paragraph about countries in the weekly Ecumenical Prayer Cycle created by the World Council of Churches. We pray for each country listed in the prayer cycle during the Intercessory Prayers at Saint Peter's on Sundays and the paragraph is included in our bulletin insert to provide context for those intercessions.

This week's countries (4/28 - 5/4) are Sudan, South Sudan and Uganda. While the paragraph below provides some recent information, check out their WCC page for additional prayer resources.
We give thanks for a recent peace deal between the government of South Sudan and local militia groups.  We pray for continued reconciliation efforts between Sudan and South Sudan, as well as peace in the Sudanese region of Darfur, where an estimated 2.3 million people remain displaced after a decade-long conflict.  We give thanks for the recent efforts of Roman Catholic clergy and other faith leaders in Uganda to address gender-based violence.
God's peace,
Dustin

Dustin currently serves as Vicar at the Lutheran Office for World Community and Saint Peter's Church in Manhattan, having recently completed his second year of a Masters of Divinity program at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia. While seeking ordination in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, his focus is on the intersection between worship, service and justice in de-centralized faith communities unencumbered by a traditional church building. In his free time, Dustin likes playing frisbee, hiking and pretending to know how to sing.

Ordinary Folks Doing Extraordinary Things in Christ (Easter C6 Sermon)

What follows is the rough manuscript of the sermon I preached last night during Jazz Vespers at Saint Peter's Church (where I currently serve as Vicar).  It's predominately on the appointed first reading for the day, Acts 16: 9 - 15.  I'd love to hear what you think and expected video of the sermon out in the coming days.

So, I’m a really big fan of the Book of Acts. I’m a really big fan of the Book of Acts because it tells the story of ordinary folks led by the Spirit, doing extraordinary things in Christ… it tells the story of ordinary folks led by the Spirit, doing extraordinary things in Christ. And this evening’s part of the story, from Acts 16, very much follows that theme… it begins with Paul, Silas, Timothy and perhaps some other early Christians bumbling around in what we now know as the country of Turkey, trying to start new churches and largely failing… Paul had just experienced a falling out with his fellow apostle Barnabas as well, perhaps due to a rivalry between the two colleagues. Despite his previous life as a Pharisee, by this point in Acts Paul just seems like an ordinary sort of person, making ordinary human mistakes, getting into ordinary human arguments yet trying his best to spread the Gospel… the sort of person we find largely familiar to our own lives.

Luckily, God even works through ordinary folks like Paul and like you and like me though, and in this case the Spirit intercedes by leading the way for Paul in a vision, a vision of a Macedonian man pleading for help. Paul then faithfully crosses the Aegean Sea into Macedonia, into an area associated with the heights of Greek culture and learning, and through the life of this ordinary fellow God begins making the most extraordinary things happen in Christ. A few days after getting off the boat Paul meets and preaches to Lydia, a somewhat ordinary businesswoman, who after being baptized with all of her household invites Paul and his companions into her home, and prevailing upon them with her great hospitality. Eventually, this somewhat ordinary businesswoman named Lydia is lead by the Spirit to do a most extraordinary thing, creating and likely financing what would become one of the most vibrant and faithful of the early Christian communities.

My sisters and brothers, although the story of Lydia and Paul takes place nearly two thousand years ago in the Greek city of Philippi, the collective story of ordinary folks led by the Spirit, doing extraordinary things in Christ, does not end there. While there are a few chapters in between, I’ll skip ahead to talk about another part of the story, featuring another ordinary person, a member of Saint Peter’s Church in fact, a fellow named Wuigi Howard, who like Lydia and Paul before him, was led by the Spirit to do extraordinary things in Christ. When Charles Taylor invaded Nimba County and touched off the Liberian Civil War in December of 1989, Wuigi was a student at the University of Liberia in Monrovia, studying to be a teacher. As he prepared to graduate the following summer, war was engulfing the entire country, yet Wuigi took up teaching anyway. As the fighting took on deeper religious and tribal connotations and Muslims started killing Christians and vice-versa, the war eventually hit home for Wuigi when his mother was brutally beaten to death on her rice farm on February 15th, 1993. She was murdered not only because she was a Christian, but in fact a well-known Christian leader in her local community, and those who murdered her promised to do the same thing to her children. Despite the chaos all around him, Wuigi kept teaching, thereby doing the most extraordinary thing of giving hope to a new generation of young Liberians.

With only one brief reprieve the Liberian Civil War continued until 2003, leaving a quarter million people dead. Even after the war ended, religious violence continued, and on September 26, 2006, Wuigi’s oldest brother, Peter Howard, was murdered as well. Despite even the loss of his brother, Wuigi kept teaching. He even became principal of Saint Matthew’s Lutheran Church School. After being physically attacked and receiving numerous death threats himself, Wuigi had to make the hard decision to flee his native country, to cross the sea much like Paul and he eventually arrived in the City of New York on November 17th, 2007. The story doesn’t end there though, because while Saint Paul was called to do extraordinary things in a vision, Wuigi was called to do extraordinary things in a phonebook… in 2009 to be exact when looking when for a new church. As his church back home in Liberia was also named Saint Peter’s, our name stuck out to him, so Wuigi called us, spoke to our Senior Pastor, and has been blessing to our community ever since.

The story still doesn’t end there though because for over four years Wuigi has been seeking asylum status in the United States - his wartime enemies are still waiting for him back in Liberia. So this past Wednesday, when Wuigi had another in a long series of immigration hearings, five other ordinary folks, all members of Saint Peter’s Church, took what seemed like the rather ordinary action of accompanying him to court, sitting in the back of the room, praying for him and silently supporting him with their presence. And it was then my sisters and brothers, it was then that the Spirit moved to make yet another extraordinary thing happen… You see, Wuigi’s lawyer told the government representative, essentially a prosecutor, that Wuigi had five church members present with him. This seems to have encouraged the representative and immigration judge to fast-track Wuigi’s case. Instead of having his final hearing in 2014 or 2015 (that’s how long it usually takes in our broken immigration system), Wuigi will in all likelihood be granted asylum and become a permanent American resident this November. And while Wuigi has once again taken up the profession of teaching here in the city, he’s been teaching all of us here at Saint Peter’s as well, greatly strengthening our growing immigration advocacy program with his story and spirit.

So, why bother telling Wuigi’s story at all? Why bother telling Lydia’s story or Paul’s story? Quite simply put, the reason these stories are so important is because they’re all of our stories… they’re your stories and my stories, all part of the same grand collective story stretching from ancient Philippi to contemporary New York. A story of ordinary folks, led by the Spirit, doing extraordinary things in Christ. Amen.

Dustin currently serves as Vicar at the Lutheran Office for World Community and Saint Peter's Church in Manhattan, having recently completed his second year of a Masters of Divinity program at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia. While seeking ordination in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, his focus is on the intersection between worship, service and justice in de-centralized faith communities unencumbered by a traditional church building. In his free time, Dustin likes playing frisbee, hiking and pretending to know how to sing.

Saturday, May 04, 2013

...and God Has Even Chosen You (Easter 5C sermon video)

Figured I could take a break from polishing up my sermon for tomorrow and post video from last Sunday at Saint Peter's Church where I currently serve as VicarThe sermon is primarily on the appointed 1st Reading for the day, Acts 11: 1 - 18I ended changing a bunch of parts at the last minute and thus there was way too much reading, but I'd love to hear what you think.

 

God's peace,
Dustin 

Dustin is currently a vicar at the Lutheran Office for World Community and Saint Peter's Church in Manhattan, having recently completed his second year of a Masters of Divinity program at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia. While seeking ordination in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, his focus is on the intersection between worship, service and justice building in de-centralized faith communities unencumbered by a traditional church building. In his free time, Dustin likes playing frisbee, hiking and pretending to know how to sing.