The Canaanite Woman & Challenging God

What follows is the text of a sermon I preached yesterday at Messiah Lutheran Church where I'm currently serving as pastor, primary on the appointed gospel text for the Sunday, Matthew 15: 21 - 28, the "Story of the Canaanite Woman." You can watch video of the sermon on our Facebook page as well. If you like what you read and hear, be sure to "like" us on Facebook, or feel free to stop by Messiah when you're in the area. You're welcome here, no matter who you are!

God's peace,

Pastor Dustin

So last week we talked a bunch about how God more often than not shows up in the simple things, in everyday conversations with strangers and loved ones alike, in ordinary experiences where we’re reminded of God’s presence and love in our everyday lives. So this is awesome, and absolutely true… God is constantly showing up, and usually in the simple ordinary ways we least expect. Today’s gospel lesson though points us in almost the opposite direction though… it proclaims some profound truths about what happens when it seems like God isn’t showing up, when it feels like God isn’t helping us in the most difficult of experiences, when God feels cold and distant, despite our constant pleading and heartfelt prayers. And most of us have indeed had those experiences, or at least will in the future… when we’re confronted by disease, death, broken relationships, heartbreaking disappointment or profound fear… all the sort of modern day demons that most of us have or will face.

And what do us people of faith do in those situations, at least usually? We pray, we plead with God just like the Canaanite woman in today’s gospel passage. To be a fair, a pretty good percentage of folks who usually wouldn’t even consider themselves religious tend to pray when they’re confronted by desperate situations. Yet we also have to admit, we have to confess the fact that at least some of time when we’re surrounded by these sort of demons, it doesn’t feel like God is answering our prayers at all. No specifics needed, but who here has been in that sort of desperate situation, and has struggled with feeling like your prayers weren’t being answered by God? I don’t mean prayers like oh God, I wish I had a coffee, or oh God, I wish I could win the lottery… oh God, I wish mom would get me the latest Justin Bieber album for Christmas or something like that… when God doesn’t answer those prayers, it’s not really a big deal… but those other ones… the ones we can’t even fully describe with words, ones like a desperate mother’s cry for her suffering child, a cry that that in today’s story was initially only answered with silence by Jesus. The text says it plain… “Jesus did not answer her at all.” Jesus did not answer her at all… that’s almost worse than what happens next in a way, right? Jesus calls the woman a dog… and that’s pretty horrible, to be sure, but the silence… “Jesus did not answer her at all.” When it feels like God isn’t responding at all to our desperate pleas, in my experience at least, that’s the toughest our relationship with God can get.

And then how do we respond in these situations, when it feels like God answers our anguished cries with silence? For me at least, in my own experience with this sort of thing, I’ve tended to respond with anger… I’ve tended to become absolutely furious with God. I believe the folks who were on my call committee heard part of this story, and I honestly hesitate because its important I believe that a pastor doesn’t make a sermon about herself or himself, but I think its worth telling to illuminate today’s gospel message. At our Christmas Eve worship service of 2007, I was home in Connecticut from my final year of college in Washington, DC, and I was riding high… I knew I had a great political campaign finance job lined up after graduation, was in a great relationship, and was most importantly really enjoying family life… having just sort of grown out of a sometimes tumultuous relationship with my dad and especially my mom as a teenager, I felt overjoyed to be getting to know them all over again as a young adult, that sort of thing. So it’s Christmas Eve service, and many of you saw my childhood church of Emanuel yesterday at ordination… it’s a pretty big place… full of people, celebrating the coming of God into our world with all the usual Christmas fanfare, we were probably singing Joy to the World or something similar and I look around, see my smiling family, great girl standing next to me, and I just feel well, overjoyed.

I felt like I had it all, that I was ready to graduate from college, be a successful adult with a great family, doing the political campaign work I always dreamed about… everything was awesome. But unfortunately it didn’t stay that way… fast forward a few months to spring break, only a couple months before graduation… my parents had been acting kind of weird on the phone over the last few days, but when my dad picked me up at the airport, he looked absolutely dejected. After I repeatedly asked him what was up, he told me my mom had just been diagnosed with late stage-three lung cancer. There was a chance it could be operated on successfully, but not a very good one. Later that week, I went to the doctor myself after noticing a lump sort of thing in my throat, and the doctor told me there was a good chance it was thyroid cancer. That perfect life, that American dream sort of thing I had been thinking about at Christmas Eve just a few months earlier, was quickly beginning to unravel. Of course I prayed, but it never felt like God really answered. Just like the Canaanite woman experienced in today’s gospel message, it didn’t seem like Jesus would answer at all.

Right around that same time, my relationship was beginning to unravel, and I quickly realized that in trying to help care for my mom and to continue with all the various tests and treatments myself, I couldn’t do the long hours of that campaign finance job I had dreamed about for so many years… the folks over at Camp Calumet in New Hampshire were kind enough to give me flexible work, so that I could head home when needed, but to be honest being a camp counselor in your mid-twenties with a college degree is well, less than ideal. My mom went in to have an entire lung removed, and indeed almost died, but survived for the time being, and left the hospital only a couple days before I went in to have my entire thyroid removed. There was thankfully some good news that came out of that, as I myself had a false-positive cancer diagnosis, but unfortunately a few months later we found out my mother’s cancer had metastasized. My mother passed away only a few months later, a few days after Christmas of 2008.

Now fast forward to Christmas Eve service of 2009. I was in my same childhood church of Emanuel, with the same joyful music playing, a bunch of awesome brass instruments booming out Joy to the World, but it was otherwise nothing like Christmas Eve two years earlier. Instead of anticipating an awesome job and graduation from college, I was unemployed and living at home… although I worked with Thrivent for a year, I had since quit to find a job with less hours and figure out how to get to seminary, but of course at the height of the Great Recession, there wasn’t a whole lot of options. Most importantly though, I felt completely alone in that crowded, massive sanctuary at Emanuel… no girlfriend, no family… I had to go to Christmas Eve service alone that year… my dad and brother usually only went to make my mom happy, and well, approaching the first year anniversary of my mother’s death, they weren’t really in the Christmas mood anyway.

So Christmas Eve service happens, I pray and sing, completely miserable, but it still felt like no one answered. And then I get home, increasingly desperate, and in this intense, chaotic, almost rage I all of the sudden just start screaming at God, tears streaming down my face, barely making words out in between my cries. I looked back at that perfect, happy scene only two years earlier and let out this torrent, accusing God of being completely absent, doing absolutely nothing to help while my family and I were suffering so immensely. Not really thinking that God had done all these horrible things to my family and I, but rather, just like the Canaanite woman experienced at first in today’s gospel message, that God had seemingly answered my prayers with silence… “Jesus did not answer her at all.” Jesus did not answer her at all. Now in my case, that Christmas Eve was a turning point, things did indeed start getting better very soon after my night of struggling with God. Even then though, for years later, even up to perhaps only months ago, although our relationship certainly improved, I never felt like I could entirely forgive God for those two years of silence. But that, however, is a whole other story.

There is, in fact, good news in today’s gospel message my sisters and brothers, and its not some silly platitude like God only gives you what you can handle. And its not an answer to why bad things, and especially a lot of bad things at once, can happen to good people. I have absolutely no idea on that one, although I’d love to have something definitive to tell you, its just a mystery of faith. There is definitive good news we can know from today’s gospel message however, actually two huge portions absolutely amazing, crystal clear, easily defined good news that we can be absolutely certain of. First, God promises us, as shown by Jesus’ later reaction to the Canaanite woman and in a bunch of other instances, that a life of faith need not be one of constant praise. Ya know, for years I felt incredibly guilty that I was so angry with God, but as the Canaanite woman shows us, struggling with God at times is completely okay. God is bigger than our anger, and even more importantly recognizes that just because we’re struggling or even accusing God for a time does not mean we’re not being faithful followers of Christ. Remember, after her repeated challenges, Jesus says, “Woman, great is your faith!” “Woman, great is your faith!” My sisters and brothers, it is completely okay, completely acceptable, to struggle with God, especially when you’re going through the most difficult of circumstances.

Our second portion of absolutely amazing, crystal clear easily defined good news today is also a fairly unique one. Ya know, I’ve studied other major religions in some detail, and this is the one thing that Christianity has that the others don’t… our moral system is not unique, nor is the idea that God is love, but the part that is unique and that today’s gospel message emphasizes, it’s that God was human. And not just divine with a human mask, no! God was fully human. God was fully human in the person of Jesus Christ. Sometimes we don’t like to think about that part, that Jesus was fully human, it makes us feel uncomfortable… that in his humanness Jesus messed up in today’s gospel message by calling the brave Canaanite woman a dog and by at first insisting that he had only come to serve the children of Israel. There’s a few other of these Bible passages too, that emphasize Jesus’ humanness, when he cries out “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” most notably.

Yet it’s true. God was fully human in Jesus Christ. And not only is it true that God was fully human, but it’s really, really important, and it’s incredibly good news. It’s incredibly good news because we know, we were in fact promised, that when we’re struggling with God and struggling with the world around us, with death, disease or all sorts of disasters, that not only is it okay to challenge God, but more importantly that God knows what we’re going through. And not in some divine, all knowing sort of way. God knows what we’re going through because God’s experienced it in a fully human way. In a fully fragile, limited, struggled human sort of way God has experienced our human struggles in Christ. How God did it, how it makes logical sense, I have no idea, but we have been promised in Christ that this is true. And thus, my sisters and brothers, while it may not be true that God will only give us we can handle, we have been promised, we have been crystal cleared been made a promise that God will only give us what God has handled in a fully human sort of way in the person of Jesus Christ. And as we know through Christ’s resurrection over the forces of sin, death and despair, none of those things have a chance against the awesome power of God’s love for us. Amen.

Dustin serves as pastor at Messiah Lutheran Church, a vibrant congregation ministering with the local community in Rotterdam, New York. An evangelist, urban gardener, mountain climber, community organizer, saint and sinner, Dustin spends most of his profession time wrestling with God and proclaiming liberation in Christ. Otherwise, Dustin likes hiking, playing frisbee, hanging out with an amazing woman named Jessie and pretending to know how to sing.

Jesus Is Praying for You on "Super Stumped Sunday"

Hey folks! What follows is a sermon I was blessed to preach this past Sunday at Lutheran Church of the Holy Spirit, an amazingly welcoming congregation in Albany, NY. It was primarily on two of the appointed readings for Ascension Sunday, Acts 1: 6-14 and John 17: 1-11. I'd love to hear what you think, and thanks for reading!

First of all, I want to thank you for so graciously welcoming me into your community here at Holy Spirit. It’s actually my first time preaching in Upstate New York…and I’m incredibly stoked to be here, especially on a day as important as this one… Super Stumped Sunday! That’s right, it’s Super Stumped Sunday, or as it’s been understood for most of Christian history, at least since the fourth century, today is the Sunday closest to the Feast of the Ascension, which took place this past Thursday, which was exactly forty days after Easter. It’s Super Stumped Sunday, which in non-church history/ liturgy nerd terms means the Sunday when Christians around the world commemorate Jesus rising up into heaven from the Mount of Olives to sit at the right hand of God… wow, Super Stumped Sunday, more often known as the Feast of the Ascension… it might not have as much street creed as Christmas or Easter, but it’s kinda a big deal… the day when Jesus no longer was in a literal sense walking around, hanging out with us here on Earth, the day when we as believers in Christ sort of needed to start figuring out what to do next… and thus the day when we very quickly realize that at least a bunch of the time, we actually have no idea how to proceed… and hence, it’s Super Stumped Sunday.

It’s not a bad thing by the way, necessarily… being super stumped. In fact, most of these situations in life, situations when we’re super stumped and that often coincidently happen around this time of year, most of these situations often take place after the most amazing of events. We graduate or watch our children and other loved ones graduate around this time of year. We plant gardens. We go to proms. We start thinking about warm weekend trips and summer vacations. We get married more often and buy more new homes around this time of year than any other. Even if you’re having a relatively uneventful season, you’ve probably spent some time recently looking back on your life over the colder winter months, evaluating your efforts and perhaps discerning how to move forward. My sisters and brothers, we are in the midst of a season of endings and new beginnings, some of which we mourn, to be fair, but many of which we celebrate. It’s a season of immense change, immense emotion, and hopefully, nearly unlimited possibilities if only we keep our eyes and hearts open.

Inevitably though, on Super Stumped Sunday, or the Feast of the Ascension, and in this season generally, we end up experiencing quite a bit of uncertainty. Look back at how the apostles acted in the passage from Acts we read in our first lesson today, which is the primary story of Christ’s Ascension in the Bible. The apostles ask Jesus when he’ll be back to lead them, but of course Jesus doesn’t give a definitive answer, instead simply ensures them they will soon receive the Holy Spirit. Jesus is then lifted up, perhaps much like we’ve seen in all those famous paintings of the story, and well, pretty soon the apostles end up just staring at the clouds. Their actions sort of ring true to our own experiences though, right? I mean whether we’ve just finished up teaching our last week of Sunday school before summer break, whether we’ve just gotten married, or just watched a granddaughter graduate from high school, just entered retirement or have just achieved some other long sought after goal, we often get stopped in our tracks, we often can’t help but take a pause, look around, and let it sink in that, wow, that really awesome thing has finally actually happened! Wow!!! We take in that we’ve finally achieved such a difficult goal! But then, all too often, just like the apostles, we get caught staring at the clouds, absolutely super stumped about what to do next.

We experience the same thing in our congregations too. From what we all said in the confession and forgiveness at the beginning of today’s service, it seems like the folks here at Holy Spirit are well aware of this issue. I’ll just reread a little part of what we all said earlier… “Newness scares us, and we confess to shutting our doors in fear. We have not listened to voices that challenge us. We have resisted the Holy Spirit moving us in new directions.” Wow. Wow… now that is a powerful, that’s an amazing thing to publicly proclaim as a congregation. And what you’ve confessed is true of course, I don’t know specifically about here at Holy Spirit, but throughout most of our congregations and certainly as the wider Church, just like the apostles super stumped about what to do next, just staring up at the clouds, we’ve for far too long spent too much time hung up on past successes and joys, the good ol’ glory days, whenever those were, than actually moving forward into the amazing possibilities of the present and the future. The good news though is that in naming our mistakes, whether as individuals, congregations or as a wider Church, we’re freed from those mistakes in Christ, and thereby liberated to begin engaging in some truly incredible new ways to serve God and neighbor.

Now the apostles experience of being caught staring up at the clouds after Christ’s Ascension certainly rings true to our experience… whether it’s something as amazing as Christ’s incarnation or something as ordinary as former years with a whole lot higher church attendance and larger budgets, we often get super stumped, hung up on past joys and achievements.  I’m gonna go out on a limb here though and say that what’s happens next in our first lesson from Acts DOES NOT always ring true to our experience. We rarely see angels flying out of the sky, at least in a literal sense, telling us to get to work. And while it’s perhaps a bit more common, it’s still pretty rare that we easily shift to what’s next, constantly devoting ourselves to prayer, and being harmoniously and perfectly of one mind as we move forward into the future. It might happen once in a while, but whether its as a congregation, as a family or in our professional lives, even though we’re called to get along and move forward hand in hand, by Christ we rarely do it in a perfect manner. Perhaps we overstep, perhaps we ignore the voices of those marginalized in our communities, perhaps we miss some other crucial factor. It’s possible, but really, really rare that we engage in new things near perfectly the first time, or with universal agreement in our communities. The apostles’ experience of being one in prayer, and sort of magically knowing how to proceed, does not usually ring true to our experience living in this time, in this place.

That’s why I’m so incredibly thankful that on this Super Stumped Sunday, on the Feast of the Ascension, we also heard the gospel message from Saint John, a message filled with profoundly good news, with amazing promise. It’s a sort of rare message too, at least as the gospels are concerned. Today’s gospel message takes place near the end of Saint John’s version of the Last Supper, but it’s radically different than the Last Supper we’re used to. Essentially, Jesus talks a really long time, like a really long time, pretty much for four whole chapters, about how we’re supposed to lead our Christian lives after he’s ascended. Then, instead of doing the whole bread and wine bit, do this in remembrance of me, which of course is extremely important, to the point that we celebrate it every Sunday during the meal, Jesus does something perhaps even more amazing… he prays for His apostles. And similarly, Jesus prays for us too, no matter how we’re living out our lives.

Just think about that… a few minutes ago during Children’s Time, parent and child laid hands on each other, saying a short prayer. The first time that ever happened to me, I’ll admit, it was a bit weird, but once I got a little more used to it, it was incredibly profound… I might be a big of a softy, but it usually made me cry. In praying for each other, we often experience a moment of amazing connection with our fellow believers, a moment of amazing grace, even at times when we’re feeling super stumped, or times of great fear. Just as we pray for each other though, as we heard in today’s gospel message, Jesus is praying for us too. Jesus is praying for us too. Jesus is praying for us, as we struggle with change and figure out how to do ministry in an entirely new context. Jesus is praying for us, for our church councils, for our treasurers, for our acolytes. Jesus is praying for us, for our Sunday school teachers, our Sunday school students and our young adults. Jesus is praying for us, for our musicians, our altar guild and even, our pastors.

We often separate our church lives from the rest of our lives, but there’s even more profoundly good news… Jesus is praying for us all the time. Who here is a health-care worker? Jesus is praying for you! Who here is in education? Jesus is praying for you! Who here is in business or finance? Jesus is praying for you! Who here works a government job? Who here works retail? Who here is retired? Jesus is praying for you! Who here is a parent, a grandparent, a son, a daughter, a spouse or a friend? Jesus is praying for you! Who here is just really darn lonely or searching for meaning? Jesus is praying for you! Just like he prayed for the apostles in today’s gospel message, Jesus is praying for all of us, as we live out our lives in churches, in our families, and in our professions. Jesus is praying for all of us, whatever we might be facing, no matter how confused, or angry, or joyful or just super stumped we may feel. Today, my sisters and brothers, on this Super Stumped Sunday, the Feast of the Ascension, know that no matter how imperfect, angry, weak or tired you might feel, Jesus is praying for you, Jesus has promised to pray for us, and Jesus keeps His promises. Amen.

Dustin is a recent graduate from the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia and approved candidate for ordination in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. An evangelist, urban gardener, mountain climber, community organizer, saint and sinner, Dustin spends most of his professional time wrestling with God and proclaiming liberation in Christ. Otherwise, Dustin likes hiking, playing frisbee, hanging out with an amazing woman named Jessie and pretending to know how to sing.

Wailing at the Western Wall

What follows is a final piece I wrote on my recent ELCA Peace Not Walls leadership training trip to Jordan, Palestine and Israel. The intention of our trip was to prepare for leading future groups of young adults to the Holy Land while also working for a just end to the Israeli occupation of Palestine. I've debated for quite a while about whether or not to post this piece, as it's a bit personal and difficult, but in the end I decided that it may be helpful in illustrating the difficult emotions and ambiguities that come with experiencing the Israeli occupation of Palestine first hand. I'd love to hear what you think, and thanks for reading.


Journal Entry | January 15, 2014

I'm now sitting near the Western Wall in Old City Jerusalem and just burst into tears. Let me explain. This place exhibits a profound sense of the sacred... contrary to what I've heard about the Western Wall in the past, most of the folks here don't seem to be mourning the destruction of the Second Temple at all but in fact are celebrating... it's really loud and joyful... Bar Mitzvahs are taking place all around me. The exuberant, celebratory sacredness of this place stands in stark contrast but feels equally sacred to the quiet, profound experience we just had in the Dome of the Rock and the solemness of al-Aqsa Mosque atop the Haram al-Sharif/ Temple Mount. Both the Jewish and Muslim holy sites similarly contrast with the equally sacred manic swarm of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher we visited a few days ago, where its easy to bump into someone penitently praying and kissing a sacred slab of stone only to turn around mess up some tourist's photo, all the while coughing yet strangely also appreciating the massive amount of incense.

All these holy sites prove equally sacred, all in their own unique way that's characteristic of their respective faiths. Yet, I can't help but crying. I can't help but crying because no matter how hard I try to sit and take in this sacred experience, the image of that case of spent bullets in the al-Aqsa Mosque, kept in memorial from when Ariel Sharon entered the Haram al-Sharif and set off the Second Intifada, is still burning in my mind. I can't help but crying because no matter how much my theological training might characterize it differently, I can't help but feel angry at God for passively letting Her children fight, betray and simply ignore one another over this place rather than joyfully sharing the unique sacredness I've experienced at all three faiths' holy sites this week. I feel angry at God for letting many of Her Christian children in America either ignore or actively work against the efforts of their Palestinian Christian sisters and brothers. I feel angry at God for letting some of Her Jewish children mix a rabid form of 19th century nationalism with their faith in a way that leads to the horrific oppression of Palestinians. I feel angry at God for letting a small radical minority of her Muslim children maim and kill in the name of their Creator while also providing a pretext for letting the occupation continue. Could God have revealed Herself in slightly different ways that would not have led to such a tragedy? I'm not sure, but I'm pretty pissed off anyway. And so I cry. I cry and angrily pray and write because I don't know what else to do. Damn glad I wore my sunglasses.

Dustin is currently in his final year of a Masters of Divinity program at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, having recently completed a year as Vicar at the Lutheran Office for World Community and Saint Peter's Church in New York City. Recently approved for 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: Canada and the United States of America

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 (4 August - 10 August) are Canada and the United States of America. While the paragraph below provides information on current events, check out the week's WCC page for additional prayer resources:

We give thanks that portions of the Defense of Marriage Act were ruled unconstitutional in the United States of America earlier this summer, and pray for the law’s full repeal. We pray that the rights and lands of indigenous people in Canada are respected by those involved in oil sands extraction. We pray for the passage of comprehensive immigration reform currently held up by the US House of Representatives. We pray for millennials in the US suffering from high unemployment and staggering student loan debt.

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.

WCC Ecumenical Prayer Cycle: The Caribbean

Haiti

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 (28 July - 3 August) are the countries of the Caribbean: Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, St Kitts-Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago. While the paragraph below provides information on current events, check out the week's WCC page for additional prayer resources:

We pray for the people of Haiti as they continue to recover from the 2010 earthquake and subsequent cholera outbreak. We pray the normalization of relations between Cuba and other nations, particularly the United States, while also praying for the Cuban people as they continue to struggle in a post-Soviet economy. We pray for the people of all Caribbean nations as they enter hurricane season. We give thanks for the continued strengthening of regional cooperation through the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

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.

WCC Ecumenical Prayer Cycle: Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay

Celebrating marriage equality in Uruguay.

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 (23 June - 29 June) are Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay. While the paragraph below provides information on current events, check out the week's WCC page for additional prayer resources:

We pray for a peaceful resolution to the continued territorial dispute between Argentina and Great Britain over the Falkland Islands, whose citizens recently voted overwhelmingly to remain a British territory.  We give thanks and pray for Pope Francis, who is from Argentina.  We pray for those in Paraguay who are suffering from an outbreak of dengue fever and for decreased corruption in that country following the recent election of Horacio Cartes as President.  We give thanks for Uruguay’s recent passage of a marriage equality bill, which will begin taking effect this August.

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.

WCC Ecumenical Prayer Cycle: Brazil

Protesting the Belo Monte Dam project in Brazil.

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 (16 June - 22 June) is Brazil. 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 pray for all involved in the proposed Belo Monte Dam project in Brazil, that they seek a more environmentally sustainable alternative and that they would respect the human rights of thousands of indigenous persons being displaced by the dam’s construction. We give thanks for Brazil’s success in decreasing economic inequalities in recent decades. The number of Brazilians living on less than $2.00 a day and the number of those suffering from malnutrition has been halved since the early 1990s.

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.

WCC Ecumenical Prayer Cycle: Angola and Mozambique

Luanda, Angola.

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 (9 June - 15 June) are Angola and Mozambique. 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 pray for a peaceful run-up to this November’s elections in Mozambique, a country that has remained largely stable since its first multi-party elections in the early 1990s.  We give thanks and pray for continued peace and recovery in Angola following its’ decades-long civil war which ended in 2002 and took the lives of over 500,000 persons.  We pray that increased wealth from natural resource extraction in both countries is used to assist their many citizens who still live in extreme poverty.  

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.

WCC Ecumenical Prayer Cycle: Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland

Mountains of Lesotho

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 (2 June - 8 June) are Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland. 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 last year’s free, fair and peaceful elections in Lesotho and pray for continued strengthening of democracy in that country. We pray for the people of Mukwe, an area of Namibia stricken by drought. We pray for a just resolution of continued labour strife in South Africa, particularly in the mining sector. We pray for Ellinah Wamukoya, who was ordained by the Anglican Church of South Africa as Bishop of Swaziland last November, becoming the first female bishop in all of Africa.

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.

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 29^th 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

WCC Ecumenical Prayer Cycle: Ethiopia and Eritrea

Keren, Eritrea

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 Ethiopia and Eritrea. While the paragraph below provides some recent information, check out their WCC page for additional prayer resources.  Due to a recent change in the relationship between the Evangelical Lutheran Church in American and the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus, we decided to focus specifically on Lutheran issues this week, although that is atypical.

We pray for the people of Evangelical Lutheran Church of Eritrea and other religious minorities living faithful lives under difficult circumstances. We pray for mutual understanding and reconciliation between Lutherans in Ethiopia and the United States, as the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus recently voted terminate our fellowship agreement due to differences related to human sexuality.

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.

WCC Ecumenical Prayer Cycle: Djibouti and Somalia

Mogadishu, Somalia

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 (4/21 - 4/27) are Djibouti and Somalia. While the paragraph below provides some recent information, check out their WCC page for additional prayer resources.

We pray for peace and respect for human rights amidst demonstrations and the arrest of opposition leaders following recent elections in Djibouti.  We give thanks for recent landmark successes in returning Somalia to proper governance after decades of civil war while praying for those affected by an Al-Shabab attack last Sunday in Mogadishu.

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.

WCC Ecumenical Prayer Cycle: Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos

Xieng Khuan near Vientiane, Laos

As I wrote about in a recent post, 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 (3/17 - 3/23) are Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. While the paragraph below provides some recent information, check out their WCC page for additional prayer resources.  

We pray for the release of fourteen Catholic bloggers and activists who were recently convicted for their connection to the non-violent, pro-democracy Viet Tan group in Vietnam.  We pray for an end to recent land grabbing, for government reform and for free and fair elections this July in Cambodia.  We pray for an end to ongoing government persecution of the Hmong ethnic group in Laos.

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.

WCC Ecumenical Prayer Cycle: Myanmar & Thailand

The ancient Buddhist capital of Bagan in Myanmar.

As I wrote about in a recent post, 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 (3/10 - 3/16) are Myanmar & Thailand. While the paragraph below provides some recent information, check out their WCC page for additional prayer resources. 

This week we pray for the people of Myanmar as they begin developing just and humane political and civil system after decades of military rule.  We give thanks for new government efforts to end the ivory trade in Thailand.  We pray that recently announced peace talks between the Thai government and Muslim militants in the south of the country succeed in ending a nearly decade-long conflict that has claimed more than 5000 lives.

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.

WCC Ecumenical Prayer Cycle: France and Germany

French troops preparing to be airlifted to Mali.

As I wrote about in a recent post, 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 (2/24 - 3/2) are France & Germany. While the paragraph below provides some recent information, check out their WCC page for additional prayer resources.

We give thanks this week that the highest court in Germany recently ruled in favor of adoption rights for same-sex couples. We pray for France, especially seven of its citizens who were kidnapped by armed individuals in Cameroon last Tuesday. We pray for the many French troops who began an operation last month in Mali to support its army and other African forces in restoring government control to the north of the country.

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.

WCC Ecumenical Prayer Cycle: Italy, Malta, Portugal and Spain

Malta

As I wrote about in a recent post, 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 (2/17 - 2/23) are Italy, Malta, Portugal and Spain.  While the paragraph below provides some basic information, check out their WCC page for additional prayer resources.

We pray for the people of Malta and Italy as both countries prepare to hold general elections in the coming weeks. We pray for the people and government of Portugal as their country's unemployment recently rose to 16.9%. We give thanks that Spain has succeeded in stabilizing its banking system, according to a recent report from the European Central Bank. In these days of discernment we also pray for the significant Roman Catholic populations in all this week's countries.

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.