Prayer for Mission in South Africa

This week we pray for Susan Valiquette and Scott Couper, our missionaries to South Africa.  Both serve at Inanda Seminary in Durban, South Africa in many ways.

You can read more about the mission to South Africa here, including the long heritage of Inanda Seminary in educating and empowering young women for almost 150 years.

There are Christian missionaries serving on our behalf in 70 countries around the world.  Each week, Global Missions highlights one of these missions and asks the wider church to pray for its continued vitality in spreading the Gospel.

Prayer for Mission in Haiti

This week we pray for Katie Pickens, our missionary who has served in Haiti for the past year.  Katie worked as a consultant for the Ferdinand Garcia Transformational Center, related to CONASPEH, the National Spiritual Council of Haitian Churches.

You can read more about the mission to Haiti here, including ways that CONASPEH is growing and deepening its ministry.  You can also pray for the members of the Kansas City clinic in Carrefour, which Eastgate has supported for several years.

There are Christian missionaries serving on our behalf in 70 countries around the world.  Each week, Global Missions highlights one of these missions and asks the wider church to pray for its continued vitality in spreading the Gospel.

Coming Up Sunday, January 27

This Sunday we celebrate Laity Sunday at Eastgate, which means that I will be sitting in the congregation while others lead us in worship.  This service, at the beginning of the Week of the Laity, celebrates the gifts that all people have to share in our congregation's ministry.

Sue Short will be offering the sermon, taken from John 8: "From the Darkness into Light."  Many others will lead the prayers and our gathering at the Lord's Table.  It should be a wonderful time to be together in God's name.

January 20 Worship: Solomon's Choice

On Sunday, we were led in worship by several of our young people.  They selected the music -- including several common camp and conference worship songs.  They also prepared a video message drawn from one of the examples of Solomon's wisdom given in the Bible, his judgment about a baby claimed by two mothers.  You can watch the humorous take on the story below.

Prayer for Mission in Argentina and Paraguay

This week we pray for James deBoer, our missionary who has served in Argentina and Paraguay.  James was a consultant for mission development for the Disciples of Christ Church in Argentina and Paraguay.

You can read more about the mission to Argentina and Paraguay here, including an example of the unity that Christians are supposed to seek in their relationships with each other.

There are Christian missionaries serving on our behalf in 70 countries around the world.  Each week, Global Missions highlights one of these missions and asks the wider church to pray for its continued vitality in spreading the Gospel.

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

Today, the wider church begins the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.  This annual observance, recognized by the World Council of Churches and several Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox communions, encourages Christians to pray that the human divisions in Christ's church may be overcome.  Jesus himself offered such a prayer for his followers before his death, according to John 17.

This year's theme, "What Does God Require of Us?" is drawn from a famous passage in Micah 6:6-8.  The World Council of Churches has again produced a booklet filled with information and resources for this week -- I particularly recommend the daily devotional material found on pages 21 and following.

I hope you will take the opportunity of these days to pray for Christ's church.  Too often we let our differences cloud our purposes as disciples of Jesus Christ; too often we look at our brothers and sisters in Christ with jealousy or arrogance, instead of with love.  In Christ's service, through Christ's example, may we all become one.

January 13 Worship: Refugees

On Sunday, we enjoyed a Spirit-filled worship, despite the brisk temperatures outside.  The service featured several favorite hymns, a special solo by DeLores Gillespie, who sang "On Holy Ground," and I sang "Amazing Grace" during Communion, which always seems to be a popular selection.

I also offered the concluding sermon in our recent Advent and Christmas series, "Looking for Home: Faith in the Holiday Season."  We considered the all-too-often overlooked part of the Christmas story, which tells of how Jesus, Mary, and Joseph fled to Egypt to avoid the threat of King Herod's murderous anger.  In "Refugees," I suggested that this story should not only cause us to be more charitable towards outsiders and immigrants, but said that spiritually speaking, we are all refugees until we can be in our true home, the Kingdom of God.

I really enjoyed this series, which considered our deep yearning for home, which is so often noticeable around Christmas.  As should have been clear on Sunday, it also leads well into our Lenten series, which will consider the example of the Hebrews traveling through the wilderness toward the Promised Land.

If you missed Sunday's sermon, if you'd like to listen to it again, or if you'd like to share it with others, you can find an audio recording here.