God, the Great Spirit, whose breath gives life to the world and whose voice thunders in the wind: We give you thanks for your servant Samson Occom, strong preacher and teacher among the Mohegan people; and pray that we, cherishing his example, may love learning and by love build up the communities into which you send us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Speaking to our communities.
Dear friends and members of St. Matt's,
Today the church celebrates the feast day of the Rev. Samson Occum, a member of the Mohegan nation who was ordained a Presbyterian minister in 1759. He was the first Native American to publish his writings in English and he had a tremendous amount of influence in our region. One of the reasons for that influence is that he fell in love with the Gospels, ultimately with Jesus. And he found himself translating his beliefs in many directions, sharing his faith with many different people.
I didn't know about Samson until I was in seminary. And I remember thinking when I was first reading some of his work that it was powerful to be here in this region and to know his story. Samson was born just near New London and traveled throughout Connecticut and New York, including a great deal of work on Long Island. We should know the stories of the many saints who have gone before us, especially those who walked where we walk. And because of our relationship with WPC, his story should be especially poignant for us.
One of Samson's great gifts was his willingness to talk about Jesus with the people around him - whoever those people were, wherever he was. He bore the heavy weight of being the first - which is never easy. His story is one of grace and of commitment to the faith. I wonder what we might learn from his example today. How do we share our faith with the people around us? How do we translate our belief and our hope in God's goodness so that others will hear us? What different stories, language, and methods can we use to give an account of the hope that is in us?
Each one of us comes from many communities. Each one of us is sent into different communities every day (even if many of them are virtual right now!). And each of us has learned how to speak to those places, to those people. The world we live in now desperately needs for us to use our voices, to translate our hope so that others can hear it and see it in action. How much kinder, how much more faithful might the world be if we also learned to translate our faith, to speak to our communities, to build them up in love?
As always, this community is in my prayers. Please don't hesitate to be in touch if you need anything. I give thanks for the ways that God is building us up in love. God bless you and keep you.
Faithfully,
--Marissa +
Tags: Welcome from the Rector