From the Pastor’s Desk – June 2025
One day St. Francis of Assisi, invited a young monk to join him on a trip into town to preach. The young monk was so honored to get such an invitation from St. Francis that he quickly accepted. All day long he and St. Francis walked through the streets and byways, alleys and suburbs, and they rubbed shoulders with hundreds of people.
At the end of the day, the two headed back home, however, not even once had St. Francis addressed a crowd, nor had he talked to anyone about the gospel. The young monk was greatly disappointed, and he said to St. Francis, “I thought we were going into town to preach?” St. Francis responded, “My son, we have preached. We were preaching while we were walking. We were seen by many and our behavior was closely watched. It is of no use to walk anywhere to preach unless we preach everywhere as we walk!”
It’s no secret that we, the church, have forgotten what it means to preach the gospel, what it means to bring to others the good news, what it means to evangelize. The word evangelism has become a dirty word in some churches, and if it isn’t outright dismissed altogether, then it is relegated as a task for only those who have been ordained, or for those who are the professional speakers, who make a living giving their testimonials and asking for altar calls, or for those who are missionaries overseas.
Evangelism is the calling of everyone here at St. Peter. Going in peace to “love and serve the Lord” means (among other things) that we live a life of peace, joy, love, and acceptance. All of these attributes listed is what everyone is looking for, but many can’t seem to find. We need to find a way to share what we have in abundance, and let people know where they can find it also. When we figure this out, and put it into practice in our daily lives, that is when we truly “Go in peace to love and serve the Lord!” Thanks be to God!
As always, I welcome your comments.
Pastor Cory