All Saints Gazette: Who deserves to be here?
Greetings from All Saints Amsterdam!
This week:
Thursday, 18:00, Vrijburg. Prayer Lab, “The Holy Spirit in Theory and Practice”
No Service this Sunday or next (the 23rd and 30th)
Mpho and Marcelinne participated in the walk for Nacht van de Vluchteling last week. You can still make a donation at that link to fund emergency services in some of the places where many refugees come from.
Beyond that though, with refugees being turned away from the European coasts and even killed (and for those of us with ties to the United States, from the southern U.S. border), we invite you to reflect on what it means that most of us at All Saints are immigrants or have parents or partners who are.
Our experiences vary, of course. But why are we welcomed (freely or grudgingly) when others are not, and often others who have much more urgent need? We are “highly skilled,” we had the privilege of being educated at a Dutch university and finding a job in our field, we may come from another wealthy country, or perhaps we married the right person, and thus are worthy of being here. But St. John Chrysostom, one of the great teachers from the early centuries of the church, says this about what makes anyone worthy of aid and hospitality:
Need alone is the poor [person]’s worthiness; if anyone at all ever comes to us with this recommendation, let us not meddle any further…We show mercy on [them] not because of [their] virtue but because of [their] misfortune, in order that we ourselves may receive from the Master [God’s] great mercy. [On Wealth and Poverty, tr. Catherine Roth. Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1984. p. 53.]
So, some very non-rhetorical questions:
How shall we, a Christian church largely composed of immigrants and people who love immigrants, extend hospitality to those who come here with greater need, but no privilege other than being the favored ones of God?
How do we reflect to European society that when it talks about migrants and refugees, we hear it talking about us?
How do we push back against the narrative that in a society that enjoys the stolen wealth of the formerly colonized world, there is not enough to share?
How do we witness that in a world created and governed by a generous God, there is always enough to share?
How do we lovingly but frankly bear witness to our belief that a refugee from Roman Palestine will be the judge of the nations?
Pray about this, and talk about it. Come to church on Sundays and Thursdays or hop on the WhatsApp chat and share your thoughts!
Prayer Lab, This Thursday, 18:00: Spiritual Gifts
Any experience you have in response to that last bit is a fine place to start, even if it’s powerlessness or despair. But those are terrible places to stop! So come learn and also teach about what power we have. We’ll start this week’s Thursday program with evening prayer, followed by a little presentation and discussion on spiritual gifts that I’m going to call, “The Holy Spirit in Theory and Practice.” We always eat, so bring something to share if you can (sensitivity to common dietary restrictions appreciated when possible).
Free Time Earlier on Thursday?
You can go hear Mpho and a panel of other distinguished speakers at the National Congress against Racism and Discrimination in Utrecht. Information here: https://www.ncdrnationaalcongres.nl/
No Service on 5th Sundays
There is no service on June 30. At least for now, it really is just “first and third Sunday,” rather than “every other week.” Our next service is a family liturgy on July 7. It will be awesome, dus jullie moeten dat op jullie agenda’s zetten!
All Saints People
Here’s Marceline from the Walk for Refugees! Thank you, Mpho and Marceline!
That's all for today!
Want to talk to a priest? We want to talk to you too!
Website: https://allsaintsamsterdam.church/
Mpho: mpho@allsaintsamsterdam.church
Kyle: kyle@allsaintsamsterdam.church
General: info@allsaintsamsterdam.church
