SEPTEMBER 2022

Written By Kyle Lee

Dear prayer companions,

As we leave the summer behind, we are deeply grateful for it is indeed a beautiful and good thing when believers dwell together in unity (Psalms 133:1). In fact, this has been our experience over the last summer as we realized anew that wherever two or three are gathered in the name of the Lord, there is true life that manifests itself, by the Spirit to the glory of the Father. Therefore, having been greatly encouraged throughout the summer, we look forward to a new season as COVID-19 begins to pass here in Italy and we are more able to reach out to the community with the gospel. We are very grateful for your prayers on our behalf and we, ourselves, pray that the grace and peace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ may abound in your homes and churches.

Summer visitors

As usual, the summer was a time of great fellowship with saints visiting us from a number of places around the world. We had quite a large number of Dutch people (about 50 through July and August), some US citizens, and a family of 8 people from Canada who spent two months in Perugia attending church regularly and becoming quite involved in church life. We also had visitors from Scotland, Hungary, and – of course – Italy itself, including a group of 5 people from our sister church Filadelfia of Milan. We were also blessed by the visit of two ministers: Rev. Craig Poston from California and Rev. Daniel Ragusa from our own sister church Messiah Reformed Fellowship in New York City. We are grateful for the experience of the communion of the saints.

Communion of Presbyterian and Reformed Churches in Italy

We are also encouraged by the developments of our efforts to form a communion of like-minded churches. The officers of our churches held a meeting on June 12-13 in Perugia. Rev. Michael Brown, Rev. Vincenzo Coluccia and I met again in the southern city of Lecce (in the beautiful region of Puglia) to work – for two full days – on the preparation of our own Italian Church Order, which is modeled after the church orders of the United Reformed Churches of North America (URCNA) and the Presbyterian Church of America (PCA) (while keeping also an eye on the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC), especially in regard to church-planting and missions). The three of us were deeply grateful as we realized that we were of one mind and one heart in pursuing common goals, being led by the same spiritual principles. At the end of our time together, we were amazed at the amount of work done, and that already paved the way for our next meeting.

Heidelberg Catechism in Italian.

Besides working on our common Church Order, we also decided to publish the Heidelberg Catechism in Italian under the oversight of the three churches of Milan, Perugia, and Lecce. The Catechism will be prefaced by a short presentation of the Communion of Presbyterian and Reformed Churches in Italy with an introduction written by Dr. Michael Horton. The Catechism will be used by our members as well as serve as a gift to our visitors in order to introduce the Reformed faith in a way that is accessible and convenient. In this regard, one great advantage that is offered by the Heidelberg Catechism is its exposition of the Apostles’ Creed, which demonstrates the biblical and patristic roots of the Christian faith. This is crucial in our cultural context which is heavily influenced by Roman Catholicism as the presence and large exposition of the Apostles’ Creed constitutes a sort of  “ecumenical” foundation that creates an opportunity to draw the mind of people to the core truths of the gospel.

Please, pray with us for the following prayer requests:

  1. pray for Cristina and me, and that I may be a faithful Christian, husband, father, grandfather, church member, and minister;

  2. pray for the blessing of God upon the efforts being made to form an Italian Communion of churches, especially for a true spiritual bond among our ministers and elders;

  3. pray for the witness of our church in Perugia and in the whole region of Umbria.

On behalf of all the members of the Chiesa Riformata of Perugia, I express a felt sense of gratitude for your faithful prayers and generous support.

Those of Italy greet you (Hebrews 13:24).

Yours sincerely in Christ,

Pastor Andrea Ferrari

Kyle Lee

Rev. Michael Brown has served as pastor of Christ United Reformed Church in Santee since it began as a church plant in 2003. He is a graduate of Westminster Seminary California (Master of Divinity and MA in historical theology) and the author of many books and articles including Sacred Bond: Covenant Theology Explored (Reformed Fellowship, 2012) and Christ and the Condition: The Covenant Theology of Samuel Petto  (RHB, 2012). He is a frequent guest on the White Horse Inn and Abounding Grace radio programs. Pastor Brown also serves on the URCNA Missions Committee and is actively involved in church-planting missions in Italy and Romania. His primary focus, though, is to bring God's Word to God's people every week as they gather together in worship.

Pastor Brown is a native Southern Californian. He did not grow up Reformed, but in the Calvary Chapel movement. He became interested in Reformed theology through the writings of Martyn Lloyd-Jones, J. Gresham Machen, and The White Horse Inn radio program. He has a passion to preach the gospel, teach theology, and help disciples grow in their faith.

He and his wife Janie have four children (two grown) and live in San Diego with their beloved pitbull, Maximus. When he is not studying, preaching, teaching, or writing, you can usually find him cooking and eating Italian food, coaching his son's baseball team, or suffering perennial disappointment while cheering for the San Diego Padres.

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