270 Years

[Part of the congregation]

On October 16th, we celebrated 270 years of Lutheran ministry in Guyana.  Ebenezer was the first congregation, so the celebration happened here.  It was a sea of red [the colour for festivals of the church] in the assembly and a joyous time for all.  The history of Lutherans in Guyana has been a checkered one - nearly dying out or becoming dependent on others at times.  But it continued, and we celebrated together, filling Ebenezer and spilling outside.

[The Canadian High Commissioner and her family;
Pastors from Suriname - Lutherans all.]

President of the church, Moses Prashad, preached not only of history but of the future.  In our history, there were those times when we persevered rather than give up, when we struggled back from the brink to become stronger.  And we move into the future, not just holding on, but proclaiming the Gospel in all its fullness, not what we want to do, but what the Gospel compels us to do.

Vivian and I come new to this Church, having come from the oldest Lutheran Church in Canada which is only 241 years old this year.  But the history is not as important as the ministry.  We celebrate the past, but we must live in the present and look toward the future.  Our message is the same one that was proclaimed 270 years ago, or nearly 500 years ago when the reformation started - or even from the beginning as St. Paul writes --

2 Corinthians 5:17-18

17 So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation.

We proclaim the Gospel, through Word and Sacrament, word and deed.  Blessed be the Name of the Lord.