JULY 2023
Dear prayer companions,
Our hearts rejoice in God for the communion that the members of the Chiesa Riformata di Perugia have with you, even though we live far away. We are thankful for the encouragement and comfort that we continually receive from you in so many ways. Since the last newsletter, there are quite a few things that I would like to share with you.
Fifth anniversary in Perugia
First of all, I would like to share with you our felt gratefulness and our sense of privilege for having celebrated last June our fifth anniversary here in Perugia. In spite of COVID-19, the time passed quickly and we even experienced an increase in our membership! I look forward with anticipation – praying for a patient faith – to see what God will do in future years in order to establish and expand the witness of the Chiesa Riformata di Perugia.
Visit of Dr. J. Pipa from Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary
In spite of his age, Dr. Pipa continues to travel and visit his former students around the world. At the end of May, Dr. Pipa visited Rev. Mike Cuneo who is laboring in Passignano sul Trasimeno (Passignano is about 20 miles north of Perugia). Dr. Pipa preached on Ascension and Pentecost Sundays both in Passignano and for us here in Perugia. Led by Dr. Pipa, we also committed a Saturday afternoon to think about the subject of “The Primacy of Preaching” and we were glad that a few people from other churches in our area attended.
The Ferraris move to Australia
With sadness but also with gratefulness, on June 7, we said farewell to our son, Simone, his wife, Alison, and our sweet granddaughter, Matilde, as they permanently moved to Australia, where Alison was born and lived most of her life. Besides the family bond, we lament the Ferrari’s move because of the loss of one young family in the church. As we pray for their prosperity in the distant land of Australia, we also pray that the Lord may add to our church more people and families in the years ahead.
Visit of Rev. Craig Poston from California
In June, we received a visit from Rev. Poston and his wife, Carol, from Community Church which is located in Fallbrook, CA. We’ve come in touch with Rev. Poston through Rev. Fikret Bocek who is the senior minister of the Protestant Church of Itzmir in Turkey. We were comforted by the gracious presence of Craig and Carol among us as they were so generous to attend our mid-week prayer meetings in both Perugia and Passignano. We were especially blessed by two sermons he preached by Rev. Poston: the first was on the widow of Nain to whom the Lord Jesus said: “Do not weep” and the second on the virgin Mary who – in her very troubled condition – praised God with the Magnificat.
Visit of Rev. Dr. Dan Borvan
From June 26 through July 2, Rev. Borvan, the Senior Pastor of Grace United Reformed Church in Torrance, CA, visited us. In the past, while Rev. Borvan studied in the UK, we met on a number of occasions when I was the pastor of our sister church in Milan, so it was encouraging to renew our fellowship as I introduced him to the region of Umbria and to the Perugia’s area. Rev. Borvan preached a very apt sermon from 1 Peter 3:21 on the occasion of the administration of the sign of baptism to Beatrice Viviana Suraci, who was born on May 9.
Purchase of the church building
After having paid for five years of rent for the building in which we meet, I believe the time has arrived to purchase the building as our own property in order not to waste the funds that we collect and receive from our sister churches. Considering the (slow) development of our church plant, it seems that investing funds in this way is better stewardship of the generous gifts of God’s people. Lord willing, I’ll try to do the same as in my previous pastorate in Milan, where – after having paid rent for five years – the church was enabled to purchase a building through a bank loan, which was paid off in full in ten years time (receiving around 30% of the total amount from some sister churches in the US). Owning a church building is also a way to secure the future of the work being done at the present time, as such a plan will allow the church to take root in the community in which the Lord has allotted the boundaries of our dwelling place.
Please, pray with us for the following prayer requests:
for Cristina and myself, and that I may be a faithful Christian, husband, father, grandfather, church member, and minister;
for the blessing of God upon the preaching of the Word and for our evangelistic efforts;
for the plan to purchase the church building.
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