A Letter to the People of God at St. Peter's, Brooklyn, New York

My dear sisters and brothers in Christ,

God is good – ALL THE TIME! You know how it has been for Judy and me through the long months of fighting the battle to pray in a public forum at a patriotic civic event called by our heroic civil leaders at a time of national crisis. You know how much we have needed the constant support and encouragement of our God and of our friends in Christ. You know because you have been there with us every step of the way. God has been good to me because He gave me you.

Now the hour has come. My suspension has been lifted, by order of the Missouri Synod Dispute Resolution Panel. Our prayers have been answered. God has been good to us! We knew that it was OK to pray. We now know that it's officially OK to pray. And it WILL be OK to pray. The true and lasting traditions within our church body have finally been honored. Together we must now be evangelical as we search the future of the LCMS with those of our brothers and sisters who had forgotten our true traditions.

Judy and I want to thank each and every one of you:

From the leadership team on the church council headed by Sonia Holder...

To the elders that assist in worship, teaching and visitation, headed by Gerald Holder...

To the ministry leaders that bring children, youth, women and men together in the Lord to work and pray – Diane Miller and Gail Isley, Ita and Pedro Rosado (who have just moved to Florida), Providencia De Jesus Colon, Annette Evanson, Naomi Cruz, Henry Chanderdatt, David Chanderdatt, Pastors Desmond Sukdeo and Jimmy Lalljie, Urmatie Singh, Eunice Lyte, Ronald Bakker, John Kacoure, Bob and Audrey Sharp, Marge Laffin, Louise Lind, Diane Giordano, all the beautiful children of St. Peter's and so many, many more...

To the beautiful people of St. Peter's Lutheran School who bring the joy of God's love in children's hearts in full energy force field to us five full days every week, headed by Director Clara DelValle and each of the eighteen staff members...

To our hard-working church secretary Angelina Arthur...

Thank you all and every one in the Name of Jesus from the bottom of our hearts!

We have been strong in the journey so far. You have been there for me. You have endured the pain and the suffering with me. And we now share the joy together as justice is served.

We are a church that stands in the Lord for some important things.
We stand for

• Diversity across every boundary of race and class and country of origin
• Unity in the Spirit of the One True God
• Inclusion of all and exclusion of none because of the all-inclusive grace of God in Jesus
• Tolerance in the best sense of the word – we treat everyone from every background and religion with dignity and respect, even when, as we know so well, the differences between us are great
• Tradition because our church traditions are based on the Bible and the evangelical desire to witness Jesus in the world through word and deed that have been at the heart of the matter from the time of St. Paul and the apostles until today

Among the "clans of Judah" in the Missouri Synod St. Peter's is a very little brother. We don't put on airs. We don't always get it right. We practice daily repentance and forgiveness. We are as traditional as it gets in the Missouri Synod in our own unique way – we have received grace,

we have grace to bring to the world,

we want to bring God's grace gracefully.

Our mission statement is simple: Reaching out with the love of Jesus through word and deed. When you come and sing and pray and experience the grace of God in Word and Sacrament at St. Peter's you know the love of God in His action and in His people. It's that simple.

You have shouldered a mighty responsibility at the same time through my trials. You have taken up the banner and told the world that "It's OK to Pray." Your leaders have stood up against the pressure and against the attacks and attackers and remained true to the Word and true to yourselves.

That responsibility continues, and will only grow larger. Because now God is calling us to be prayerful witnesses for healing and mission.

• "It's OK to Pray" now means praying for healing in our denomination – for President Kieschnick, for the complainants and the disputant, for those who have attacked, for those who have supported, for God to bring us and hold us together
• "It's OK to Pray" now means praying for healing and salvation in the world across the boundaries of religion – for national leaders, for attackers and terrorists, for those who promote violence in the name of any religion, for wisdom and discernment, for repentance and love, for the Spirit of the living God
• "It's OK to Pray" now means praying for genuine tolerance in a time of religious intolerance
• "It's OK to Pray" now means praying for inclusion in a society and a church where exclusion often seems to be the order of the day
• "It's OK to Pray" now means praying for missions and missionaries to bring Christ to the nations in word and deed with boldness and respect

You are the stars in my personal firmament. Thanks for shining so brightly for Jesus!

Love, Pastor B

Back to "It's OK to Pray"...The SPIRIT Page

Home | Who We Are | Calendar | Our School | Prayer for America | Directions | Contact Us | Links