January 2023
Happy New Year!
With the passing of another year, we are again reminded of the brevity of life. Each year (each day!) brings us another step closer to what no one can escape: the hour of our death and the day of our judgment. As the writer to the Hebrews puts it: “it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment” (Heb. 9:27). The good news is that those who trust in Christ can face the day of judgment with confidence - not confident in themselves or their performance, but in Jesus and his performance. As our Lord said: “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life” (John 5:24). The perfect life, atoning death, and glorious resurrection of Christ in history is what gives us a living hope for the future. This life is not all there is. There’s much more. Because of Christ’s finished work, we look forward to glorified life on a glorified earth where we will enjoy communion with the Lord, fully and completely. We will enjoy life as it was meant to be lived. The blessed new earth in the resurrection is our true homeland, our permanent city, the sweet and blessed country of our eternal citizenship. This is the home for which we long, as we make our pilgrimage through this life. With each passing year, we are closer to those shores. “For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come” (Hebrews 13:14).
In the meantime, we are not just sitting around. The Lord has given us work to do. None of us know how much time has been given to us. All that matters is what we do with that time. So, with the dawn of a new year, let us resolve to know Christ more and love our neighbor genuinely. Let us rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, and constant in prayer. Let us associate with the lowly, contribute to the needs of the saints, and seek to show hospitality. Let us bless those who persecute us, repaying no one evil for evil. Let us be quick to forgive and eager to live peaceably with all. And may we do all that we can this year to advance the gospel in the world, planting churches and making disciples of Jesus, especially in places that are spiritually dark and starving.
May the Lord bless you this year with renewed faith, hope, and love, as you look to Christ, the Author and Finisher of our faith!
Mission Update
The ministry of the Word continues at Chiesa Riformata Filadelfia. After the Advent season and New Years Day, I returned to my expository series on Exodus. I am currently in the Ten Commandments. During our catechism service, I am continuing in the Westminster Shorter Catechism. Our monthly mens meeting, “Uomini del patto” (“Men of the Covenant”), continues to meet and study R.C. Sproul’s The Holiness of God. Our discussions and fellowship has been a particularly blessing for many of the brothers, including myself. I am happy that Iain attends these meetings voluntarily and is reading Sproul.
I am currently teaching the new members class with an older couple, Carmello and Francesca La Leggia, in their home on Thursday evening. We are about halway through the 12-week course. Beginning next week, I will start another new members class with the Pinelli family: Francesco, Maria, Giuseppe, and Lia. Please pray for these dear brothers and sisters in the Lord as they pursue membership in Chiesa Riformata Filadelfia. We pray that the Lord will bless their growth and discipleship in Christ.
Recently, we prayed publicly for and said goodbye to a few members who have moved to other cities in the country. The good news, however, is that they have moved to cities where other CPRI churches (currently only four in Italy) exist. We said goodbye to Erik and Kristina Maresia, who have moved to Lecce, which is in the very south of Italy. Their membership will be transferred to Chiesa Presbiteriana “Pietra Vivente” where Rev. Vincenzo Coluccia is the pastor. We also said goodbye to longtime member Ivana Ferrari, who has moved to Perugia, which is in central Italy. Her membership will be transferred to Chiesa Riformata di Perugia, where her son, Rev. Andrea Ferrari, is pastor. While we are sad to see these dear saints go, we are excited that the churches in Lecce and Perugia will be strengthened.
In other news, we recently prayed publicly for a young couple in our church who are engaged to be married: Toni Nero and Alyona Gontar. This will be the first wedding in the history of Chiesa Riformata Filadelfia. We are happy for Toni and Aly and pray that the Lord would bless them as they prepare for the covenant of marriage.
Second Meeting of CPRI
On December 7-10, we had our second in-person meeting as the council of the Presbyterian and Reformed Churches in Italy (Chiese Presbiteriane e Riformate in Italia or “CPRI”). This is a coalition of confessional presbyterian and reformed churches that is working toward establishing the country’s first reformed and presbyterian denomination. We had a very fruitful meeting, as we prayed together, enjoyed fellowship, and continued our labor of writing a church order in Italian for the future denomination. We now have a website that helps us gain some visibility in Italy. CPRI also has its first publication available for the churches: a new volume of the Heidelberg Catechism in Italian.
We ask for your continued prayers for CPRI. Establishing a denomination is not easy, especially in Roman Catholic Italy. We need more missionaries and we need to plant more churches. Please pray for this! It will take a lot of time, sacrifice, patience and faithful labor. But we are confident in the power of the Word, which caused the Reformation 500 years ago and continues to call sinners from darkness to light. We continue to trust in Christ Jesus, for it is Him we proclaim and He who has promised that the gates of hell shall not prevail against his church. (Matthew 16:18).
Our next in-person meeting is scheduled for May in Perugia.
Pastor Andrea Ferrari visits Chiesa Riformata Filadelfia
On Sunday, December 11, Rev. Andrea Ferrari, pastor of Chiesa Riformata di Perugia and former pastor of Chiesa Riformata Filadelfia, brought the Word in our morning worship service. It was the first time in more than four years that Pastor Andrea had preached in his former pulpit. It was a blessing to renew fellowship with him. We are grateful for Pastor Andrea’s ministry to the saints in Perugia and his labors for CPRI. We remain committed to praying for him, his family, and his ministry, and look forward to more opportunities like these in the future.
Church History Field Trip
On January 10, about two dozen people from our congregation ventured downtown to view the ruins of Santa Tecla, the church from the fourth century in which Ambrose baptized Augustine. If you have read Augustine’s Confessions, you know that Augustine was converted, baptized, and catechized in the Christian faith while in Milan, which was the capital of the Roman Empire at that time. I gave a brief lesson on Ambrose and his role in the church during the fourth century and the ways in which the Protestant Reformers drew upon some of the teachings of Ambrose and Augustine to defend the gospel during the sixteenth century. We also toured the Duomo (mainly to see how much the catholic church changed from the fourth to the sixteenth century) and the Doumo museum. Sadly, although Christianity has ancient roots in the city of Milan, today it is little more than a dying cultural tradition. Nevertheless, it is important that we study and know church history, especially as we seek to make disciples in Milan and establish a Reformed denomination in Italy. We hope to do more church history field trips like this in the future.
Update on Ukrainian Refugees
Back in March, we asked for your help as Ukrainian refugees arrived in Milan. Thanks to your generosity we’ve been able to help many families. Chiesa Riformata Filedelfia set up a committee to help distribute funds to those in need and help them navigate life here in Italy. Our goal was to provide them with stability as they settled into Italy. We are grateful that the Argakov family and Alena Fedchishina have been part of congregational life since last March. It has not been easy for them, but by God’s grace they are doing well and very thankful for your support and prayers.
Alena, who has been our resident translator (from Italian to Russian), has decided to return to Ukraine this month. Since the moment she arrived at our home, shell-shocked and in grief, she has not stopped in her efforts to help her fellow countrymen in any way she can. In the first few days after she arrived, she worked frantically with her friends and acquaintances to help get refugees out of the country safely. She then began to volunteer at a non-profit here in Italy that helps Ukrainian refugees and she eventually was offered a job there. She’s decided to resettle in Lviv, which is in western Ukraine and is much safer than Kyiv. Please pray for her as she, once again, begins a new chapter of her life.
Please pray for the Argakov family as well. Vladimir has found work as a carpenter but unfortunately has run into problems with people taking advantage of his situation as a refugee and not paying him his salary. The committee sees that their needs are met but he has the desire to work and be independent. On a positive note, their boys, Misha and Artem, enrolled in Italian school in September and are doing well! Thank you again for your generosity and prayers. Your support has made a real difference in the lives of these people.
Family Matters
Iain is pressing on in school. His workload has been intense this year with many advanced classes. I can honestly say that my high school education was nothing at all like his! We appreciate your prayers for him. He gets discouraged when he doesn’t do as well on an exam as he had hoped. Nevertheless, he works very hard, is learning how to be self-disciplined as a student, and continues to progress toward the international baccalaureate diploma. With the new year, he just began the second semester. He will have one more year of study before going to university. We are so grateful to God that Iain continues to walk with the Lord. However, he has no Christian friends his age. We are planning to send him to the Reformed Youth Services national convention in July, which will be in Kentucky. We pray that this will be an encouragement to him and that he will meet other Christian kids.
Janie is doing well. She remains busy teaching English classes to foreigners and doing most of the tech work for our church. She also continues to teach the ladies’ book club that meets monthly. She is such a blessing to our church and, next to Christ, is my biggest help in life. I am infinitely grateful to God for giving me such a wonderful companion on the journey to our heavenly country.
Janie and I have both been quite sick this past week, so we appreciate your prayers. The Lord has blessed us with excellent health these past four years in Italy. We hope to stay healthy on the mission field, both in body and soul.
As always, thank you for reading these updates and remaining vigilant in prayer for us and Mission Milan. Thank you for your encouragement and support. Janie, Iain and I wish you a blessed and happy new year as you continue to set your mind on things above, “for here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come” (Hebrews 13:14).
~ Pastor Mike
“But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.” ~ Acts 20:24
If you would like to help by making a donation, you may give online here on our website or send a check to:
Escondido United Reformed Church
1864 N. Broadway
Escondido, CA 92026
Attn: Mission Milan
Checks should be made out to Escondido United Reformed Church. Please indicate that the support is for Rev. Michael Brown as a missionary to Milan, Italy.
