Advent/Christmas Update From Our Italy Missionaries - David & Kristin Markay

Lancaster First United Methodist Church helps to financially support our United Methodist missionaries, David & Kristin Markay who serve the Methodist Church in Milan, Italy. My previous church also supports the Markays' in their mission work so I am very familiar with the great work they do in the name of Jesus Christ. Perhaps we can send a mission team to Milan, Italy at some point and see how their ministry is transforming lives. They will be visiting the States this summer so hopefully we'll be able to host them for a meal/program event here at our church.

Below is the mission of their church and a brief update on a social/justice issue facing their city.



Mission of The Methodist Church in Milan, Italy:

The Italian Waldensian/Methodist Church has set as one of its missional goals the hospitality to the stranger. The church seeks to embody the inclusive love of Jesus by offering a spiritual home to persons from places far from their homelands. Intentionally, the Waldensians and Methodists in Italy are striving to "essere chiesa insieme" (be the church together). Therefore, persons with all faith backgrounds, cultural heritage, and church experience are seen as gifts to the community.

The Methodist Church of Milano has members from all over the world: Italy, Sierra Leone, the Philippines, Ghana, India, Nigeria, Canada, the United States, Great Britain, and elsewhere.

Article by David & Kristin Markay, Missionaries:
We’re dreaming of a multi-colored Christmas…

The police in a northern Italian town chose December as the month to crack down on illegal immigrants. Their code word for the door-to- door document checking operation: “White Christmas.” The press found out about the name and a cultural battle ensued. Some politicians defended it; others attacked it. The Catholic archbishop of Milano, who criticized the plan, was branded “an imam” by one government official. The Protestants organized an ecumenical silent vigil on a main pedestrian thoroughfare in Milano. Pastors and lay people (representing various cultures) stood with signs that read “You know the heart of an alien, for you were once aliens in the land of Egypt” (Exodus 23:9), and “I was a stranger and you welcomed me” (Matt. 25:35). The most creative sign had a Christmas tree, and an adaptation of Bing Crosby’s classic tune: “In our churches, we’re dreaming of a multi-colored Christmas.”
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