ROME (MEOR) – The Rev. Matthew A. Laferty, director of the Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome, was Preacher of the Week at Lakeside Chatauqua on the shores of Lake Erie in Ohio, USA, during the week of August 25. He preached during the Sunday Morning Community Worship on 25 August and the Tuesday Vespers on 27 August and co-led two sessions on ecumenical dialogue.

Lakeside describes its Preacher of the Week series as welcoming “inspiring preachers to live in residence during the summer to bring spiritual enrichment to the community.”

Rev. Laferty preached on John 17:6-23 – Jesus’ prayer for his disciples – in Lakeside’s historic Hoover Auditorium. Jesus prays that his disciples will be one so the world may believe. In his sermon, the Director said, “Jesus sees a future [for the disciples of] a church marked by diversity, oneness in Christ, and sent out in love.” Of diversity, he continued, “we are called to welcome, embrace, and affirm God’s diversity and not deny or refuse those who do not think, or look, or love like us. Christ’s prayer is a prayer of unity not uniformity. To seek uniformity is to deny the Christ in ourselves and others and to reject God’s beautiful creation and gift of diversity.” Referring to the unity of Christ’s followers, the Director said, “the oneness of Christ is a relationship of love…..a love that through the Spirit of God leads us into inclusive, life-giving, justice-seeking community, a singular community under Jesus Christ who is the Pioneer and Perfecter of faith.”

He also preached on 1 John 4 during the Vespers on 27 August 2024.

Rev. Laferty also co-led two hour-long conversations on Christian unity with Fr. Jim Peiffer, former ecumenical officer of the Catholic Diocese of the Toledo, Ohio. Fr. Peiffer also leads Catholic Mass in Lakeside during the summer season. During the sessions, the Director spoke about the history of the international ecumenical movement, relations between Methodists and Catholics, the goals of Christian unity, and ways individuals can be involved in seeking Christian unity.

Lakeside Chautauqua is a historic Methodist community on Lake Erie that offers cultural, intellectual, spiritual and physical learning opportunities in the summer. Lakeside was established as a Methodist camp meeting site in 1873 and later joined the Chautauqua movement in the 1890s. ‘Chautauqua’ is the generic descriptive term for resorts that blend the summer season with religion, education, cultural arts, and recreation.