This past week Bishop Tracy S. Malone announced that I will receive a new appointment in the autumn. Beginning 1 September 2020, I will be the director of the Methodist Ecumenical Office in Rome, Italy. The mission of the Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome is to foster relations between the global Methodist family and the Roman […]
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During Eastertide 2020, I am hosting and editing a special podcast series called “Preachers’ Perspectives in Pandemic” with my colleague Dorothee Büürma. Dorothee is the pastor of the Salzburg United Methodist Church. The podcast series focuses on preachers’ viewpoints on Scripture (mostly Gospel lessons from the Sunday lectionary) during Eastertide and the COVID-19 pandemic. I […]
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During Holy Week, I worked with my colleague the Rev. Dorothee Büürma, pastor of Salzburg UMC, to produce and release a special podcast series called “Holy Week Daily Prayers in English”. We created six episodes. Each episode included a Scripture reading, part of the poem “It Was On” from the Iona Community, and prayers of […]
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Declaration from “Religions for Equality” Vienna In a joint statement, the Initiative “Religions for Equality” makes a declaration on the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia 2019. IDAHOBIT is 17 May. We raise our voices against homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia. We know that even today people are being rejected and discriminated against in faith […]
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Note: This devotional was written for the Lenten devotional series for the Moscow Protestant Chaplaincy in Moscow, Russia. I served as MPC chaplain from 2011-2015. “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” John 8:12 (NRSV) Recently I traveled to Ghana […]
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Stories are powerful. The stories of migrants, refugees and uprooted peoples can change public policy. Rev. Matthew A. Laferty (The original article appeared on UMC Church and Society’s website, http://www.umcjustice.org.) The Gospel is a retelling of the story (and Good News) of Jesus Christ. We recall the handiwork of God in the Great Thanksgiving at […]
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The Crestline Advocate, Issue 22, 5 April 2017
For several years now my congregation – the English-Speaking United Methodist Church of Vienna – and its sister congregation the Fuenfhaus UMC organize a winter daytime shelter in cooperation with Caritas. We are a part of a network working with another 20 congregations. Our location is one of the most frequented locations. On 17 January […]
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From a sermon on Sunday, November 6 on John 15: Stewardship is about God’s love working within every aspect of our lives. As God’s love infuses our lives, we can’t help but share all we have in Christ’s name. As we are enveloped in God’s saving love, we find ourselves wanting to pray for our […]
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Matthew A. Laferty 
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