Pain, Peace, And Power: A Tribute To The Rev. Lynny Duncan
Pain, Peace, And Power
A Tribute To The Rev. Lynny Duncan
Pain
This morning I am getting ready for another day at the office, and thinking of the day before and doing what I love. While my job is pastoring it is more than a career. It is a happy place where all my gifts and interests can converge. It is also where my hyper-focus is most useful, and where my double empathy does not seem out of place. Yet, not so long ago I almost walked away from it. Away from a pain I never thought would come in ministry.
Of course I knew the Church has challenges for clergy, and seminary did its bets best to help me get prepared. Nevertheless, no class I took prepared me for Pandemics, and losing a congregation I had planted from the ground up. I was also not equipped for a strain on mental health, and burnout from Church structures that were focused on the past.
Peace
In the end, the ministry was taking more than it gave. So, I contemplated stepping down and hanging up my stole. The pastorate brought no peace and brought a sense of failure. Worst of all there was a constant loneliness each day, and the thought that I was thrown away no longer fit to preach. Thankfully, a number of clergy reached out from afar and one of them was a Lutheran named Awo Lynny Duncan.
Unlike me the Rev. Duncan was progressive and quite radical, but we both stood on a common ground as Black-American pastors. We were also Church-planters in White denominations, and we faced the same challenges while speaking as ourselves. While speaking with Lynny I found a voice that understood and pointed me to solaces where I could find peace. Lynny also challenged me to abandon people pleasing. A defence mechanism I had often used that held me back from peace.
Power
One memorable lesson that I learned from the Rev. Duncan was that walking away does not mean a giving up of power. Sometimes the weakest act is choosing to remain; another defence mechanism that had held me back from peace. By example Lynny helped me to overcome this weakness, and to walk away from contexts here I was merely tolerated. Lynny seemed to not waste time in dealing with such contexts, and intentionally chose places of appreciation and respect.
A few days ago I learned that Lynny passed away, and it is hard to think this colleague is no longer out there somewhere. Despite our differences on a variety of things, the presence of this pastor in the world was a relief. Somewhere out there Lenny was living life to the fullest, and constantly walking in power bringing peace to those in pain. I pray that all who mourn, and especially the Duncan family, would know the peace of Christ in this moment of pain. And I pray that we would also seek to walk in power and live life to the fullest till we breathe our final breaths.
Rest in peace Lynny and thank you for your friendship.
The graffiti images featured in this post (from an unknown artist of Den Haag) were taken by Scotty J. Williams. The image of the late Rev. Awo Lynny Duncan is from Nicole Yvonne Duncan-Smith.
Pest Ships: My Louisiana German Ancestors
Pest Ships
My Louisiana German Ancestors
Scammed
Coming from the River Parishes of South Louisiana, my family’s European roots are less among the French. In fact, they go back to a group of peasant farmers, who came from German-speaking lands for opportunity. During the 18th century an economist named John Law crafted a financial scheme that led to massive crises. Part of this scheme was bringing Germans to New France through promises of farming land with housing and equipment.
Law’s scheme sent invitations across the Germanosphere (yes, this is a real word), and drew 6,000 people to the banks of Brittany. Many were Protestant, from Lutheran and Reformed Churches, and converted to Roman Catholic for permission to set sail. Their vessels, called “Pestschiffe (Pest Ships)”, carried vermin and disease, and when the voyage ended less than 400 survived. Yet, despite these setbacks they went to Arkansas. The promised paradise which only brought more misery.
Helped
Upon reaching Arkansas the peasants found no farmland. Instead they found rough forests without housing and equipment. Worst of all they learned that John Law’s Company went bankrupt and had no obligation to assist them in their need. They then resolved to go back home and cut their losses. Back to Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, and Alsace-Lorraine.
Thankfully, while petitioning for ship fare in New Orleans, the destitute German-speakers met Charles Frederic d’Arensbourg. He had a grant from Governor Bienville for a settlement, and invited them to join him on the Mississippi River. Under d’Arensbourg’s leadership four communities were founded called Karlstein, Augsburg, Hoffen, and Mariental. Overtime they become Louisiana’s German Coast in the parishes of St. Charles, St. James, and St. John the Baptist.
Embraced
In a recent post I talked about my Swiss-German ancestry, which came to light through updates on 23andMe. I also learned that I have German and Austrian foreparents, and even Dutch connections which are probably from Belgium. Of course, like all Black-Creoles from the River Parishes, these distant roots come down to me through people born enslaved. Yet, some of them are through the Gens de couleur libres. Free People of Color who left outstanding legacies.
In 2021 I visited the German Coast and walked through old plantations where my foreparents once lived. With those enslaved I thought about their German owners who left behind their peasant farms to build massive estates. Little did I know that I had blood ties to these owners whose stories, whether I like it or not, are etched upon my own. Some stories are negative and should not be beautified. Others are honourable and deserve greater attention. Yet, both good and bad I embrace my Louisiana German ancestors and admire those who went aboard the Pest Ships and survived.
The images featured in this post are from WikiMedia Commons (German Coast Map 1816, John Law Portrait 1843, Charles Frederick d’Arensbourg Portrait 1909) and Scotty J. Williams.
All Wikimedia Commons images are in the public domain in the United States, and free for public use with the proper acknowledgements.
My Swiss Roots: DNA, Heart, And Prayers
My Swiss Roots
DNA, Heart, and Prayers
When the alps glow bright with splendor, pray to God, to Him surrender! For you feel and understand that God dwelleth in this land.
Swiss Psalm
DNA
Recently 23andMe sent a very surprising update. Within my DNA were traces of Swiss German ancestry. While small it left me floored that I had a blood connection to the Land of Cheese and Chocolate that became my second country. I also learned that there are even Dutch connections, which made my wife begin to laugh and say, “Wow, you’ve come home!”
Though the “Swissness” I possess was wrought through years of effort, it is a joy to know that somehow it is in my DNA. How it got there I will never know and will not try to guess, yet I accept and celebrate this small part of my roots. I especially celebrate it this Bundesfeiertag. The Swiss National holiday which honours the country’s birth.
Heart
While getting Raclette for this year’s Bundesfeier dinner, I thought about the ways that I am now a Swiss at heart. DNA alone is not enough to claim a country. And it is not enough to simply love its landscape and some customs. One must do all they can to integrate and claim it, from learning local languages to the values that it holds.
Thankfully, I have seemed to integrate well, despite the occasional blunders that expats make. Like all other countries Switzerland has its discouraging downsides and upsides that one sometimes fails to see and takes for granted. Nevertheless, the land of Cheese and Chocolate is in my heart, and I cannot wait to get back there and experience its joys. Joys like Schwiitzerdütsch and Nidelwähe from Migros, or walking along the Aare from Rupperswil to Aarau (Jo, I be en Aargauer).
Prayers
Truly, I cannot wait to be back home again, but until then I will celebrate with other Swiss abroad. This year marks the 735th birthday of Switzerland, and with my heart I keep the land and everyone there in my prayers. Here is my prayer for this year’s Bundesfeiertag:
Almighty God, like those who gathered at Rütli, and swore to stand together unafraid of human power. Thank you for the generations that kept this promise after them, and help the generations now to keep it selflessly. And no matter what our connection, be it lineage or choice, let us seek the peace of Switzerland and be agents of peace for the world. To You be the honor and glory always. Amen.
The images featured in this post are by Scotty J. Williams.
Freedom in Context: Telling The American Story
Freedom in Context
Telling The American Story
I visited the church at Leyden, in which our forefathers worshipped when they fled from hierarchical tyranny and oppression. I felt a respect and veneration upon entering.
Abigail Adams
Pieterskerk
In celebration of my country’s Semiquincentinnial, I am visiting sites in the Netherlands important to its history. One site is the very old Pieterskerk of Leiden, which John and Abigail Adams explored in the late 1700’s. This Church is also where the exiled Pilgrims worshipped, and where their pastor John Robinson is buried beneath the floor. As Mrs. Adams remarked the Church brings one to veneration and a deep respect for those who fled oppression to its doors.
While touring the Pilgrim Museum that is in the Pieterskerk, I thought about William Bradford who also worshipped there. He would later set sail on the Mayflower to Plymouth, and be elected thirty times to serve as the Colony’s governor. Yet, in his later years he witnessed a decay. A decline that made him worry for the place he helped to build.
Plymouth
The decay that grieved Bradford was young people losing faith. The Puritan roots that had anchored him in the Netherlands and the New World. Younger men and women had failed to grasp their Elders’ story, which gave their freedom meaning and showed its costs and worth. They needed context for the things they wished to leave, so, Bradford wrote a booklet that could help them understand.
Stephen’s Tompkins mentions Bradford’s work in “Journey To the Mayflower”, which is a conservation between the ancient English and the English of his day. The ancients tell of trials like the Marian persecution, and the voyage of the Pilgrims who left home for better shores. Bradford fostered understanding for the younger generations, an act that many feel my country needs within this time.
Present
At present the United States continues on a path of tensions and conflicts that have eroded friendly bonds among compatriots. Instead of Americans we are a host of different labels and look upon each other more as foes rather than neighbours. Like Bradford’s Plymouth we have come to a decay; a decline that makes our younger ones begin to, religious or otherwise, lose faith. Worst of all they fail to get the context of their freedom. The liberties that they enjoy despite the current tensions.
To halt the decay I think that Bradford gives the answer. We must resolve as best we can to rightly tell the American story. From the Pilgrims in Leiden to the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s, we must be good stewards of our past navigating the present. And should we do this we will foster understanding, and help our young, as well as our old, to flourish in the future.
My Soul: A Poem To A Lynched Relative
My Soul
A Poem To A Lynched Relative
My home state has the third highest number of lynchings on record, and one of the people killed was a cousin of my maternal grandmother. During college I sometimes imagined what his final thoughts were and wrote a short poem in his honour. This poem is a prayer that, while showing him in pain, ends with him in peace. May his memory be eternal.
My Soul
Though I am led to the end
A break upon my heart doth mend
Sing on to me an earthly choir
With crack of rope and flames of fire
Young man this fate I do not dread
Young lady do not give me bread
For my soul is going beyond the physical and mortal thirst
My soul is going higher than the heavens and deeper than the earth
Some people say this soul of mine, a thing, should not exist
For to their eyes of hate and mortality it be a simple mist
Once was the night, the mist it lay and life was in my eyes
Now comes the day and I must go, the mist, my soul, shall rise
Though I am led to the end
There is no break, no tear to mend
And so fades out the earthly choir
Drowned out by the crack of a rope and fire
There is no pain for blessed be
I hear not flames, but that great choir heavenly
Sing on, O melody vast and broad
Sing on, my soul, a martyr before God
In heaven,
Forever and ever,
Amen
The images featured in this post are from Scotty J. Williams.
This poem is © Scotty J. Williams
Protestant Pumpkins: Reformation Day Humour
Protestant Pumpkins
Reformation Day Humour
As many welcome Halloween with jack-o’-lanterns, my family and I make another lamp to mark another holiday. On October 31st we carve a Luther-lantern and celebrate the birthday of the Protestant tradition.
Apart from shining gourds some Protestant throw parties, while others simply go to Church and pray in humble services. Reformation Day is a time of joyful celebration where we honour the past with gratitude, hope, and merriment. We also celebrate with a bit of jest and humour, like my yearly jack-o’-lantern posts in paintings of Reformers. Here are some from previous years.
2021
Martin Luther and Ulrich Zwingli at the Marburg Colloquy arguing over what Jesus said about jack-o’-lanterns.
2025
COMING SOON! HAPPY REFORMATION DAY!
Mission 21 Webinar -Decolonizing Theology
Decolonizing Theology
Webinar
Mission 21 (September 3, 2025)
On September 3, 2025 I took part in a webinar on Decolonizing Theology. With the Rev. Dr. Christian Weber and Dr. Thandi Gamedze I helped attendees to better understand Colonialism within the Western Church context. Here is a recording of the webinar.
Our True Allegiance (A Prayer For World Communion Sunday 2025)
Our True Allegiance
A Prayer For World Communion Sunday 2025
On October 5th many Christians will gather at tables and altars to observe a celebration called World Communion Sunday. Started in 1933 at the Shadyside Presbyterian Church, it has since become a symbol of unity in various denominations. Along with celebrating our unity this day a bold proclamation our true allegiance, which is not to nations, factions, or clashing ideologies. As believers our allegiance is first and foremost to the Risen Christ and, though from different lands, our ultimate citizenship is in His Kingdom. In this time where many things are sowing division in the world, may we boldly proclaim to Whom and where we belong with faith, hope, and love.
Here is my prayer for this year’s World Communion Sunday (it can also be used in regular Communion services). Please feel free to share it with the proper acknowledgements.
O King of kings, Whose body was broken and Whose blood was shed for us, we thank You for Your Sacrament and the precious gifts it brings. Thank You for the bread and wine which show Your matchless grace and remind us of the faith and hope and love that make us one. And Lord of lords we ask Your pardon for divisions that are wrought from a forgetfulness of our true rest and home. Our allegiance is not to lands or things within this world, but to You and to Your Kingdom that is world without end. Grant us to live in peace and unity through our differences. The peace and unity that You share with the Father and the Holy Spirit. In Your gracious name we pray. Amen.
The images featured in this post are from Scotty J. Williams.
Upcoming Event: Decolonizing Theology (Webinar)
Webinar (Mission 21)
September 3, 2025
On September 3rd I will be taking part in a webinar on decolonizing theology. This event is being organised by Mission 21 (formerly the Basel Mission), and will include Dr. Thandi Gamedze from the University of Western Cape. For more information and registration details, click on the button below.
The image featured in this post is by Scotty J. Williams.
Wisdom, Courage, And Love (Another Prayer For My Country)
Wisdom, Courage, And Love
Another Prayer For My Country
Due to my current role as an international pastor, I must remain non-partisan when making public statements. This includes statements about my country’s present problems, which most agree are disheartening and bring a heavy fear. Nevertheless, I still can publicly pray for its well-being and express the things I wish for it while pondering concerns.
Here is my latest prayer for the United States. Please feel free to share it with the proper acknowledgements.
O Sovereign Lord, Whose eyes behold all nations, comfort us as our eyes behold the pains upon our own. We see the brokenness from a host of deep divisions. We see the discontent in our gatherings and homes. We see the fears made real and fears of what might happen. And we feel a loss that calls us to an outlook of despair. Lord, in Your mercy, give us wisdom and courage; wisdom to guide our actions and courage to act rightly. And give us love that we might hear and speak the truth. The love with which You look on us in every time and season. Through Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.
The images featured in this post are from Scotty J. Williams.