Scotty Williams

For this year’s Black History Month I have been studying “Forgotten Giants”, or heroes of my people that are not so well known. One of them is a statesman named Pierre Caliste Landry, who was the first elected Black Mayor in American history. Like me he was of Creole stock and Louisiana born, and was also ordained within a Protestant tradition. Though starting out enslaved he went on to lead in government, and even helped to establish an early HBCU.

If Presbyterians had patron saints, then mine surely would be the Rev. Landry. Nevertheless, I can find inspiration in his example and pray to have the faithfulness and love that he displayed. Here is my prayer in honour of his blessed memory. Please feel free to use and share it with the proper acknowledgements.

Almighty God, Who calls humble souls to Your great service, we thank You for the calling of Your servant Pierre Caliste Landry. From the halls of plantations to the halls of Church and government, he displayed a care for all people including those against him. Lord, in this uneasy time, much like when Landry lived, give us a peace and rest through Your sure faithfulness and love. And make us here and now more faithful and more loving, that we might be agents of peace and help others to find rest. Through Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.

Sacred, Secular, and Both

Between Zürich’s great cathedrals, the Grossmünster and the Fraumünster, is a sanctuary called the Wasserkirche (Water Church) where I once did a wedding. Before the Reformation it was the resting place of Felix and Regula, the city’s patron saints who were martyred in 286 A.D.

Unlike the cathedrals the Reformers saw the Wasserkiche as irredeemable, and it became a public library in 1684. Then in 1940 it was reopened for worship services, and continues to be used for public events such as concerts and exhibitions. Though once again sacred it has not ceased being secular, which, in my opinion, makes it a model Church for the present age.

Convergence

Chine McDonald once wrote that cathedrals are a “meeting point” where heaven and earth come together in a variety of ways. I believe that Churches in general are meant to have this end. To be places of convergence where the eternal and temporal intersect. People should see the Creator and Creation in hallowed houses, and find a beauty that is healing for the brokenness in their lives.

During the wedding at the Wasserkiche I experienced this convergence, and I find it each time when walk along the Limmat. My most recent encounter was through a gift from my wife. A paper model of the sanctuary Reformers called irredeemable. Through cutting and folding I got a joyful glimpse of beauty. A glimpse that gives me hope that all brokenness will end.

On September 2nd of 2012 I preached in German for the first time. The occasion was a concert of Ensemble Gottlob Barock led by Kai Florian Bischoff. Along with Luke 10:27, I focused on two Bach cantatas; Ich habe genug and Der Friede sei mit dir. The Church, Pfarrkirche Mariä Geburt, was in a town with a comical name, and I found myself “preaching in Sins“.

Unfortunately, my sermon, titled Wo Ist Gott?, was not recorded. But later on I recorded a reading of it which can be heard in the video below. Also, for those who do not know German, you can find the English by clicking on the button below.

In 2020 I had the privilege of preaching at the Fraumünster in Zürich. This historic sanctuary, which was once a Benedictine abbey, is a birthplace of the Swiss Reformation and Reformed Christianity.

It was such a joy to proclaim the Good News in that hallowed space while looking at windows by Marc Chagall from its high pulpit. It was also a joy to reflect on the story of the Magi and encourage worried souls during the COVID-19 pandemic.

My sermon, titled “Where God Wants To Be”, can be found in the Youtube video below (it begins at 33:29). At some points the microphone began having issues; nevertheless, most of the sermon is clear. It was indeed a message to remember!

While remembering the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., my country also swore in its 47th President. As all celebrations do, both brought hope and longing. Hope from challenges overcome and longing for challenges to be overcome. They also reveal a host of blessings to be counted or things worthy of gratitude as we aspire and dream.

Here is my prayer for the 2025 MLK-Inauguration Day. Please feel free to share it with the proper acknowledgements.

O Giver of all good things, Who has blessed us with another day, we acknowledge the gift of gratitude in the midst of hope and longing. We are grateful for the dreams fulfilled and the challenges behind us, and we are grateful for the dreams we hold through the challenges around us. Lord, give us eyes to see what is right in our world while seeing its wrongs, and fix our minds on joy that we might think of more than cares. The joy of Christ Your Son, which inspired Your servant Martin Luther King, and is the strength of all Who follow Him and seek to keep His humble Way. In Your holy name we pray. Amen.

Change is never easy, but it can still be peaceful.

It’s no secret that my country’s current Election has been problematic and worrisome for many at home and abroad. As for me, I have to chosen to keep quiet this round, and to only use my voice within the solace of prayer. This choice has been very hard but has helped me to stay calm, and my greatest hope is for a peaceful change of power that brings unity.

Here is my prayer for the 2024 Election. Please feel free to share it with the proper acknowledgements.

Lord Jesus, Who is more than the Son of God and Blessed Savior, You are also the Prince of Peace that passes all understanding. Grant us this peace as we struggle with questions for today and worry over questions for the unknown days ahead. And grant this peace unto the candidates before us and the parties that have chosen them to lead our nation forward. No matter who wins let no conflict arise, and let transitions bring a calm for the good of every citizen. Lord, may our country see a peaceful change of power that leaves us all in unity and hopeful for the future. In Your holy name we pray. Amen.  

Growing up in a congregation of the National Baptist Convention, I spent each Sunday singing in the style passed down from my ancestors. There were no instruments, save a piano for when the hymnal was used, and many hymns were unwritten and only known in our community. These songs were also composed in the time of slavery, and were not the same as Gospel music from the 20th century.

My favourite hymn of the old hymns is called, “Lord, Don’t Leave Me”, which is a prayer for the presence and protection of God. I have sang it many times while on the road of ministry, and the Lord has always answered with strength to go forward.

Here is a beautiful rendition of “Lord, Don’t Leave Me” by the Pineville AME Zion Hymn Choir of Rock Hill, South Carolina.

Despite decades of commercialism, All Hallows’ Eve is not pagan. In fact, it is a Christian holiday that comes before All Saints Day. These feasts are like a matching set that give each other context, and without one the other loses all of its meaning. All Hallows’ Eve is a day where believers remember what death and darkness have become, and All Saints is a day where they remember what they have become.

Through Christ death and darkness have been conquered and stripped of their power, which means that they are not to be feared as they used to be. After the Cross, Resurrection, and Ascension they are but quaking shadows of their former selves. Yet, for those we follow Christ, we are no longer sinful shadows. Through Him we have been brought into a glorious light and become saints of God with all the blessings of heaven.

Indeed, All Hallow’s Eve and All Saints are like a matching set, and together they call us to give thanks to Him Who was crucified, risen, and ascended on our behalf. Jesus Who, in the words of Watts’ hymn, is our Help in ages past and our Hope for years to come.

Here is my prayer for this year’s All Saints. Please feel free to share it with the proper acknowledgements.

O Christ our Help and Hope, we thank You for this day where we can think of Your loving and redemptive work beyond the Easter season. By Your crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension You have brought us out of darkness that Your light might rule our lives. And by these things You have also silenced the voice of death, that life alone might speak and have the final word forever. Help us to remember what darkness and death have become through You, and what we, who once feared them, have become through You. They are powerless shadows while we are precious saints and children of the One Who sent You out of love to save us. In Your gracious name we pray. Amen.