June 2020

The Piccone family: Alisia, Giulia, Sabino (who was hospitilized and on a respirator due to Covid), and Mattia.

Dear friends in Christ,

What a joy it has been to resume worship services these past three weeks here in Milan after spending more than three months in strict lockdown. In the providence of God, on our first Sunday back, our series on 1 Peter brought us to 2:4-10, of which verse 5 says, “you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” What a testimony of God’s grace to us in Christ! Our assembly together on the Lord’s Day is a visible manifestation of the spiritual house and temple that only the gospel can create. Although we must wear masks and follow stringent protocol for social distancing, we are thrilled to receive the preaching of Christ, his holy Supper, and sing his praises together. Truly God is good.

Pictured above is the Picone family (from left to right): Alisia, Giulia, Sabino and Mattia. Many of you remember Sabino who was severely ill with covid-19, on a ventilator for more than two weeks, and nearly died. This picture was taken the first Sunday back. What a blessing it has been to see them sitting together as a family, worshiping with God’s people after such an ordeal. Thank you again for praying for him.

There are still a few people in our congregation who have tested positive for covid-19 or have family members in that category. Some are choosing to remain isolated for the time being. By God’s grace however, the situation has improved tremendously in northern Italy. With the decline in new cases and deaths, the country is slowly transitioning out of lockdown. We look forward to the next phase when our church will be able to resume catechism classes, prayer meetings, and time for fellowship. We pray that there will not be another spike in the coming months.

New People
Since reopening, we have a new attendee in our church who began following our sermons online during the quarantine. He has come the last three Sundays and seems enthusiastic about Chiesa Riformata Filadelfia. We pray that the Lord will bless him and guide him as he becomes more acquainted with our congregation. The elders also resumed the new members’ class that was put on hold during the lockdown. God willing, we will have another family join our congregation in the coming weeks.

New Video-cast and Blog
After making a number of evangelistic and apologetic videos in Italian during the quarantine, I decided to create a video-cast and blog in order to provide resources in Italian on Reformed theology, apologetics, and church history. It is called “Progetto Italia”. If you know an Italian speaker (or are learning Italian yourself), please consider sharing this website with them. There are precious few biblical resources in Italian. Our prayer is that the Lord will use this effort for the glory of his name and to help Italian speakers understand how the gospel is true, good, and beautiful.

First Grandchild!

Although Janie and I missed out on our 30th anniversary plans due to the lockdown, the Lord provided us with a far greater blessing on May 28th: the birth of Isabella Jane Corrigan, our very first grandchild! In the midst of a suffering, violent, and angry world, comes the most precious gift of the year! God willing, we will travel to Washington D.C. the first week of August to see her and the rest of our family. Needless to say, we are very excited. :)

As always, we are very grateful for your prayers, encouragement and support. We pray that the Lord will strengthen your faith, hope and love during these challenging days. May the Lord raise your eyes above the horizons of this present evil age as you look to the Author and Finisher of your faith and find refreshment in his promises.

~ Pastor Mike

This mission to Milan is only possible with the faithful prayers and generous contributions of people like you. If you would like to help us meet our goal by making a donation, you may send a check to: 

Escondido United Reformed Church
1864 N. Broadway
Escondido, CA 92026

Checks should be made out to Escondido United Reformed Church. Please indicate that the support is for Rev. Michael Brown as a missionary to Italy.