March 2022

In the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, all of Europe is on edge. People are both outraged by Putin’s unprovoked attack and concerned about a possible third world war. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians have fled their homeland into the neighboring countries of Romania, Poland, Hungary, and beyond. Many churches in these places are doing what they can to house and help people. Here in Milan, we too are expecting refugees. We ask you to pray for our Ukrainian friend, Alena Fedchishina, who lives in Kiev and works for the Italian embassy. A few years ago, she did her master’s degree in Milan and used to worship at our church, Chiesa Riformata Filadelfia. While Kiev was being bombed by the Russian military, she managed to escape with two colleagues (an Italian couple) by car. They have been driving across eastern Europe for three days. God willing, they will arrive in Milan sometime this evening or tomorrow. It is hard to imagine the grief and shock that Alena has experienced over the past week. She has had to flee her home while her city is being devastated by missiles and artillery shells. We pray that we will be able to minister to her and make her feel at home as much as possible while she stays with us. Please pray that the Lord will protect her in the final leg of her journey, comfort her and strengthen her faith at this time.

In the light of seeing so many people displaced, we are reminded again of the words of Hebrews 13:14: “For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come”. As a missionary family, we have often reflected upon this verse. Leaving your homeland and family to live in a foreign country is disorienting. I cannot even imagine what it is like to be a refugee. But I am sure of one thing: Being reminded that we are “strangers and exiles” (Heb. 11:13) and that our true homeland is “imperishable, undefiled, and unfading” (1 Pet. 1:4) gives us hope. The goal of our faith in Christ is to be with him in glory, in the resurrected and glorified earth. We look forward to that day when our redemption will be complete, when we will be healed from all evils and no longer afflicted by temptation and sin, pain and sadness, fear and worry, sickness and death. As the seventeenth century Genvan pastor Simon Goulart wrote:

This is the goal on which our gaze should be fixed throughout our earthly pilgrimage. This is the treasure that we should unceasingly desire. This is the hour and the blessing to which all the plans and efforts of our lives should be inclined…This is our true country, our permanent city, in which our citizenship has been acquired by the merit of the death of Jesus Christ. This is the home that we long for, amidst the banishments, the weariness, the dangerous fears of this valley of misery and the shadow of death. This is the safe refuge and the beautiful harbor toward which we sail amidst so many waves and storms that constantly trouble the world.

The Communion of Italian Presbyterian and Reformed Churches
I am pleased to announce that the Communion of Italian Presbyterian and Reformed Churches has been officially constituted. On February 28, the leadership of three churches in Italy – Chiesa Riformata di Perugia (central Italy), Pietra Vivente in Lecce (southern Italy), and Chiesa Riformata Filadelfia in Milan (northern Italy) – met via zoom for three hours and approved the constitution of La Comunione delle Chiese Presbiteriane e Riformate Italiane. This is an exciting first step toward the formation of a confessional Reformed denomination in Italy. We pray that the Lord will strengthen our bonds with one another for the glory of the gospel and the wellbeing of Christ’s church in Italy. We invite you to pray for the development of our Coalition and for our future collaborative projects. God willing, we will have a website up soon.

From top right: Elder Andrea Suraci (Perugia), Rev. Michael Brown (Milan), Rev. Andrea Ferrari (Perugia). Bottom row from left: Elder Domenico “Mimmo” Altobelli (Milan), Rev. Vincenzo Coluccia (Lecce), Elder Vittorio Calderaro (Milano).

Wednesday Night Bible Study
Although our worship services and catechism classes are in person, we have decided to keep our weekly Bible study online via zoom due to the number of people outside of Milan who participate every week. This has become a ministry not only to our church, but to Italian-speaking Christians all over the peninsula: Rome, Turin, Mantova, Calabria and more. These are people who live in cities where there is no Reformed church exists. I am teaching Paul’s letter to the Romans. We meet for about two hours. Every week there are between 20 and 25 locations logged on and participating in the discussion. Please pray that we will continue to develop bonds with these people and that we can plant churches in the future where there are none.

Bible Study for Widows
On the first Saturday of each month, Janie and I travel to the south end of the city to meet in a widow’s home for a Bible study of the Psalms. About seven or eight people, mostly widows, gather for prayer, study, and conversation. This has been a wonderful opportunity to minister to these elderly women, most of whom are unable to travel to our church.

Ladies’ Book Club
Janie continues to lead a monthly book club for the ladies in our church. This time they are reading Nancy Guthrie’s God does His Best Work with Empty, which has recently been translated into Italian. This has been a great opportunity for spiritual growth and bonding among the ladies of Chiesa Riformata Filadelfia.

New Members’ Class
I am teaching a new members class to a family of three and a single adult, all of whom live in the city of Turin, which is about an hour and a half from Milan by car. They are very excited about our church and want to be members. We are praying that in the future the Lord would provide a pastor to plant a church in Turin, which is the second largest city in northern Italy.

Janie and I remain grateful to all of you who read these updates and pray for us. Thank you for your encouragement and generous support. Mission Milan is only possible because of people like you!

~ Pastor Mike

“But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.”  ~ Acts 20:24

If you would like to help by making a donation, you may give online here on our website or send a check to:

Escondido United Reformed Church
1864 N. Broadway
Escondido, CA 92026
Attn: Mission Milan

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