Community Worship: Rev. Matthew Laferty

Lakeside is excited to welcome Rev. Matthew Laferty, Executive Director, Methodist Ecumenical Office in Rome, Italy, as Preacher of the Week Aug. 25-29. This week’s preacher is supported by Rev. Dr. Ned & Shirley DeWire Endowment.

Laferty will lead the 10:30 a.m. Chautauqua Community Worship Service on Sunday, Aug. 25 in Hoover Auditorium. Michael Shirtz and guest artists will provide musical leadership during the service, while the liturgy will be led by Rev. Dr. Charles Yoost, Senior Director of Religious Life & Pastoral Care. Worship music for the 2024 summer season is supported by James E. Beardsley and Doris F. Beardsley.

Following the opening prayer, children (ages 5-11) will proceed to Bradley Temple for Children’s Church with Chip Richter. There will be a message by Richter, songs, crafts, lemonade and cookies to share. Preschoolers are welcome if accompanied by an adult.

Laferty is a pastor, missionary and ecumenist with passion for the Christian unity and multicultural ministry. Originally from Crestline, Ohio, Laferty holds a Master of Divinity degree from Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, where he was awarded the Downes Prize for worship leadership  in 2011. He also holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and international studies from Methodist-related Ohio Wesleyan University, where he graduated cum laude and with university honors. He is currently completing a Master of Laws (LLM) in canon law at Cardiff University in the United Kingdom.

He was sent by The United Methodist Church in 2011 to minister in Moscow, Russia, where we was also ordained as a pastor. In Moscow, he served as the chaplain of the multi-denominational Moscow Protestant Chaplain and executive director of MPC Social Services, a Christian charitable organization in Moscow working in areas of hunger, medical assistance, integration, anti-racism and counter-human trafficking. In 2015, Laferty was appointed as pastor of the multicultural, international English-Speaking United Methodist Church in Vienna, Austria. While in Vienna, he was a representative of The United Methodist Church to the United Nations Office at Vienna and Vienna-based U.N. organizations. From 2020, Laferty is the director of the Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome, responsible for the World Methodist Council’s relationship with the Vatican and ecumenical partners in Rome. He is also a member and co-secretary of the Methodist-Roman Catholic International Commission, the official theological dialogue commission between the World Methodist Council and the Catholic Church.

Laferty has been a member of the World Methodist Council since 2006. He is a member of the World Methodist Council’s ecumenical relations committee as well as its nominations committee. He serves on international Committee on Faith and Order of The United Methodist Church. He was also appointed as a delegate from The United Methodist Church to the General Assembly of the World Council of Churches in Busan, Korea, in November 2013.

Guests are welcome to attend Community Worship free of charge by requesting a complimentary Church Pass between 7:30-10:30 a.m. Sunday; valid until 1 p.m. The pass includes admittance for guests and auto. This pass must be presented to the gate attendant upon departure. If the time allotted is exceeded, the guest(s) will be charged a fee. This pass does not include access to the Grindley Aquatic & Wellness Campus pool. Complimentary passes are available for all worship services and Faith for Living Hour.