Pastor William Stell

William Stell graduated from Princeton Theological Seminary in May 2016 and began serving as our pastor two months later. Before studying at Princeton, he lived and worked in the country of Jordan at a school for Deaf and Deaf-Blind children. Although his familial roots are Presbyterian, William was raised in a black Baptist church, and he has spent significant time in Methodist, Catholic, non-denominational, and other church traditions. We are grateful for the enthusiastic spirit and visionary leadership that he brings to our congregation!

 

Click on this link to read the article published in the September 2017 publication of the Bordentown Current

http://www.bordentowncurrent.com/2016/09/02/121111/preaching-his-truth

 

All Shall Be Well

 

In this month’s devotional, I’d like to share a prayer by one of Christianity’s most influential writers. Julian of Norwich lived in England in the late 14th and early 15th centuries—when the plague known as “The Black Death” was rampant, and religious tensions were high as two popes competed for authority.  At age 30, Julian suffered from a serious illness that almost led to her death.  During this time, she had a visionary spiritual experience, and once she recovered, she dedicated the rest of her life to writing about God and the spiritual journey—always with an emphasis on divine love. Her book Revelations of Divine Love, written around 1395, is the first book in the English language known to be authored by a woman.  Today, she remains one of the most beloved figures in the history of Christian literature.

 

Here is her most well-known prayer:

 

In you, Father almighty, we have our preservation and our bliss.

In you, Christ, we have our restoring and our saving.

You are our mother, brother, and Savior.

In you, our Lord the Holy Spirit, is marvelous and plenteous grace.

You are our clothing; for love you wrap us and embrace us.

You are our maker, our lover, our keeper.

Teach us to believe that by your grace

all shall be well,

and all shall be well,

and all manner of things shall be well.

Amen.

 

 

Peace,

William