Readings:
Psalm 100
Isaiah 55:1-5
Colossians 3:12-17
John 16:16-24Preface of Apostles
[Common of a Missionary]
[Common of a Pastor]
[For Reconciliation and Forgiveness]
[For the Mission of the Church]
PRAYER (traditional language)
Almighty God, who dost empower evangelists and preachers: Help us to proclaim thy Word with power, like thy servant Paul Cuffee, that more might come to a deeper life in thee; in the Name of thy Son Jesus Christ, who with thee and the Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
PRAYER (contemporary language)
Almighty God, who empowers evangelists and preachers: Help us to proclaim your Word with power, like your servant Paul Cuffee, that more might come to a deeper life in you; in the Name of your Son Jesus Christ, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
The commemoration appears in A Great Cloud of Witnesses.
Return to Lectionary Home Page
Webmaster: Charles Wohlers
Last updated: 2 January 2021
PAUL CUFFEE
WITNESS TO THE FAITH AMONG THE SHINNECOCK, 1812
A little west of the junction of the old road to Riverhead is a small
tract of land owned by the Shinnecock tribe of Indians, although how it
came into their possession is unknown. Upon this tract is a plain marble
tombstone, surrounded by a neat fence. This marks the last resting place
of Rev. Paul Cuffee. The tombstone tells its own story: "Erected
by the New York Missionary Society, in memory of the Rev. Paul Cuffee,
an Indian of the Shinnecock tribe, who was employed by the Society for
the last thirteen years of his life, on the Eastern part of Long Island,
where he labored the fidelity and success. Humble, pious and indefatigable
in testifying the gospel of the grace of God, he finished his course with
joy on the 7th of March, 1812, aged 55 years and 3 days". . . . The
journeyings of Paul Cuffee extended from Poosepatuck to Montauk, and were
made on foot.
— from A History of Long Island, from Its Earliest
Settlement to the Present Time, Vol. 2, by William S Pelletreau (1905).
more at Wikipedia
Note that this Paul Cuffee should not be confused with a far better known, contemporaneous Paul Cuffee, who lived in the same general area (Westport, Mass.). That Paul Cuffee was a devout Quaker of mixed Indian / Black ancestry who worked to repatriate African-Americans to Sierra Leone.