Readings:
Psalm
100
Isaiah 55:1-5
Colossians
3:12-17
John 16:16-24
Preface of Apostles
PRAYER (traditional language)
Almighty God, who didst empower Paul Cuffee to be a powerful evangelist
and preacher and so to win many souls for Christ among the Native Americans
of Long Island: Help us to proclaim thy Word with power, in the Name of
the same Jesus Christ; who with thee and the Holy Spirit livest and reignest,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
PRAYER (contemporary language)
Almighty God, you empowered Paul Cuffee to be a powerful evangelist and
preacher and so to win many souls for Christ among the Native Americans
of Long Island: Help us to proclaim your Word with power, in the Name
of the same Jesus Christ; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Thei commemoration adopted provisionally at General Convention 2009
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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 thriteeen 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).
Note that this Paul Cuffee shold not be confused
with a far better known, contemporaneous Paul
Cuffee, who lived in the same general area (Westport, Mass.). This
Paul Cuffee was a devout Quaker of mixed Indian / Black ancestry who worked
to repatriate African-Americans to Sierra Leone. |