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LAMP Ministries is a Catholic lay
missionary association, comprised of people
who serve among the materially poor, with a
focus on evangelization. LAMP’s call has drawn us into the beating Heart of Jesus as that Heart of Compassion embracing those most in need, with our Blessed Mother’s Heart united to His. |
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A Call
To Holiness |
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Are you called to
the mission of Lamp? |
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The Eucharist |
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The Eucharist is
central to LAMP's spirituality. The mission of the Church is a continuity of the mission of Christ and draws spiritual energy from communion with
His Body and Blood. |
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Make
A Donation |
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Although you may
not be able to visit a materially poor person or
family in a crowded shelter or walk-up apartment
in the New York City Metropolitan area, you can
help to make it possible for a LAMP Missionary
to do so. |
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"You,
Lord, give light to my lamp; my God, You brighten the
darkness about me."
- Psalm 18:28 |
LAMP's History
In the late 1970's, Tom & Lyn Scheuring experienced
an increasing desire, which they believed to be of
God, to serve among the materially poor, much as
they had the privilege of doing in the early years
of their marriage. In 1969-71, they had served in
an evangelistic outreach to runaways in New York’s
East Village. This desire, however, was unique in
that they perceived the needs of the poor not only
to be physical and psychological, but most of all
(also) spiritual. They saw the faith support of the
materially poor was almost non-existent, and yet so
crucial to their total well-being.
To test this call
they visited other established outreaches to the
poor, including ones in El Paso, Texas; Juarez,
Mexico and Mexico City. It was on December 12, 1978
(Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe), that Tom & Lyn,
and their three young children, boarded a bus in New
York City for the 60 hour trip to El Paso. For the
next month they tutored their children and assisted
in a faith outreach ministry in Juarez. In January
they proceeded on to Mexico City to experience
similar faith oriented Catholic outreaches among the
poor. While there they received the honor of being
the only family invited to a House of Prayer that
was to exist to intercede for the Latin American
Bishops Meeting (CELAM), which was taking place in
Puebla that month.
Pope John Paul II, in his first trip outside of
Italy as Pontiff, convened this meeting and the
Scheuring family stood along the road as the Holy
Father passed by in an open truck “Pope mobile”.
As this call of a ministry of evangelization among
the materially poor continued to be confirmed in
their hearts, they were aware that knowing the
Spanish language would be very important. Through a
number of circumstances, some very difficult and
some very providential, they were able to take a six
month Spanish Language and Culture course through a
grant from a Maryknoll priest. This took place at
the Mexican American Cultural Center in San Antonio,
TX. In January 1980, they began this program while
their children attended the local Catholic school in
San Antonio.
At the conclusion of this program of study, in the
summer of 1980, they were uncertain about their next
step. Having little money, they applied for and
received a grant from the Oblates of Mary
Immaculate, to serve in one of their very poor
Mexican-American parishes in San Antonio, as “Lay
Ministers of Evangelization”. It is while they were
serving at San Juan de los Lagos parish that they
saw the effect their ministry was able to have on
the parish.
This led them to reflect on the need that existed for lay missionaries to serve in poor parishes in the metropolitan New York City area. One warm afternoon, while praying and sharing about their ministry, they realized that there was a need for a ministry to facilitate and enable such an outreach, and
that possibly they should begin it.
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