Monday, October 17, 2011

Monday profile: The Rev. Patrick Augustine


From Wisconsin-

The Rev. Patrick Augustine grew up a member of Pakistan's often oppressed Christian minority, but he had to come to the United States to learn humility. As he's done at every stop on his career, Augustine, rector of La Crosse's Christ Episcopal Church on Main Street, has devoted himself to working for peace and reconciliation between people of different faiths.

Though a member of a tiny minority - Christians account for less than 2 percent of the Pakistani population - Augustine was accustomed to privilege.

His father and grandfather had been Anglican priests. His first appointment after the seminary was at one of the nation's oldest and largest parishes in the capital city, where he gave services in English, Urdu and Punjabi to a congregation that included foreign dignitaries.

After monsoon rains devastated a Christian slum, he used his position to bring the peoples' plight to the attention of President Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq.
"God had given me the courage," he said.

Read more:

http://lacrossetribune.com/news/local/article_c0593c06-f878-11e0-bef2-001cc4c002e0.html#ixzz1b2NUTR6x

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