This Week at St. Paul's
Mother Michelle Walker
Dear St. Paul's Family,
Today, as I sit to write our weekly newsletter, I find it curious the amount of flexibility that we all must embrace during this pandemic time. The numbers in LaPorte County were close enough to dipping below the ORANGE category that I was excited (for about 12 hours) about the possibility of having 10 or so people in church on Sunday. Thursday's numbers, however, were high enough to squash those hopes. I just love having any of you in church ... as many as we can safely have! Here's to praying that next week has a better prognosis. For this Sunday, August 23rd, we are live stream only.
While we may not be meeting in person for church this Sunday, there is a lot going on in and around the church. As you will see in the sections below, maintenance has been performed on the rectory fence, the landscaping has been spruced up, and we will soon have a new and more efficient boiler. It's wonderful to see how projects keep moving forward, despite the pandemic.
In other news, I continue to look for ways to be make myself present within the community, to generate excitement and curiosity about our wonderful congregation. On that topic, and with the vestry's support, I have applied to become a member of the Rotary Club. Former mayor Leigh Morris had personally invited me and I found the meeting to be informative and a good way to network within the community. I am eager to see what this opportunity might bring. I'm proud to represent St. Paul's and find it delightful when some people are caught off guard to discover I am a female priest. I welcome your prayers on this endeavor with the Rotary.
Lastly, on a personal note, I have the first baby leaving the nest this weekend! On Sunday, directly after church, we will be moving our eldest, Elizabeth, into the dorms at Grand Valley State University (Allendale, MI). I'm sure I don't have to tell you what an emotional roller coast of a day, week, that will be. We are as confident as we can be regarding the move and the safety offered at GVSU. Your prayers are again appreciated.
Dear Ones, please know that I am here to listen to you, to pray with you, to sit on the benches outside of the parish hall and watch the cars drive by. It has been an extremely unique experience of becoming your priest over these months ... mostly from this office or from the broadcasting end of a live stream. Please don't hesitate to reach out to me with your life's joys, or sorrows. I am available as much as I can be. You are in my prayers daily.
Blessings!
Mother Michelle
priest@stpaulslaporte.org | 219-575-0226
Our Junior Warden is BUSY!
Our Junior Warden, Tom Robinson, has been one busy fella this past week and more. Thanks to him, and a few volunteers he recruited, the fence that surrounds the backyard of the rectory has been repaired. Yes, we know it doesn't match perfectly and have plans at some point in the future to fix that. For now, the yard is secure.
This is all part of a plan to list the rectory for rental. Yes, this is a new adventure, as our priest and family has always lived there. And yes, being landlords is not our first mission as faith community. On the other hand, we also want to be good stewards of the property and grounds at our disposal, which means putting this beautiful home to good use for the church and hopefully a wonderful family.
The home itself is in good shape, requiring only a cleaning at this time to make it ready for listing. The door between the rectory and the church will be secured for the protection and privacy of both the church and the tenant. The garage will be included as part of the rental. We are asking $1,400 per month.
If you know someone perfect for this home, please let Tom Robinson know right away. He is most easily reached by cell at 219-898-5013. Please also offer a prayer for a dependable and respectful tenant.
Thank you, thank you, thank you to the Terra Verde Garden Club for their amazing and dedicated work at keeping St. Paul's looking beautiful. This week they moved mountains of mulch around the landscaping (pictured and also by the rectory).
We are incredibly blessed by their ministry. Please express your appreciation to them by letting our St. Paul's Terra Verde members, Irene Konieczny and Sue Cummings, know.
Already Thinking About Cold Weather
After many months of conversation, and the attempted solicitation of several bids, the vestry decided at the July meeting to move forward with replacing our current decades-old boiler (that is frequently requiring expensive repairs) with TWO smaller units costing approximately $27,250. The two smaller units will be more cost efficient both in terms of future repairs and the ability to run only one of them when the weather is milder. All Seasons will begin work next week.
Due to the savings incurred for the period of time we were without a half-time priest, we currently have enough money in the checking account to cover this necessary capital investment. (Praise God!) And with your ongoing faithfulness in sending in your contributions (please keep doing this!), we hope we will need NEITHER to ask you for additional funds to cover our yearly expenses NOR to dip into our investments to pay for operational expenses.
Please know the vestry and financial leadership are working diligently to reduce expenses wherever possible and to make wise decisions about when we may need to make investment withdrawals. We are incredibly blessed by each and every one of you who continue to support St. Paul's financially, during this pandemic and beyond. Thank you!
With all of that information, IF you would like to show your gratitude for a warm church in which to worship (at some future point, hopefully soon!) you are welcome to do so with a monetary donation designated for the boiler. Please send it to the church office (708 Harrison Street). Otherwise, be thankful for this wonderful news and consider how God might be calling you to support St. Paul's in the coming months and years more fully or differently! (And that is NOT about money only!)
- Mother Michelle, Sue, and Sandra