Great News!
In a joint leadership meeting with the Diocesan staff and Clergy/Lay Leaders of the Diocese on Wednesday it was decided that the risk of having 10 household units in church, following all of the necessary masking and social distancing guidelines, was acceptable for congregations in the ORANGE category. This was voted on by the 34 people in attendance at the call. (In Green or Yellow categories, we can have nearly 30.)
So the wonderful news is that we can have 10-15 people this Sunday, in-person. And we will still live stream. The people below are registered.
If you'd still like to attend, you may register here (https://forms.gle/UNV2NsiT1C8aNM5r9) or by calling Sandra at 219-362-5618.
This Week at St. Paul's
Mother Michelle Walker
Dear St. Paul's Family,
Today as I sit to write a weekly reflection, I am called into prayer in a powerful way.
For the people facing the landfall and continuing destructive forces of Hurricane Laura, and possibly Hurricane Marco ...
Lord in your Mercy - Hear our Prayer.
For an end to this pandemic, and the strength to endure until our new "normal" emerges ...
Lord in your Mercy - Hear our Prayer.
For an end to the wildfires in California, and the resources to care for those affected by it ...
Lord in your Mercy - Hear our Prayer.
For an end to the senseless shooting/murder of black people, and the violent responses to those events, for an end to racism period ...
Lord in your Mercy - Hear our Prayer.
For a way forward in our current political environment, for an election that is honest and true, and for a leader who holds God in his/her heart first and the welfare of our country second ...
Lord in your Mercy - Hear our Prayer.
For ourselves and our families, for our individual prayers of all kinds and our continued faith in a God that loves us so ...
Lord in your Mercy - Hear our Prayer.
As a young person growing up in the Church of God (Anderson, Indiana) I enjoyed a good amount of Gospel music. My great-aunt even sang in a Gospel trio that recorded several records. Sometimes when I find myself ruminating on a sermon, or reflecting up on a situation, one of those songs drifts straight into my head. And stays there.
In the midst of these prayers I/we offer for the world, the words of Isaiah 40:31 float into my mind on a melody drifting in the wind:
but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength,
they shall mount up with wings like eagles,
they shall run and not be weary,
they shall walk and not faint.
Today I offer that as a collect to these prayers written. As we wait for the Lord to answer these prayers, and the many others we offer, may the words of this verse and the melody of this song continue to strengthen us along the way. After all, the best thing we can do, sometimes the ONLY thing we can do, is PRAY!
(And if you'd like the melody of that Gospel song in your head as well, you are welcome to enjoy this version from YouTube: https://youtu.be/YIVY48x0syQ )
Blessings!Mother Michelle
priest@stpaulslaporte.org | 219-575-0226